Have you ever done a task or job that you knew no one would ever see you perform, yet without that task being done there could be no possibility of a finished product or project? Consider the engineer who must test and retest metal tolerances for a suspension bridge; he or she won’t be on stage at the ribbon cutting. When someone drives over the bridge, they won’t be thinking, “I wonder who tested and retested all the connections on this bridge so that it works properly?” Yet without a behind-the-scenes engineer doing that job properly, a successful suspension bridge project is impossible.

The Holy Spirit is the quiet Person of the Trinity. In the economy of God, the Spirit’s goal is to bring the Father and Son much glory. As Jesus describes the Spirit on this final night, Jesus illustrates a role that is behind-the-scenes yet vitally important to the success of the endeavor. The humility of the Spirit is fascinating and noteworthy. We never see the Spirit trying to bring glory or attention to Himself. He does, I believe, as tough a job as Jesus in securing the salvation of mankind. Jesus outlines for us three unseen jobs the Holy Spirit performs on earth, without which no human would ever cross the bridge of salvation.

Psalm 14 and Romans 3 both echo a truth about mankind: “No one seeks after God.” We are blind to our need for Him. Beginning from infancy, we naturally need air, food, water, comfort, clothes, shelter and community. But there is not a natural craving that wells up inside of us for God. Enter the Person of the Holy Spirit. In Genesis, we see the Spirit warning Cain about the nature of sin crouching at the door like a hidden lion. Cain pushes aside the Spirit’s warning and kills his brother in a jealous rage, further alienating his soul from the life of God. By Genesis 6, we see God shortening the life of humans to expedite the work of the Spirit in convicting humans of their lostness. God declares, “my Spirit will not always strive with man.” Adulterous David pleads with God not to “take Your Spirit from me” in Psalm 51. Murderous Christian-hunting Saul “kicks against the prodding of the Spirit” before being physically blinded by God and finally convicted of his need for salvation through “Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

The Holy Spirit proves, convinces and convicts the world of sin … If this job is not done, “no one seeks God.” No one needs a Savior. But think of how He must do this inside of our minds! He must interact with our evil thoughts, be two steps ahead of our evil deeds and organize some audible means of dropping the Word of God like a seed into our errant path. I know a few people who pursue the homeless to help them get back into safe environments, meeting, pleading, convincing and encouraging. The Holy Spirit goes after billions of people at once, squatting down into drunken filth, drug-induced stupors or sex-crazed existences. He convicts the greedy, showing them that no level of monetary savings or material goods will stave off their lust for more. He reproves the spouse who is wandering, whose eyes and cravings are leading them down a path of unfaithfulness that will mar the lives of children generations later and stifle the ability for them to maintain fulfilling relationships that reflect the beauty of the Trinity.

The best way to observe the Holy Spirit at work in the world is to simply drop the truth of the Word of God into lives. Paul and Apollos did this in the sin-haven of Corinth. Paul said, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it but God made it grow.” Jesus tells us here in John 16 that the Spirit doesn’t speak on His own, but rather “speaks” only what He hears. In other words, He uses the spoken and written Word — the sword of the Spirit, to penetrate soul and spirit, discerning the thoughts and intents of a human heart. (Hebrews 4:12) Drop the truth of Scripture into lives that are not seeking God, and step back. The Holy Spirit will show them their need for a Savior WAY BETTER than you or I ever could.

Long before Oppenheimer and the ground zero explosion south of Los Alamos, the fusion reaction of the Word of God and the Spirit of God happened in Acts 2. A small prayer meeting turned into the most powerful explosion the world has ever witnessed, continuing to this day among the nations. Emboldened “pray-ers” in love with Jesus were carried along by the Holy Spirit and shared the Word of God with a multi-linguistic crowd of pilgrims. It says of the crowd that they were “cut to the heart.” We still live under that promise — we have received power because the Holy Spirit has come upon us — enabling us to spread the seed of the Word, so that the Spirit can convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Spirit of God is always at work convicting and convincing in His most humble and loving way.