John 16:1-15 (NKJV) The Spirit of Truth

1  "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2  They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3  And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4  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. 5  "But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' 6  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7  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. 8  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10  of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11  of 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. 13  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. 14  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15  All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

​Question to Consider:

1. How does the Holy Spirit bring conviction of sin to people?  (Is it a brain function; an emotional response; a supernatural work?)
2. What is Jesus doing at the right hand of the Father?  (Why is this role essential?)
3. Can you explain the idea of God being "in us" by the Holy Spirit?

Jesus was headed to the cross and He was preparing His disciples for what was to come.  When Jesus was gone the disciples would become the focal point for persecution.  v.2 Predicts the exact thing that would happen to Stephen.  (Acts 7)  Stephen was stoned by the Jews and a man by the name of Saul (who was later was converted and became known as the Apostle Paul) watched over the outer garments of those who did the stoning.
v.7 Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, but made it clear that He would need to go away before the Holy Spirit could come.  The theological question is why was this so?  In my opinion there are three reasons: 1) It was the Father's plan.  2) At this point in time Jesus had not died, been resurrected or ascended to heaven to make intercession for the saints.  All of these things were prerequisites for the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.  3) The work of Jesus in us through the Holy Spirit is of greater importance in establishing the Church than Jesus being with us in the flesh.  This is why Jesus referred to this as being to the "advantage" of the disciples.
The ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the world is 1) To convict of sin.  2) To establish an understanding of right and wrong in humanity.  3) To make humanity aware of God's judgment of sin.  The little "g" god of this world (Satan) would have people believe that there is no right or wrong and that there are no consequences to our actions.  The Holy Spirit refutes this wrong notion.
v.13 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth.  The Holy Spirit is not a separate god.  He is God, the third person of the Holy Trinity.  As such, He does not speak or act on His own authority, but with the full authority of the Father and Son.  
v.14 The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son.  He glorifies the Son by continuing the work of the Son through the followers of Christ.  The Holy Spirit acts as the administrator of the Church, establishing the Church through the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22,23) and through Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. 12)