John 16:8

The Spirit’s coming would result in heightened conviction among unbelievers concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. [Note: See Chafer, 3:210-24: "The Convicting Work of the Spirit;" and John Aloisi, "The Paraclete’s Ministry of Conviction: Another Look at John 16:8-11," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47:1 (March 2004):55-69.] Before then, that conviction had come mainly from the Old Testament, John the Baptist, Jesus, and the disciples’ personal influences.

What did Jesus mean when He said the Spirit would "convict" (Gr. elenxei) the world? This Greek verb occurs 18 times in the New Testament (Matthew 18:15; Luke 3:19; John 3:20; John 8:46; John 16:8; 1 Corinthians 14:24; Ephesians 5:11; Ephesians 5:13; 1 Timothy 5:20; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:9; Titus 1:13; Titus 2:15; Hebrews 12:5; James 2:9; Judges 1:15; Judges 1:22; Revelation 3:19). In each case it involves showing someone his or her sin with a view to securing repentance. [Note: Cf. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. elenxo, by F. Büchsel, 2:473-74.]

"In John 16:8 the Holy Spirit is involved in pointing out sin in order to bring about repentance. The legal idea suggested by some seems to have been derived from the use of the term in extrabiblical literature, whereas the biblical writers used elenxo primarily to describe correction, not prosecution or conviction." [Note: Robert A. Pyne, "The Role of the Holy Spirit in Conversion," Bibliotheca Sacra 150:598 (April-June 1993):208. For the legal idea, see Paul Enns, "The Upper Room Discourse: The Consummation of Christ’s Instruction" (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1979), pp. 296-97; or Rudolph Bultmann, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, pp. 564-65.]

Wherever the Greek preposition peri ("concerning" or "in regard to") occurs after elenxei ("convict"), as here, some evil or source of evil follows (cf. John 8:46; Luke 3:19; Judges 1:15). The Spirit would not just accuse people of sin, but would bring an inescapable sense of guilt before God upon them (cf. 2 Samuel 12:7; Psalms 51:4). [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 157. Cf. Donald A. Carson, "The Function of the Paraclete in John 16:7-11," Journal of Biblical Literature 98 (1979):547-66.] This sense of guilt is an indispensable prerequisite for salvation.

The title paraclete (i.e., one called along side to help, cf. John 15:26) is an appropriate one for the Spirit. He acts as a prosecuting attorney by demonstrating the guilt of those whom Jesus accused with His teaching. Earlier Jesus had spoken of the Paraclete as the defender of believing disciples (John 14:16-18), but now the Eleven learned that He is also the prosecutor of unbelieving sinners. Believers are witnesses, the Holy Spirit is the prosecuting attorney, and the lost are guilty sinners.