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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to John's Gospel, John chapter 16, as we work our 
way through the fourth gospel. We are presently in the upper 
room with Jesus and his disciples prior to his death, resurrection, 
and ascension on high. And here he is equipping his 
saints, his apostles, as they go into the then known world 
to preach the gospel, to make disciples of all the nations 
and to plant churches. And he does so by way of encouragement. He does so by way of exhortation. 
He does so by way of disclosure. He tells them there's going to 
be suffering. There's going to be hardship. There's going to 
be persecution. He also does so by disclosing who God is, 
namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It's a wonderful 
section of Holy Scripture that encourages the saints of Christ 
with reference to beholding their God, even their triune God, the 
Father, the Son, and the Spirit. So our focus this morning will 
be verses 12 to 15, but I want to begin reading in verse 1. 
John chapter 16, these things I have spoken to you that you 
should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the 
synagogues. Yes, the time is coming. Whoever kills you will 
think that he offers God's service. And these things they will do 
to you because they have not known the Father nor me. But 
these things I have told you that when the time comes, you 
may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did 
not say to you at the beginning because I was with you. But now 
I go away to him who sent me. And none of you asks me, where 
are you going? But because I have said these 
things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, thank you 
for this holy ground that we find in the upper room discourse. 
We thank you for the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, for 
the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that spirit of truth that comes 
to help the saints of Christ in this present evil age. We 
rely always upon our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the living 
and the true God. So guide us now, direct us as 
we consider this passage of scripture. May you fit us for service in 
your kingdom. May you help us to shine as lights 
in this crooked and perverse generation and give us the boldness 
and the courage to hold forth your word of truth. And we thank 
you, God, for your many mercies to us in the gospel of our salvation, 
for that forgiveness of sins and that righteousness that avails 
with you, even the righteousness of Jesus Christ our Lord. Forgive 
us, cleanse us now in his precious blood, and we pray in Jesus' 
name, amen. Well, as I said, as we move through 
the Upper Room Discourse, one of the ways that Jesus encourages 
the disciples is by teaching them about God. As Ferguson says, 
when the world is about to crumble in upon these men, Jesus instructs 
them concerning the nature of the living and true God. Because 
ultimately, that's what we need. Ultimately, it's the understanding 
of who God is. In fact, Jesus, in the prayer 
that follows after the Upper Room Discourse, he defines eternal 
life according to the knowledge of God. This is eternal life, 
that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ 
whom Thou hast sent. So it's the knowledge of God, 
Father, Son, and Spirit, that Jesus imparts to the disciples. 
If you've not been with us from the beginning in our studies 
in John's Gospel, remember that John Not that the other gospel 
writers don't, but John specifically shows us something about theology 
and then about the economy. And what I mean by that, theology 
is the study of, or the doctrine of, or the things concerning 
God specifically. And in theology, we often refer 
to theology as referring to God as he is in himself. If there had never been a creation, 
God is. The fact that there is a creation, 
God is. Creation hasn't added to God. 
Creation hasn't taken away from God. God simply is. And so we 
need to consider who God is in himself. And John, as I said, 
discloses that from the outset in his gospel. In fact, in John 
1.1, he says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 
with God, and the Word was God. And then he tells us who that 
Word is in John 1.14. He tells us the Word became flesh 
and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the 
only begotten of the Father, full of goodness and truth, or 
grace and truth. And so then what we see in following 
that, after that disclosure of who God is in himself, in John 
1, 29, John the Baptist sets eyes upon Jesus and says, behold 
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So theology 
in this context is God in himself. Economy refers to what God does 
in creation. The fact that he creates as part 
of economy. the fact that he governs and 
sustains his economy, but specifically it's the reference to salvation, 
the redemptive work of Jesus Christ in and amongst his people 
for their life and salvation. So as we move into this section 
in the upper room, we see more disclosure from the Lord concerning 
the Holy Spirit. And again, if you have not been 
with us, it's going to be a little bit tricky at some points, but 
I just want to give a good preface here, or a bit of introduction 
by way of review, is that also when we talk about the persons 
of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we 
make a distinction between what we call the eternal processions. Again, eternal processions is 
what is true of God in Himself. The Father is unbegotten. The 
Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. This is eternal. It's not like 
there was a point in time where there was the Father, and then 
came the Son, and then comes the Holy Spirit. No, from everlasting 
to everlasting. God is eternal, without beginning, 
without end. God the Father, unbegotten. God 
the Son, begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeding from 
the Father and the Son. So that's what I mean when I 
refer to eternal processions. Then we've got something called 
temporal missions. And temporal, as the word suggests, 
is not eternal. Temporal happens in time. And 
in time, the Father sends the Son, who takes on our humanity. In time, the Son sends the Spirit, 
who blesses and empowers the church for her mission and ministry 
in this present world. So that's what I mean by eternal 
processions. That's what happens in God, in 
Himself. But then the temporal missions 
reveal to us something true about those eternal processions. Now, 
if you're not thoroughly confused, just stick with me. No, just 
kidding. But the bottom line is, Jesus is, as it were, letting 
us in. He's letting us peer behind the 
curtain to see what is true of God in himself. And what is true 
of God in himself is revealed in these temporal missions. And 
so it's not a disclosure, or it's not a hiding things from 
the saints of Christ. Rather, Jesus is letting us in. And so as we are let into this 
particular passage, I wanna underscore that we saw how this passage 
worked last time. Notice in verse seven, Jesus 
says, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go 
away. A bit of a difficult statement as Mark, our brother read in 
the scripture reading, they were afraid to go to Jerusalem. When 
Jesus, your Lord, says, I'm gonna go there, I'm gonna be crucified, 
I'm gonna be tried, I'm gonna be crucified, if you're his compadres, 
you're probably thinking, wait a minute, we don't A, wanna see 
that happen to him, but B, we certainly don't want that to 
happen to us as well. Well, in this particular context, 
some of which I read in verses one to four, but it connects 
back to 15, 18 and following, Jesus says the world is gonna 
hate you. If they hate the master, they're 
gonna hate the servant. And so for Jesus now in verse 
7 to say, it's to your advantage that I go away, I'm sure that 
caused them a bit of concern. What do you mean? It's to your 
advantage that you go away. You're our protector, you're 
our master, you're our Lord, you're our Savior. As we approach 
enemy territory vis-a-vis unbelieving Israel, we need you and we need 
your help. So Jesus says, it's to your advantage 
that I go away. And he explains why he says that 
in verse seven. For if I do not go away, the 
helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send 
him to you. So the Lord promises the sending 
of the Holy Spirit. I think the reference primarily 
is to the day of Pentecost that we see in the book of Acts. So 
Jesus says, it's to your advantage. Then he speaks concerning the 
Spirit's conviction of the world in verses 8 to 11. The Spirit 
will, by the Word, The Spirit will, by the preaching of the 
apostles, the Spirit will, by the preaching of the church subsequent 
to the apostles, do these things. Verse 8. 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. So the 
Spirit's testimony, with reference to Christ, has a focus to convict 
the world of these things. But then in verses 12 to 15, 
he says, the Spirit has a ministry to you, the apostles, to the 
church, the church subsequent to the first century. The Spirit 
is the helper. The Spirit is the teacher. The 
Spirit is the guide who leads you into all truth. So Jesus 
continues to amplify why this is to their advantage that he 
goes away. So I wanna look first at the 
instruction of the Lord in verse 12, and then secondly, the ministry 
of the Spirit in verses 13 to 15. The instruction of the Lord 
in verse 12, he simply says, I still have many things to say 
to you, but you cannot bear them now. Now that seems to be a bit 
different than what he says in 15.15. Notice in 15.15, no longer 
do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master 
is doing, but have called you friends for all things that I 
have heard from my father I have made known to you. He's not contradicting 
himself. He's not lying. He had disclosed 
from the Father to the disciples the specifics concerning who 
God is. The specifics concerning the 
way of salvation, justification, by faith alone. There's other 
things to be disclosed in the apostolic writing, church polity. Place of elders and deacons in 
the context of the church. How women are supposed to function 
in the context of the church. The Jew-Gentile situation in 
the book of Ephesians that Paul deals with at length in chapters 
two and three. There are other things that the 
Spirit is going to reveal to the apostles, but Jesus rightly 
concludes, you're not able to bear them right now. Why? Because 
he just spoke of their persecution. He just spoke of the unbelieving 
Jews' opposition to that. He just spoke concerning the 
fact that the Jews would put them out of the synagogue and 
that they would kill them thinking they were doing service to God. 
He then goes on to say, it's to your advantage that I depart, 
I go away, I'm no longer with you presently. Jesus is a wise 
teacher. He understands the limited capacities 
of his disciples. He says, I have other things 
to speak to you concerning, but you can't not bear them right 
now. So what is he saying? He goes on to explain in verses 
13 to 15, under the ministry of the Spirit, that the many 
things will in fact be communicated to them. It will happen as a 
result of the helper sent by the Son from the right hand of 
the Father to bless, encourage, and strengthen the church. to 
bless these apostles so that they can take the gospel into 
the then known world, to turn it upside down for King Jesus, 
and then to take pen to paper under the inspiration of that 
spirit and write the New Testament documents. So Jesus says there's 
other things that you need to hear that are even outside of 
who God is, how we get saved, and those particulars, but you're 
not able to handle it right now. Praise God for the kindness and 
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. By the end of this sermon, you're 
going to be saying, I wish he would have followed Jesus' teaching 
and advice in that particular instance because he's given us 
way too much. Now, let's look at the ministry of the Spirit 
in verses 13-15. This is the bulk of the sermon. First, we see the temporal mission 
of the Spirit in 13a, the authority of the Spirit in 13b, and then 
the declaration of the Spirit in 14 and 15. Again, if we ask 
the question, how is it that God is one? and God is three. He's one in essence or substance. 
He's three in person. As our confession says, in this 
divine and infinite being, there are three subsistences or persons. So the argument concerning or 
the doctrine of the Trinity is not that God is one in one sense 
and three in the same sense. That would be a contradiction. 
The doctrine of the Trinity teaches one living and true God who exists 
eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And typically we 
think like this, well, I don't understand that. Exactly. Because we're not divine. We're 
not creator. We're not God. But does the Bible 
teach it? That's the question. And if the 
Bible teaches it, the church confesses it, and the church 
embraces it, and the church delights in it. And that doctrine is the 
foundation for our comfortable dependence upon this living and 
true God. And so again, Jesus lets us in. Note the temporal mission of 
the Spirit in 13a. However, so verse 12, 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. It shouldn't surprise us that 
the Spirit is referred to here as helper. He's already referred 
to him as helper in John 14 in verses 16 and 17. He's referred 
to him as helper in verse 26. As well, he has given us more 
information in 15, 26, and 27 about the spirit whom Jesus sends. And that He's called the Spirit 
of Truth shouldn't surprise us either. Remember Jesus' statement 
in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. So it makes sense that the Spirit 
sent by Jesus, who is the truth, is naturally the Spirit of Truth. We have this as well in Romans 
chapter 8, the way that Paul navigates between the Spirit 
of God and the Spirit of Christ. Shows us the doctrine of the 
Trinity, one living and true God who exists eternally as Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit. Romans 8, 9, but you are not 
in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells 
in you. Now, if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he 
is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because 
of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But 
if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in 
you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life 
to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. 
Now, that's in and of itself kind of a tricky passage. I think 
all of Romans 6, 7, and 8 is some pretty dense theological 
labor on the part of the apostle. But this synonymous use of Spirit 
of Christ, Spirit of God. How could Paul do that if the 
doctrine of the Trinity wasn't true? He can do that by virtue 
of the unity of the divine nature and the distinction of the persons, 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so what Jesus says here is, 
however, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide 
you into all truth. The coming is on the day of Pentecost. As we've covered before, this 
does not mean that there was no spirit brooding over creation 
in Genesis 1. This does not mean that the Spirit 
didn't speak by the prophets in the Old Testament. This does 
not mean that you couldn't grieve the Spirit in the Old Testament. 
This does not mean that David was speaking out of order when 
he says, take not thine Holy Spirit from me. The Spirit is 
present in the Old Testament. But the Spirit's mission, the 
temporal mission, is most gloriously seen on the day of Pentecost 
when the ascended Christ, from the right hand of the Father, 
poured out this which you now see and hear. It was a testimony 
that God had made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord 
and Christ. It was the fulfillment of Joel's 
prophecy. It was to empower and enable 
the church to take the message of Jesus and to turn the world 
upside down. That's the sending of which Jesus 
is speaking in terms of the temporal mission. And it reflects the 
eternal procession. The Spirit proceeds from the 
Father and the Son. We see that concretely in the 
temporal mission of the Spirit sent by the Father and the Son. 
And if we ask the question, what's his work? Notice that Jesus tells 
us in verse 13. However, when he, the spirit 
of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth. Look back 
at 14.26. 14.26, but the helper, the Holy 
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach 
you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I 
said to you. All things is biblical and theological 
truth. All things isn't chemistry, auto 
repair. Refrigeration, as important as 
those things are, the all things that the helper brings to the 
apostles are the things concerning Jesus, His gospel, and His doctrine. That's the all things. Thomas 
says, just as the effect of the mission of the Son was to lead 
us to the Father, so the effect of the mission of the Holy Spirit 
is to lead the faithful to the Son. The Son comes, according 
to 118, to declare the Father. Notice now that the Spirit comes 
from the Father and the Son to declare Jesus. So what you see 
in terms of eternal procession, no one has seen God at any time, 
but the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father 
has declared Him. Yet that eternal procession, 
the eternally begotten Son in the bosom of the Father, declares 
the Father in the temporal mission. The Son sends the Holy Spirit, 
and what is the Spirit's task, or function, or work? It's to 
shine the light upon the Son. It's to declare the Son. In fact, 
Jesus says that in 14 and 15, very conspicuously. The task 
of the Spirit is to declare the Son, just like the task of the 
Son is to declare the Father. It's a beautiful expression of 
what we have sort of codified in the creeds and confessions 
of the Church that we call the doctrine of the Trinity. Man 
didn't formulate this. Man didn't invent this. Man didn't 
set this up. Man sees, or God has given man 
to see the Scriptures, to exegete them properly, and to realize 
that in this divine and infinite being, there are three persons, 
the Father, the Word of Son, and the Holy Spirit. each having 
the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided. How do 
we distinguish those persons? The Father is unbegotten, the 
Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. Brethren, if there's an emphasis 
that I've had in this section of John, and the entirety of 
John, is that we would know something of John 17.3. that this is eternal 
life, that they may know Thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ 
whom Thou hast sent. I realize there's a lot of Christian 
instruction out there that emphasizes principles on how to be a better 
you. And it's not all bad. I'm not saying it's all bad. 
In fact, I preach those kinds of sermons typically on Sunday 
night. I don't call them that. But how to be a better you. Not 
in the Benny Hinn way, not in the Joel Osteen way. Gleam of 
teeth here. the imperatives in the epistles. Typically, Sunday night is more 
practical in nature. How do we function as men? How 
do we function as women? How do we function as husbands 
and wives? How do we function in the context of the church? 
That's all very important information. but so is that they may know 
thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." 
And if Jesus is going to peel back the curtain for us and let 
us peer in and see God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as He is 
in Himself, and as He has revealed Himself in the temporal missions, 
I think it's a good thing for us to peer back together. Because 
once we get more of the knowledge of God, the being a better me 
or a better you becomes altogether more doable because we understand 
the grace, the glory, the majesty, the excellence, the power, the 
sustaining enablement of God Most High. We understand the 
power of the cross and redemption through the son of his love. 
We understand the glory of the gospel, the triune God saving 
us from our sins, and not in some wave of the wand sort of 
a mechanism, but by the second person of the Trinity taking 
our humanity to himself and living for us, dying for us, being raised 
again for us. If that doesn't evoke gratitude, 
praise, adoration, and a desire to follow the Lamb wherever He 
bids us to go, I'm not quite sure what motivation there is. 
This is everything in our Christian religion. There's do-goodery 
all over the place outside of the Christian church. There are 
pagans and there are cultists and there are heathens that can 
teach you how to be a better you. Pay your taxes, work hard, 
get up on time, eat properly. But our distinction is that we 
serve the living and true God. Our distinction is that we confess 
Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life that no one will 
ever get to the Father except through Him. The distinction 
is that we preach blood atonement. Mark mentioned substitution. 
The idea there is that when Christ went to that cross, He didn't 
simply go there as an example to teach us how to love. He went 
there to take the wrath of God that was due for us. It is substitutionary 
penal atonement. The way that those sacrificial 
animals functioned in the Old Testament, when the worshiper 
brought that lamb out of his flock, handed it over to the 
priest, cut its throat, they divided it up, they put it up 
on the altar, and they presented it as a sweet-smelling sacrifice 
to the Lord. Do you think that was all just, 
you know, kind of a religious ritual? The lamb that was cut 
was the representative and the substitute for the sinner that 
offered it. This is why Jesus is called the 
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He stood in 
our place. the word who became flesh, the 
one who was in the beginning with God, the one who is God, 
nevertheless left that place of divine glory and took on us, 
took on our humanity with all the essential properties, all 
the common infirmities yet without sin. Brethren, if Jesus is gonna 
let us peer behind that veil, we need to peer behind that veil. 
So notice, he goes on. to indicate what the Spirit does. So 1426, He will teach you all 
things about Jesus. Notice here in 1613, however, 
when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into 
all truth. Again, not refrigeration or auto 
mechanics. You're not gonna magically learn 
how to speak Japanese. He's talking about the knowledge 
of Jesus, who Jesus brings the knowledge of the Father, yet 
not three gods, one God, infinite divine being that exists eternally 
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So the Spirit will guide you 
into all truth. This is Pentecost. This is, remember 
Dr. Barcelos' lectures at the last 
conference. This was when the light switch 
went on. Mark had pointed that out. They're not real sure about 
going to this Jerusalem thing. They're not, you know, gung-ho, 
100% on. In fact, in the parallel in Matthew 
16, Peter gets right in Jesus' face and says, forbid it, Lord. You're not going to Jerusalem 
to be crucified. You're not going to Jerusalem 
to die. That's not gonna happen. Of course, 
Jesus says, get behind me, Satan. You're not thinking about God's 
things. You're thinking about man's things. You're thinking 
about your earthly comfort. You're not seeing the divine 
purpose and plan of Almighty God. So when it comes to the 
reality of Pentecost, it's the divine light switch flip. When 
the Spirit comes, that's it. Just like the apostle Paul. Paul 
on the road to Damascus, as one trained under a rabbi of the 
prestige of Gamaliel, Paul knew the Old Testament, brethren. 
Paul knew that Old Testament a whole lot better than probably 
all the church together collectively knows it. But what was missing 
for Paul? that key interpretative reality, 
Jesus, right? Wasn't that what happened on 
the road to Damascus? Who are you, Lord? I am Jesus 
whom you are persecuting. What do you think happens to 
Saul of Tarsus at that moment when he's converted? Oh, oh, 
it makes sense. See, in his rage, and in his 
enmity, and in his dead spiritual state, he saw Jesus the Nazarene, 
and he saw the church of the Lord Jesus Christ as a threat. Saul was a John 16, one to four 
man. He was a John 16, one to four 
man. He was all too happy to put you 
out of the synagogue. He was all too happy to kill 
you and think that he did service to God. But when Christ comes 
on that road to Damascus, when that switch is flipped, when 
Saul of Tarsus now sees that the way to interpret the entirety 
of the Old Testament is through Jesus, What does he immediately 
do? He immediately goes into the 
synagogues and he preaches Jesus as the Christ. See, brethren, 
the Holy Spirit is alive and well. This testifies that Christ, 
enthroned at the right hand of the Father, is actually keeping 
and fulfilling His promises here in the upper room. He's illumining 
minds, He's illumining hearts, He's effectually calling sinners 
unto Himself. I've said it before and I'll 
say it again. The Charismatics and the Pentecostals think that, 
you know, if you don't believe in, you know, on-the-spot sort 
of healings, and if you don't believe in sort of on-the-spot 
prophesying, and if you don't believe in sort of on-the-spot 
tongue speaking, you deny the power of the Holy Spirit. Brethren, 
the Spirit regenerates dead sinners. The Spirit awakens dead men under 
the preaching of the gospel. We are not denying the power 
of the Spirit. We are not denying His omnipotence. His glory, His majesty, to take 
a dead sinner and give him newness of life in Jesus Christ. That, 
I would submit, far exceeds even the physical healings that are 
glorious. I think there's an example of 
that, Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter nine. That paralytic 
couldn't get in, the brothers or the friends wanted to get 
him in to hear the Lord Jesus Christ. And what do they do? 
They open up the roof and they lower the man down. Jesus looks 
at the man and he says, son, your sins are forgiven. Of course, 
the Pharisees and the scribes, they're all, who does he think 
he is forgiving sin? Only God can forgive sin. So 
Jesus speaks specifically to that. Which is easier? To say to the paralytic, take 
up your bed and walk, or your sins are forgiven you. You ever 
thought through that? If you're in our church, you 
have, because I've asked you to think through it. It's easier to say 
your sins are forgiven, right? I don't know. There's no switch 
on. There's no, now, halo on the heads of those who have been 
forgiven. It's easier to say that. What does Jesus then go 
on to say? but that you may know that the 
Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, he tells the 
paralytic, take up your bed and walk. Brethren, there's everything 
wonderful about that paralytic being able to walk again. But 
there's everything even more wonderful about that paralytic 
being justified freely by God's grace, by having his sins forgiven 
and receiving that righteousness that avails with God. There is 
a problem bigger than paralysis, and Jesus shows by a healing 
of the paralysis that the problem of sin is in his wheelhouse as 
well. Brethren, the Spirit is alive, 
the Spirit is well, the Spirit is glorious. Notice then, he 
speaks of the authority of the Spirit in a way that may seem 
like He's not fulfilling or he's not saying the same sorts of 
things that I am saying. Notice what he says at the end 
of verse 13, 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 not speak on his own 
authority. Sounds like he's an underling. 
Sounds like he's a subordinate. Sounds like he's an inferior. 
Sounds like there's some gradation going on. We've got the father, 
and then the son, and then the spirit. Not just in terms of 
order or taxes, but in terms of superiority, supremacy, and 
inferiority. Kind of sounds that way. But 
if you've been paying attention to John's gospel, you'll note 
that that's the way that Jesus refers to himself when he speaks 
the word. In fact, look at John 7. John 
7, looking at a few passages. 16 to 18, Jesus answered them 
and said, my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone wills to do his will, 
he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from 
God or whether I speak on my own authority. He who speaks 
from himself seeks his own glory, but he who speaks or seeks the 
glory of the one who sent him is true and no unrighteousness 
is in him. Turn to John 8. John 8, verse 
26, I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, 
but he who sent me is true, and I speak to the world those things 
which I heard from him. Far from teaching any inferiority 
or superiority among the persons of the Godhead, he is stressing 
their equality. He is stressing what we call 
consubstantiality. That means one in being with. The Spirit is not extraneous 
to the Son and the Father with some other emphases or some other 
doctrines. There is one knowledge. There 
is one truth. communicated by the three divine 
persons, not because of superiority or inferiority, but because each 
has the whole divine essence. Look at verse 28, John 8, when 
you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and 
that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I 
speak these things. And then again, verse 47, He 
who is of God hears God's words, therefore you do not hear because 
you are not of God. Closer to our context, look at 
chapter 14. Chapter 14, specifically at verse 10. Chapter 14, 10. Do you not believe that I am 
in the Father and the Father in me? If this was Sunday school, 
I would ask the question and hope for the answer, what is 
Jesus talking about here? Talking about perichoresis, that 
means the mutual indwelling of the persons. By virtue of the 
unity of the divine nature, it is the case that the Father is 
in the Son. It is the case that the Son is in the Father, and 
that's what the Son says. I am in the Father, and the Father 
in me. The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on my 
own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does the works. 
See the similar language that is used by the Son, of the Son, 
with reference to the Father. He's using that language of the 
Spirit with reference to the Son. As well, look at 1515. We already saw that. 1515, at the end, for all things 
that I heard from my father, I have made known to you. So when Jesus says He will not 
speak on His own authority, He is not denigrating the Spirit. He is not subjugating the Spirit. He is not suggesting the inferiority 
of the Spirit. John Gill says, as Christ the 
Son spoke not of himself in opposition to the Father, so the Spirit 
speaks not of himself in opposition to the Father or the Son, but 
in perfect agreement with both. That's his point, the helper 
that I send. He's not gonna speak on his own 
authority as if he's somehow in opposition to the father and 
the son, but he speaks exactly what he has heard. And when that 
language is used, what he has heard, it's for our benefit. The son and the spirit don't 
learn from the father the way that we learn from our father. 
They know all things, always, ever present. But he speaks to 
us in a way that we can get our minds wrapped around. Gil goes 
on to say, being as of the same nature and essence, power and 
glory, so of the same mind, understanding and will. That's what he's saying. There's no inferiority on the 
part of the Spirit. The Spirit hears and speaks those 
things that He receives from the Father and the Son. The emphasis 
is on the distinction of the persons and the unity of the 
divine nature. That's what the emphasis is. 
And as well, the emphasis is on that consubstantiality of 
the Spirit, the one in being with the Father and the Son. And then notice, but whatever 
he hears, he will speak. He hears or knows by virtue of 
that one in beingness with the Father and the Son. Listen to 
Cyril. He says, furthermore, the Savior 
says this, not so that we may think that the Holy Spirit is 
an underling, that's where I got the word, as some ignorantly 
suppose. Now brethren, when Cyril was 
doing theology, those who ignorantly opposed, They didn't just get 
blocked on Facebook. Oh, somebody blocked me today. 
You know, when the serials of the earth walked the earth, you 
know how they dealt with opposers of Trinitarian truth? Oh, I don't 
know, exile. All right, pack up, get out. New Judas. Go live out in the 
desert until you repent. That's how they used to do theology. 
You said something that offended me. That wasn't even a category. I love the story. It's most likely 
apocryphal, but St. Nicholas slapping Hilarius at 
the Council of Nicaea. I see it in my mind's eye. That's 
what you get. No, not please. I can see it 
already. He said we should go slap Jehovah's 
Witnesses. I didn't say that. I'm simply 
saying that theology mattered. It wasn't just blocking a friend 
or getting upset because they offended me. Listen to Cyril. 
Furthermore, the Savior says this, not so that we may think 
that the Holy Spirit is an underlaying, as some ignorantly suppose, but 
rather He wants to assure the disciples that His Spirit will 
speak and act and will nothing other than He would, according 
to the principle of consubstantiality. Why are these things important? 
So that we can maintain the doctrine of the one living and true God 
who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There's 
no test this morning. There's gonna be no quiz. I'm 
not gonna ask you to define consubstantiality. I suspect it will take a few 
passes through these doctrines, getting this language, understanding 
how the church has employed it for the protection of what God's 
word has taught before it comes to the place where you go, oh 
yeah, I get it, and I see why it's important. On the one hand, 
we've got to fight Arians, and the Arians want to subjugate 
Jesus. They want to say there was a 
time when the Son was not. But we've also got to fight against 
Sabellians, those people who sort of say that God was the 
Father, and then He became the Son, and now He's the Spirit. 
Which, by the way, Arians and Sabellians live on. in this present 
world. We call them Jehovah's Witnesses, 
and we call them Oneness Pentecostals. And I'm sure there's a whole 
lot of others that would identify as either Arian in their theology 
or as Sabellian in their theology. There's no new thing under the 
sun. Old heresy just gets rehatched every few years. And now with 
the internet, oh yeah, this guy said this on the internet, and 
it sure made sense. Okay, but 20 centuries of Christ 
teachers that have given you the truth, a good exposition 
of God's word, that they didn't make sense? Oh no, this guy, 
he's in his mom's basement, and that's kind of odd, but boy, 
he's got it all figured out. Okay, give me the Cyrils, the 
Athanasiuses, the Augustans, the Thomases. Give me the Reformers, 
the Charnocks, the Owens. Give me the Spurgeons. Give me 
the Turretins. I'm not saying they're all always 
right, but I'm saying that Christ ascended on high. He led captivity. 
Captivity gave gifts to men. Some of them were called Calvin. 
Some of them were called Van Maastricht. Some of them were 
called Vermigli. Some of them were called Augusta. 
Those gifts, by God's grace and the Spirit who will guide you 
into all truth, wrote and preached. and taught for the benefit of 
the church. As a confessional church, we 
ought to amen that a hundredfold because we subscribe the Second 
London Confession of Faith. We don't see it as the infallible 
Word of God. We don't see it given by inspiration 
of God, but we see it as a wonderful summary statement of those things 
most surely believed among us, a clear articulation of gospel 
truth. And you know what those brothers 
did in the 17th century when they wanted to talk about the 
Trinity? They went back to the earlier centuries. What did Nicaea 
say? Okay, let's use that. When they 
get to chapter 8 of Christ the Mediator and explaining the hypostatic 
union, the one person, two natures, in paragraph 2, do you think 
they said, well, I think we're going to just forge a new road 
here? No. Let's go to Chalcedon. Because 
they already said it. Why would we reinvent the wheel? 
Brethren, the Lord Jesus is telling us that in this divine and infinite 
being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, 
and the Holy Spirit, each having the whole divine essence, yet 
the essence undivided. The way of distinction, the way 
of seeing the distinction between the persons is through those 
relations of origin. The Father is unbegotten, the 
Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. Let's finish this. Look at the 
declaration of the Spirit in verses 14 and 15. He will glorify 
me. Interestingly, He will glorify 
me. It's a function of the Spirit. Interestingly, that's a function 
of the Son with reference to the Father. The Son comes to 
do what? To glorify the Father. Interestingly 
as well, the Father glorifies the Son. Yet not three glories, 
not a competition for more glory, one glory given to this divine 
and infinite being who exists eternally as Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. So the Son says that the Spirit 
will glorify me. The Son says that the Son glorifies 
the Father. The Son says that the Father 
glorifies the Son. The Father, if we just extrapolate, 
speaking in the prophet Isaiah, says, I will share my glory with 
no one. Isaiah 42, 8, and Isaiah 48, 
11. That's Yahweh's mind with reference 
to sharing his glory with a creature. but that the three persons of 
the Trinity glorify one another makes perfect sense because this 
is the living and true God that deserves all glory, all honor, 
all praise. The Athanasian Creed says that 
we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity, neither 
blending their persons nor dividing their essence. For the person 
of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, 
and that of the Holy Spirit still another. but the divinity of 
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their 
majesty co-eternal. That really is what Jesus is 
teaching. Wait a minute, that seems like 
quite the imposition, is it? Have I imposed anything on this 
text? Jesus talks about the sending 
of the Spirit by the Son. He speaks of the sending of the 
Spirit by the Father and the Son. He speaks of the Spirit's 
task or function in leading the disciples into all truth, truth 
about Jesus. And in so doing, he brings glory 
to Jesus. This divine and infinite being 
exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Notice the manner 
in which he does this. He will glorify me for he will 
take of what is mine and declare it to you. Again, you should 
hear the backdrop of Jesus' own statements about taking from 
the Father and declaring it to you. and the relation that the 
Spirit bears to the Father and the Son. So look at verse 15, 
all things that the Father has are mine. Therefore I said that 
he, the Spirit, will take of mine, which Jesus got from the 
Father, and declare it to you. And I don't think it's accidental. The words aren't exact, but the 
concept of the theme is exact. No one has seen God at any time, 
John 1 18, but the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the 
father has what? He has declared him. What's the 
spirit do? He takes of mine and he declares 
me. Jesus is telling the disciples 
the power, the advantage, the protection that they will have 
as they minister in the then known world, as they take pen 
to paper and write the New Testament documents, but he's also teaching 
them to behold your God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one living 
and true God, equal in substance, in power, and in glory. That's what Jesus encourages 
His church with in their time of crisis and difficulty. We confess with Nicaea, I believe 
in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds 
from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son 
together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. Well, brethren, hopefully, We 
at least can peer a little bit. Again, if all the concepts aren't 
readily available or innate, stick with it. There's no better 
pursuit in terms of learning. I'm sure refrigeration is good. I'm sure auto mechanics, I'd 
love to know auto mechanics. I blame my father. He should 
have taught me better. Actually, I don't. That was a 
joke. You can laugh. But those are 
good skills. But what is that skill that is 
bestest for life and death? It's the knowledge of the Holy 
One. It's an understanding of the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Spirit. It's getting the mind wrapped around the glory 
of the incarnation. The Son assumed our humanity 
so that He could live in a sin-cursed world, so that He could sorrow, 
so that He could suffer, so that He could bleed, so that He could 
die for us men and for our salvation. Brethren! of our blessed God to encourage, 
to build you up, and to see you through to the very end. There 
is no greater knowledge than who God is and Jesus Christ, 
whom thou hast sent. And if you're not a believer, 
look to this Jesus. I think that John 1.1 and John 
1.14 illustrate, exemplify, demonstrate And then it's somewhat capped 
off by John 3, 16. Did you show us something of 
that great love of God? God so loved the world, John 
3, 16. And just say it. God so loved the world. That's 
nice. It's like a husband. I just love 
you. And then you just don't say anything or do anything or 
look at your wife again. Really? You love me? Because 
you're kind of a jerk. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten son. He gave. That is beautiful language. Not because they deserved, because 
they earned. It's all of grace. He so loved 
the world that he gave. And I don't think the emphasis 
on the so loving the world is on because the world was loving. 
or lovely, I think it's because the world is a mess. God so loved 
the world. The so there amplifies the grace, 
not the goodness, of the world. He so loved it that he gave his 
only begotten son, that whoever, whoever, that has to include 
whoever here, believes in him shall have everlasting life. That is good news. That is gospel. That is the promise 
of our blessed God. So believe and have everlasting 
life. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you very much for your word. We thank 
you for this wonderful revelation concerning the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit that our Lord seems to emphasize so much 
in this upper room to build up his disciples, to encourage them, 
to strengthen them for the battles that they would face. We thank 
you that this is for us in the church today. We pray that you 
would help us to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Savior. And may you be glorified in all 
of this, and we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let us close 
our service by standing and singing the doxology, page 568. 568, 
we'll stand as we sing together. Praise God from whom all blessings 
flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Read the benediction and then 
I'll pray and ask God's blessing upon the food. And then after 
a brief time of meditation, everybody can sort of head upstairs and 
there is food and fellowship waiting there. So second Corinthians 
13, 14, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of 
God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 
Amen. Our Father in heaven, thank you for your revealed word. Thank 
you for the incarnate word, the Lord Jesus Christ. And thank 
you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the church even now. 
We thank you as well for the food that you provide temporally, 
the good physical blessings that you load us with daily. We don't 
take these for granted. We acknowledge you in the giving 
of our daily bread. So bless us now, strengthen us 
as we eat and drink, and may it be for your glory, for your 
honor, and for your praise. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated for a brief 
time of meditation and then head upstairs.