1. What in the World is the Spirit Doing? Chapter 4 John 15:18 – 16:16

2. Two Themes in the passages: The opposition of the world against the church and the ministry of the Spirit to and through the church. In John 15:9-13, Jesus talked about love but in this present passage he warned about hatred. He used the word 7 times. Hatred from the religious people persecution & killing (Matt. 5:10-12, 44; 10:16-23; 23:34-35) Resentment >hatred>open opposition toward Jesus We must live in a hostile world and face continued opposition. How? The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

3. The Holy Spirit in our lives The Holy Spirit is a person (He); He has a mind ( Rom. 8:27); has a will (I Cor. 12:11); and emotional feelings (Gal. 5:22-23) Trinity in John 15:26 We are to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), worship in the Spirit (Phil. 3:3), and witness in the spirit (Acts 1:8). Threefold Ministry of the Holy Spirit The Spirit as comforter encourages The church (15:18-16:14) “The world”:

4. “The created world” – John 1:10 The world of humanity John 3:16 Society apart from God and opposed & God to the world system Involves all the people, plans, organizations, philosophers, values, etc. We must be careful not to love the world (I John 2:15-17) or conform to the world (Rom. 12:1-2) Progress in the world’s opposition: Hatred (John 15:18-19), persecution (15:20), excommunication and even death (John 16:2).

5. Why the World system hates the Christians? We are identified with Christ (John 15:18-20) If they hate Jesus, they will hate Christians. When God’s people are suffering, Jesus enters into our suffering for He is the Head of the body and we are the members. We don’t belong to the world (15:19) We are in Christ and out of the world; in the world physically, but not of the world spiritually. The world system functions on the basis of conformity (Romans 12:12) New creation (II Cor. 5:3); not want to live “old life” (I Pet 4:1-4); light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16); salt of the earth.

6. The World is spiritually ignorant & blind (15:21) They (the religious leaders) didn't know God (John 16:3, 8:19) Satan blinded their minds (II Cor. 4:3-4) Sin blinded their hearts (Eph. 4:17-19) The World will not be honest about its own sin (15:22-24; 16:1-4) They had seen His works and heard His world, but they would not admit the truth.

7. Blind man healed (John 9) They were sinning against the Light, because the light revealed their own sin and they didn’t want to face their sin honestly “For this they willingly are ignorant” (II Peter 3:5) How does the Holy Spirit encourage the believers facing the hatred & opposition of the world? Primarily through the Word of God The Spirit also witnesses to us and through us during the times of persecution (John 15:26- 27)

8. “Fellowship of his sufferings” (Phil. 3:10) Privilege to bear His name Times of persecution have always been the times of proclamation and witness for the church. We must be ready always to give our answer (I Peter 3:15) Spirit witnesses to us so we can witness to the world (Mark 13:11) No clear witness without the power of God (Acts 1:8)

9. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church – Tertullian Their blood is the stain on the pages of history. The Spirit as Reprover Witnesses throughout the church (16:5-11) Jesus explained He needed to return to the Father. Holy Spirit might come to empower the church for life and witness. Jesus would be able to intercede for His people to the heavenly throne of grace

10. Spirit comes to the church, not to the world He works in and through the church Our bodies are His temples and tools Reprove means to bring to light to expose, to connect and convince; pronounce the verdict Believers are the witnesses and the Holy Spirit is the prosecuting attorney, and the unsaved are the guilty prisoners. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of one particular sin, unbelief.

11. The law of God and the conscience of man will convict the sinner of his sins, but it is the Holy Spirit to expose the unbelief through the witness of the believers. The Holy Spirit convicts the sinner of righteousness, not unrighteousness The righteousness of Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God. The Spirit reveals the Savior as the Word and glorifies Him (John 16:13-14) The Spirit also reveals the lives of the believers The world cannot receive or see the Spirit, but they can see what He does through the believers.

12. The Spirit convicts the lost of judgment Referring to the judgment of Satan, that was effected by His death on the cross. Satan has already been judged and the sentence will be executed when Jesus returns No conversion without confections; no conviction without the Spirit apart from God’s Word and the witness of the child of God. Witnessing is a great privilege and a serious responsibility. The Spirit as Teachers guides the Church (John 16:12-15)

13. The Spirit teaches us the truth we need to know when we read them and are ready to receive them. The Spirit reminds us of what Jesus had taught them. The Spirit will guide us into all truth The Spirit of God is never apart from Jesus or the Word of God “He shall testify of me” (15:24) “He shall glorify Me” (16:14)

14. Jesus is the truth (14:6) The word is the truth (17:17) The Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (17:17) The Spirit does not speak of himself Trinity in John 16:13, He doesn’t speak apart from the Father and Son. It’s the ministry of Spirit enriching us with God’s truth He enlightens us with God’s truth

15. We study God’s Word to see Jesus Christ, to know God better, and to glorify Him in our lives and not to argue religious or boast of our understanding of spiritual things. It’s our job to witness and the Spirit’s job to convict. Instead of being a prosecuting lawyers or judges, be a faithful witness.