“No Longer of this World"
John 15:18-16:15

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement…” [John 16:8]

The “He” in this verse is the Holy Spirit, a prominent theme in the Upper Room Discourse. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” [John 14:16-17]  

The word, “another,” means another of the same kind. “Another Helper” is God the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Triune Godhead.

The world “neither sees Him nor knows Him,” and so they certainly cannot receive Him. But it is the receiving that makes all the difference. And that only comes by way of receiving Jesus as Lord.

Jesus had just commanded His disciples to love as He loved [13:31-35] and serve as He served [13:1-17]. This, however, is only possible through another Helper. 

We need the Spirit’s work in our lives; more of Him and less of us. We need to be constantly filled with His presence and this comes from abiding, abiding in the Vine [15:4-5]. We must remain in Jesus. And that comes through worship, prayer, meditating on God’s word, and fellowship with other believers. When we abide, Spiritual fruit is cultivated [ref. Galatians 5:22-23]

It is easier said than done. If it were easy we’d all have daily bumper crops of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The reality, however, is that we experience famine. And at the core of famine is the draw of the world.

The world is the topic this morning and it will be touched upon in the remainder of the Upper Room Discourse. The world is at odds with God’s Spirit. It is a battle, and Jesus warned us.

“If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” [John 15:19]

But remember, the work is His, our part is to simply abide, abide in the Vine.