The perfect gift from above

Sermon for Easter 4 – Cantate

James 1:16-21  +  John 16:5-15

James reminded us in today’s Epistle: Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above. Do you remember what he said right before that? He said, Make no mistake, my dear brothers. Why does he add that warning? He adds it, because people often make this mistake. The devil, and the world, and our own sinful flesh would deceive us into thinking that God actually gives bad gifts. Into thinking that God sends harmful things to us, that God tempts us to do evil, that God is responsible for all the troubles and problems in the world. No, says James. That’s false. That’s the devil trying to deceive us. The truth is, God gives good gifts. Perfect gifts. All that we need to get through this cursed existence on earth to the safety and joy of eternal life. And maybe the most important of all those perfect gifts is mentioned in today’s Gospel, where Jesus promises to His holy Church the perfect gift from above: His own Holy Spirit.

His disciples were sad on Maundy Thursday evening, because Jesus had told them that He was “going to the Father,” that He was “going away.” They thought that was a terrible idea. They thought, in their ignorance, that Jesus was making a mistake, that it would be worse for them if Jesus left, that God would be abandoning them. On the contrary, Jesus assures them, It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. If the coming of this “Comforter” is better, is more advantageous than having Jesus Himself present among us in physical form, He must be a truly perfect gift from above.

What will He do, this “Comforter”? Jesus reveals a few verses later that it’s the Holy Spirit He’s referring to. The word “Comforter” is full of meaning. His proper work is to “comfort,” to bring the comfort of God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness in Christ and for the sake of Christ. But the word can also be translated simply Helper, or Advocate, or even Encourager, someone who has been called to your side to help you.

Jesus outlines here in our Gospel one of the chief ways in which the Comforter will help the Church Jesus has “left behind” here on earth. When he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment.

So one of the Spirit’s chief tasks is to convict the world. Now, understand, the Holy Spirit does not float around in the air convicting anyone of anything. Nor does He enter the room when the music is blared just right. He convicts through the Word of God that is preached. That is how He works. Specifically here, he works through the preaching of the Law, which reveals sin and threatens God’s wrath, judgment, and punishment against sinners.

He will convict the world concerning sin, because they do not believe in me. Not believing in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, is not the only sin people commit, obviously. The Spirit, through the Word of God, reveals a world full of sinners, with not a single exception. A world full of people who were all sinful from birth, from the moment we were conceived, with a sinful flesh that is automatically devoid of true fear of God, true love for God, true trust in God, and is even hostile toward God and full of selfish and wicked desires. And it doesn’t stop there, with our twisted, corrupt flesh. The Spirit exposes every sin of thought, word, and deed that proceeds form our twisted, corrupt flesh. Sins against God’s commandments. Sins that are directly against God, like failing to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things, failing to honor His name and His Word. And sins that are against our neighbor, like failing to honor our parents, murder, adultery, theft, laziness, mockery, and meanness. All of these sins, any of these sins would condemn us. The only escape from God’s wrath and condemnation is faith in Christ Jesus, who paid for all the world’s sins on the cross, faith that comes only by the working of the Holy Spirit. But the world stands convicted by the Holy Spirit, because they have not believed in Jesus, and so they will have to answer for each and every sin before the judgment of the all-seeing God.

He will convict the world concerning righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more. The world—and again, in this context, “the world” refers to those who do not believe in Christ Jesus as true God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit—the world believes in its own version of righteousness. Unbelievers have created their own version of what it means to be good. Ask anyone out there, especially here in the United States (because you’ll get a different answer in other parts of the world)—ask them if they’re a “good person,” and most will say, Yes, I am, or Yes, I think I am. They created their own standard of right and wrong, of what social justice is supposed to look like, and then they praise themselves for living up to their own standard (although they usually don’t even do that), and they look down on all the people who violate their own invented notion of righteousness. The news media are experts at this.

But the Spirit proclaims, There is no one righteous, no not one. Well, not one among ordinary men. Jesus Christ is called “the Righteous One” for good reason. He was the only sinless Man who ever lived or who ever will. Only His righteousness is valid before God, and He has promised to share it, to give it as a covering to all who believe in Him. But now He has gone to the Father, and we see Him no more. The only way to be righteous in God’s sight is through the ministry of the Spirit as He brings sinners to trust in Christ for righteousness. But the world as yet refuses, and so the world stands convicted, not by you, not by me, but by the same Holy Spirit as He works through the preaching of the Law.

He will convict the world concerning judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. In the world’s judgment, Christ is guilty. Guilty of getting in the way of their goals, guilty of ruining their fun, guilty of not going along with the world and its manmade religion. The world judged Christ as guilty and hung Him on a cross. In the world’s judgment, Christians, too, are guilty and must ultimately be punished for their crimes of worshiping God instead of man, of honoring God’s Word instead of man’s word. Christians are judged as guilty for not going along with the world’s sin, for speaking against the world’s sin, and for denying the power of any other god to save except for the God who sent His Son to be judged in our place, that we might escape God’s judgment.

Of course, it’s only God’s judgment that really counts, and in God’s judgment, Christ was vindicated, those who believe in Him are justified, and the prince of this world, the devil, is already judged. That means that the whole world of unbelievers will also be judged in the coming judgment, and not one of them will escape. That message of judgment—God’s judgment—is not something to run away from. It must be proclaimed. And when it is, the Spirit of God is working to convict the world. And finally, some of those who are convicted of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment will repent and seek forgiveness in Christ. And they’ll find it, and so will be removed from the number of the world and added to the number of the holy Church that has been called out of the world by God the Holy Spirit.

In addition to the Comforter’s work of convicting the world, He also has a very important task among those who are God’s people. Jesus says in the Gospel, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He did that first with the apostles themselves. After the Day of Pentecost, it was the Spirit who enlightened the apostles to understand the Old Testament Scriptures, to understand the Gospel, and to explain it clearly and correctly in their New Testament writings. It was the Spirit who guided the Church into all truth, so that they were able to confess God rightly and put down every heresy that the devil sent.

Now it’s the same Spirit, given to all who believe in Christ, who still enlightens us with His gifts, who sanctifies us and preserves us with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. That doesn’t mean that Christians can’t sometimes get things wrong, that we can’t be deceived or led astray. Churches have often wandered away from the truth revealed in Holy Scripture. Nor does it mean that Christians always live the sanctified, saintly lives we’re called to live. What it means, is that the Spirit will always be calling us back to the truth that has been set down in the Holy Scriptures. The Spirit will always be preserving some remnant on earth of right-teaching churches. The Spirit will always be calling Christians to repentance and faith, and will always be powerfully working with Christians to guide and to strengthen us in love and in works of love. And in so doing, the Spirit glorifies Jesus, as He said, He will glorify me.

It often seems that the task Jesus has left behind for us in the world is monumental and more than we can handle. To constantly be at odds with the world, preaching things that the world finds repulsive. To know the truth of God, when there are so many falsehoods being taught all around us. To keep believing in Christ, to keep growing in Christ, and to keep loving one another and our neighbor in the process. Thank God, we have been given a Comforter, a Helper, sent by Jesus when He went away to stay by our side at all times, the Holy Spirit of God, the perfect gift from above. Amen.