When the Helper Comes...
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you
from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me. And you will also bear witness,
because you have been with Me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27).
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ!
Oh, to be there on that day! The Day of
Pentecost. A large multitude gathered from every nation under heaven. Rushing
wind, tongues of fire, speaking in other languages. So much excitement that
some could only imagine they must be drunk. Peter preaching boldly on the
fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.
As we gather here on this Day of Pentecost, we
don’t have that, do we? The assembly can hardly be called a crowd, let alone a
multitude. And we’re not exactly the poster child for diversity. Only one
person born outside the borders of the United States. One who speaks fluent (Portuguese)
Spanish, a few who can converse in German, and one or two who know a couple of
colorful expressions in Norwegian. The only air that’s moving comes from the
ceiling fans. The only fire from the candles on the altar. The preacher is not
nearly as impressive as St. Peter. And no one is calling the sheriff that we’re
disturbing the peace.
But we do have the promised Helper, the Holy
Spirit at work. Oh, certainly we are missing the wind, the tongues of fire, and
the miraculous ability to preach in other languages; but we do have Baptism,
the Word, and the Lord’s Supper. And it is in those means of grace that the Holy
Spirit does His work.
But don’t take my word for it. Let’s go back to
what our Lord says as He tells His disciples what the Holy Spirit will do:
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, he Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear
witness about Me. And you will also bear witness, because you have been with Me
from the beginning” (John 15:26-27). The first thing that Holy Spirit does is “bear
witness” about Jesus.
Note a couple of things before we move on. First,
we hear the glad news that the whole Trinity is working to save you, because
the Son sends the Spirit from the Father to bear witness.
Second, the Holy Spirit bears witness—not
“demonstrates,” for instance. We therefore conclude that the Holy Spirit
regularly works by the Word, not by signs and wonders. He can work such things
if He desires, but the absence of extraordinary sights does not mean He is
absent.
Third, we note that, when the Holy Spirit bears
witness, He bears witness about Jesus. The work of the Holy Spirit, in concert
with the Father and the Son, is to bear witness about the Savior—not about
Himself. Therefore, when the apostles bore witness, they spent little time on
the Holy Spirit. By the work of the Holy Spirit, they testified of Christ. This
is important for us to understand. The Holy Spirit desires to put the spotlight
on Jesus. If we unduly focus upon the Spirit instead of the Son, we are not
doing what the Holy Spirit would have us do.
The second action of the Holy Spirit is that He
comes to Jesus’ disciples. He comes because Jesus goes away. Jesus says: “I did
not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. Now I
am going to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You
going?’ But because I have said these
things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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” (John
16:4b-7).
Jesus tells His disciples that He is going
away, and this news pains them. Why? Because He is going to the Father by way
of the cross. He is fulfilling the plan of salvation. He is preparing the way
to the Father in heaven for all who believe in Jesus. Jesus speaks these words
at the Last Supper. His betrayal, suffering, death are all very near. And it is
because of His cross that He will send the Holy Spirit to them.
This tells us something significant. The work
of the Holy Spirit is linked with the death of Jesus for the sins of the world.
If Jesus did not go to the cross, the Holy Spirit would not come and work. Without
Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Spirit would have no means to work saving
faith. This reinforces what we learn elsewhere in Scripture, and in the rest of
our Gospel lesson. The work of the Holy Spirit, first and foremost, is to
deliver the forgiveness of sins won by Christ.
And this leads us to the third action of the
Holy Spirit: He convicts. “And when He comes, He will convict the world
concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do
not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and
you will see Me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world
is judged” (John 16:8-11).
The Holy Spirit convicts, and that conviction
has two meanings linked together. On the one hand, to convict is to convince by
producing evidence. A prosecutor seeks to convince a jury and convict a
criminal by displaying evidence. On the other hand, to convict is to pronounce
a verdict. The criminal isn’t officially convicted until the jury declares him
guilty. The Holy Spirit does both. He convicts by producing evidence of the
truth, and He convicts by declaring a verdict.
So, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin,
because on account of sin the world does not believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit
produces evidence in order to convince people that they are guilty of sin
before God. Exhibit A here is the Law of God in His holy Word, because the Law
shows us our sin and our need for a Savior. And only the Holy Spirit can
convict us that we are indeed poor miserable sinners, who justly deserve God’s
temporal and eternal punishment.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of
righteousness—because Jesus goes to His Father. He convinces us that the
righteous, sinless Son of God went to His Father by way of the cross. Having
triumphed over sin, death, and the devil, Jesus has returned to the Father in
glory.
The Holy Spirit convinces us that that righteous
Savior has suffered for our sins, and now gives us forgiveness and clothes us
in His righteousness so that we might be acceptable to God. The Holy Spirit’s
evidence for this is the Gospel. It is by the work of the Holy Spirit that the
Gospel is proclaimed, forgiveness is given, and faith is strengthened.
Hmmm… So far, the work of the Holy Spirit is
therefore to preach the Law and the Gospel, which sounds suspiciously like the
doctrine and practice of this congregation. And what is the third convicting
work of the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of judgment,
because the ruler of this world is judged. In other words, by Law and Gospel,
the Holy Spirit convicts by handing down the verdict. The ruler of this world,
the devil, is already defeated at the cross and sentenced to death—eternal
death. All those who refuse the forgiveness won by Christ face the same
verdict—“guilty”—and the same sentence of everlasting condemnation. However, it
is quite the opposite for those who hear His message of sin and righteousness
and, by the Spirit’s work, believe in Jesus. To them, the Holy Spirit announces
the verdict of “Not guilty”—forgiven for the sake of Jesus Christ. They will
have everlasting life.
And that, in a nutshell, is the work of the
Holy Spirit. He is sent from the Father to testify about the Son. He convicts
the world of sin by the Law and announces the redemption of Christ in the
Gospel. And as He gives the forgiveness of sins, the Holy Spirit also gives
faith to believe.
Given the Second Reading and the Gospel lesson
for this day, can we conclude that the Holy Spirit is at work here at Our
Saviour’s/St. John’s/Trinity? Absolutely! By the grace of God, we proclaim His
Law and His Gospel, and by these means the Holy Spirit is at work. By that same
Word, He works forgiveness and faith in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper—just as
He did among those early Christians in the book of Acts.
To those who ask, we gladly concede that the
Holy Spirit can do extraordinary things like tongues of fire or languages if He
desires; but His foremost work is to glorify Jesus and point to Him. If miraculous
signs or speaking in other languages don’t point to Christ and Him crucified,
it is safe to say they do not come from the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, we don’t especially miss rushing
winds or tongues of flame, for they do not give forgiveness of sins, life, and
salvation. Rather, given the Lord’s Word and Sacraments, we have far better
workings of the Spirit—for what could be more extraordinary than receiving
everlasting life?
On this Day of Pentecost, rejoice! As those
first Christians gathered around Word and Sacrament, so do we; in fact, to
ignore the means of grace and pursue the Holy Spirit elsewhere is to snub Him. Is
the Holy Spirit here? Most certainly. Does He desire more attention for Himself
and less for Jesus? Most certainly not! Our focus upon Christ and Him crucified
is certainly, and only, the work of the Holy Spirit. And that is why Pentecost
is so important, for apart from the Holy Spirit you would not be a Christian.
We live in a time when many deny such a thing
as absolute truth, and the veil of sin is too much to keep them from refuting
the absurdity of their position. Others still affirm that there is a right and
wrong. However, it is only by the Spirit’s work that you confess your
sinfulness and need for the forgiveness won by Christ at the cross.
It is only by the Holy Spirit that you believe
in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, for it is He who has called you by the
Gospel.
It is only by the Holy Spirit that you remain a
child of God, because He has gathered you into the Church and keeps you in the
one true faith—the faith of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen for you.
It only by the work of the Holy Spirit that you
can be sure that you are not forsaken, that Christ has redeemed you and will
deliver you.
It is only by the work of the Holy Spirit that
you have the confidence of eternal life; for though you grow weary, He
continues to call, gather, enlighten, sanctify, and keep you in the faith, so
that you may be raised from the dead to life everlasting.
It is only by the work of the Holy Spirit that
you have the comfort of knowing that He has made you one in Christ with those
who have gone before you in faith.
Apart from the Spirit, you have none of these
gifts. But by the Holy Spirit’s work, the kingdom of heaven is yours for the
sake of Jesus. You can be sure the Spirit is with you, because you know exactly
when and exactly where He works: In the Lord’s Word and Sacraments.
Thanks be to God, who for the sake of His Son
sends His Holy Spirit. For on this day, and each day, the Holy Spirit is at
work to convict you of your sin and Christ’s righteousness, so that, you might
repent and believe: For Jesus’ sake, you are forgiven for all of your sins.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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