Author: Stephen Thomason

Who is the Counselor and What Will He Do?
John 16:7-11
I. v7 - Who is the Counselor?
A. v13 - He is the Spirit of Truth - the Holy Spirit.
1. He baptized the first disciples with supernatural gifts to perform miracles.
a. The church was established in the Book of Acts with miraculous power.
b. Some claim His baptism today with the same miraculous manifestations.
2. He indwells you when you surrender your life to the Lord.
a. Act 2:38 - Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
b. He indwells your life & intermingles with your human spirit to give you power to live a victorious Christian life.
3. He fills you when you confess & forsake your sins. Eph 5:18 - And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
a. None of us live perfect lives. Each of us usually fall flat on our face spiritually. We have strong & weak times with our faith.
b. God’s word tells you to be filled with His Spirit - empty out the sin through repentance & confession & get refilled through prayer.
4. He gives you spiritual gifts so you can be an effective servant through the church (I Cor 12:8-11).
5. He develops in you spiritual fruit so you can be an effective witness to the world (Gal 5:22-23).
B. v7 - Why did Jesus have to physically leave for the Counselor to come?
1. Because God is one!
a. God is one - not many. He can take the form of Father, Son & Holy Spirit all at the same time.
b. One of the reasons Mohammed of Islam rejected the Church was the Church presented a confused concept of the Trinity.
2. Because God became a man.
a. He became a man so you could know what He is like in human terms you can identify with.
b. He had to become a man so He could pay the price for your sins on the cross in a physical body.
3. Because God became the Holy Spirit.
a. When His mission as a man was accomplished, He became an indwelling Spirit to extend Himself as many times as there were believers.
b. Now Lord Jesus is performing His ministry in & through you the same as He did when He was a physical man.
c. The more you yield to the Counselor within you, the more you become like Jesus.
II. v8-11 - What Will He Do?
A. Convict (ελέγξει) = to cross examine, expose, to convict of a crime & convince someone of a better idea.
1. So to reprove, rebuke, refute, show one’s fault.
2. ILL: Matlock (The lawyer confronting a witness)
B. v9 - He will convict the world of sin. He shows you what the wrong way is!
1. Sin (αμαρτία) = a falling short, missing the mark.
a. Thus missing the standard God had planned for you.
b. ILL: An archer missing the target.
2. The Lord took care of the sin problem by going to the cross!
3. Trust in Jesus is the way God has provided for your sins to be forgiven.
a. Part of faith is the acceptance of divine truth. Heb 11:1 - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
b. Belief involved trust in Jesus as a reliable person & obedience to Him as Lord.
4. Therefore - those who have refused to trust the Lord have rejected God’s way out of their sin problem!
C. v10 - He will convict the world concerning righteousness. He shows you the right way!
1. Righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) = what is right & just, to be put in a right relationship with.
2. The Lord demonstrated righteousness by what He taught & the way He lived.
3. Then - He went to the Father through His death & resurrection (I Cor 15:20-23).
4. As God’s child, you are considered righteous in God’s sight (Rom 5:6-8). Rom 5:19 - For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
5. Therefore - those who don’t have righteousness through Jesus, don’t have it! (Rom 3:21-26)
D. v11 - He will convict the world concerning judgment. He will do something about it!
1. Judgment is the separation from this life into an eternal destiny - either heaven or hell.
2. The Word of God is the judge of this world.
a. The Word in flesh - Lord Jesus - judged Satan & his power over death by dying on the cross (Heb 2:14-15).
b. The Word in the gospel message, as a light that exposes, becomes the standard by which people are judged. Jn 3:19-21 - This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
3. Therefore - your judgment depends on what you do with the way God has provided!
As a Christian who has been indwelled with the Counselor, let Him fill your life so you may be a usable vessel!
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