Jesus ends His long discourse on the night of His betrayal with the encouragement of three blessings of salvation for His disciples. The first of these is spiritual understanding. Once sin is paid for and the New Covenant established, the spiritual blessings of salvation became a reality for the disciples. They were behind the veil that kept them from the spiritual reality of this salvation. But once atonement was definitely accomplished, spiritual understanding was given to them. What can keep someone from living in the reality of these spiritual blessings when they sincerely believe? In this sermon, we explore what can get in the way of the spiritual understanding that Jesus promised.

Jesus speaks of an otherworldly joy that cannot be taken away from us. This is unlike the joy or the happiness common in our world which is a stealable joy, a joy that can be taken away. What is this joy that Jesus speaks of that is unstealable? In this sermon, we explore the meaning of this joy from this text. A joy that is exceeding, redemptive, and secure,

Jesus promises the Spirit who will guide His people into all the truth. This is all the truth we need for life and godliness in this, the church age, and it is given to us in the teachings of the apostles in the New Testament. We have this treasure trove of wisdom given to us in the Bible. But Jesus tells us more. The truth given to us for faith and practice comes from the overflow of the goodness of the triune God who forever exists in a community of unity, harmony, communication, and love. The truth we possess in our hands is the product of a heavenly conversation and cooperation.

The Holy Spirit’s conviction is not only about sin but also about righteousness of Christ and the judgment of Satan. With each of these additional convictions, the Holy Spirit draws the sinner to faith in Christ and to salvation in His name. It is the grace of God that brings a deep sense of guilt and need in the sight of God. This is how God draws repentant sinners to Christ and saves them from their sins.

Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will bring conviction of sin upon the world. This is a boon for disciples show understand the Lord’s purpose for His world in this age. May we all have hearts that are in tune with the mission of our Lord that we be disciples and make disciples. Given the context in which Jesus spoke, He narrows the conviction for sin to the sin of unbelief. Unbelief is a serious matter in the sight of God, but there is great hope for those whom the Spirit convicts.

Jesus promises the Helper. To be without help is not what Jesus planned for His disciples. These whom He loved, shepherded, and guarded throughout His ministry years will not be left alone to fend for themselves. The Lord has been and continues to be their good shepherd. There are implications for us as to how Jesus has dealt with His disciples. He cares for us the same way. He sees our sorrows and He ensures that no suffering is for naught. He has sent His Holy Spirit (the “Alongsider”) to give us all that we need to fulfill the will of God for us in this age. This study kicks off another study on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

The main idea of John 16 is best captured in the identity of Jesus as our Guardian. This idea is seen in vv 1-15 in that Jesus guards us from stumbling (vv 1-4a), from helplessness (vv 4b-11), and from ignorance (vv 12-15). In this first installment of our studies from John 16, we see how Jesus guards His disciples with His prescience (or foreknowledge) of their future persecution. Moreover, we see how Jesus also foretold us of the more general trials of life for His people (“tribulation” or “affliction” of 16:33). Amid all the trials of life, Jesus guards us from the greatest danger, the danger of falling away. He preserves His own to the very and He does so through means.