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!