Giovanni 16:9 Commento

Among other glorious things God hath spoken of himself this is one, I wound, and I heal, Deu. 32, 39. Christ's discourse in this chapter, which continues and concludes his farewell sermon to his disciples, does so. I. Here are wounding words in the notice he gives them of the troubles that were before them (Joh 16:1-6). II. Here are healing words in the comforts he administers to them for their support under those troubles, which are five: - 1. That he would send them the Comforter (Joh 16:7-15). 2. That he would visit them again at his resurrection (Joh 16:16-22). 3. That he would secure to them an answer of peace to all their prayers (Joh 16:23-27). 4. That he was now but returning to his Father (Joh 16:28-32). 5. That, whatever troubles they might meet with in this world, by virtue of his victory over it they should be sure of peace in him (Joh 16:33).

These things have I spoken unto you,.... Concerning the world's hatred and persecution of them, and the little regard they would show to their doctrine: these things Christ thought, proper to give them notice of before hand, that expecting them, they might be prepared for them, and be fortified against them; that, says he, ye should not be offended: his view in speaking of them, was not to discourage them, but to prevent their stumbling at them, and falling by them. Hardships coming upon persons at unawares, bear the harder upon their spirits, and they are more apt to take offence at them and be impatient under them, which is prevented by previous intimation: had Christ said nothing of these things that should befall his disciples, they might have surprised them, and have been a stumbling to them; and might have tempted them to have relinquished their profession of him, and dropped their ministerial work; whereas being apprized of them before hand, they were not so shocking to them. This shows the tender concern of Christ for his disciples, how careful he was to remove, every occasion of stumbling, or what might be matter of offence to them; and may teach us to act in such like manner towards one another, in this, or any other case.

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?" Act 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 his soul, rendered both him and his services unacceptable to God, loathsome in his sight, and himself hopeless and helpless, and deserving of his wrath and displeasure: he also convinces of actual sins and transgressions, showing that they are breaches of the law of God, and are committed against God himself; that they are deserving of death, even eternal death; that the wrath of God is revealed against them, and for them comes upon the children of disobedience; and that there is no atonement for them, or cleansing from them, but by the blood of Christ: he likewise convinces of the sin of unbelief, here particularly mentioned: showing the evil nature and consequences of it, to persons enjoying a Gospel revelation; that such who disbelieve the Messiah, shall die in their sins; that whoever believes not in him shall be damned; and that faith in Christ is necessary to salvation, and that without it there is none. ; 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 his soul, rendered both him and his services unacceptable to God, loathsome in his sight, and himself hopeless and helpless, and deserving of his wrath and displeasure: he also convinces of actual sins and transgressions, showing that they are breaches of the law of God, and are committed against God himself; that they are deserving of death, even eternal death; that the wrath of God is revealed against them, and for them comes upon the children of disobedience; and that there is no atonement for them, or cleansing from them, but by the blood of Christ: he likewise convinces of the sin of unbelief, here particularly mentioned: showing the evil nature and consequences of it, to persons enjoying a Gospel revelation; that such who disbelieve the Messiah, shall die in their sins; that whoever believes not in him shall be damned; and that faith in Christ is necessary to salvation, and that without it there is none. John 16:10 joh 16:10 joh 16:10 joh 16:10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father,.... The "righteousness" here spoken of, does, in the first sense of the word, design the personal righteousness of Christ. The Jews had traduced him as a wicked man, said he was a sinner himself, and a friend of publicans and sinners; that he was guilty of blasphemy and sedition, maintained a familiarity with Satan, yea, that he had a devil: now the Spirit of God, by the mouth of Peter, on the day of "Pentecost", proved, to the conviction of the Jews, that all this was slander; that Christ was an innocent, holy, and righteous person, and a man approved of God among them, as they themselves must be conscious of, Act 2:22; of all which, his going to the Father, and being received by him, were a full proof and demonstration. The effusion of the Spirit in that extraordinary manner upon the disciples, showed that he was gone to the Father, and had received from him the promise of the Holy Ghost, which he then shed abroad; and his going to the Father, and being set down by him at his right hand, made it clear that he came from him, and was no impostor; that he had acted the faithful and upright part, and was free from all the charges the Jews had laid against, him. Moreover, this may also be very well understood of the mediatorial righteousness of Christ, which he, as the surety and Saviour of his people, was to work out and bring in for them, in obedience to the law of God; which required holiness of nature, perfection of obedience, and bearing its penalty, death; all which were complied with by Christ, and so the whole righteousness of the law was fulfilled by him; and which is imputed by God as the justifying righteousness of all that believe in Jesus; and the proof of his having wrought out this, lies in his going to the Father; for as this was the work he came about, the will of his Father he came to do, had he not done it, it is reasonable to think he would never have met with such a welcome from him: besides, the donation of the Spirit, in consequence of its being wrought out, most clearly demonstrates it: likewise in the ordinary work of the Spirit of God upon the souls of his people, he always convinces them of the necessity of a righteousness to justify them before God, to render them acceptable in his sight, and to give them a right to the heavenly glory; for to admit them without a righteousness, or any unrighteous persons there, would be contrary to the justice of God, disagreeable to his pure and holy nature, and destructive of the comfort and happiness of the saints. He, the Spirit of God, convinces men of the insufficiency of their own righteousness for such purposes; that they have no righteousness that deserves the name of one, and that what they have will not justify them before God, and entitle them to heaven: and this he does, by showing them the corruption of their nature, their daily sins and infirmities, in thought, word, and deed; the purity of the divine perfections, and the spirituality and extensiveness of the law of God; which when a man is thoroughly apprized of, he can never hope for and expect justification before God by his own righteousness: hence the Spirit of God proceeds to convince men of the glory, excellency, fulness, and suitableness of the righteousness of Christ; which he does, by revealing it to them in the Gospel, setting it before them, and working faith in them to lay hold upon it; when they desire to be found in Christ, not having on their own, but his righteousness; which convictions appear by the mean thoughts they have of their own righteousness, by hungering after Christ's, by disclaiming all but his, by their constant mention of it, dependence on it, and satisfaction in it; and thus to convince of it, is the peculiar work of the Spirit, since naturally men are fond of their own righteousness, are ignorant of Christ's, and set against it. It is added, and ye see me no more; not but that the disciples were to see Christ, and did see him after his resurrection, and will with the rest of the saints see him at his second coming: but the meaning is, that they should see him no more, in a mean and despicable condition on earth, in a state of humiliation, in the form of a servant, he having faithfully performed the whole work he came about, and particularly that of righteousness, he came to bring in.

"Of sin" - This meaneth, "will cut off all their excuses, and show that they have transgressed unpardonably."

When the Lord said of the Holy Spirit, “He shall convict the world of sin,” he meant unbelief. For this is what he meant when he said, “Of sin because they believed not on me.” And he means the same when he says, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they should not have sin.” He was not talking about [a time] before they had no sin. Rather, he wanted to indicate that very lack of faith by which they did not believe him even when he was present to them and speaking to them. These were the people who belonged to “the prince of the power of the air, who now works in the children of unbelief.” Therefore those in whom there is no faith are the children of the devil because they have nothing in their inner being that would cause them to be forgiven for whatever is committed either by human infirmity, ignorance or any evil will whatever. But the children of God are those who certainly, if they should “say that they have no sin, deceive themselves, and the truth is not in them,” but immediately (as it continues) “when they confess their sins” (which the children of the devil do not do, or do not do according to the faith which is peculiar to the children of God), “he is faithful and just to forgive them their sins and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness.”

Now there is a great difference between believing in Christ and in believing that Jesus is the Christ. For even the devils believe that he was the Christ. But the one who believes in Christ both loves Christ and puts his hope in him.

He next explains what He has said "of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." "Of sin indeed," He says, "because they have believed not on me." For this sin, as if it were the only one, He has put before the others; because with the continuance of this one, all others are retained, and in the removal of this, the others are remitted.

(Tr. xcv. 1) He then explains what He has said: Of sin, because they believed not in Me. He mentions this as the sin above all others, because while it remains, the others are retained, when it departs, the others are remitted.

(de Verb. Dom. s. lxi) But it makes a great difference whether one believes in Christ, or only that He is Christ. For that He was Christ, even the devils believed: but e believes in Christ, who both hopes in Christ and loves Christ.

(de Qu. N. et V. Test. qu. 89) In this way too the Holy Ghost reproved the world of sin, i. e. by the mighty works He did in the name of the Saviour, Who was condemned by the world.

In this way too the Holy Spirit reproved the world of sin, that is, by the mighty works he did in the name of the Savior who was condemned by the world.

The reproof of sin, then, has been set first. How then will He reprove the world? When those who love Christ, as being made worthy of Him, and as true believers, are convinced of sin, then it is that He will condemn the world, that is those who are ignorant and persist in unbelief, and are enslaved by their love of worldly pleasure, by the very nature of their case, in that they are bound by their sins and doomed to die in their transgressions. For God will in nowise be a respecter of persons, nor will He vouchsafe the Spirit to some in the world without sufficient cause, and to others wholly deny Him; but will cause the Comforter to dwell only in those who are worthy of Him, who by a pure faith have honoured Him as truly God, and confessed that He is the Creator and Lord of the Universe. And that which the Saviour Himself by anticipation told the Jews when He said, Except ye believe that I am He, ye shall die in your sins, the Comforter when He is come will in fact show to be true. It is necessary, however, to know that the two reproofs already mentioned will apply not merely to the Jews, but rather to every man who is stubborn and disobedient. For the appellation "the world" signifies not merely the man who is incessantly engaged in the pursuit of pleasure, and who clings to the wickedness that is of the devil, but signifies equally those who are dispersed about and dwell in the whole world. Thus the double reproof has a generic meaning, and applies to all. For Christ included not merely Judaea, as was the case in the beginning, or the seed of Israel only, but the entire race that was descended from Adam. For His grace is not partial, but the benefit of faith is extended to the whole world.

The Comforter will come. And what benefit will there be from that? He "will convict the world of sin" and will show that they sin by not believing. For when they see that the Spirit, through the hands of the disciples, performs extraordinary signs and wonders, and after that still do not believe, how will they not be worthy of condemnation and not be guilty of the greatest sin? Now they can say that I am the son of a carpenter, the son of a poor mother, even though I perform miracles. But then, when the Spirit in My name performs such works, their unbelief will be inexcusable. And so, He will convict them "of sin," that is, He will show that they have sinned unforgivably.

2095 Now he explains all this. First, what he says about their sin, because they do not believe in me. The Spirit rebukes them only for the sin of disbelief because by faith all other sins are remitted. In a similar way our Lord charges the damned only with a lack of mercy, because all sins are washed away by mercy: "By mercy and faith sins are cleansed away" (Prv 15:27). The same applies here, because as long as they remain in disbelief, their other sins remain, but when there is no longer disbelief the other sins are remitted. He says, "because they do not believe in me," using the form in me, and not the forms mihi or me, because even the devils believe that Christ exists and they tremble (Jas 2:19). In me, that is, with a faith enlivened by hope and love.

Christ warns his disciples, and foretells the persecutions they should receive from the Jews, Joh 16:1-4. Foretells his death, and promises them the Comforter, Joh 16:5-7. Points out his operations among the Jews, and in the world, Joh 16:8-11. His peculiar influences on the souls of the disciples, Joh 16:12-15. Speaks figuratively of his death and resurrection, at which his disciples are puzzled, Joh 16:16-18. He explains and illustrates the whole by a similitude, Joh 16:19-22. Shows himself to be the Mediator between God and man, and that all prayers must be put up in his name, Joh 16:23-28. The disciples clearly comprehend his meaning and express their strong faith in him, Joh 16:29, Joh 16:30. He again foretells their persecution, and promises them his peace and support, Joh 16:31-33.

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 Isa 35:3-6. 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 Act 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 ἁμαρτιας, may be understood, and in this sense it is used in multitudes of places in the Septuagint, but the words, because they believe not in me, restrict the meaning particularly to the sin of the Jews in rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.

DISCOURSE AT THE SUPPER TABLE CONCLUDED. (John 16:1-33) These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended--both the warnings and the encouragements just given.

Of sin, because they believe not on me--As all sin has its root in unbelief, so the most aggravated form of unbelief is the rejection of Christ. The Spirit, however, in fastening this truth upon the conscience, does not extinguish, but, on the contrary, does consummate and intensify, the sense of all other sins.