Your ‘Divine Advantage’
John 16:7-15
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
In this passage we see a number of key areas in which the Holy Spirit gives you a divine advantage you’re your life and witness. If ever you have needed an advantage it is now, and God has given you one in the person of the Holy Spirit. His ministry in your life should not be seen as an ‘after market’ accessory, but rather as vitally central. The time for a casual approach to His ministry in the modern church is long gone.
Let’s therefore look at each of the following things the Holy Spirit does:
- He convicts the world of sin
- Guides you into all truth
- Shows you things to come
- Glorifies Jesus in your life.
To Convict (or Convince) the World of Sin, Righteousness and Judgment
First, the Holy Spirit works with you in your witness in word and deed to convince people of their need for Jesus. In this context, sin may be defined as refusing to accept Jesus as the solution to all root problems or ‘sins’. When you tell someone about Jesus, you provide the witness through what you say and do to demonstrate God’s goodness in Christ, and the Holy Spirit does the convicting.
When Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius’ household one day, the Holy Spirit was there to help him convict the hearers of their need for Jesus.
Acts 10:44
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
Learn to leave the convicting up to the Holy Spirit. Simply speak of and demonstrate God’s love, and leave the convincing up to the Him. Only He can change people’s hearts and give them a heart of flesh receptive to God’s ways (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Only He can regenerate them, (Titus 3:3-7), and make their hearts brand new. If you ‘overplay’ your part, you get in the Holy Spirit’s way.
Second, the Holy Spirit works with and in you to convince the world of righteousness. Righteousness simply means to be right with God. It is a gift from Jesus through the Holy Spirit that must be received in the ‘soil’ of your heart and cannot be earned by self effort.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
As a follower of Christ you live your life from a position of righteousness, not towards one. The Holy Spirit must convince you of this liberating spiritual truth.
Romans 5:17
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
When your heart is seeded with righteousness, you can now grow and produce righteous fruit. You begin to live right because you are in right standing (righteous).
Allow the Holy Spirit to convince you that in Christ you are righteous, and begin enjoying living life with a cleansed spiritual conscience.
Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
You will grow in leaps and bounds when you trust God enough to acknowledge every good thing in you.
Philemon 1:6
…that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
The third area the Holy Spirit has been given to convince us of, is that satan has already been judged! He’s been found to be sorely lacking: a liar, thief and murderer (John 10:10). In contrast, Jesus came to give us life and has been raised from the dead and declared the victor in the cosmic battle for the souls of men.
Yet, it still remains true that what you don’t know can hurt you! Like the proverbial little old lady who died in a small cold apartment, not having opened the attorney’s letter mailed to her many years before stating that she had inherited a fortune, we too can live and die without enjoying our ‘divine advantage’.
Every believer needs convincing that satan is defeated, because circumstances around us seem to portray the opposite.
Colossians 2:15-16
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He took the keys (authority) of life and death from satan (Revelations 1:18 / Matthew 28:18), even going so far as to delegate authority to the church on earth to enforce satan’s defeat
Matthew 16:19
“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
The same Jesus, who lives in your heart today by the Holy Spirit, has been seated (in a position of authority) far above any demonic entity. All things are under His feet and by association, they are below our feet too! Only the Holy Spirit can convince you of this powerful revelation.
Ephesians 1:19-23
…and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Sin or satan no longer has dominion over you, and the Holy Spirit has been given to convince you that satan has been judged, is to be resisted and crushed under your feet by the God of peace!
Romans 16:19-20
For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly…
To Guide You Into all Truth
Another ministry of the Holy Spirit to the world and especially the believer is to guide us into all truth. The ‘all’ truth talked about here refers to matters that pertain to your own life. In order to fulfill God’s will in your life you cannot afford to ‘blindsided’ by ignorance of what is relevant to you. You must know ‘all’ things and only the Holy Spirit can cause you to know, understand and apply this truth in your life.
Regarding truth, people have argued what it is over the ages, but when the Holy Spirit convinces you, the matter is settled! The Bible says that Jesus is the “truth’ (John 14:6).
The Holy Spirit is the ‘Spirit of Truth’, so there is a witness that can be enjoyed in your heart as to the truth in any situation. Learn to yield to the Holy Spirit who guides you into all the truth.
John 16:13
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth
In a later chapter we look at more of how the Holy Spirit guides you, speaking of and confirming what He hears from Jesus and the Father.
To Show You Things To Come
God knows your future and what is required of you today in order to ensure that you step into His plan for you. He has given you the Holy Spirit to show you things to come, so that you can prepare. Life does not just happen. Tomorrow is a product of choices you make today. The Holy Spirit is here to give you prophetic insight into your future by showing you ‘things to come’.
In my experience, my wife and I spent a year preparing our hearts (and circumstances) before we made a moved our family across the world from our native land in Africa. The Holy Spirit had shown us in our hearts that change was coming, and we began preparing.
Become still and allow Him to give you the ‘divine advantage’ of His perspective of where things are going (or should go) in your life. Then make choices that propel you towards that future and hope.
To Glorify Jesus in Your Life
When you allow the Holy Spirit to control your life, the result will be that you will glorify Jesus. The Holy Spirit loves to glorify Jesus in what you say and do. You are Christ’s representative on earth, and in order to accurately portray God’s nature and will to your fellow man, you need the Holy Spirit’s help. The way you speak, what you speak and also what you do, and how you react in different situations, either glorifies Christ or it does not.
When you are born again the Holy Spirit indwells your spirit and helps you produce ‘fruit.’
To Produce Fruit in Your Life
John 15:5-8
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
In this passage the connection between Jesus (the vine) and you and me (the branches) is clear. We are to bear fruit in proportion to the degree to which we abide in Him. To ‘abide’ means to make it our practice to yield to the Word of God that the Holy Spirit illuminates to us. You bring glory when you bear fruit out of your human spirit indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He does not bear the fruit, you do. He helps you make right choices, say the right things at the right time, hold back from this or that etc.
The ‘fruit of the spirit’ that are described in the book of Galatians are a product of the interaction of your newly recreated spirit and the Holy Spirit who now lives within your heart.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.
If it were all up to the Holy Spirit to produce fruit, without any cooperation, obedience and sacrifice on your behalf, then why the instruction earlier on to ‘walk in the Spirit’ (Vs 16), that is, make a commitment to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading?
Your life in the Spirit is like a ‘divine dance’ with the Holy Spirit’s hand in yours, leading you across the dance floor in a heavenly waltz. He takes a step, and you follow in unison. Harmony in this divine romance comes with time as you learn to yield to His ways.
On another note, if you want to know whether the Holy Spirit is in control of a ‘Holy Spirit meeting’, check to see whether Jesus is exalted. If a man, movement, or anyone else is, then put a question mark over that meeting.
Take Hold of Your Advantage!
It is to your advantage that the Holy Spirit now lives within you. Learn to live with an expectancy of the Holy Spirit’s ministry within your heart.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Remember the words of Jesus:
John 14:16-17
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
The Holy Spirit lives within the heart of every believer and must be cooperated with to enjoy the ‘divine advantage’ God wants to give you in every area of your life.