John 16:5-16
The Work of the Holy Spirit
5"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all 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. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
16"In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."
Chapters eleven through the end of The Gospel According to John is written about the final days of Jesus' life on earth...Here, Jesus teaches us about the Holy Spirit...In these passages, we get information on the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit...Jesus had promised sending His disciples the Holy Spirit earlier in John 14:15-31...Jesus tells His disciples that He is going away and going back to God...His disciples know that, He has explained, it is time for Him to leave (I do not think the disciples are sure where He is going, yet)...Knowing this, the disciples are filled with grief (Judas left the rest of the disciples as explained in chapter 13, verse 30)...
Jesus tells them it is for their good that He must go away...Death comes to those on earth...Jesus overcomes death...Unless He goes away, the Holy Spirit cannot come...But when Jesus leaves and ascends, the disciples will receive the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit coming is not an automatic, Jesus must leave, before His disciples will receive it (the Holy Spirit)...St. Luke also writes about the Holy Spirit in similar passages...Jesus tells the disciples that they will be clothed with the Holy Spirit after He has died in Luke 24:49...In the Acts 1:5-8, St. Luke tells us after Jesus has resurrected, that He will baptize the disciples with the Holy Spirit...The disciples will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them...When they receive the Holy Spirit (from Him), then they will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth...
After the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples, it will show the disciples what the world is really like...They will understand that the Holy Spirit will show them, how guilty this world is, when they are filled with the Holy Spirit...As one gets closer to God, and feels the presence of God, sin becomes clearer and we realize how much we sin...We feel how great and true God really is and we are so little in nature, when we feel His presence...
The Holy Spirit will guide them when He leaves...The Holy Spirit will not speak about Himself, but will be relaying the teachings, commandments, and message from Jesus...The Holy Spirit will guide them to all truth...The Holy Spirit will show how wrong the world really is...It will reveal how they are truly supposed to do God's will...The Holy Spirit will bring glory to Him, just by taking what is His and making it known to the disciples...Everything that belongs to God, belongs to Jesus...This is why He tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you...That will give Jesus glory...Jesus through the Holy Spirit will inspire them...
When Jesus is gone (and this is very important), the Holy Spirit will take over for Him...When the Holy Spirit comes He will not bring any new commandments...The Holy Spirit is an extension from Jesus...When the disciples receive the Holy Spirit, it will prove that He is our Messiah...
We know that St. John writes about the Holy Spirit coming after He goes away, is confirmed by another saint, St. Luke in the Acts...St. Luke writes in Acts chapter two, that the Holy Spirit comes at the first Pentecost after His resurrection...The Holy Spirit fills all the disciples that day and they begin to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them...
Jesus makes it clear when He talks about sin, righteousness, and judgment that everyone can receive the Holy Spirit...When we feel the Holy Spirit it will expose sin...Sin springs from unbelief...We need faith, to get better (in our sin), to have belief...When we receive the Holy Spirit the prince of this world, the evil one stands condemned...Jesus takes evil and satan, very seriously...So should we...Jesus is our hope and help against the evil one...God's righteousness is meant for all the people on earth...