GETTING AT THE ROOT OF SIN

The Holy Spirit convicts the world about sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). The first conviction is manward in emphasis. The second emphasis is Christward and the third is Satanward. The explanatory clauses point toward the emphasis in each case (John 16:9-11).

First, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit convicts the world "concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me" (John 16:9). The focus here is manward. The word translated "because" (οτι) could be translated "that" indicating the content of the conviction, but it is better understood as the cause or grounds for the sin. Unbelief in Jesus is the grounds for the conviction.

Jesus says "sin" (αμαρτιας) not "sins" (αμαρτιων) as the object of the preposition "concerning" (περι). The prosecution proves the sin. Sins, plural, are the symptoms not the disease. Sin, singular, is the disease, and the disease is unbelief in Jesus. The Holy Spirit does not convict people of breaking the "Ten Commandments" except as a means to prove the sin of unbelief. Breaking specific laws are sins but not sin itself. Sin, the heart of the disease, leads to lawlessness, the symptoms of the sickness (1 John 3:4). The Holy Spirit uses the Law to prove sin like a doctor uses an MRI to prove a disease. The disease at the root of all our sins is the sin of unbelief.

The sin of Adam and Eve in eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree (Gen. 3:6) was an act that demonstrated a faithless heart. Unbelief issues in rebellion and leads to lawlessness. Paul wrote, "Whatever is not from faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). Jesus said that people are convicted because they do not believe in Him. The ultimate sin is a sin of omission not commission. The ultimate sin is something we don't do instead of something we do! Not believing in Jesus is the source of all sins.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world individually not collectively. The "world" (κοσμον) is singular. The verb "they do not believe" (πιστευουσιν) is plural. The Holy Spirit proves sin to the world by proving sin to each individual in the world. The sin of unbelief is individual not corporate, and the guilt is personal not collective.

No matter how much good we do in life, the good we do cannot outweigh the one thing we fail to do if we fail to trust Jesus. Sooner or later the unbelief produces sinful actions. Unbelief is the root of sin. Just like a gardener must pull up the weeds by the roots so the Holy Spirit must convict us of our sins at the root. We can do many good works, but, if we do not believe in Jesus, we stand guilty before God's eternal court.

The prosecuting attorney will never rest His case until He proves our guilt leading either to conversion or condemnation.

THE PROSECUTING PARACLETE

Photo by Pat Bartlett

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to "convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (Jn16:8). The verb translated "will convict" (ελεγξει) has 4 possible meanings: 1) to expose; 2) to convict; 3) to reprove; 4) to punish (BAGD, p. 249). The same meaning should be applied to all 3 targets - sin, righteousness and judgment - which eliminates #1 and #4. To merely reprove the world seems rather weak so the best understanding is to convict or convince the world.

The Holy Spirit convicts the whole world. He does not convert the whole world. The verb was used in a legal setting meaning "to cross-examine for the purpose of convincing or refuting an opponent" (Bernard, John, 2:506). Jesus says, "I am sending the paraclete (παρακλητος) to you" (προς υμας), in other words to believers, as a legal friend (Jn. 16:7). The paraclete is our legal friend, but He is also the world's prosecutor.

The prosecutor's role is to prove sin, righteousness and judgment to the world whether the world changes or not. The prosecutor proves the guilt to the world so the world can see where they stand before God. The guilty verdict has already been pronounced on the world (Jn. 3:18, 36), but the world needs to be convicted of their guilt before they will ever accept a Savior (Carson, The Farewell Discourse, p. 139).

The preposition "concerning" (περι) which is repeated with all 3 categories of conviction can simply be understood as an undefined "with regard to" but seems to carry greater weight. It is better translated as "about" indicating that the Spirit convicts the world of the facts about sin, righteousness and judgment. The conviction does not guarantee the conversion. Conviction is the necessary prerequisite to conversion, but conversion requires regeneration to be complete.

How does the Spirit do His convicting work in the world? He does it, at least partly, through us. Twice in these verses Jesus uses the second person pronoun not the third person pronoun showing us that He is addressing the disciples not the world. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit "to you" (Jn. 16:7) meaning the disciples. He also addresses the disciples by saying "and you no longer see Me" (Jn. 16:10). So Jesus speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world but sends the Holy Spirit to believers transforming believers into the Spirit's conduit to the world (Carson, The Farewell Discourse, p. 143).

The Holy Spirit uses us to bring conviction to the world, but He alone accomplishes conviction. This truth simultaneously relieves our pressure and endows us with confidence as we witness. We don't have to convince anyone by ourselves , and yet our words are invested with His convicting power!