The passage
      v4b. Jesus continues with the theme of suffering and explains that from the beginning of his ministry with his disciples he did not disturb them with the truth that they would one day face persecution.
      v5. Jesus announces that he is going to the one who sent him. The disciples seem more concerned at his leaving than as to where he might be going.
      v6. The thought of his going has filled their hearts with grief.
      v7. Jesus tells the disciples that it is for their good that he goes away. The "good" ("it is expedient") is the coming of the Holy Spirit.
      v8. This is the only passage of scripture which speaks of the Spirit's particular work in the "world". He will prosecute and bring about the world's conviction. Through the Spirit the world will know about sin, justice and judgment.
      v9. The Holy Spirit will expose the guilt of a world which claims of itself the center of existence and refuses to believe in Christ - the "Babel" mentality. The Spirit will condemn this rebellion before God and will convict the inner conscience of the rebel.
      v10. The Holy Spirit will also expose the world's poultry sense of justice, for Jesus will stand approved before God's judgment-seat, yet will be condemned in the world's eyes.
      v11. The Holy Spirit will also expose the coming judgment, the coming condemnation of the world. This is even a "now" reality in that Satan has been overthrown through Christ's victory on the cross.
      v12-13. Jesus now moves from the Spirit's work in the world to his work with believers. As the "Spirit of truth" he will lead us into "all truth." A central task of the Spirit's ministry is to guide believers into a deeper and deeper knowledge of the truth. This truth is found in Christ, so he will expound (exegete) Christ to the believer. This he will do through the apostles and their testimony, namely the New Testament.
      "He will tell you what is yet to come." This may be a promise that the Spirit will warn believers when the day of tribulation is about to come upon them, but is more likely saying that "He will show you the whole Christian way."
      v14. The Spirit's ministry is to glorify Christ - to take what is Christ's and declare it to his friends.
      v15. Jesus reminds us of the unity of truth that exists between the Father and the Son. To reveal the Son is to reveal the Father.

One God in three persons (Trinity sermon)
      Our passage for study is by no means an exposition of the Trinity, but it does give us hints as to the substance of the doctrine. It's these types of hints that forced the disciples, monotheistic Jews, to view Jesus and the Holy Spirit as divine, while at the same time retaining their monotheism.
      Jesus tells his disciples in v13 that a particular role of the Spirit is to lead the disciples into an understanding of the truth. Yet, this is not just the Spirit's truth; "he will not speak on his own". The Spirit is not the originator of some new radical teaching, for when it comes to the truth, the Spirit is in harmony with the Father and the Son.
      Jesus goes on to say in v14 that the ministry of the Spirit is Christocentric; he is not out to build his own empire, but rather to build with Christ. He gives glory to Christ in that the truth he teaches is just as much Christ's as his own. His ministry is to exegete the words of Christ and this he does through prophets like Paul the apostle.
      Finally in v15 Jesus make the point that the mutual ministry of the Spirit and the Son is not to the exclusion of the Father. There is no division in the godhead, rather what the Father has, so the Son has, so the Spirit has. When it comes to the truth business, they are one, they are in fellowship.
      Of course in the end we can never understand the truth that our God is one in three persons. Like the disciples of old, we accept the truth because the Bible teaches it. Consider how theologians explain the mysterious truth of the Trinity:
        i) There is only one God, Mk.12:29.
        ii) The Father is God, Jn.6:27, Matt.11:25.
        iii) The Son is God, Jn.1:1, 20:28.
        iv) The Holy Spirit is God, Mk.3:29, Ac.5:3-4.
        v) The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct, ie. they are not three terms for one person, Jn.14:16.
        vi) The Father is personal, Jn.15:9.
        vii) The Son is personal, Mk.14:62.
        viii) The Holy Spirit is personal, Rom.8:26.
        vix) The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not separate but one, Matt.28:19
        vx) The three persons coinhere Jn.1:18, 10:30, 14:10, 11.

Discussion
      Discuss how this doctrine affects practical matters such as prayer.

 
The Comforter (Pentecost sermon)
      In chapter 15, verse 26, and in chapter 16, verse 4b-15, we learn of the Spirit's role in the family of faith, the Christian community.

      i] Jesus calls the Spirit the Paraclete, 16:7. The word is usually translated "Comforter", but in the NIV it is translated "Counselor". In Greek society a paraclete was a kind of "advocate" who spoke on behalf of another person before a court of law. The paraclete need not be legally trained and may just be a character witness, or assistant to the person on trial. So, there are a number of options, but "comforter" is probably best.
        a) Comforter, Strengthener, Helper - he who aids and encourages.
        b)Counselor - he who teaches us the things of God.
        c) Advocate - he who pleads our cause before God.
        d) Friend, "another to befriend you", Knox.
      In short, the Holy Spirit is sent to supply the disciples' needs once met by Christ himself. He will continue the ministry of Jesus. He will be with us always. For the first disciples this was an extremely personal experience. The Holy Spirit takes away the loss of divine distance, 16:4b-7.

      ii] Jesus says he will send the Spirit, 16:7, but in 15:26 he adds "from the Father." This is known as the doctrine of the procession and is still one of great debate. The Eastern church believes that the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, while the Western church decided in 589AD to accept the creedal statement "We believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son." The way of dealing with this concept, while not interfering with the doctrine of the trinity (one God in three persons) is to say that the Father is the fount of all deity, by whom the Son was begotten, and it is the Father and the Son together from whom the Spirit proceeds.

      iii] Jesus calls the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth", or "the Spirit who communicates truth", 16:12-15. Jesus describes himself this way, in fact he is the truth, 14:6. The Spirit will bear witness concerning Jesus; he will be a source of revelation about the truth as it is found in the person and work of Jesus.

      In Chapter 16, verses 8-11, we learn of the Spirit's role in the world. When he comes he will expose the world's folly regarding sin, justice and judgment. First, about sin; the world's ongoing rejection of Christ. Second, about justice; God's affirmation of Christ exposes the world's condemnation. Finally, about judgment; the powers of darkness are condemned. The Spirit performs this work through the people of God.

v5
      uJagw pres. "I am going" - Jesus constantly refers to his death in John as going to the Father.
      ton pemyanta (pempw) aor. part. "him who sent" - the one having sent. Substantive participle. "I'm going back to the Father who sent me", CEV.
      erwta/ (erwtaw) pres. "asks" - asks. Peter did ask this question, 13:36. Possibly the point here is that the disciples have asked the question and so there is no need to ask further, although their sadness naturally remains, Lagrange. Others suggest that we have a source problem and as the editor was faithful to his sources he did try to smooth out this inconsistency.

v6
      oJti "because" - Here causal.
      ptplhrwken (plhrow) perf. "filled [with grief]" - has filled, fulfilled, completed. The disciples' inner being / heart is full of sadness. "The disciples were too concerned about their own loss to ponder the implication of Jesus going to the Father; if they were to do so their pain and doubt would be set to rest", Beasley-Murray.

v7
      alhqeian (a) "truth" - Jesus uses the phrase "I am telling you the truth" a number of times. It may be like the "truly, truly, I say unto you" in the synoptics, and therefore is used to emphasize the following words, or it may imply that the following words are general revelation rather than a particular word to the disciples alone. "I am telling you the simple truth", Phillips.
      sumferei (sumferw) "it is to [your] good" - it is expedient, to your advantage, benefit, profit. A reference to Jesus' death. "It is for your own good."
      iJna + subj. "that [I am going away] - [it is better] that [I go away]. Introducing a epexegetic clause explaining what is better.
      ean + subj. [unless I go away] - if [I do not go away]. Introducing a conditional clause 3rd. class. "If I do not depart", Moffatt.
      oJ paraklhtoV "the Counselor" - the helper, comforter, encourager ..... cf. 14:16-17. Note that 14:26, a disputed verse, is the only verse where the Holy Spirit and the Comforter are integrally linked. Some argue they are not one and the same, although few accept this argument.
      ouk eleusetai (ercomai) fut. "will not come [to you]" - The negative construction is emphatic; "will never come to you."
      ean de poreuqw "but if I go" - This conditional clause is omitted in some manuscripts.

v8
      "He will not simply convict the world as sinful, as without righteousness, as under judgement, but he will show beyond contradiction that it is wanting in the knowledge of what sin, righteousness, and judgement really are", Westcott.
      elegxei (elegcw) fut. "will prove [the world wrong about ....]" - i] expose, bring to light, ii] convict iii] reprove, punish blame iv] investigate, v] interpret, expound. Barrett opts for "convict", but "prove", in the sense of expose, is better cf. Hoskyns, Brown and Beasley-Murray. "To show someone his sin and to summon him to repentance", TDNT.
      peri aJmartiaV (a) "about sin" - There is no article. The issue is not who sinned or what particular type of sin is at question, but sin in itself. cf. Bultmann.
      peri dikaiosunhV (h) "about righteousness" - righteousness, justice. Brown suggest "justice" is better, although in the wider sense of the justice of God which rests on his character of love and mercy.
      peri krisewV (krisiV) "about judgment" - condemnatory judgment

v9
      peri "in regard to" - concerning, with regard to.
      men "-" - first [about sin]
      oJti "because" - Barrett suggests the clause is causative and therefore "because", but Brown suggests it is epexegetic (explanatory) and therefore "in that."
      pisteuousin (pisteuw) pres. "believe" - believe. Present tense indicating prolonged disbelief and thus exposing the nature of the world's sin.

v10
      de "-" - then [about justice].
      upagw pres. "[because] I am going" - Again, the clause may be epexegetic, "in that I am going", or causative, "because". The world condemned Jesus, but Jesus is going to the Father and will stand in a higher court, justified, and thus the world's sense of justice will be exposed as a sham.

v11
      de "-" - and finally [about judgment].
      oJti "because" - that. There is a good possibility that this hoti clause is epexegetic, even though certainly the first is likely to be causative. None-the-less, translators usually opt for one or the other in translating v9-11. "About judgement in that the prince of this world is already condemned", NJB.
      kekritai (krinw) perf. pas. "now stands condemned" - has been condemned, judged .... Satan was defeated by Christ on the cross and thus stands condemned. Along with this perspective the New Testament states that, although defeated, Satan remains master of his domain, for the present, Eph.2:2, 4:12.

v12
      eti polla ecw "I have much more" - yet many things I have. "I still have many things to tell you."
      bastazein (bastazw) pres. inf. "bear" - to bear, carry. Bear, in the sense of unable to understand at this point of time, but also possibly endure the full threat of future persecution.

v13
      to pneuma thV alhqeiaV "the Spirit of truth" - The genitive is most like objective, thus "the Spirit who communicates the truth / guides you along the a way." The phrase was understood by the early church fathers as teach, instruct.
      oJdhghsei (odhgew) fut. "he will guide" - he will show the way
      eiV .. en "into" - into or in. Both prepositions have equal manuscript support. "Into" in the sense that truth is the goal of the guiding. "In", in the sense that truth is the sphere of the guiding. Prepositions are used loosely in New Testament Greek and so it is difficult to discern shades of difference, particularly between these two.
      gar "-" - for. This conjunction serves to explain that the truth comes from Jesus
      akouei (akouw) fut. "he hears" - he will hear. Some manuscripts have the present tense, others future and even a subjunctive Mood, "whatever he may hear". It is either, "hears", a present ongoing continuous hearing, or "will hear." The Comforter ministers both now and then so it's either or. Westcott goes for the Present Tense and argues that the message of the Comforter is ongoing and developing whereas the message of the Son is complete. From a textual point of view the more unlikely reading, namely present tense, given that the surrounding verbs are future, is the more reliable reading.
      anaggellei (anaggellw) fut. "he will tell" - he will announce, proclaim, disclose, declare. LXX uses the word of revelation declared by God, often of the things to come.

v14
      eme "me" - The position is emphatic.
      oJti "by" - that. Probably again causative, "because". "He will glorify me, for he will draw on what is mine and reveal it to you", Moffatt.
      ek tou emou "from what is mine" - This may imply that the Comforter selects from the truth possessed by Jesus and reveals it as or when it is appropriate. Brown argues that this is unlikely.