a sin (properly abstract) · noun — genitive singular feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
of
περὶperi
G4012
properly · preposition
righteousness
δικαιοσύνηςdikaiosunēs
G1343
equity (of character or act) · noun — genitive singular feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
of
περὶperi
G4012
properly · preposition
judgment
κρίσεως.kriseōs
G2920
decision (subjectively or objectively · noun — genitive singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jude 1:15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,…
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shal…
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall loo…
Acts 16:29-30 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
John 8:9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesu…
1 Corinthians 14:24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 16:7-15
As it was usual with the Old Testament prophets to comfort the church in its calamities with the promise of the Messiah (Isa 9:6; Mic 5:6; Zac 3:8); so, the Messiah being come, the promise of the Spirit was the great cordial, and is still.
Three things we have here concerning the Comforter's coming: -
I. That Christ's departure was absolutely necessary to the Comforter's coming, Joh 16:7. The disciples were so loth to believe this that Christ saw cause to assert it with a more than ordinary solemnity: I tell you the truth. We may be confident of the truth of everything that Christ told us; he has no design to impose upon us. Now, to make them easy, he here tells them,
1. In general, It was…
And when he is come, he will, &c.--This is one of the passages most pregnant with thought in the profound discourses of Christ; with a few great strokes depicting all and every part of the ministry of the Holy Ghost in the world--His operation with reference to individuals as well as the mass, on believers and unbelievers alike [OLSHAUSEN].
he will reprove--This is too weak a word to express what is meant. Reproof is indeed implied in the term employed, and doubtless the word begins with it. But convict or convince is the thing intended; and as the one expresses the work of the Spirit on the unbelieving portion of mankind, and the other on the believing, it is better not to restrict it to…
He will reprove - Ελεγξει, He will demonstrate these matters so clearly as to leave no doubt on the minds of those who are simple of heart; and so fully as to confound and shut the mouths of those who are gainsayers. See Act 2:1, etc.
The world - The Jewish nation first, and afterwards the Gentile world; for his influences shall not be confined to one people, place, or time.
John Gill on John 16:8
And when he is come,.... The coming of the Spirit here, chiefly designs his descent upon the apostles, at the day of "Pentecost": as the things ascribed to him, and which were then done by him, clearly show; though it may also include his coming along with, and by the ministration of the Gospel, into the hearts of his people at conversion, in all after ages of time:
he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: by "the world" is principally meant, the Jews; the world among whom Christ personally was, who knew him not, disbelieved him, rejected him as the Messiah, hated and persecuted him, even unto death; though not to the exclusion of the Gentiles, the whole world th…
The Church Fathers
This is the power of the descent of the Holy Spirit, that "then the sin of those who have erred against me will be revealed." Whoever after the descent of the Holy Spirit did not believe in the Christ remained in their sins. Whoever did not believe in the sinless One will be condemned as a sinner.
(Tr. xcv. 1) But how is it that Christ did not reprove the world? Is it because Christ spoke among the Jews only, whereas the Holy Spirit, poured into His disciples throughout the whole world, reproved not one nation only, but the world? But who would dare to say that the Holy Ghost reproved the world by Christ's disciples, and that Christ did not, when the Apostle exclaims, Do ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in Me? (2 Cor. 13:3. Vulg.) Those then whom the Holy Ghost reproves, Christ reproves also. He shall reprove the world, means, He shall pour love into your hearts, insomuch, that fear being cast out, ye shall be free to reprove.
When He has shown that His departure to His Father is the fitting occasion of the descent and mission of the Spirit, and has by this means sufficiently allayed the pangs of grief in His holy disciples, He rightly proceeds to show what the work of the Holy Spirit will be. For when He is come, He says, He will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. And He has clearly pointed out what form the reproof in each of these cases will take. But since some are likely to stumble in dealing with this question, I consider it necessary to interpret the text point by point, and to state more plainly its signification.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Holy Ghost — The third Person of the adorable Trinity. His personality is proved (1) from the fact that the attributes of personality, as intelligence and volition, are ascribed to him (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 1…
Holy Spirit, The Personality Of · He reproves — He reproves
Holy Spirit, The, Is God · As convincing of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment — As convincing of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment
Inspiration Of The Holy Spirit, The · Design of: To testify against sin — Design of: To testify against sin
Reproof · The Holy Spirit gives — The Holy Spirit gives
Sin · The Holy Spirit convinces of — The Holy Spirit convinces of
Unbelief · 5:12-14; — 5:12-14;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John 16:8-15
8. And when he is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment 9. Of sin, because they believe not in me 10. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more. 11. Of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged. 12. I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13. But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will lead you into all truth; for he will not speak from himself, but will speak all that he has heard, and will declare to you the things that are to come. 14. He will glorify me, for he will take of what is mine, and will declare it to you. 15. All things that the Father hath are m…
One of the Spirit’s roles is to convict the world. Convict is a legal term: The world had conducted its trial of Jesus, examining the evidence for his case (his signs and claims). Now the world would stand trial before the Spirit, and its guilt would be proven.
16:8 The Spirit unveils to the world the real nature of its sin, the truth about righteousness found only in God, and the coming judgment, which has already dawned on the world as light penetrating the darkness.
