16:5 thru 16:16 (Mar 23)

There has been a fair amount in John's gospel to this point about the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. The Spirit gives rebirth for the believer (John 3:6); the Spirit enables the believer to worship (John 4:24); the Spirit is God's presence with the believer, living with them and in them (John 14:15); the Spirit teaches the believer and reminds them of the Word of God (John 14:26, v16:13).

Here, Jesus teaches that the Spirit works in the world as well as in the life of the believer: "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" (v16:8). This is critical for us Christians to understand. Convicting the world of their guilt and sinfulness is *not our job*. It is the job of the Holy Spirit. As was stated in 15:27, our job is to *testify*. Trying to make someone see and understand their sin is going beyond what we are commanded to do.

Verse 9 is a beautiful little verse. Again, the principle of John 3:16 is restated, although indirectly here. A person's sin is equated to unbelief in Jesus. Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. A person who dies in their sin is condemned, ultimately, through unbelief.

Final thought is the truth in verse 14: "[The Holy Spirit] will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you". How does the Spirit's guiding the believer into truth and revealing things bring glory to Jesus? I think this brings glory to God because it is what we were *meant for* - being in intimiate relationship with Him. I believe that a person who is fully alive, walking with God, seeking His will, and listening for the quiet voice of the Spirit is living as God intended. And this brings glory to God! Almighty God, I am not there most of the time. I ask you to fill me with your Spirit so that I can truly live and have true fellowship with You. And in so doing, bring glory to You. And give me the strength to defeat the enemy, who seeks to destroy our fellowship.