The Geniusness of the Holy Spirit is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast

In Episode 122 Titled: “Why does the world hate Christians?” We unpacked John 15:18–16:4. In verses 18 and 20, Jesus stated that the reason the world hates Christians is because they first hated Him, and because we now identify with Him, they will also hate us. If you haven’t listened to it already, I encourage you to do so.

This week we will pick up where we left off in John. At this time, Jesus has told His disciples once more that He must die and ascend to the Father. As usual, Jesus gives His disciples hope with the promise of the Holy Spirit, despite the fact that His disciples are somewhat confused and sorrowful. Today’s reading will reveal to us some additional awesome ways the Holy Spirit assists us in our daily walk with God. It will be a fantastic show. Let’s begin and start our reading with John 16:5-11.

We know that up until this point, Jesus had been with His disciples for three years and had protected them from attack, but He was about to leave them. He’d told them this earlier in the upper room, and Peter had asked as to where He was going. So, they were still a bit confused, and Jesus needed to explain why it was critical for them that He had to return to the Father.

Of course, the main reason is that the Holy Spirit may come to empower the church for life and witness. Furthermore, the risen Savior would be able to intercede for His people before the heavenly throne of grace. This new truth was difficult for his disciples to grasp.

Something to keep in mind in what we just read; the Spirit comes to the Church and not to the World. This means that Jesus is working in and through the Church.

The Holy Spirit does not operate in isolation. Just as the Son of God required a body to carry out His work on earth, so too does the Holy Spirit require a body to carry out His ministries, and that body is the church. Our bodies are His instruments and temples, and He desires to use us to praise Christ and proclaim the gospel to the lost. Is our ministry set up to equip and advance God’s kingdom?

People occasionally pray, “Lord, send your Spirit to speak to the Lost!” May the Spirit move from one heart to another. Such prayer is without a doubt sincere, but is it Biblical?

No, the Holy Spirit does not float up and down the rows of a church building, seeking to win the lost. The Holy Spirit works through the people He dwells in. When the Holy Spirit descended on Peter at Pentecost in Acts 2, He gave him authority to preach, and the preaching of the Word brought conviction to those who heard.

The key word here in vs 8 is “reprove”. It is a legal word that means to bring to light, to expose, to refute, to convict and convince”. It could be translated as “pronounce the verdict”. So by this definition Jesus is saying the world may think that it is judging Christians, but it is the Christians who are passing judgment on the world as they witness to Jesus.

Yes exactly, Believers are the witnesses, the Holy Spirit is the prosecuting attorney, and the unsaved are the guilty prisoners. However, the purpose of this indictment is not to condemn, but to bring to salivation.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of one specific sin, unbelief. The law of God and man’s conscience will convict the sinner of his sins (plural), but it is the work of the Spirit, through the witness of the believers, to expose the lost world’s unbelief.

Yes because it is the unbelief that condemns the lost sinner, not the committing of individual sins. A person could clean up his life and quit his or her bad habits and still be lost and go to hell.

The Spirit also convicts the sinner of righteousness, not unrighteousness, walk us through whose righteousness?

The righteousness of Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God. The world would not receive the Son of God, so He has returned to the Father. When He was here on earth, He was accused by men of being a blasphemer, a lawbreaker, a deceiver, and even a demon. The Spirit of God reveals the Savior in the Word and in this way glorifies Him. The Spirit also reveals Christ in the lives of believers. Keep in mind the world cannot receive or see the Spirit of God, but they can see what He does as they watch the lives of dedicated believers.

The Holy Spirit convicts the lost sinner of sin. This statement should not be confused with Acts 24:25, which speaks of righteousness, temperance, and the coming judgment. Jesus is referring to His judgment of Satan, which was accomplished through His death on the cross.

Satan has already been judged and the verdict announced. All that must take place is the executing of the sentence, and that will occur when Jesus returns. But back to Jesus’ point a lost sinner is truly under conviction, he will see the folly and evil of unbelief, he will confess that he does not measure up to the righteousness of Christ, and he will realize that he is under condemnation because he belongs to the world and the devil. The only person who can rescue him from certain death is Jesus. There can be no conversion without conviction.

Let’s transition and read vs 12-15 and unpack how the Spirit is our teacher that guides us.

Jesus was always careful to give His disciples the right amount of truth at the best time. This is always the mark of a great teacher.

Yes indeed, The Holy Spirit is our teacher today, and He follows that same principle with us. He teaches us the truths we need to know, when we need them, and when we are ready to receive them.

When you compare John 14:26 with what we see here in Vs 13, you see the wonderful way that God arranged for the writing of the New Testament. The Spirit would remind them of what Jesus had taught them, this gives us the 4 gospels.

The spirit would also guide them into all truth, and this would result in the Epistles. He will show you “things to come” refers to the prophetic Scriptures, especially the book of Revelation.

We must always remember that the Spirit of God is always associated with the Word of God which is Truth. The phrase He (The Spirit) shall not speak of himself in vs 13, this does not mean that the Spirit never refers to Himself. Rather, it means that He does not speak apart from the Father and the Son.

Exactly, He does not manufacture a different message. You have the entire Godhead mentioned in John 16:13, because the Spirit of God does not ignore either the Father or the Son. They all work harmoniously together as one.

It is the Spirit’s ministry to enrich us with the treasures of God’s truth. He illuminates us with God’s truth and enriches us with God’s riches. God’s word is a gold, silver, and precious jewel mine (Prov 3:13-15) What a blessing to have the Holy Spirit illuminate His word for us every day.

Amen, We do not study the Word of God in order to argue religion with people, or to show off our grasp of spiritual things. We study the word to see Jesus, to know God better, and to glorify Him in our lives. As we witness in this hostile world, the Spirit uses the Word He has taught us, and we share Jesus with the lost. It is our job to witness, it is the Spirit’s job to convict.

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