John 15:26–16:15

Pentecost

²⁶"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

²⁷And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

¹"I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

²They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

³And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

⁴But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.

⁵But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'

⁶But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

⁷Nevertheless, 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 go, I will send him to you.

⁸And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

⁹concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;

¹⁰concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;

¹¹concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

¹²"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

¹⁴He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

¹⁵All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

I want to live the victorious Christian life. I do, I really do. I want to be one of those super-Christians that others look up to, with a faith that never wavers, and who always knows just the right thing to say. To stand up and preach like Peter on that first Pentecost, to be Spirit-filled. A Christian that God can really use—and one he can be proud of. A Christian others look at and say, "Wow! What a great Christian. I want to be a Christian just like him." So come, Holy Spirit. Please. Fill me up and start a fire in my heart and life. I'm ready to go.

But is that really what the victorious Christian life really looks like? If so, I never will attain it, neither will any of you. For rather than being like this, we're more often like the apostles who were habitually filled with fear and doubt, and whose hearts were filled with sorrow when Jesus spoke the words in our text this morning. We're more often like the prophet Ezekiel, looking around at the world and seeing only dryness and death. We see the wreckage of life. Embattled families and marriages. The carnage of wars and natural disasters, of terrorism and hatred. We see churches sacrificing the truth for the porridge of popularity. We see our own struggle with sin, which so frequently gets the better of us and we can't seem to overcome, no matter how hard we try. The victorious Christian life seems like a myth.

What about you? Are you weak, tired, struggling, doubting? If so, today is for you. Pentecost is for you. To set the record straight. To teach you the truth about what the victorious Christian life really looks like, and—best of all—to give that life and victory to you. It's not something you do. For the victory has already been won. It's what we've been celebrating this entire Easter season—that Christ's death and resurrection is our victory over sin, death, and the devil. And so Pentecost is not about leaving Christ's death and resurrection behind and now following in Christ's steps to be victorious. The victorious Christian life is not about our efforts to achieve holiness or perfection. It's not about striving to be better people or better Christians. Pentecost is about the Holy Spirit taking what is Christ's and giving it to you. It's the continuation of Good Friday and Easter in our lives. It's about showing us that

We Live the Victorious Christian Life in the Glory of the Cross.

I.

And so, only hours before he'll be arrested, Jesus tells the disciples what they should expect not many days after, after he's died and risen and ascended. He tells them that they will be put out of the church; they will suffer persecution, hatred, prejudice, and humiliation. They will even be arrested, dragged into court, imprisoned and some will even be put to death. Nowhere here does Jesus say anything about a glorious, happy life or doing great things. Nowhere does he say they will rise to great levels of holiness and perfection. He does promise them the cross. They were not rejoicing, positive thinking Christians, looking forward to success in life and glory and praise from others. They were filled with sorrow because of what Jesus was telling them; at the picture Jesus was painting for their lives.

But he didn't leave them alone to suffer and despair. He also promised that he would send a "helper." The Greek word he used here means, "someone who will comfort, encourage and console them." It is the word used of Jesus when the Bible says that he is our advocate or legal defense standing before the judgment seat of God. Jesus was not going to remove the humility, the shame, the suffering of bearing our crosses, but he was going to send the Holy Spirit to encourage and comfort them.

And the Holy Spirit did come on the day of Pentecost.

He tells them that when he sends the Holy Spirit, this is what he'll do: "he will bear witness about me [Christ]. . . . He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (15:26; 16:8). The Holy Spirit will bear witness of Christ and convict of sin. And those are not two different works—bearing witness and convicting—but one and the same work. For this convicting is done as the Spirit takes us to the cross and shows us the truth of our life-stealing sin, the life-restoring righteousness of Christ, and the life-assuring defeat and judgment of Satan.

The Holy Spirit will make the cross of Christ a reality in our lives, showing us God's wrath and hatred of sin. Such wrath and hatred that he even abandoned his very own Son on the cross to die and receive his just and eternal punishment. He will convict us of sin accusing us by the Law of God of unrighteousness. No matter how spiritual we think we are, or how advanced in our walk with Christ or in our obedience, the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin for we remain sinful as long as we are alive in this world. We will never achieve perfection or holiness in this life. Indeed, the mark of spiritual maturity is not how great a Christian we are, but how much more aware of our own sinful nature we become.

And the Spirit will convict the world of righteousness and judgment. He brings the cross of Christ into our lives and joins us to the cross where our sins were forgiven and washed. Where we are reconciled to God and declared by God to be righteous on account of the death of His Son who made restoration for our sins. Because Jesus paid for our sins and bore our punishment on the cross, when the Holy Spirit joins us to the cross of Christ in our baptism, He declares with God's holy word that we are righteous and holy before Him, without spot or stain or blemish. The Holy Spirit brings Christ resurrection to us and joins us to the resurrection in Holy Baptism. Giving us new life, make us new creatures, born again into God as his children being made heirs of his eternal kingdom. The Holy Spirit testifies that we shall not come under judgment for Satan has been judged and death has been vanquished.

In other words, the Spirit bears witness to the fact that the victory I cannot win has been won for me by Christ, there on the cross, once and for all. And that victory I do now live as I live in Christ.

So it's not that the victorious Christian life is a myth; it just looks different than many people think. Because it looks like the cross. It's not lived above and beyond the problems of this life, as if we Christians can somehow float above them. No, it's lived exactly in the midst of them. For so Jesus came into our midst and gave life to all who were dried out, chewed up, and spit out by sin. He came and planted his cross in the midst of our lives, dying for us that we might rise with him to a new life. A new life, not with our heads in the clouds, but with our feet firmly planted on earth, living the cross-life, the Christ-life.

Which means we're victorious not when we stop sinning (which is impossible), but when we repent of our sins and receive the forgiveness and victory of Christ. When we fall on our knees and hear those wonderful words "I forgive you all your sins," and the Spirit takes the atonement and forgiveness of Christ and gives it to you. The Spirit, Jesus says, "will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (16:14). The Spirit will take what is Christ's: his life of obedience, his suffering, his death, his resurrection and give it to us. He will take what is Christ's, forgiveness, atonement, reconciliation, and righteousness and give it to us. He will take what is Christ's; his eternal life, his joy, his victory and give it to us.

We're victorious not when we grow up and stop needing to rely on Jesus so much. We're victorious when we rely on him more every day. Every day remembering our Baptism and who we are as children of God. Every day dying and rising with Christ. Every day receiving his victory, life, and salvation. Growing not up and away from him, but growing into him. The Spirit taking the life of Christ and giving it to you. "He will take what is mine and declare it to you."

And we're victorious not when our faith is the marvel of others, but when we who are weak in faith take refuge in our Savior, who gives and strengthens our faith. We are strong when we take refuge in the body and blood of our Savior, on the cross and on the altar, given and shed for you. The Spirit taking the salvation of Christ and giving it to you. "He will take what is mine and declare it to you."

But that's not all. This victory of Christ given to you also then bears fruit in your life. "You also will bear witness," Jesus says, "because you have been with me from the beginning" (15:27). And so as the disciples were soon to learn as they were about to face much opposition and persecution, you are victorious not when your life is problem-free, but when you forgive and do good to those who sin against you. You are victorious not when you have everything you want, but when you serve others and make sure they have what they need. You are victorious not when others look up to you, but exactly when they don't have to—because you are down with them. In the muck and mire, in the blood and carnage, in the sin and wreckage of life, bringing Christ and his cross of victory to a world in need of hope. To a world filled with dry, dead people.

When Ezekiel looked at that valley, he saw death. We see it too. But God sees life waiting to happen. Life through his Spirit, giving the gift of life. As Ezekiel would tell you, when the Spirit comes, life happens. The life of Christ. The life of our Savior, who came to us and hung on the cross as a bag of dry, dead bones. Then he came out of the valley of the shadow of death alive and now gives that life to us.

And so "it is to your advantage that [Jesus] go away" (16:7), for he has sent you his Spirit of life. "The Lord and giver of life," as we confess in the Nicene Creed. And in him all things are yours, for Christ is yours, and you are his. And so you are victorious. You may not look it. You may not feel it. You may not think it. But the Spirit reveals the truth that you are. Victorious in Christ.

Amen.