John 16:8 Study Bible: When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, and about righteousness, and about judgment;

◄ John 16:8 ►

And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

And when He comes
This phrase refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus to His disciples. The Greek word for "comes" is "erchomai," which implies not just arrival but an active presence. Historically, this coming is fulfilled at Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. This event marked a new era in God's redemptive plan, where the Spirit would dwell within believers, guiding and empowering them.

He will convict
The Greek word for "convict" is "elegcho," which means to expose, reprove, or convince. This is a legal term that suggests a courtroom setting where evidence is presented to prove a case. The Holy Spirit's role is to reveal the truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment, bringing an awareness that leads to repentance. This conviction is not merely about guilt but is intended to lead individuals to a transformative understanding of their need for Christ.

the world
In this context, "the world" refers to humanity in its fallen state, often characterized by opposition to God. The Greek word "kosmos" can mean the physical world, but here it signifies the moral and spiritual order that is contrary to God's kingdom. The Holy Spirit's work of conviction is universal, reaching out to all people, regardless of their background or beliefs, to draw them towards the truth of the Gospel.

in regard to sin
The term "sin" in Greek is "hamartia," which means missing the mark or falling short of God's standard. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin by revealing the reality of human rebellion against God. This conviction is necessary because, without an understanding of sin, there can be no recognition of the need for a Savior. The Spirit highlights the gravity of sin, not to condemn, but to lead individuals to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

and righteousness
Righteousness, or "dikaiosyne" in Greek, refers to the state of being right with God. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of righteousness by pointing to Jesus as the standard of true righteousness. Historically, Jesus' life, death, and resurrection demonstrated perfect obedience to the Father, providing the basis for believers to be declared righteous through faith. The Spirit's role is to reveal this truth, encouraging individuals to seek righteousness through Christ alone.

and judgment
The Greek word for "judgment" is "krisis," which implies a decision or verdict. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of judgment by revealing the reality of God's impending judgment on sin and evil. This conviction serves as a warning and a call to repentance, emphasizing the urgency of turning to Christ for salvation. The Spirit assures believers of their deliverance from judgment through Jesus' atoning sacrifice, while also reminding the world of the consequences of rejecting God's offer of grace.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Jesus Christ
The speaker in this passage, preparing His disciples for His departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

2. The Holy Spirit
Referred to as "He" in this verse, the Holy Spirit is promised by Jesus to come and fulfill specific roles.

3. The Disciples
The immediate audience of Jesus' teaching, who are being prepared for the new era of the Spirit's work.

4. The World
Represents humanity at large, which will be convicted by the Holy Spirit.

5. Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment
The three areas in which the Holy Spirit will convict the world.

Teaching Points

The Role of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is not just a comforter but also a convictor. His work involves bringing awareness of sin, the need for righteousness, and the reality of judgment.

Conviction of Sin
The Spirit reveals the truth about sin, leading individuals to recognize their need for repentance and salvation through Christ.

Understanding Righteousness
The Spirit convicts us of the righteousness available through faith in Jesus, contrasting human self-righteousness with God's standard.

Awareness of Judgment
The Spirit's conviction includes a reminder of the coming judgment, urging believers to live in a way that reflects their faith and hope in Christ.

Living by the Spirit
Believers are called to be sensitive to the Spirit's conviction in their lives, allowing Him to guide their actions and decisions.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the Holy Spirit's role in convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment impact your understanding of His work in your life?

2. In what ways can you be more receptive to the Holy Spirit's conviction in your daily walk with Christ?

3. How does the conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit lead to genuine repentance and transformation in a believer's life?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to align your life with the righteousness that the Holy Spirit convicts us of?

5. How does the awareness of judgment influence your interactions with others and your approach to sharing the Gospel?

Connections to Other Scriptures

John 14:26
This verse also speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Helper who will teach and remind the disciples of Jesus' teachings, emphasizing the Spirit's role in guidance and truth.

Acts 2:37
The conviction of the Holy Spirit is evident when Peter preaches at Pentecost, and the people are "cut to the heart," illustrating the Spirit's work in convicting of sin.

Romans 8:16
The Spirit testifies with our spirit, affirming the truth of our identity in Christ, which connects to the Spirit's role in convicting of righteousness.

Hebrews 9:27
Speaks of judgment after death, aligning with the Spirit's role in convicting the world of judgment.

Sermons

Conviction of Sin	J.R. Thomson	John 16:8, 9
Conviction of Righteousness	J.R. Thomson	John 16:8, 10
Conviction	Bp. Westcott.	John 16:8-11
Conviction of Judgment	J.R. Thomson	John 16:8, 11
The Awful Evil of Sin	C. H. Spurgeon.	John 16:8-11
The Convicting Work of the Spirit	D. Young	John 16:8-11
The Facts Which Convince the World	A. Maclaren, D. D.	John 16:8-11
The Fixing of Impressions	J. Stoughton, D. D.	John 16:8-11
The Hardened Sinner		John 16:8-11
The Holy Spirit's Threefold Conviction of Men	C. H. Spurgeon.	John 16:8-11
The Mission of the Comforter	E. L. Hull, B. A.	John 16:8-11
The Object of the Mission of the Comforter	J. Cumming, D. D.	John 16:8-11
The Spirit of Fire		John 16:8-11
The Spirit's Threefold Conviction	G. D. Boardman, D. D.	John 16:8-11
The Threefold Conviction	Geo. G. Findlay, B. A.	John 16:8-11

People

Jesus, Disciples

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Bring, Conscious, Convict, Convince, Demonstration, Guilt, Judged, Judgement, Judgment, Regard, Reprove, Respect, Righteousness, Sin

Dictionary of Bible Themes

John 16:8

     1125   God, righteousness
     1403   God, revelation
     5016   heart, fallen and redeemed
     5263   communication
     5436   pain
     5567   suffering, emotional
     5816   consciousness

John 16:5-10

2505 Christ, ascension

John 16:5-21

3215 Holy Spirit, and peace

John 16:7-8

3212 Holy Spirit, and mission
6173 guilt, and God

John 16:7-11

     1436   reality
     3035   Holy Spirit, presence of
     3130   Holy Spirit, Counsellor
     3296   Holy Spirit, in the world
     5031   knowledge, of sin
     8498   witnessing, and Holy Spirit

John 16:7-15

3040 Holy Spirit, promise of

John 16:8-9

     6029   sin, forgiveness
     6632   conviction
     8744   faithlessness, as disobedience

John 16:8-11

     3248   Holy Spirit, conviction
     5038   mind, the human
     5360   justice, God
     8105   assurance, basis of
     8150   revival, personal

Library

Presence in Absence
Eversley, third Sunday after Easter. 1862. St John xvi. 16. "A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." Divines differ, and, perhaps, have always differed, about the meaning of these words. Some think that our Lord speaks in them of His death and resurrection. Others that He speaks of His ascension and coming again in glory. I cannot decide which is right. I dare not decide. It is a very solemn thing--too solemn …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

November 6 Evening
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me--PSA. 25:5. When . . . the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.--Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.--All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 29 Evening
Do ye now believe?--JOHN 16:31. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.--Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Ye see then how that …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

May 14 Morning
The fellowship of His sufferings.--PHI. 3:10. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.--In the world ye shall have tribulation.--Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none.--At my …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

December 21 Morning
The days of thy mourning shall be ended.--ISA. 60:20. In the world ye shall have tribulation.--The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.--We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 15 Evening
The Spirit . . . maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.--ROM. 8:27. Verily, verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.--Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us; and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

August 15. "He Will Guide You into all Truth" (John xvi. 13).
"He will guide you into all truth" (John xvi. 13). The Holy Ghost does not come to give us extraordinary manifestations, but to give its life and light, and the nearer we come to Him, the more simple will His illumination and leading be. He comes to "guide us into all truth." He comes to shed light upon our own hearts, and to show us ourselves. He comes to reveal Christ, to give, and then to illumine, the Holy Scriptures, and to make Divine realities vivid and clear to our spiritual apprehension. …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

October 29. "Whatsoever Ye Shall Ask the Father in My Name, He Will Give it You" (John xvi. 23).
"Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you" (John xvi. 23). Two men go to the bank cashier, both holding in their hands a piece of paper. One is dressed in expensive style, and presents a gloved and jeweled hand; the other is a rough, unwashed workman. The first is rejected with a polite sentence, and the second receives a thousand dollars over the counter. What is the difference? The one presented a worthless name; the other handed in a note endorsed by the president of …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

March 5. "I have Overcome the World" (John xvi. 33).
"I have overcome the world" (John xvi. 33). Christ has overcome for us every one of our four terrible foes--Sin, Sickness, Sorrow, Satan. He has borne our Sin, and we may lay all, even down to our sinfulness itself, on Him. "I have overcome for thee." He has borne our sickness, and we may detach ourselves from our old infirmities and rise into His glorious life and strength. He has borne our sorrows, and we must not even carry a care, but rejoice evermore, and even glory in tribulations also. And …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Self-Help
ST. JOHN xvi. 7. It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. This is a deep and strange saying. How can it be expedient, useful, or profitable, for any human being that Christ should go away from them? To be in Christ's presence; to see his face; to hear his voice;--would not this be the most expedient and profitable, yea, the most blessed and blissful of things which could befall us? Is it not …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

From' and 'to'
'I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.'--JOHN xvi. 28. These majestic and strange words are the proper close of our Lord's discourse, what follows being rather a reply to the disciples' exclamation. There is nothing absolutely new in them, but what is new is the completeness and the brevity with which they cover the whole ground of His being, work, and glory. They fall into two halves, each consisting of two clauses; the former half …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Peace and victory
'These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'--JOHN xvi. 33. So end these wonderful discourses, and so ends our Lord's teaching before His passion. He gathers up in one mighty word the total intention of these sweet and deep sayings which we have so long been pondering together. He sketches in broad outline the continual characteristics of the disciples' life, and closes all with the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Why Christ Speaks
'These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things have I told you, that, when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go My way to Him that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

The Guide into all Truth
'I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 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 show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.'--JOHN xvi. 12-15. This is our Lord's …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Christ's 'little Whiles'
'A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of His disciples among themselves, What is this that He saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What is this that He saith, A little while? we cannot tell what He saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask Him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

'In that Day'
'And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.'--JOHN xvi. 23, 24. Our Lord here sums up the prerogatives and privileges of His servants in the day that was about to dawn and to last till He came again. There is nothing absolutely new in the words; substantially the promises contained in them have appeared in …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

The Joys of 'that Day'
'These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in My Name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God.'--JOHN xvi. 25-27. The stream which we have been tracking for so long in these discourses has now nearly reached its close. Our Lord, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Glad Confession and Sad Warning
'His disciples said unto Jesus, Lo! now speakest Thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that Thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask Thee: by this we believe that Thou earnest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.' --JOHN xvi. 29-32. The first words of these wonderful …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

The Departing Christ and the Coming Spirit
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.'--JOHN xvi. 7, 8. We read these words in the light of all that has gone after, and to us they are familiar and almost thread-bare. But if we would appreciate their sublimity, we must think away nineteen centuries, and all Christendom, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

The Convicting Facts
'Of sin, because they believe not on Me; 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 xvi. 9-11. Our Lord has just been telling His disciples how He will equip them, as His champions, for their conflict with the world. A divine Spirit is coming to them who will work in them and through them; and by their simple and unlettered testimony will 'convict,' or convince, the mass of ungodly men of error and crime in regard …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Nevertheless I Tell You the Truth; it is Expedient for You that I Go Away; for if I Go not Away
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them …
Charles G. Finney—Lectures to Professing Christians

June the Second Our Spiritual Guide
"When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth." --JOHN xvi. 7-14. How great is the difference between a guide-post and a guide! And what a difference between a guide-book and a companion! Mere instructions may be very uninspiring, and bare commandments may be very cold. Our Guide is an inseparable Friend. And how will He guide us? He will give us insight. "He will guide you into all truth." He will refine our spirits so that we may be able to distinguish "things that …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Loved in the Beloved.
(Third Sunday in Advent, 1831.) TEXT: JOHN xvi. 27. "For the Father Himself loveth you, be cause ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father." THAT was a great word of the Saviour about Himself on which we lately spoke together, in which He represented Himself as from of old the one object of desire and longing to all the best part of mankind, to those who were nearest to God and had received most teaching from Him: but this is a still greater saying, in which He sets Himself …
Friedrich Schleiermacher—Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher

The Spirit not Striving Always.
"And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man."-Gen. vi. 3. IN speaking from this text I shall pursue the following outline of thought, and attempt to show: I. What is implied in the assertion, My Spirit shall not always strive with man; II. What is not intended by the Spirit's striving; III. What is intended by it; IV. How it maybe known when the Spirit strives with an individual; V. What is intended by His not striving always; VI. Why He will not always strive; and, VII. Some consequences …
Charles G. Finney—Sermons on Gospel Themes

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