Better Off Without Him?

March 6

Read: John 16:1-15

Better Off Without Him?

“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.” - Jesus, v.7

More often than not, many Christians think we would be better off if Jesus had remained here with us in the flesh. This makes Jesus’ own words seem somewhat odd… because he says to us: “it is to your advantage that I go away”. As crazy as this may sound, it is actually MORE BENEFICIAL for us as Christ followers for Jesus to have bodily ascended and left the earth in his bodily form. what we receive - the Holy Spirit (“Helper”) and the indwelling presence of Jesus in his immaterial form - is better than having him here now in the flesh. Too often we see our current situation / set up as a concession instead of an “advantage”.

When God “pours out his Spirit on all flesh” ,we receive the communicative, indwelling presence of the Lord. (cf. Acts 2:17-21) His Spirit speaks with our Spirit and guides us as his children. What is intriguing though is what the scriptures says the Spirit will do. Look back at verse v.7b,8 :

“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: 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.”

What may seem a little odd is that the Spirit comes to us, but the Spirit also has a work that it is doing in the world! The Lord is working in the world through us as his people. The Spirit of God works in and through the people of God to cultivate belief in Jesus, live as example of righteousness, and to put the ruler of this world into his place! This is the very description that Jesus himself gives. He describes the Spirit convicting the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgement through the Spirit placed in his people. The Lord is transforming the world through the work of the Holy Spirit in us as his children. In short - the Spirit comes to us and does work in both us and them.

What exactly does this look like for us? For instance, it says that the “Holy Spirit will convict about sin because they do not believe in Jesus.” (v.9) Some how the Spirit of God coming to us will work in us regarding sin in such a way that it will cause others who do not already believe in Jesus to start to believe. In this example we see that the Holy Spirit is not just making people feel bad about sin… producing guilt or remorse… but is also doing something in the people of God concerning sin that causes the world to begin to believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God. The ways that the Spirit of God empowers us and guides us…. giving us victory over sin … is as much a part of “convicting the world” as is making the world feel guilty about sin. The same idea becomes clear in verse 10: “concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.” The Holy Spirit demonstrates “righteousness” in the absence of Jesus’ earthly body by leading US as the people of God into righteous living. We become the “stand ins” for Jesus in this world. This progression makes it’s final stop in the fact that the Spirit of God convicts “concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” To be judged here is to be put into the correct place ; “to preside over with the power of giving judicial decisions, because it was the prerogative of kings and rulers to pass judgment” as Strong’s defines it. Simply put, the Holy Spirit will put the devil in his place through the people of God. The children of God will be used to put into check the ruler of this world that once roamed free one this earth to stir up rebellion against God Most High.

This is the work of God’s people in this world. This is the sort of work that has to happen through the indwelling presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit… particularly the Spirit of God in this case. Jesus says so! It is hard to grasp sometimes that it is “to our advantage” to live here and now with the Spirit of God within us. It may seem like having Jesus here in the body would be the better of the two options, but this is simply not true… take HIS word for it. Someday we will exist with BOTH the physical presence of Jesus as well as his indwelling presence. For now, the world NEEDS believers who are willing to be used by the Spirit of God to “convict concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgement.” This is so much more than just trying to heap on guilt, it is actually a transformation that takes places in us that impacts the world around us. This is the way. Love you guys! - JDP