The Work Of The Holy Spirit
In JOHN 16:5-13 we see Jesus telling the disciples he is about to return to the Father in heaven. They will grieve at his going but he will not leave them as orphans because he will send the Holy Spirit.
• COMPANIONSHIP as the Helper v7 When Jesus said he was leaving, the disciples must have worried how they were going to cope. They had spent the last three years with Jesus 24/7 and could not imagine life without him. So it must have been something of a comfort to hear him say he was not leaving them all on their own. Instead he was going to send the Holy Spirit - The Helper to be their companion wherever they were, in a way Jesus never could be while he was bound by the limitations of his human body.
• CONVICTION of sin, righteousness & judgement vv8-11 The Spirit would not just be there as a companion. He would also convict the world of -
• Human sin- specifically of our rebellion and refusal to accept Jesus as the only way to be put right with God
• God's righteousness - in sending Jesus to die for our sins and demonstrating him to be God's Son by raising him to life from the dead
• Satan's judgement - and defeat by Jesus' death and resurrection
• CONVERSION of individuals through the process of being "born from above". The result of the Holy Spirit's work of convicting the world
of sin, righteousness and judgement is the conversion of individuals, who turn from sin (ie going their own way) to God through faith in Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life (JOHN 14:6)
• COMFORT Some translations call the Holy Spirit the Comforter rather than The Helper. That's because the Greek word Parakletos means The One Who Comes Alongside. It has been said that the Holy Spirit comes to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. His role is to be Jesus to us in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. So for example he comes to minister Jesus' presence to us when we are grieving the death of a loved one or when we are needing courage to go through some trial or pain such as an operation. Jesus said on another occasion: " Don't be afraid. I will never leave you or forsake you. I will be with you until the end of time." HEBREWS 13:5; MATTHEW 28:20
• COMMUNICATION vv13-15 Finally, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will guide the disciples into all truth. He will communicate the deep truths of God to them, just as Jesus had done while he was with them.
The Holy Spirit communicates God's truth to Christians today, as Jesus promised, through God's Word - the Bible - as well as through supernatural gifts such as words of knowledge, prophecy and wisdom. For more on these click on the link here THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT