“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 go, I will send Him to you.”
John 16 : 7

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In this Sunday’s message, Pastor Josh Kelsey reminds us that the Holy Spirit is not an optional comfort, but the essential continuation of Christ’s presence within us. Jesus did not abandon His disciples, He multiplied His presence through the Spirit who now dwells in every believer.

“It is to your advantage"  — The necessity of the Spirit

• When Jesus said it was to our advantage that He goes away, He revealed a divine paradox: His absence made space for His indwelling presence.
• The Spirit makes the impossible intimacy of God possible no longer “God with us” but “God in us.”
• The necessity of the Spirit reminds us that transformation is not achieved by effort but by indwelling.
• What Jesus accomplished for us, the Spirit applies within us.

“The Helper"  — The identity of the Spirit (v.7)

• Greek: Paraklētos — “one called alongside to strengthen and counsel.”
• Jesus calls Him allos paraklētos “another of the same kind.”
• The Spirit is not another comforter of lesser nature but the same divine presence continuing Christ’s ministry through His people.
• He is the voice beside you when you pray, the strength within you when you cannot stand, and the One who turns weakness into worship.

“He will convict the world" — The Spirit's ministry of revelation (v.8)

Greek: Elenchō — to reveal or expose truth, not to condemn.
The Spirit reveals what the world cannot see:

• Sin: because they do not believe in Jesus.
• Righteousness: because Christ has gone to the Father.
• Judgment: because the ruler of this world stands condemned.
• Conviction is the mercy of revelation—it’s how God awakens blind eyes to see truth and calls hearts back to Himself.

"He will guide you into all truth"  — The Spirit's work in the believer (v.13)

• Greek: Hodēgeō — to lead along a path you could not walk alone.
• The Spirit doesn’t merely inform; He transforms.
• He guides us into truth that liberates, not knowledge that inflates.
• The Word without the Spirit produces intellect; the Word with the Spirit produces intimacy.
• Every believer’s journey toward Christlikeness is a guided one—the Spirit is both map and companion on the road of sanctification.

“He will glorify me"  — The Spirit's primary purpose (v.14)

• Greek: Doxazō — to magnify or reveal the worth of Christ.
• The Spirit’s purpose is not to draw attention to Himself but to exalt Jesus.
• He takes what belongs to the Son and declares it to us, so that Christ’s life becomes visible in His Church.
• Where the Spirit is truly moving, Jesus becomes the focus—He is glorified in our worship, magnified in our witness, and reflected in our unity.

Theological Climax  — The flow of divine communion (v. 15)

• All that the Father has belongs to the Son, and all that belongs to the Son is declared by the Spirit.
• Here we glimpse the perfect harmony of divine communion—the eternal exchange of love within the Trinity that now includes us.
• Through the Spirit, believers are drawn into the flow of this holy fellowship: loved by the Father, redeemed by the Son, indwelt by the Spirit.

Discussion Questions

• What does it mean that the Spirit’s presence is to your advantage?
• How does the Spirit as Helper reshape how you face weakness or uncertainty?
• Where might God be using conviction as an invitation rather than condemnation?
• What truth is the Spirit guiding you into right now?
• How can your life this week glorify Christ through the Spirit’s presence in you?