Okay, John chapter 16. I want
to take a good, good look today at verse 13, 14, 15, and 16 of
John chapter 16. I'm entitling the message this
morning from these verses, what is being taught here in these
verses. And here's the title of the message for us to think
upon. What is the ministry of the Holy Spirit? to His church, to His people.
What is the ministry of the Holy Spirit? Or we might entitle it
this title. What the Holy Spirit does for
us and in us. How does He minister unto us? God the Holy Spirit does for
us and in us what we cannot and would not and will not do for
ourselves, because we will not come to Him, come to God, unless
God the Holy Spirit does draw us effectually unto Him. He does for us and in us what
we cannot and will not do for ourselves, that is to glorify
the Lord Jesus Christ in us, to exalt and enthrone Himself
in our heart. Christ in you is a hope of glory. Now, that's something I cannot
do for myself. He has to do that for us. And salvation is a hard work,
Christ in us, Christ in you. Now, throughout the word of the
Lord, We see the whole Godhead working together in absolute
unity of purpose. God's eternal purpose. God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And they are
one, eternal, holy God. Yet manifest in three distinct
persons. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. in 1st John chapter 5. Don't
turn, let me just read this to you. There are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one. Three distinct persons, yet one
eternal God. Each person in the Godhead is
working out the eternal salvation of God's elect, all to the praise
of His glory. You remember from reading Ephesians
chapter 1 where it talks about God blessing us and choosing
us in Him before the foundation of the world to the praise of
the glory of His grace. And then it talks about the work
of His Son in verse 7. We're accepted in the Beloved
in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of
sin according to the riches of His grace. All to the praise
of the glory of His grace. And then thirdly, it talks about
the work of the Holy Spirit there in Ephesians chapter 1 verse
13 and verse 14, that He quickens us and that He seals us into
the day of redemption. All to the praise of His glory. It all gets back to that, doesn't
it? To the praise of the glory of God. What God the Father has
purposed, and His purpose is an eternal purpose, isn't it?
That's the decree of God. What God the Father had purpose,
God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ purchased. He purchased us with
His own blood. And what the Lord Jesus Christ
has purchased, God the Holy Spirit in time crosses their path and
makes them love Christ. Makes them new creatures in Christ
and causes them to say in their heart, well, He is altogether
lovely. causes them to say in their heart,
I must have the Lord Jesus Christ. For He reveals that salvation
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. So then what is this certain
and definite work that God the Holy Spirit does in regards to
applying this salvation in us? Now don't turn them back, but
let me just read to you again from 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
Verse 10, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For it says, I had not seen,
ear had not heard, neither had there entered into the heart
of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them things unto us by his Spirit. For the
Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God." God
must reveal the gospel of God's grace unto us, and that happens
only by the power of God the Holy Spirit. So, in these verses
here, the Lord gives us this vivid and exact description of
His ministry to the Lord's people, to His church. And I pray, My
prayer this morning is that God will enable us to enter into
this blessed truth, and that God the Holy Spirit will indeed
take the things of Christ right now, right now, and reveal them
unto us anew and afresh, that we might see the glory and beauty
of the Lord Jesus. Now look at verse 13, how be
it when He, the Spirit of truth, not the Spirit of error, Everything
about him is true, because he is the true God. When the Spirit
of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall
not speak of himself. But whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. Now
let's take a look at verse 13 for just a minute. First of all,
we see he's called here, that is God the Holy Spirit is called
the Spirit of truth. Now, we've seen this several
times. If you turn back to John chapter 14, verse 15. John 14, verse 15. He's called
here the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of Truth. Look at
John 14, verse 15. If ye love me, keep my commandments,
and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter. Notice it's capital C, talking
about God the Holy Spirit, that he may abide with you forever,
even the spirit of truth the spirit of truth everything about
him is true whom the world cannot receive because it knoweth him
not it seeth him not neither knoweth him but you know him
for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you the spirit of
truth again in chapter 15 turn over to verse 26 he's called God the Holy Spirit here is called
the Comforter, but he's also called the Spirit of Truth. And
when the Comforter is come, you see verse 26, whom I will send
unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth
from the Father, he shall testify of me. That is, testify of Christ,
his person and his work. So the Spirit of Truth, of his
character, And of His person it can be said that everything
about God the Holy Spirit is true, cannot be anything less
because He is the God of all truth. Of which it says in Scripture
it is impossible for God to lie. Impossible for God to change.
What He does, He's purposed from all eternity. And notice this,
secondly He says, He will come. When He is come, God the Holy
Spirit will cross the path of every blood-bought child of God. Those that God chose in that
eternal covenant of grace, we call that the Bible doctrine
of election. Those for whom the Lord Jesus
Christ paid their sin debt. God the Holy Spirit in time will
cross their path with the word of truth and do a work of grace
in their heart, in their life. The Holy Spirit will come to
every blood-bought, chosen child of God, and regenerate them,
raise them from the dead, and make them new creatures in Christ,
and indwell them, and abide in their heart. Now turn back to
John chapter 3. John chapter 3. You have he quickened
who were dead. John chapter 3. That's why we
must be born again by the Spirit of God. We must be raised from
the dead, because by nature we're dead in trespasses and in sin. Notice in John chapter 3, let's
begin reading at verse 5. The Lord said to that Pharisee
Nicodemus, Truly, truly, I say unto you, except a man be born
of water, and he's talking about the Word of God, and of the Spirit,
the Spirit of God, He cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh, that's just what it is. Flesh.
That's all it ever will be. Until we're raised from the dead
in that resurrection day, until He gives us a new body like unto
His glorious body. But in this life, flesh is always
flesh. Sinful, depraved flesh. That
which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit. You see that? Marvel
not that I said unto you, you must be born again. The wind
bloweth where it listeth." That is, the wind blows sovereignly,
doesn't it? You don't control the wind. The
wind blows where it will. And this is what he's saying
about the Word of God and the will of God in the new birth.
Thou hearest the sound thereof, but you cannot tell from whence
it come, or where it goes. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit of God." Sovereignly born by the Spirit of God. Turn
over here to John 6, verse 63. John 6, verse 63. "...It is the
Spirit that quickeneth..." You see that? God the Holy Spirit
quickens, He raises us from the dead, gives us life, enable us
to believe the gospel. It is the Spirit that quickeneth
the flesh, profiteth nothing. The word that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and they are life. You see, the very word
that we have in our hand, the Bible, is the inspired, God-given,
Holy Spirit-breathed Scripture, the Word of Truth. So when He
has come, He will convict of sin, of righteousness, of judgment."
Now, contrary to what is being preached in most places today,
God the Holy Spirit is not trying to convict and convert and comfort
all men everywhere. That's just not so, is it? We
hear this said in other places, not here, but in other places,
we hear things similar to this saying, well, God is trying to
save you, but you won't let Him. God wants to have His way in
your life, but you won't let Him. He's knocking on your door,
but, you know, you won't let Him in. My friend, these things
are not taught in the Word of God. We're talking about God. We're talking about God. I mean,
to say that a sinner can resist God and stop the will of God,
stop the purpose of God, then you've got a peanut God. You've
made the creature more powerful than the Creator. Isn't that
right? God is not trying to do anything. The God of the Bible does exactly
as He pleases to do. Is that right? Whatsoever God
pleases, that's what He does in heaven, earth and hell. He'll
have His way. He'll break the sinner's heart. What He does, He does what He
pleases, when He pleases, with whom He pleases. Is that right?
Listen to this scripture, "...in whom we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of Him, who worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. God will have
mercy on whom He will have mercy." You see, when He, the Spirit
of truth, has come, He'll own you, He'll break you, He'll teach
you and He'll guide you. Now let's look at the rest of
verse 13. When the Spirit of truth, God
the Holy Spirit, when He has come, look what it says, He'll
guide you, He'll guide you and lead you into all truth. Notice it's not trues, it's truth. He'll lead you to the Lord Jesus
Christ who is truth. God the Holy Spirit will guide
us and lead us into all truth. I'm reminded of what the Apostle
said in Acts chapter 20, when he said, I'm not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. All the counsel of God in salvation
is Christ. Salvation is in a person. Where
does God the Holy Spirit lead us? He leads us to the Lord Jesus
Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life. The Lord Jesus
Christ who is all the counsel of God in salvation. Our Lord
said to those Pharisees in John 8, you shall know the truth and
the truth. The truth will set you free.
Those who are led by God the Holy Spirit, now listen to me,
Don't go in the direction of works salvation or ceremony salvation
or any other way. Those who are led by God the
Holy Spirit are brought to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ
and made to delight in Him, made to rest in Him alone. and say
that He is altogether lovely. You see, to you who believe the
gospel, He is precious. He leads us in the way. That
is, He opens our understanding. He removes, God the Holy Spirit
removes obstacles that would impede the way. Self-righteousness,
pride, religious pride, prejudice that we might have. He strips
us of our arrogance, of our pride, And He puts us in the dust, and
He clothes us with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Lord our Righteous. He formed Christ in us. If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become brand new. He will guide you into all
truth. Now look what he says in the
second part of verse 13, for he shall not speak of himself.
He shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak, and he will show you, he will show you things
to come. Things to come. Now, listen,
God the Holy Spirit doesn't think, doesn't speak of himself or about
himself. He speaks to us through the ministry
of the Word of God, Not by dreams, or visions, or special revelation,
but by the Word of God that's God-given by God the Holy Spirit. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing the gospel by the Word of God given by the Holy Spirit. In Isaiah chapter 8, we read,
"...to the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them." You see,
we just take the very Word of God, this God-breathed, God-given,
God-inspired by God the Holy Spirit, that tells us all about
Christ, and we simply repeat that same message. God the Holy
Spirit does not act or speak independently from the Father
or the Son, but rather in complete harmony with all the Godhead. You remember our Lord said this,
turn over here to John chapter 12. Just as the Lord says here in
John 12, 49, For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which
sent me, he gave me commandment what I should say and what I
should speak. And God the Holy Spirit speaks
everything that God would have His church to know. The truth
of salvation in Christ Jesus. Now look at the last part of
verse 13. John 16 verse 13. God the Holy
Spirit will show you, you see this, the last part of verse
13. He'll show you things to come. Things to come. Now remember, this is the Lord
instructing His apostles in the way of salvation. The last words.
He will show you things to come." Now, this may have immediate
reference as it's spoken to the apostles of writing Holy Scripture
in the days to come. Matthew was an apostle. He was
also used of God to pen the gospel we know by, we call it the Book
of Matthew. And here we're reading the words
of John. God, the Holy Spirit, used John
to record these words. And we have the writings of Peter,
the writings of James, and the writing of Paul. Our God is saying
that the Holy Spirit will show you and reveal unto you things
that you should write about in the days to come. All Scripture is God-given. But
it also has application to the elect. Also has application to
us. He will show us things to come.
things to come. Now, what are these things to
come that God the Holy Spirit will teach us from the Word of
God? Well, we could look at many things,
but let's just mention a few. He will show us and reveal unto
us that this earth is temporary. He said heaven and earth is going
to pass away. And I'm going to make a new heaven
and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. He will show us
the end of this world as we know it. And then he'll make a new
heaven and a new earth. wherein we shall dwell with him
and enjoy him forever. He will also show us the Lord's
glorious return. You remember he said, I go away
to prepare a place for you, and if I go away, I will come again
and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be
also. He will show us of the end of this world and of the
new heaven and the new earth. He'll show us the Lord's glorious
return. He'll show us and teach us about
the resurrection of all believers, a resurrection like unto His
glorious resurrection. He'll show us of the eternal
judgment of the wicked. God judgeth no man, but hath
committed all judgment unto the Son. He'll show us of that final
submission of every rebel unto God, of which He said, every
knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord to the glory of God the Father, and He will show us these
things to come, the eternal enjoyment and blessedness of every believer
in glory. Let's turn over here to Revelation
21 and read about it. In Revelation 21, verse 4, He'll
show us things to come. He said, Revelation 21 verse
4, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall
be no more death, no more sin, neither sorrow, no crying, neither
shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed
away. And he that sat upon the throne
said, behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, write
for these words are faithful and true. And he said to me,
it is done. It is done. I'm Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is
thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Freely
will I give a new heaven and a new earth. I will show you
things to come. Now, in regards to our future,
to the believer, we have no need to fear the future, do we? He's going to show us. He's revealed
unto us everything that's to come. He's given it to us in
the book. We have no need to fear the future. Every believer is secure in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's able to save us. To the
uttermost, all that come to God by Him. He's able to keep us
from falling. He's able to present us before
the presence of God's glory with exceeding joy, faultless in His
sight. We have no need to fear the future. You see, we're in Him. He is
the future. Now look at verse 14, back at
our text. God, the Holy Spirit, His ministry.
What He does for us and in us. John 16, Luke verse 14. I believe this is the key right
here. He shall glorify Christ. The ministry of the Holy Spirit
is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. For He shall receive
of mine and He'll show it. He'll reveal it. Give it unto
you. Now here we have the Holy Spirit's
chief office. His paramount purpose. His principal
business. What is it? It's not to make
you feel better. Although He's called the Comforter
that will comfort us, but even in that comfort, He comforts
us with Christ, doesn't He? The paramount purpose and principal
business and the chief office of God the Holy Spirit, as it
said in verse 14, is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
the gospel of God is all about the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ,
isn't it? This is the determining factor
of all preaching and of all ministry. We can tell if a man is preaching
the gospel of God's truth or not by this very fact right here. Who gets the glory? The determining factor of all
preaching in every ministry is this, who gets the glory? The
creature or the Creator? Man, the sinner, or the Lord
Jesus Christ? Run by every message, every ministry,
every church, the bottom line, who gets the glory? What we read
in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 31, As it is written, He that
glorieth, let him glory only in the Lord. You see, that's
the bottom line. Who gets the glory? The glory
is not about the church. The glory is not about the sinner.
The glory is not even about the Holy Spirit. It's all about the
glory of Christ. No wonder the Song of the Eternal
Ages in Revelation 5, remember reading it? Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain to receive all honor, glory, and blessing, both
now and forever. And everybody said, Amen, so
be it. You see, the center and main
object of all worship is the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
No wonder David said, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but
unto thine own name be all the honor. and glory both now and
forever. You see, God the Holy Spirit
does not glorify himself nor magnify his gifts or inspire
men to seek salvation in the Holy Spirit. I know there's a
big movement in the Pentecostal church about speaking in tongues.
That's evidence, they say that's evidence that you have the Holy
Spirit. It's not at all. Not at all. You see, God the Holy Spirit
inspires men to seek salvation in Christ, not in gifts. He glorifies
the Lord Jesus Christ, speaks of Christ, reveals Christ, enables
believers to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Taking the things of Christ and
showing them unto us. God the Holy Spirit enthrones
the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts. Now, how can you tell
if God the Holy Spirit has been exalted and enthroned in your
heart? I want to know, don't you? I
want to know. I don't want to be deceived and
hear the Lord say on that day of judgment, depart from me,
I don't know you. I want to know now. Can we know
now? Yes, we can. Turn over here to
Psalm 34. Here's what the believer says
in his heart. Not unto us, not unto us, but
unto Thy Name do we give glory for Thy mercy, for Thy true sake.
Psalm 34. I will bless the Lord at all
times. Verse 1. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. My soul shall make her joy, my
soul shall make her boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear
thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me. and let us exalt His name together. Can you say with the Apostle
Paul, we are the true Israel, which worship God in the Spirit,
that rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have no confidence
in the flesh? God, the Holy Spirit, enthrones
the Lord Jesus Christ in our heart, causes us to love Him,
to bow before Him, to believe Him, and to honor Him in all
things." Now, look what it says over here in verse 14 again.
John 16, verse 14, "...He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive
of Mine, He shall receive of Mine, and show it unto you."
What Christ has done, is doing, and will do, is the theme of
all Holy Spirit preaching. This is preaching in the demonstration
of the Spirit, talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
all and in all. The whole book of God, the testimony
of God, is all about salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let
me show you a scripture over here in 2 Peter 1. 2 Peter 1.
About the Word of God. 2 Peter 1 verse 19. 2 Peter 1. Verse 20 is the verse I want.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of men, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit. You see, this whole book you
hold in your hand is God given by God the Holy Spirit. And the
message of this book is, according to what the Lord Jesus Christ
said, to Him give all the prophets witness. Now, turn back to John
16. Look at verse 15. All things. John 16, 15. You see verse 15? All things. All things. Our Lord said, all things that
the Father has, they're mine. They're mine. Therefore said
I that he shall, that is God the Holy Spirit, he shall take
the things of mine and show them unto you. He takes the things
of Christ, God the Holy Spirit, and reveals them unto us. God
the Father has given all things into the hands of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Turn back to John chapter 3.
John chapter 3, all things, that's a key phrase in scripture, all
things. Look at John 3.35. John 3.35,
the Father loveth the Son. That is, God the Father loves
the Son. He said, This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased, and hath given all things into His
hand. Now, God's not in our hand. No,
sir. We're in His hand. All things
are in His hand. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. He will teach you all things
that we need to know. All things. Now he says this
several times here. Look at John chapter 14 verse
26. John 14 verse 26. He'll teach
you, reveal unto you, take the things of mine and show them
unto you. John 14, 26. But the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance. Again, in chapter 15, verse 26, When the Comforter is come, whom
I will send from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which
proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me." So He'll
take the all things given unto the Son as a mediator. Now what
is included in the all things that the Father has that belong
unto the Lord Jesus Christ? All things includes this, all
things in creation, created all things by the Word of His power,
all things in providence, And all things in salvation are given
unto the Lord Jesus Christ. They're in His hands. All things
in redemption were redeemed with the precious blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Redemption is a work of His hands. All things in righteousness,
the Lord Jesus Christ, through His faithful obedience unto the
Father, has provided a perfect, justifying righteousness for
us by His doing. with his hand. You see, all things
are given unto his hand in redemption and in righteousness. He is the
Lord, our righteousness. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord imputeth righteousness without works. You see, the righteousness
we enjoy is not my obedience, it's his obedience. All things
in righteousness are in his hand. All things in reconciliation
Our sin caused a great separation, didn't it? And Adam all died. How can we be reconciled unto
God? Only one way. That is in the
Lord Jesus Christ. God was in Christ reconciling
us unto Himself by His redeeming blood. Turn over here to Colossians
chapter 1 for just a moment. Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1 says in
verse 19, Colossians 1, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead.
For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell,
having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to
reconcile all things unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes
alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath
He reconciled." You see, reconciliation is the work that He does. Reconciliations
in His hand, in the body of His flesh through death, to present
you holy, unblameable, and reprovable in His sight. All things in redemption
are in His hand. All things in righteousness are
in His hand. All things in reconciliation.
You mean salvation totally out of my hand? That's what I'm saying. Salvation by His hand, not mine. His doing. His righteousness,
not mine. All things in regeneration, sanctified
by God the Holy Spirit, which leads us to believe the truth. If you're sanctified by God the
Holy Spirit, it causes us to believe the truth, the true gospel,
the only gospel of His grace and glory in Christ Jesus. All
things in His resurrection, all things in His resurrection glory
are in His hand. Look at verse 16, John 16, verse
16. A little while, and you shall
not see Me. After He died for our sin, they
buried His body. You shall not see Me. And again,
a little while, three days, and you shall see Me. Because I go
back. I don't stay dead. I go back
to the Father. Delivered far off fences and
raised again because He justified us. Christ's resurrection from
the dead declares unto us that all He did was successful and
accepted of God. And because of His resurrection,
you know what? We have a resurrection too, in
Him. He said, I am He that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys
of hell and death. His presence in glory assures
and guarantees the presence of every believer already seated
in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, Ephesians chapter 2. You see,
the things that glorify Christ are all the things that are in
Christ. And that's what God the Holy
Spirit takes, the things of Christ, and shows them unto you. Christ
is all and in all. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in Christ we stand complete." Now,
in closing, has God the Holy Spirit enthroned
the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart? In your heart? Has He
brought you to His feet to bow to His sovereign throne? Has
He broken your heart Has He brought you to love and esteem the Lord
Jesus Christ above all things? Has He brought you to rest in
Him alone and made you to know that you're complete in Him?
Has He brought you to see in Christ all the glory of God revealed
in the Lord Jesus Christ? Has He brought you to glory only
in Christ? As Paul said, God forbid us to
glory save in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now if that's happened
in you, it is because of the work of God
the Holy Spirit in your heart. Because men by nature, they love
darkness, not light. If you're a lover of the Lord
Jesus Christ, If you take your place as a guilty sinner before
His sovereign throne as a mercy beggar, it's only because God
the Holy Spirit has invaded your heart, your life, your mind,
your thoughts, and made you a new creature in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, every believer is a
Spirit-filled believer. The Holy Spirit abides in us,
and it causes us to love Him. and bow unto him.