The Holy Spirit is Your Friend!

“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 go, I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…” (Jn. 16:7-8)

You will find these verses above to be red letter in your bible – meaning that it was Jesus Himself that said them. He was teaching His disciples about the person and work of the Holy Spirit just hours before He would be lifted up on a cross while bearing the weight of all sin on His shoulders. Listen; when Jesus said to His disciples that it was to their advantage that He would go because then the Holy Spirit would come He was not exaggerating in the slightest. As followers of Jesus it is important that we comprehend why!

“the Helper...”

The bottom line is that the Holy Spirit has been given to us in order to help us – which is great news! His willingness to help us in everything is beyond measure; He simply waits for our surrender.

“He will convict the world…”

Jesus goes on to describe three aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our life. Don’t be troubled by the word convict, it simply means that He will convince us of certain truths about God. The Holy Spirit is in the business of persuasion, not accusation. There is one who sits in the seat of accusation, and I assure you that our God is not him (Rev. 12:10, Jn. 3:17).

1. First, the Holy Spirit desires to convince us that sin is destructive – it is deadly. This is a foundational revelation of the Old Testament: that the wages of our sin is death. This persuasion of the destructiveness of sin is the only way that you and I could become aware of our need for a Savior! Praise God for the persuasiveness of the Holy Spirit concerning sin!

2. Second, the Holy Spirit makes it His mission to convince you of your righteousness – your right standing before God through Christ. The realization that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21) is just as supernatural as the realization that you were once lost. Many believers are so conscious of their old sinful nature that they refuse to embrace the truth that they have been declared righteous! The nature of sin is to always cling to hopelessness and shame; it always gravitates downward, never upward. That is the disposition of the mind that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit. If this describes the way you think about yourself, now is the time to surrender to the righteous persuasion of the Holy Spirit!

3. Lastly, the Holy Spirit has been sent to continually remind us that the ruler of this world (Satan; Jn. 12:31, Jn. 4:30) has been judged - that Satan has been crushed under the feet of Jesus! He is an outlaw and no longer has authority over our lives. Come on, that is good news! Thank you Holy Spirit for convincing us of the demise of our enemy!

All this being said, the Holy Spirit is your friend and you have no reason to be afraid of Him. He has been given to help you to live victorious in Christ. The abundant life that Jesus promised can be yours through an intimate friendship with God, the Holy Spirit.