John 16:9

Of sin, because they believe not on me; OF SIN, BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOT ON ME. By this is not meant that He shall deal with men about the sin of unbelief only; nor yet about that sin as, in comparison with all other sins, the greatest. There is no comparison here between the sin of unbelief and other breaches of the moral law, in point of criminality. The key to this important statement will be found in such sayings of our Lord Himself as the following: "He that believeth is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the Only begotten Son of God: He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life: He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him" (;...

9._Of sin. _It now remains that we see what it is to _convince of sin _Christ appears to make unbelief the only cause _of sin_, and this is tortured by commentators in various ways; but, as I have already said, I do not intend to detail the opinions which have been held and advanced. First, it ought to be observed, that the _judgment of the Spirit _commences with the demonstration _of sin_; for the commencement of spiritual instruction is, that men born in _sin _have nothing in them but what leads to _sin _Again, Christ mentioned _unbelief_, in order to show what is the nature of men in itself for, since faith is the bond by which he is united to us, until we believe in him, we are out of him and separated from him. The import of these words is as if he had said, “_When the Spirit is come_, he will produce full conviction that, apart from me, _sin _reigns in _the world_; ” and, therefore...

7-15 Christ's departure was necessary to the Comforter's coming. Sending the Spirit was to be the fruit of Christ's death, which was his going away. His bodily presence could be only in one place at one time, but his Spirit is every where, in all places, at all times, wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. See here the office of the Spirit, first to reprove, or to convince. Convincing work is the Spirit's work; he can do it effectually, and none but he. It is the method the Holy Spirit takes, first to convince, and then to comfort. The Spirit shall convince the world, of sin; not merely tell them of it. The Spirit convinces of the fact of sin; of the fault of sin; of the folly of sin; of the filth of sin, that by it we are become hateful to God; of the fountain of sin, the corrupt nature; and lastly, of the fruit of sin, that the end thereof is death. The Holy Spirit p...

Verse John 16:9. _OF SIN_] Of the sin of the Jews in not receiving me as the Messiah, though my mission was accredited by the very miracles which the prophets foretold: see Isaiah 35:3. This was literally fulfilled on the day of pentecost, when the Spirit was given; for multitudes of Jews were then convinced of this sin, and converted to God. See Acts 2:37. If we take this prediction of our Lord in a more general sense, then we may consider that it is one of the grand offices of the Holy Spirit _to convince of sin_, to show men what sin is, to demonstrate to them that they _are_ sinners, and to show the necessity of an _atonement_ for sin; and in this sense the phrase, περι αμαρτιας, may be understo

OF SIN - The first thing specified of which the world would be convinced is sin. Sin, in general, is any violation of a law of God, but the particular sin of which men are here said to be convinced is that of rejecting the Lord Jesus. This is placed first, and is deemed the sin of chief magnitude, as it is the principal one of which men are guilty. This was particularly true of the Jews who had rejected him and crucified him; and it was the great crime which, when brought home to their consciences by the preaching of the apostles, overwhelmed them with confusion, and filled their hearts with remorse. It was their rejection of the Son of God that was made the great truth that was instrumental of their conversion. Acts 2:22, Acts 2:37;...

EXPOSITION JOHN 16:1 (c) _The bitter issues of the hostility of the world_. JOHN 16:1 THESE THINGS. What things? Primarily the explanation he had given of the opposition and hatred of the world, and the vast consolation which he had promised in the identification of the disciples with himself, and the witness which would be borne by the Paraclete; but not exclusively, for they include all the preparatory instructions based on his own Person, his going to the Father, his return in the power of the Spirit. HAVE I SPOKEN TO YOU, THAT YE SHOULD NOT BE OFFENDED; that you should not be made to fall over the stumbling block of persecution, and the refusal of the people to hear your message concerning me. For the mome

OF SIN, BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOT ON ME. The "sin" here primarily intended, is that of the Jews, in disbelieving, rejecting, and crucifying Christ; and which the Spirit of God, by Peter, charged upon them on the day of "Pentecost", and fully proved against them; gave such clear evidence, and wrought such strong convictions of in their minds and consciences, that being pricked to the heart, they cried out, "what shall we do?" Acts 2:23; though as this passage may be applied to the ordinary work of the Spirit of God upon the souls of men, through the ministry of the word; so it may take in convictions of sin of all sorts, as of original and actual sins, and particularly the sin of unbelief: for the Spirit of God convinces of the sinfulness and corruption of nature, the wickedness and plague of a man's heart, the sin that dwells in him; how that has overspread all the powers and faculties of...

John 16:1. _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._ True followers of Christ must not reckon upon having the world's commendation. At first, the Jews persecuted the Christians; then the Romans took up the cruel work, and others have continued it, in some form or other, even to this day, for the persecution of the saints has not yet ceased. There are many who still have hard times, and have to endure trials of cruel mockings for Christ's sake. If you resolve to follow Christ men will be sure to call you old-fashioned, ridiculous, Puritanic, and I know not what besides, yet what does it matter to you if they do? Your Master foretold that it woul

CHAPTER 16 1. Persecutions Predicted. (John 16:1 .) 2. The Comforter and His Demonstration. (John 16:7 .) 3. Sorrow and joy. (John 16:16 .) 4. The Father Himself Loveth You. (John 16:23 .) 5. His Final Word before His Prayer. (John 16:28 .) Again He announced coming persecutions. The world is the same today as then, and before this age ends these predictions of our Lord will be again fulfilled, during the great tribulation. The coming of the Comforter is once more announced by Him. He could not come unless the Lord departed.

JOHN 16. There is no break between chs. 15 and 16. Jesus has told them beforehand, so that His death and their suffering may not daunt their faith, as the Baptist was offended by the course of the ministry, which did not correspond to his Messianic expectation. They must expect actual excommunication. Their execution will be thought an acceptable sacrifice to God (_cf._ the Jewish comment on Numbers 25:13, He who sheds the blood of a transgressor should be thought of as if he had offered an offering). There is no reference in John 16:2 to the rebellion of Bar-Kochba (John 5:43 *). This hostile attitude will be due to men's ignorance of God and His Messenger. In after time they will remember His warning. It was not necessary to giv