There is a proverbial old tale about three blind men describing an elephant. One describes the elephant as a tree trunk because of its massive legs. Another describes it as a snake because of its trunk. And the third describes the elephant as a broom because of its tail. Each description relies on a point of intersection for understanding. Writing about the Holy Spirit invites the same problem since it is difficult to summarize His work in one or two words. When Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit in John 16, He identified five works of the Spirit.
In continuing to comfort and guide His disciples before they left the upper room, Jesus said – “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.” (John 16:5–15, NLT)
Jesus does give us a single word to understand the work of the Holy Spirit, “parakletos.” Essentially that means an advocate, comforter, or intercessor. But we could also use words like guide, mentor, and teacher. In this passage, Jesus identifies six features of this advocacy.
The Holy Spirit will convict the world of its sin. For most Christ-followers, that is our first encounter with the Holy Spirit as we feel that conviction of our own sin. We often want to play that role, but it is better if we allow the Holy Spirit to convict while we declare that God has made the way to resolve that internal conflict.
The second work of the advocate is confirming God’s righteousness. And more specifically, the availability of that righteousness to sinners through Christ. Paul wrote, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13–14, NASB95)
The third work of the advocate is affirming the coming judgment. It may seem odd to say, but there is an aspect of comfort in this work of the Spirit. God does see and has already judged the ruler of this world. God is not blind to the many injustices we see and experience, and they are already judged.
The fourth work Jesus identifies is that of a teacher as the Spirit guides us into all truth. It’s important to recognize that we don’t have all the answers but that we rely on the Spirit to guide us. In education, we often speak of individualized education plans (IEP) for those struggling in some way. The Spirit seems to have an IEP for each one of us. Christ-followers are all heading in the same direction, but our journeys are unique.
The fifth work Jesus identified is that the Spirit will give us glimpses into what is yet to come. I do not believe that we’ll understand the future in all of its fullness. But that He will give us glimpses of what may be around the corner or is way off in the distance.
In the sixth and final work of the Spirit, Jesus identified bringing Christ glory. That final work is a vital test for us to determine if something is of the Holy Spirit or some other spirit. Does it give Christ Glory? Does it point folks to Jesus?
The Holy Spirit is a vital part of our walk with Christ. But the many aspects of His mission make it difficult to reduce this work to a single word or phrase. So let’s remember that there may be more to the Holy Spirit than we’ve experienced. We may have only touched a part, but there is a much larger whole yet to encounter.
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