Well, truly, if there's any soundness in your soul, if there's any health in your soul, there's only one source for that. May it truly never get old. May it never get old. If you would turn in your Bible to the gospel according to John, in chapter 16. It has been a bit since we have been back in the Gospel of John. It's the nature of when you do an exposition of a book that there are other There are other topics that sometimes come in and are addressed or we have other, of course, other brothers preaching. But I went back to, it's hard to believe but this is number 48, this is lesson number 48 in our exposition of the gospel according to John. And I trust that it has not been tedious for you, but rather a blessing. It started in September of 21. It's been a long time. By September, we will be here four years, but it has been It's been an incredible blessing for me to look at the Gospel of John and to exercise myself in preparation in this Gospel. It is a beautiful gospel of course about who Jesus is and that He is the Son of God and it is written specifically for that purpose that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that believing you might have eternal life. This is the stated purpose of the Gospel of John. And I love to remind us of this occasionally as we look at this. It is found in John 20 in verse 30 and 31 of John 20. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." So let's go to John chapter 16. We will read our text here this morning, verses 5 through 15. And I've titled this, The Work of the Holy Spirit. It's just a simple title. and it is the work of the Holy Spirit and of course it cannot be an exhaustive exposition on such a great topic in one lesson. But as we come to this text we want to look at what it has to say here in verses 5 through 15 and then before we go into the message we want to do just a little bit of a little bit of a review. John 16 beginning in verse 5, But now I go away to Him who sent me, and none of you ask me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you, excuse me, 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 depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin because they do not believe in Me. of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more, of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority. But whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." Isn't that a beautiful passage? It's a beautiful passage. I would like to remind us of the circumstances surrounding our text. Jesus says, but now, in verse 5, but now I go away to Him who sent me. This is the Lord's last teaching to His disciples before He bears His cross. It is, as we would say, maybe Thursday evening and Friday morning. Friday, was it at the ninth hour? that he was crucified. And so this is but hours from his passion. It's just hours from his death and he is speaking these things to his disciples. I hope that you get a sense of his care for us. not just his disciples, but his care for us here today. Chapters 14 through 17 are an intimate view into the Lord's care and concern for his disciples. He says two times in chapter 14, he says, let not your heart be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. He says in verse 27 of 14, he says, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. This is an intimate view of the Lord's care for us, of the Lord's care for His people, for His disciples. Soon to be gone, from their presence, He says, let not your heart be troubled. And then in chapter 15, it's the union of the vine and the branches. Now we are in Him, and we have this blessed state of fruit bearing as we are in Him, that we have this place of union with none other than our Savior, even though He is not here with us, we're spiritually united with Him. This union of the vine and the branches. He says, as the Father loved me, in verse 9, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. How do we abide in His love? If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love." Central throughout these chapters is the teaching of the coming Comforter and how He would send Him to us and that we would have the enjoyment of an indwelling God who would lead us into all truth. And then this section, verses 14 through 17, culminates in what we call the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus. It culminates in the comfort and the intercession of the Lord's prayer in chapter 17. We would all do well to meditate dwell here for many days in chapter 17 as we sense the weight and the cares that the Lord has for us as He prays for us. So in the immediate context here in our chapter, chapter 16, in this context on the front and on the back of our text today, in John 16, 5-15, Jesus had warned them of the world's hatred. In 15-8, in chapter 15, 18-24, He just laid it out for them. He said, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. And He just lays it out for them that there is going to be hate towards the children of God, that the world will hate them. And we spoke about that and we talked about what is the world and how that it is motivated and inflamed by the prince of this world to hate the people of God. And so Christ, he armed them against stumbling in chapter 16 and verse 1. These things I have spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble. And so he armed them against stumbling by telling them of this coming opposition, making it clear to them and to us that dead religion, that is, self-righteousness, would motivate an inflamed animosity toward them. When he says in verse 2 of John 16, they will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God's service. And so it is obvious here that it is false religion, it is self-righteousness that he has in mind here as that opposition that comes to us. And it is still opposition from the world. It doesn't matter if it's cloaked in religion or not, it is still the world. And there is really no greater manifestation of worldliness, brothers and sisters, than to have the idea that you can fix your own problem. That is the essence of worldliness. That all you need is to just engage yourself and to stretch your muscle and pull yourself up by your bootstraps and you don't need God. You can fix your sin problem by exercising the flesh. That is the essence, brothers and sisters, of worldliness. And so he tells them, that they will ostracize you, they will smear you, they will kill you. And we've seen that last time. Reassuring them that even if hatred comes wrapped in seeming piety, it is still hatred. that opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ comes from ignorance and lack of knowing God. Notice what he says there. And it is important for us to understand that if somebody is in opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is because they do not know God. He says it here very clearly in chapter 16, verse three, and these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me. And so this is important for the disciples to know that, well, what about this? How can, you know, here's religion coming to me, but they're opposed to the gospel of Christ. How can this be? And so he tells them, it comes from a lack of knowing God. And then also in the last two verses of chapter 15, we see that the testimony of truth will continue in spite of the world's opposition. Notice what he says here, 15, 26, and 27. But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me, and you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. And so we see that in spite of all the opposition, God is determined that there will not lack a testimony of Him. in the earth. He sends us this helper. He is committed to leaving a testimony of himself. And so he says, the helper will come and he will testify of me and you will be sided with him, as it were, and you will also be bearing witness. You will also be sharing the same truths that the Holy Spirit, this helper that I'm sending, he will share. He will be testifying and you will bear witness as well. And so we see that this opposition does not stop this. The testimony of truth will continue in spite of the world's opposition and the Holy Spirit and the disciples of Christ would bear witness of Jesus Christ. And so now we come in verse 5 to our text today. In verse 5 there seems to be a mild rebuke. Jesus tells them, look, I'm telling you I'm going away, but no one is asking, well, where are you going? No one is asking why or where to. I am going away, yet you are not showing the interest that I wish that you would. not quite sure what is going on here but he does tell them no one is asking these questions where are you going and he goes on to say in verse 6 the reason for this I believe but because I have said these things to you because you have been you you are aware that I'm leaving sorrow has filled your heart my absence in your perspective is grievous to you. My leaving is a sorrow to you. Sorrow has filled your heart." Jesus emphasizes here in verse 7, He makes this emphatic by saying, I tell you the truth. I tell you the truth. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. We know that He never told anything but the truth. But here he's being emphatic when he is making this statement to answer to their sorrow. Jesus emphasized by saying, I tell you this truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. It is better for you. Can you imagine how they must have felt about that when he said, it is actually better for you for me to leave than for me to stay. It is to your advantage that I go away. I would like to ask you a question. Which would you have rather been? A disciple who physically followed Jesus in Judea? or a disciple today in 2025, which would you rather be? I think that should be thought-provoking. It is quite clear which is better. You see? He says, it is actually better for you that I leave. Notice verse 12. Think about this here with me. I still have many things to say to you, but you guys don't have the capacity to receive it. I have a lot of things I would like to convey to you, he says. I have still many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. It is because they were, they did not have the capacity to hear, to be taught at that point. They were not ready. So this clearly teaches us the significance of the Holy Spirit's ministry. Isn't this beautiful? This teaches us that with the coming of the Holy Spirit and entering into our lives to be filled, to be possessed by the Spirit of God is better than to be in the presence of Jesus Christ at that time. the significance of the Holy Spirit's ministry, that His work in the world and in the believer is now better for us than the presence of Christ. But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart." You see, they were looking at the temporal. They were just They were just weighing the benefits of their spiritual lives by what they had already experienced. They were not necessarily understanding by faith that there was a better thing coming, that there was a better experience coming for them. He who knows all things sees the advantage in those things, doesn't he? What we see as a setback and a grief to us because we tend to short-sightedness is actually for our good. Romans 8.28 says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose. What we enjoy now may well need to be surrendered for that which is promised to be better." So we have this idea that it is better. The Lord says, it is to your advantage that I go away. I want to read John 7 in verse 37 as we think about this coming ministry of the Holy Spirit. On the last day, that great day of the feast," this is John 7, 37, "...on that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, notice, because Jesus was not yet glorified. But this was that promised Spirit that would come. And it would be this river of living water that would be flowing out of their lives. And he spoke this of the Spirit of God that he would send. In Acts 2.32, we read this way, where Peter was preaching. He says this in verse 32 of Acts 2, This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses, therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit he poured out this which you now see and hear so follow with me there he says this Jesus God has raised up of which we are all witnesses of his resurrection therefore being exalted to the right hand of God Christ having received from the promise from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit Christ has now poured this out on us He has now poured out this which we you now see in here that was that coming of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost Where the church was filled and indwelt with the Holy Spirit of God this was that promised coming and And when you go back to John 16, what does he say there? He says, I will send him to you. I will send him to you. And when he has come, he will. When He has come, He will. If you go down through this text, through the text of John from verse 5 through verse 15, eight times we have these words, He will. When the Holy Spirit has come, He will. These, Jesus says, are the things that the Holy Spirit will be doing. He will. I mean, the Holy Spirit will be active in a new way in the world and in the life of the believer. He will convict. He will guide. He will speak. He will glorify. He will take. He will declare. You see, this is the work of the Holy Spirit. I mean, It is a full passage here of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that he will do all these things when he comes. And so I want to look at here in our text, the two-part ministry of the Holy Spirit. Notice what he says. The first part is the Holy Spirit's work in the world. I think that is a distinction that we need to understand here. secondly, the Holy Spirit's work in the church. Notice in verse 8 he says, Jesus says of the Spirit, when He has come He will convict the world of sin. When He has come He will convict the world of sin. This word convict is the idea of convince. King James says reprove. He will reprove the world of sin or he will convince the world of sin. Think about this. This is a great comfort actually to us believers to know that God the Spirit is at work through us to convince the world. When we're just coming off the backdrop here of having the world hate us, having the world against us, having the world actually disenfranchise us from the religion that we grew up in maybe, or whatever it is, we're kicked out, we're ostracized, we're thrown down, and then he even kills us but then he says but when the Holy Spirit is come he will convince the world of their sin this is the ministry of the of the Spirit of God in the world is that he will convict or convince the world that he it's the idea of showing them the truth that they will be actually convinced that this is the truth. The Holy Spirit will convince them of their sin. What is interesting is that we notice that this is the church making inroads into the world, isn't it? You know, instead of us being cowed by the opposition, no, the world is making inroads into the church, the church is making inroads into the world. It is the world being convinced. The Spirit is working and advancing the truth into the world, though they slay us. Yet we testify and the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. And it is as it were that there's a gate here and the church is assaulting the gates of hell. And I think the picture is that we are in a sense fighting for those who are on the way to hell. You see, we're engaged in battle and we're making inroads into this. And the church will, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. We must understand the strength of our position. the glory of our position, the power behind us, the incredible arsenal at our disposal, the very spirit of God is indwelling us. And he is actually at work in convincing our enemy, you see. And every one of us, by the way, was at one point of the world, you see. he is convicting the world of sin, because they do not believe in me." You see, here's the chief sin. The chief sin is unbelief, because out of unbelief are, it has the roots of all other sins. Notice what he says, He will convict the world of sin, of sin because they do not believe in me. This is the chief sin, the chief sin of unbelief. It's because, why is it the chief sin? Because it mitigates, it fights against the remedy itself. Think of it. If you refuse to believe in Christ, there is no other place for you to turn. There's no other source of remedy, because unbelief fights against the answer itself. All other sins, I believe, are simply manifestations of that unbelief, but the sin of unbelief is a sin. Yes, we do, what is it in Hebrews 12, it says, Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us and run with endurance the race that is set before us. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin and I think this sin is very probably the sin of unbelief but When you are a child of faith, yes, your faith can be increased But but you will never again be known for the sin of unbelief You might still have areas of of unbelief, but you will not be known as an unbeliever You see you What was it? They said help us our unbelief But The point is that when here in verse 8, this is speaking of the world and the Holy Spirit is convicting this world and convincing them of this sin of not believing in Christ. In this has the root of all other sins in it. And Romans 8, I mean Romans 3 in verse 19 says this way, as we think about the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the world, in convicting and convincing them of their guilt. Notice what he says in Romans 3, 19, it says, now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and that all the world may become guilty before God." You have a similar passage in Galatians 3 where it says this way in verse 22, But the scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." And so, it is as it were the Spirit of God and the Law of God, they grasp hands to convince the world of their sin. The law of God is intended to convince you of your guilt, and the Holy Spirit is doing the same thing to the world, convincing and convicting and reproving of the sin of unbelief, specifically the sin of unbelief. And so the law and the Spirit join hands to bring us to Christ. This seemed to me to bring a new light again of the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation. It just seemed to kind of open it up again. You know, if a man of the world is going to be born of the Spirit of God, before he is born again, he must be convicted or convinced of his sin. Right? That is something that's going on before the new birth is manifested. Well, how many times have you heard this idea that, you know, it is actually common in evangelical circles to hear that someone made a commitment or a decision to follow Christ. When my question would be, has the Spirit convinced them of sin? Has the Holy Spirit actually convinced them of sin? If that has not happened, then all of your decision, all of your desire maybe even, is not going to bring you to the new birth. It is through the conviction of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of the world, of those who are in the world, to cause them to understand their sin. Matthew Henry points out that the Spirit convicts and convinces of the fact of sin. The fact that it is true about us that we have sinned. We're convinced without a doubt that we have sinned. Then he makes the point also that the Holy Spirit convicts us of the fault of sin. That it is our fault that we've sinned. It's not God's fault that we sinned. And then thirdly, Matthew Henry points out that the Holy Spirit convicts us and convinces us of the folly of sin. That it is a fool's errand to sin. That it is as foolish to sin as it is to go up on the mountain and walk off a cliff. That it's not good for you. It's folly. It is absolute folly for us to sin. The Holy Spirit convicts us and convinces us that it is fools who sin. It's a folly. And then, again, the Holy Spirit convicts or convinces us of the filth of sin. That we're convicted that sin is filthy. That it is the depravity of sin that we become aware of. And then also, The Holy Spirit convicts us and convinces us of the fountain of sin. From whence comes thou sin? From where does it come from? It comes from your depraved heart, doesn't it? It's a fountain of sin. It is out of this unregenerate heart is where sin arises. He convicts us that it is us who produces the sin. And then lastly, the Holy Spirit also convinces us, convicts us of the fruit of sin. You know what the fruit of sin is. What is the fruit of sin? It's none other than death, isn't it? And so the Holy Spirit ministers these things to us. It's not just a general thing about sin. No, it is the specifics about what it's costing us, what it's gonna do to us, that it's going to destroy us. It's going to take us, as we heard in the children's lesson, to hell. So the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin. it makes it aware of from whence it comes and from what fruit it bears and of what depravity and filth it brings in and that it is the fault is ours. In John 8 and verse 9 remember the story of the woman who was caught in adultery and These self-righteous Pharisees came, the scribes came, and brought this woman to him and accused her to the Lord. And remember what the Lord did. He, when they continued asking him, he raised himself up and said to them, he who is without sin among you, let him throw the stone at her first. And what did this do? Wasn't it their conscience that were saying, yes, I have sinned, I have sinned. They could not deny the conscience that was inside of them. Then those who heard it, verse nine, being convicted of their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. Yes, indeed. The work of the Spirit of God is to bring this sort of conviction that I have sinned. I am unworthy of throwing any stones at anyone. I must own my own sin. Well, notice that in our text, the Holy Spirit does not leave us there. He brings us to this conviction and convincing of sin. He makes us guilty before God and before ourselves. And we know that we're guilty, we're convinced of it. What does He say next? He, when He has come, He will convict the world of righteousness. Because I go to my Father and you see me no more. You know, He doesn't leave us with just the conviction of sin, praise God. The Holy Spirit brings us and convinces us, actually convinces the world of righteousness. Is there genuine rightness anywhere? Is there righteousness to be had, we could ask? Well, the centurion at the crucifixion thought so. If you read Luke 23 and verse 47, after all the miraculous things that happened at the crucifixion, the centurion, this man who was in charge of a hundred Roman soldiers, he stood back and he says, truly, this was a righteous man. The testimony of all these miracles, and even of his own conscience, answering and saying, yes, this man must have been righteous for these miracles to attend his death. Notice what Jesus said here, that He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness, of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me no more. He said His going to the Father and His absence from the world is the conviction of righteousness. You see the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit must have preceded, must have been preceded, excuse me, by the Son's arrival in heaven. Notice he doesn't say in verse 7 that the Holy Spirit will come and then I will go. No, I think this is an important point. He says, I will go and then the Holy Spirit will come. And when he comes, he will convict and convince of my righteousness. I believe this is speaking about the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ personally. That Christ said that he would send him, not call for him. You see, the Son's ascension to the Father and His exaltation by the Father was confirmed by the sending of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the disciples, He said, look, I'm going to Him who sent me. The disciples might make the argument or say, well, how do we know that you're going to be accepted? Well, you'll know when my envoy, the one whom I will send when he arrives, you will know my acceptance. You see, you will know that I am accepted with the Father when the Holy Spirit arrives. And I believe this is a valid, this is a really important point for us to understand that when the Holy Spirit in history came down 50 days, what was it? 50 days after his ascension, or was it 50 days after the... I guess it doesn't matter right now. 50 days after his death. Thank you. When this was a historic and it was a validation of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ in When he arrived in heaven, his father received him, exalted him, enthroned him, and then, as it said in Acts 2, in verse 32, having received the promise of the Spirit, he then poured it out on his church. What a comfort it must be and it is for us to know that when Christ arrived in glory, His Father exalted Him and enthroned Him and then sent the Holy Spirit as confirmation that this is true. Notice what He says in John 7. as I read before. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given." Why? Because He was not yet glorified. You see, when the Son of God was glorified, then the Holy Spirit was sent. And it is assurance to us that He indeed was glorified, and is glorified, and is exalted, and is enthroned, and is interceding for us. What a glorious truth, this ministry of the Holy Spirit to the world, convicting us of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. The very ministry of the Holy Spirit the very presence of the Holy Spirit. You see now why He said, it is to your advantage that I go away. The absence of the Son is now validated by the presence of the Spirit. Notice what He says, He will convict the world of judgment. The ministry of the Spirit reveals the judgment of the prince of this world. He says he will convict the world of judgment because the prince or the ruler of this world is judged. It kind of comes back full circle when we think about those who formerly were under the dominion of Satan are now led by the spirit of holiness. Isn't that an indication that the prince of this world is judged? That judgment has fallen upon him. That he has been dethroned of his dominion. That he has been, what does he say, plundered of his goods. Those who had formerly been in darkness have seen a great light. You see, Jesus said in Matthew, I think it was Matthew 12, or was it Luke 12, that He's seen Satan fall as a lightning bolt. And His judgment was pronounced upon Him by the death of Christ. because he took captivity captive and he satisfied a holy God for the sin of the world and by that dethroned the enemy who had rightful claim over us because we had sinned and given our allegiance to him but because Christ paid for our disloyalty now Satan has no claim you see this Holy Spirit ministering into the lives of His church, brothers and sisters, of living out His perfections, truly it's a testimony that the Prince of this world has been judged and that He has been made a public spectacle, as Colossians says. I want to quickly, I have to close, but I want to quickly look at Luke 11 and read you a passage where Christ makes this point of how the strong man is plundered. In Luke 11, in verse 14, he says this way, and he was casting out a demon. Think about that. Just the fact that a demon was cast out of the body of somebody indicates that he was plundering the strong man. Follow me? The fact that Christ was able to come in and drive the demon out of somebody's life and out of his body is indication that a greater than Satan is here. And he was casting out a demon and it was mute. So it was when the demon had gone out that the mute spoke. multitudes marveled. But some of them said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say, I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Belzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him, and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters." Praise God. The Holy Spirit is testifying of these things to the world and convincing the world that there will be a fulfillment that will be as sure as people are coming out from under the dominion of Satan and living lives of holiness and following Christ, so sure will there be a future judgment upon, a culmination of this judgment upon Satan at the end. There will be a future judgment. And so the ministry of the Holy Spirit is doing this in the lives, in the world. He's currently doing this. I don't have time to go to the second part of his work among believers, but verses 12 through 15, Just that he how many times does it say I he will he will he will Just the same as they were unable to bear the things that Christ would have liked to communicate to them The Holy Spirit will then do that. He will bring these things. He will guide you into all truth He will speak not on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak You know I have thought about this Preachers sometimes like to think that they're original. Notice what he says. Not even the Holy Spirit is original. He will not even speak of his own things. He will rather take of mine and he will speak it to you. He will not speak on his own authority. And it just occurred to me, our teaching in 1 Peter 4 on Wednesday night, when it says, he who speaks, let him speak as the utterance of the Lord, or as the oracles of God. It is just a reminder that we who speak are not supposed to be speaking our own things. We are not supposed to be trying to be original. We plagiarize all the time, you see. We speak what God has already spoken. We speak what the Holy Spirit has already spoken. We speak what Christ has already spoken. And so we see here that he will take of Christ and apply it. And this is actually the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When Christ came to glory, it was as if He brought all of His spoils with Him. And then He sent the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is now applying these things to the church. They are shed abroad into our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. And brothers and sisters, The significance of the ministry of the Holy Spirit cannot be overstated. And what He is doing currently in the lives of the believers are applying the things that Christ died to purchase. He is applying them to us. He is giving them to us. The very righteousness of Christ, He's giving that to us. Glory be. And we may look at that second point more fully, but thank you for your kind attention and sorry for going over, but we have a very significant passage here in John. Let's close with a word of prayer and then we'll be dismissed. Father, we thank you for this great passage and this wonderful teaching of that the Lord gave to the disciples of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world and the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers. Father, we marvel at your provisions for us. And we just humbly acknowledge that what you have wrought in us is not from us, it is from you. It is your things coming out of us by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so, Father, we just rejoice in this and forgive us where we have ever ascribed the things of the Spirit as things that we have done. And so, Father, we thank you for your great care for us. We pray that these truths might resound in our hearts through this week, that we might glorify you for all you've done. Through Christ we pray. Amen.