"Why do we Need the Holy Spirit?"

Pentecost June 8/03 Jn.15:26-16:15

Imaging the Invisible Spirit

Something that's invisible can be very potent, being either life-threatening or life-giving -- as what I'm about to do will illustrate. (Put on respiratory mask) Before now, you probably weren't thinking about the quality of the air in this room. The recent SARS outbreaks, along with seeing people wearing masks, remind us that the very air we breathe can supply life-giving oxygen OR introduce dangerous germs into our bodies. Impurities can change the breath of life into the breath of death. But we daren't stop breathing! (remove mask)

             Breath is just one image Scripture uses for the Holy Spirit, as in Job 33:4: "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." (also Ezek.37:9) This image emphasizes that something invisible can be desperately vital. There are evil spirits, too: yielding to their temptations and deception can be as deadly as SARS. Other familiar scriptural images for the Holy Spirit are the dove, to which comparison is made when the Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism (Mt.3:16); and the flame, from the tongues of fire which came upon believers at Pentecost (Acts 2:3). Sometimes Christian publications today emphasize the more sensational aspects of the Holy Spirit's effect on people's lives, such as being "slain in the Spirit", speaking in tongues, or healings. There's an evangelist coming to Clinton at the end of the month whose events reportedly have often witnessed healings. Yet today as we look at Jesus' own teaching about the Holy Spirit, the images he suggests are not so easy to picture. But surely He is presenting something about the essence of the Spirit's ministry, even if it's harder to capture graphically. Jesus introduces the Spirit by terms we could sum up as Companion, Convictor, and Communicator.

Companion: Don't Go Swimming without a Buddy

The lectionary snips out John 15:26 then skips over to verse 5 in chapter 16. But the verses before and after 15:26 are important for giving us some context. This teaching occurs the night before Jesus is arrested and crucified. He's concerned about preparing them for the tough times ahead - times when they won't be able to turn casually and ask Him a question as they've been doing on the roads of Palestine the past 3 years. Physically speaking, they're going to be "on their own". Look at the words Jesus uses to describe how the world's going treat them from 15:18,20: "the world hates you...they will persecute you..." 16:2 warns, "They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God." This isn't going to be a cake-walk, but deadly business! In effect, He's saying, "Your opposition is going to be against you that they'll think they're doing the right thing by wiping you out." Later, Paul recalled his own attitude to believers in these words: "I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.And that is just what I did in Jerusalem.On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them." (Acts 26:9-11) Jesus' followers were about to become "the hunted".

             Why hadn't the Lord told them before they'd be in for so much trouble? 16:4, He says He didn't warn them at first "because I was with you". He was there to take the heat, to deflect the Pharisees' attacks, to feed them, to calm the storm. Jesus had been their protector, but now He was going. Yet He wasn't abandoning them as "orphans", or "sheep amongst wolves" (Jn.14:18; Mt.10:16): in fact as He says in v.7 it was for their good He was going away, because He was sending the Counsellor to come to them. So, first image: the Holy Spirit would be their COMPANION.

             "Counselor" in the NIV translates the Greek word Paraclete, which the lexicon translates, "summoned, called to one's side, especially called to one's aid; a helper, succourer, aider, assistant". NRSV translates it, "Advocate" (Counselor and Advocate both sound kind of professional, like you can expect a fee charged at the end!); other versions translate Paraclete simply as "Helper". That's a little more friendly - we can all use a Helper from time to time; a Companion, someone to be there for you, to call upon when needed. "Don't go swimming without a - Buddy." "You'll never make it through Boot Camp without a - Buddy." One of the powerful scenes in Forrest Gump is when our humble hero picks up his wounded buddy "Bubba" and carries him under fire back to safety (then returns for the rest of his platoon and does the same). Forrest was being a Paraclete, someone called alongside to help. He was looking out for his Buddy.

             Jesus is warning us, It's a dangerous world out there. The Enemy is out to get you: they will be hating you, persecuting you, expelling you, killing you - because you're Mine. You're going to need help. I'm sending you a Companion, a Buddy, to be with you and never leave you. In His physical existence He was limited to one place at a time; but by returning to the Father, Jesus' plan was to be present to believers in the whole world through the Holy Spirit. 1Jn.4(13) tells Christians, "We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit." In Luke 24(49) Jesus predicted the disciples would be "clothed with power from on high". Paul writes of our Helper in Romans 8(26), saying, "...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." Stepping into the gap for us, helping us even express ourselves in prayer.

             Many places on this planet are not safe for Christians; they draw strength from the Spirit to face daily danger. Santino Bol was a refugee who walked hundreds of miles from Sudan to Ethiopia to get schooling. When the Sudanese were expelled in 1990, he wandered to Kenya, then he says, "I knew I had to leave. God was calling me to share the good news of Jesus Christ with my own people." He studied the Bible in Nairobi and was ordained, then returned to his home area in Sudan. Starting less than 10 years ago with a handful of believers, Santino now supervises 42 congregations with 17,500 members. But it hasn't been easy. He says, "Many of my relatives, neighbours and church members have been killed or enslaved. Arab slave raiders have burned many of our churches. One Sunday, they attacked the village...Some people were already at church praying. I was in a nearby hut getting ready for worship. Suddenly I heard gunfire, saw horses and smelled smoke. I ran outside and saw Arabs with guns trying to take the Sunday school children. That time they didn't catch any young ones from the church, but they did capture one of my evangelists, David Deng. They tied him to a horse's tail and made the horse run under the trees...He was killed. I managed to escape. My church workers have no salaries, cars or pension funds. A lot of them do not even have shoes or trousers without patches...Some have died a martyr's death." It was for tough situations like this that Jesus knew we'd need a spiritual buddy or companion, the Holy Spirit our Counselor and Comforter.

Convictor: Spotlighting Jesus as the Yardstick for Conscience

Another important role of the Spirit as Jesus describes Him is that of "Convictor". At one point in the Alpha series, we're told to imagine the whole spectrum of human morality on a scale from floor to ceiling. The very worst people down at the bottom - perpetrators of genocide, mass murderers, and so on; the very best up at the top - Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, etc. We'd put ourselves somewhere in the middle. We know we're not as good as the best, but we feel we're definitely not as bad as the worst. But the truth is, the true scale of morality is not floor to ceiling: God's standards are actually the sky! "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Rom.3:23) Psalm 36(6) says of God, "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep." God's goodness is higher than Mount Everest, His moral standards go deeper than the deepest ocean trench. It's an awesome thing to stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon: space yawns cavernously, profoundly far in front of you. The Bible says God's righteousness goes much high, it's jaw-droppingly awesome.

             So another reason we need the Holy Spirit is to show us the true extent of our sin and God's righteousness, prodding us to respond to His love and make changes lest we fall into His wrath at judgment. Study closely the Spirit's work as Convictor in 16:8-11: "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

             Jesus links sin with refusal to believe in Him. The root of sin is rejecting Christ, having a fundamentally me-first, anti-God attitude, trusting in something other than the Saviour He sent. Jesus promised in Mark 16(16), "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

             The Spirit also convicts of righteousness. Jesus the perfect Person is no longer walking around, so the Spirit is needed to show us how good He is and what real righteousness is like. He is the yardstick of conscience; the only way to become truly righteous is to receive His gift, not struggling to earn it ourselves and failing in the process. Paul wrote that "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe;" and that his goal was to "be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ— the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." (Rom.3:22; Php.3:9) When we trust in Jesus, God "sees" us as wrapped in His Son's righteousness, no longer filthy rags of our best deeds.

             And the Spirit convicts of judgment, as Satan is unmasked to be a fraud, a thief. Hebrews (2:14) says Jesus shared in our humanity "so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death— that is, the devil..." The Enemy doesn't want people to dwell on the coming judgment; the thought of receiving payback, sin's wages, takes away the "fun" some derive from going against God's guidance for life. Talk of judgment makes people uncomfortable, even those in important government positions; Acts 24(25) records that "As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, 'That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.'" (like, when pigs fly!) Those dallying with sin are loathe to hear about judgment.

             The moral yardstick in our media continues to shrink. In so-called "reality" dating shows such as The Bachelorette or Joe Millionaire, sex is confused with marriage; "apparently it's not supposed to bother the contestants if the bachelor or bachelorette sleeps with several other potential mates before making a final choice." To further demonstrate how skewed our moral standards have become, it's reported that the NBC-owned Bravo channel will present American television's first primetime gay-themed reality dating series. What will they think of next? One shudders to think. Jesus is the One who can lead us into true commitment and intimacy and passion in our relationships. We need the Holy Spirit to show us the difference between sin and righteousness, and live conscientiously in light of the coming judgment.

Communicator: Making Known Christ's Truth

Finally in this passage, Jesus highlights the Holy Spirit's role as a Communicator, making known His truth to believers. In vv.12-15 He says He has much more to say to His followers than they can now bear; but when the Spirit comes, He will guide them into all truth, telling them what's yet to come. The Spirit will make known to the disciples the teaching Jesus has for them, and will thus glorify Him. So the Holy Spirit will be the channel of communication from the Lord to the church.

             This had been happening already through the Old Testament prophets; as Peter describes it, "men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God"; "the Spirit of Christ in them ...predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow." (1 Peter 2:21; 1:11) But what was limited to a few, Joel (2:28) predicted would be poured out on all people - "Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." A lot of imagery coming our way! And that's what happened - this is how Peter interpreted the event of Pentecost 50 days after Easter. The gathered believers spoke in foreign languages so all the pilgrims gathered for the Jewish festival from far away heard them declaring in their own languages "the wonders of God" (Acts 2:11). During the early expansion of the church, the Spirit continued to teach them more and remind them of everything Jesus had said (Jn.14:26). Paul, who wrote so much of the New Testament, describes it this way: "...God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God...We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words."(1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

             And this wonderful communications link isn't just limited to the apostles or the first generation of Christians. John wrote, "you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth." (1Jn.2:20) The Holy Spirit helps us sense what's God's will, hear His voice guiding us, and discern when something doesn't "smell right" spiritually. The Holy Spirit inspired the writing process of Scripture, and now is within us to help us interpret it as we read it, and apply it to our lives - what's been called "illumination". He's the divine spotlight that highlights both truth in the pages of the Bible, and what doesn't belong in the corners of our heart.

Powered for Jesus' Saving Action

The Holy Spirit may come into your life with the sound of a rushing wind and tongues of fire, as at Pentecost. There may be sensational phenomena in the short term - if so, praise God for His good gifts! Share the visions, seek Christ's body's assistance to sift the wheat from the chaff. The Spirit distributes gifts to each one "just as He determines". With the collapse of modernism and rise of postmodernism, people today seem more open to supernatural phenomena. Pentecostalism is the most rapidly growing part of Christianity worldwide. Philip Jenkins, a historian and religion professor at Penn State, writes in The Atlantic Monthly: "Though Pentecostalism emerged as a movement only at the start of the 20th century, chiefly in North America, Pentecostals today are at least 400 million strong, and heavily concentrated in the global South.By 2040 or so there could be as many as a billion, at which point Pentecostal Christians alone will far outnumber the world's Buddhists and will enjoy roughly numerical parity with the world's Hindus." (do I hear a 'hallelujah' in the back?)

             Or the Holy Spirit may produce sensational changes in you in the long-term. The "fruit" of the Spirit takes time to blossom -- patience, for example; we all want it right now! And I'm sure I'll still be working on self-control when the Lord returns. But, year by year, people will notice a difference in your life - you'll start to seem more and more like Jesus. As Paul urged, "eagerly desire the greater gifts" - especially love (1Cor.12:31).

             We described the Holy Spirit as Communicator, getting the Word out. In Malawi "The Book Man" brings the Word of God to hundreds of people in rural villages. He has no idea how old he is, but he does know that he started bringing Bibles to the people in 1924 - more than 79 years ago! The roads he travels are rocky and almost impossible to cover with a vehicle. Yet his bicycle finds the way without any trouble. People are so hungry for the Word of God they wait for him. What motivates this persistent servant to keep on delivering God's Word into retirement? He smiles and says with no hesitation, "The Bible is the only way, the truth and the light. It contains God's words and in them you will be able to find the truth that can lead you." Sounds like He's in touch with the Communicator, the Spirit.

             Jesus also described the Spirit as Paraclete, Helper, one who comes alongside to assist. Esperanza Lopez was caught under the wheels of a bus. For 7 days she was in a coma; the medical staff were unsure if she'd survive. But by God's grace she lived. However, the severity of the accident robbed her of her right leg. Esperanza heard God very clearly. She says, "God told me that with two legs I could not do anything for Colombia, but with one leg I would be able to do plenty." Grateful for her life, she goes out into the streets and gathers the homeless children from many different places. Some have been trapped and caught in the chronic habit of sniffing glue. Others have experienced abuse and violence at home. Others are simply lost children with no place to sleep. Esperanza (whose name means 'hope') is confident that God can heal these children. Her focus is on bringing them the Scriptures and helping them grow. In coming alongside to help, this woman is also embodying the Paraclete, continuing to make Jesus' love known today. And where Jesus is being glorified, you can be sure the Holy Spirit is at work, because that's the Spirit's joy! Let's pray.