John Calvin Commentary John 16:8

"And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:" — John 16:8 (ASV)

And when he is come. Passing by the diversity of expositions, which we have received because of the obscurity of the passage, I will only state what appears to me to be in accordance with Christ’s true meaning. He had promised his Spirit to the disciples; and now he praises the excellence of the gift from its effect, because this Spirit will not only guide, support, and protect them in private, but will extend his power and efficacy more widely.

He will convince the world; that is, he will not remain shut up in you, but his power will go forth from you to be displayed to the whole world. He therefore promises them a Spirit, who will be the Judge of the world, and by whom their preaching will be so powerful and efficacious that it will bring into subjection those who formerly indulged in unbounded licentiousness and were restrained by no fear or reverence.

It should be observed that in this passage Christ does not speak of secret revelations, but of the power of the Spirit, which appears in the outward doctrine of the Gospel and in the voice of men. For how is it that the voice proceeding from the mouth of a man penetrates into the hearts, takes root there, and at length yields fruit, changing hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, and renewing men, unless it is because the Spirit of Christ quickens it? Otherwise it would be a dead letter and a useless sound, as Paul says in that beautiful passage, in which he boasts of being a minister of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6), because God worked powerfully in his doctrine.

The meaning therefore is that, though the Spirit had been given to the apostles, they would be endowed with a heavenly and Divine power, by which they would exercise jurisdiction over the whole world. Now, this is ascribed to the Spirit rather than to themselves, because they will have no power of their own, but will be only ministers and instruments, and the Holy Spirit will be their director and governor.

Under the term world, I think, are included not only those who would be truly converted to Christ, but also hypocrites and reprobates. For there are two ways in which the Spirit convinces men by the preaching of the Gospel. Some are genuinely moved, so as to bow down willingly and assent willingly to the judgment by which they are condemned. Others, though convinced of guilt and unable to escape, still do not sincerely yield or submit to the authority and jurisdiction of the Holy Spirit. Instead, even though they are subdued, groan inwardly, and are overwhelmed with confusion, they continue to cherish obstinacy in their hearts.

We now perceive how the Spirit was to convince the world through the apostles. It was because God revealed his judgment in the Gospel, by which their consciences were struck, and they began to perceive their evils and the grace of God. For the verb ἐλέγχειν here signifies to convince or convict; and, for understanding this passage, considerable light will be obtained from the words of the Apostle Paul, when he says:

If all shall prophesy, and an unbeliever or unlearned man enter, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all, and thus shall the secrets of his heart be made manifest (1 Corinthians 14:23).

In that passage Paul speaks particularly of one kind of conviction, that is, when the Lord brings his elect to repentance by the Gospel; but this plainly shows how the Spirit of God, by the sound of the human voice, constrains men, who formerly were not accustomed to his yoke, to acknowledge and submit to his authority.

A question now arises: For what purpose did Christ say this? Some think that he points out the cause of the hatred which he had mentioned, as if he had said that the reason they will be hated by the world is that the Spirit, on the other hand, will earnestly solicit the world through them. But I rather agree with those who tell us that Christ’s design was different, as I stated briefly at the commencement of the exposition of this verse. For it was of great importance that the apostles should know that the gift of the Spirit, which had been promised to them, was of no ordinary value. He therefore describes its uncommon excellence by saying that God will, in this way, erect his tribunal for judging the whole world.