In John 16:10 the Lord Jesus says that the Spirit will convict the world “concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer behold Me.” Righteousness is the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 1:30). It was in resurrection that Christ the Son went to the Father in the heavens. This is a strong sign that Christ has accomplished full redemption and this redemption has been accepted by God the Father. Therefore, if we believe in Christ, we receive the righteousness of God in Christ, a righteousness which is Christ Himself. It is by this righteousness that we are justified by God. The very Son of God who has satisfied the righteous requirements of the Father and has been accepted by Him has been given to the believers as their righteousness. Therefore, Christ Himself is now our righteousness. Because the Son has been given to the believers as their righteousness, they are justified in Him before God. It is only in the Son as our righteousness that we are justified by God.
Finally, the Spirit of reality convicts “concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged” (John 16:11). Satan, the ruler of the world, has been judged through the death of Christ on the cross (John 12:31-33; 3:14). The judgment in 16:11, therefore, is related to Satan, the Devil, the author of sin, the origin of death, the father of sinners, and the ruler of the world. As such, judgment has been prepared for him. The lake of fire has been prepared as God’s judgment upon Satan; it was not intended for man. However, those who refuse to be transferred out of Adam into Christ will share the judgment that is for Satan. This means that any sinner who does not believe in the Son will remain with the Devil and bear his judgment. God loves the world (John 3:16) and has no intention that any human being be cast into the lake of fire, the judgment intended for the Devil. Nevertheless, if someone remains a companion of Satan by refusing to believe in the Son, God has no choice but to allow that one to suffer Satan’s judgment.
In John 16:8-11 the Lord Jesus presents the gospel in a marvelous and mysterious way. In these verses the convicting work of the Spirit of reality is related to three persons: Adam, Christ, and Satan. We all became fallen in Adam, but we may believe in Christ and be justified. Because Christ was accepted by God in His death, God raised Him up from among the dead, and now He becomes righteousness to all who believe in Him. Satan, the source of death, has been judged and destroyed through Christ’s death (Heb. 2:14).
The three main items in John 16:8-11 are related to the three persons of Adam, Christ, and Satan: sin is related to Adam, righteousness is related to Christ, and judgment is related to Satan. We were born of Adam, but we have believed in Christ and received Him as our righteousness. However, all those who do not believe in Christ but remain followers of Satan will suffer the judgment of Satan. One day the Spirit came to convict us concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. We repented, believed in the Lord Jesus, and escaped the judgment that is upon Satan. We have been transferred out of Adam into Christ, and we have become children of God and members of Christ. As Christ’s members, we live in the organism of the divine Trinity and participate in the dispensing of the divine Trinity.
The believers live in the organism of the divine Trinity and participate in the dispensing of the divine Trinity also through having been born, brought forth, as the new child (John 16:19-22). In His resurrection Christ brought forth the corporate child-the corporate new man-including Himself as God’s firstborn Son and His many brothers as God’s many sons. In John 16:20-21 the Lord Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. When a woman gives birth she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she brings forth the child, she no longer remembers the affliction because of the joy that a man has been born into the world.” Here the Lord indicates that the disciples were like a woman travailing in birth, and He was the child to be brought forth in His resurrection (Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; Rom. 1:4). Actually, the man in John 16:21 includes Christ and all the believers. The birth that took place through Christ’s resurrection involved the birth not only of an individual but of a group, a group that includes the firstborn Son of God and the many sons of God. This indicates that through one birth many sons were brought forth. According to God’s view, all His chosen people were born together with Christ in His resurrection. This resurrection was the birth of a corporate child.
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