- Reproving the World of Sin - In John 16:9, what is the connection between “sin” and “believe not on me”? We must always remember that whenever we study the Bible we must let the Bible teach us. With this principle in mind, in this verse we find that belief is equated with not abiding in darkness. This particular passage helps us to understand that spiritual light, or belief, is associated with spiritual life. This means that a person whom God draws to salvation will not remain in spiritual darkness because God will give him the faith of Christ as a gift. Spiritual darkness is intimately identified with spiritual death and eternal condemnation.
John 16:8-11“And when he [the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me [Jesus Christ]; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”
John 12:46 “I [Jesus Christ] am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”
John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
John 3:19-20 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
- Reproving the World of Righteousness - The Lord Jesus is actually called “Righteous” in 1 John 2:1, and the Old Testament also makes this point. I want to highlight two aspects of why Jesus speaks of going to His Father. Firstly, He could only re-enter Heaven if He had successfully paid for the sins of His people, which He most certainly did. God goes to great lengths to emphasize the “joy” that He would ultimately experience after enduring the wrath of God. This same joy would also be the precious possession of every child of God, as these verses in John 16 so vividly point out. Secondly, Christians, as recipients of the Holy Spirit, would be qualified to be ambassadors for Christ in accordance with God’s plan to evangelize the world.
John 16:10 “... Of righteousness, because I [Jesus Christ] go to my Father, and ye see me no more…”
Jer 23:5-6 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch [Lord Jesus Christ], and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely [Judah and Israel typify Elect of God, circumcised in heart]: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Heb 12:2 “… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
1 Pet 1:8 “... ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
John 14:12 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do [greater work is evangelizing the world]; because I go unto my Father.”
- Reproving the World of Judgment - Well, who is “the prince of this world” in John 16:11? The prince, or ruler, of this world is Satan himself. The Lord Jesus ascended into Heaven and will not appear again physically until Judgment Day. May God be pleased to convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment as we ponder on these verses.
John 16:11 “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged”.
John 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
Eph 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”
Acts 17:31 “Because he [God the Father] hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man [Jesus Christ] whom he hath ordained; whereof he [God the Father] hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him [Jesus Christ] from the dead.”
Psa 96:13 “… for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.”
- He Will Guide You into All Truth - Also, the Lord Jesus declared in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit will guide believers into all truth. The Greek word for “guide” “hod” is also translated into English as “lead”. It is used to refer to many of the religious leaders, whom Jesus characterized as being “blind leaders of the blind” in Mat 15:14 because they were not saved and were leading others away from salvation with their erroneous teaching. God gives us more information concerning the Holy Spirit’s wonderful ministry to every single Christian through the use of the word “guide”. Just as Phillip helped the Ethiopian understand the Gospel (which is a role of all believers), the Holy Spirit guides every true Christian into all truth from the Scriptures as they learn more and more about their blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 16:13-15 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”
1 John 5:6 “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.”
Acts 8:30-37 “And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”
- He Will Show You Things to Come - What does that phrase mean? Actually, the same word “shew” is found in all three verses of John 16:13-15. The Greek word for shew “anaggell” is also found as “declare”. Paul is declaring what every Christian is supposed to teach – all of the Bible and only the Bible. The Holy Spirit not only teaches us the truth from the Bible, but also causes us to remember it. Bear in mind that the “all things” here mean all “spiritual things” in the Scriptures.
John 16:13-15 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”
Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”
John 14:26“ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
1 Cor 2:13 “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
John 12:16 “These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.”
- He Shall Glorify Jesus Christ - This section concerns the work of God the Holy Spirit in glorifying God the Son, even as the Son glorifies God the Father. We read in John 14:26 above that God the Father sent the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. How does the Holy Spirit testify and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ? The same Greek word is used in these two verses and is translated as both “testify” and “beareth witness”. God and His Word are “truth”. The Holy Spirit testifies and bears witness through every word in the entire Bible. I realize that we have been speaking of the Holy Spirit’s particular role within the Godhead today, but we must never forget that no Member of the Triune Godhead operates independently of the other Two.
John 16:13-15 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”
John 17:1 “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee…”
John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me…”
1 John 5:6 “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.”
John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record [or bear witness, or testify] in heaven, the Father, the Word [Word in flesh, Lord Jesus Christ], and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
- He is the Author of the Bible - It is important to understand that God the Holy Spirit is the Divine Author of the Word of God, the Bible. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. Why would God use the illustration of a “sword”, the only offensive weapon in the list of the Christian’s armor? Indeed, God’s double-edged Sword has the power to either cause spiritual death [judge] or spiritual life.
2 Pet 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Eph 6:17 “... And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Heb 4:12 “For the word of God is quick [alive], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
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