The Positive Mission and Job Description of the Holy Spirit

John 16:7-11 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; And of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

In the above text, Jesus is listing the job description of the Holy Spirit after the Cross. Something I missed for years in the reading of the passage, is that the Holy Spirit is not convicting believers of their sin.

Three roles of the Holy Spirit

On closer examination, Jesus lists the three roles the Spirit will do to three distinct groups of people.

1. To the unbelievers, the Holy Spirit convicts them of ONE sin, the sin of unbelief in Christ (v 9).
2. To the believer, the Holy Spirit will convict them of their righteousness (v 10).
3. And lastly, to the prince of this world, Satan, the Holy Spirit reminds him of his judgement (v 11).

This goes back to a technique that tutors and teachers used when called upon to mentor young members of a Royal Family. In the dark ages, the teacher knew that if they scolded the child for their mistakes, the child would simply say “Off with their head!”. Then the teacher would be executed.

So instead, when the young Lord made a mistake, the teacher would always point to their identity as royalty, and say something like “That behaviour is beneath a King.”

This method is both encouraging and edifying. The statement suggests that the young Lord is capable of better. It  also reminds him of who he really is, and, as such, who he will someday be.

In the same way, God in his wisdom has decided to train his children in the same manner, reminding us that we are His righteousness, sons of God and joint heirs with Christ. That truth doesn’t change, even when we do wrong. In fact, it is when we do wrong, the Holy Spirit will remind us of it.

4 thoughts on “The Positive Mission and Job Description of the Holy Spirit”

  1. The H/S continue to convict belivers of sin and of righteousness, in order to instruct , teach, correct and guide them into truth, for sin is always striving to regain control over us READ( ROMAN 8).

    Reply
    • Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. The Spirit always points to our new identity as Righteous. The only sin the Holy Spirit can convict us of, is not trusting in Jesus in a particular area of our lives,for our health, ministry, family, etc. There is nothing to support otherwise.

      Reply
  2. Thanks for what you’re doing but I want you to help me on these doctrines what does the Bible teach?:
    1. Is the Holy Spirit God?
    2. Where is the kingdom of God going to be?
    3. Are souls mortal and did Jesus die?
    4. What does the Bible teach about hell?
    5. When is the resurrection?

    Reply
    • The doctrine of the Triune Nature of God is not an easy one to explain, as it’s a Mystery. The Short answer, is yes, the Holy Spirit is equally God, as much as The Son, and The Father. I’d suggest you read GCI’s article on this subject for more indepth study. https://www.gci.org/articles/the-deity-of-the-holy-spirit/

      The Kingdom of God is Spiritual (Romans 14:17) and not of this World, (John 18:36). The Kingdom was established in the Heavenly Jerusalem, and since the Time of Jesus Christ, Heaven and Earth have been joined in Union in Christ, and it has been growing in the Earth. It is not a literal kingdom, but it is reflected in the restoration of all things, until the time of the End.

      The word for Soul, there is much debate, because there were two camps of understanding in ancient Israel referring to the Soul. In one camp, the word Soul is often used to describe the internal organs of a person. So many of the destruction passages about the Soul, are generally referring to bodly destruction. The Second camp, referred to the Soul as the life essence of the person, as described in the Story of Elijah raising the widow’s son from the Dead.

      King James Bible 1 Kings 17:22, And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

      There is no clear answer, just debate.

      Similarly, on the subject of Hell, there is no one Biblical teaching on hell. There are three interpretations of the verses, which produce variations on one of the three views, Eternal Concious Torment, Annihilationism and Universalism. There are verses that seem to suggest all three. A person who believes in Eternal Concious Torment, is not any more biblical, than the other views, they simply choose to believe the Concious Torment verses as most clear and interpret the other verses from that understanding. The Annihilationist does the same thing with the Annihilation passages, and the Universalist does the same thing for the Universalist passage.

      They all believe in Hell, it is that the Annihilationist and the Eternal Concious Torment believers, think that hell is retributive, while the Universalist believes Hell is restorative. There is No Correct answer, just a subjective interpretation. For more, about all three views, http://www.hellboundthemovie.com/resources/

      Lastly, the issue of the Resurrection is tricky. There was a first resurrection when Jesus came out of the Grave, where he brought Humanity back to Spiritual Life.

      Colossians 2:13  ¶And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him [Christ at the Resurrection], having forgiven you all trespasses;

      As for the Second Resurrection, there is only debate. The problem is, that the language used to describe the Resurrection in scriptures is often used in a symbolic language, often referring to nations coming back from the dead, as was the case with Ezekiel talking to the dead bones in Ezekiel 37. So Another resurrection can be referring to the the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16), talking about the Church that has come out after the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.

      The Physical Resurrection, most likely would happen at the time Paul referred to as “The End”, when Jesus returns the Creation to the Father.

      1 Corinthians 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

      There are no right or wrong answers on many of these subjects, only Debate. I hope you enjoy the study!

      Reply

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