“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”
John 16:7-11 NIV
Why did Jesus call the Holy Spirit “the Advocate”? Of all His titles and functions, Jesus chose this title, at this moment, for a reason.
“The Holy Spirit is called our advocate because he is sent to be a divine helper and defender, much like a lawyer in a court of law. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, or Paraclete, to come alongside believers to intercede for them, guide them, teach them, and comfort them in times of struggle or accusation. He acts as an advocate by defending believers against spiritual accusers, helping them understand God’s will, and reminding them of Jesus’s teachings.” (Source: Google)
Imagine what Jesus’ words of reassurance must have meant to His disciples at that moment! He kept speaking about leaving them. “Why now, Lord?” Just when things were hotting up…the Pharisees were at breaking point, so enraged by this man and His teaching, His miracles, and His exposure of their wicked hearts that their only hope of restoring their image was to get rid of Him…for good.
The disciples were well aware of the tension between the religious leaders and their Master. They needed Him more than ever at that moment. He was always so…well…in command of every situation. What would they do without Him?
Even if they didn’t understand what He meant at that moment, what He promised them was exactly what they needed…
First, they had a task to perform that was beyond them to achieve. How could they convince a rotten, corrupted world of people who hated God, did as they pleased, and loved their sin, to surrender themselves to Jesus as Lord? Jesus’ solution…the Holy Spirit! He would argue the case for Jesus internally…in the conscience of the unbeliever.
“When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin…”
Second, they needed an advocate to defend them. Get this! They were going to be left in a very hostile world, without Jesus! Every kind of abuse and accusation would be hurled at them, leaving them emotionally battered and bruised. They would not have the confidence and assurance of Jesus to take on their opponents with the Word, as Jesus did. The Advocate within them would constantly reassure them that, no matter what people may say about them, and even if they fell into sin, in Christ they were righteous.
“And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”
John 16:8 NLT
Although not clear in Jesus’ promise, there are three categories which Jesus addresses…the world of sin, the believer of righteousness, and the devil of judgment.
Why does the believer need to be convinced of righteousness? It is not the work of the Holy Spirit to accuse believers. The conscience is activated by God’s grace. Where once the conscience was dulled by sin, grace now operates to keep the believer in touch with God’s truth.
The believer does not need to have his nose rubbed in the dirt. He needs a greater motivation to live righteously, the righteousness of Jesus imputed to him by grace. It is the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit to keep our hearts aware of who we are in Christ.
Third, in the war against sin…the struggle against sin in the old nature and the sin the holds unbelievers captive, the disciples needed to know that they fought from victory, not for victory. The devil had already been judged snd now awaits his eternal sentence.
“And when he comes, he will convict…(the devil)…of the coming judgment.”
John 16:8 NLT
How significant that Jesus took care of the entire enterprise of the kingdom in the person and presence of the Holy Spirit in His disciples! They were not the cause of its success but the conduits through whom the Holy Spirit would administer the kingdom’s rule.
What Jesus taught them at that moment would give them the assurance and the impetus to be faithful because, under the Spirit’s guidance and control, they could not fail.