In resurrection Christ was born as a newborn child to be the firstborn Son of God with His believers to be His many brothers. How does this accomplished fact apply to our experience? According to John 16, it is by the work of the Spirit that we become the many brothers of Christ, the members of Christ. John 16 unveils the two categories of the work of the Spirit: the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the transmission of the Holy Spirit. The first category of the Spirit’s work is to convict the world in the preaching of the gospel and to transfer people out of Adam into Christ (vv. 8-11); the second category of the Spirit’s work is to edify the believers and build them up by revealing to them the Son with the fullness of the Father (vv. 12-15).
John 16:8-11 reveals that the Spirit works to convict the world—mankind—concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. In verse 8 the Lord says of the Spirit, “When He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment.” Here to convict means to convince, to condemn, to cause people to rebuke themselves. The Spirit always convicts the world concerning the three matters of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Sin entered through Adam (Rom. 5:12), righteousness is the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 1:30), and judgment is for Satan, who is the author and source of sin (John 8:44). We were born of sin in Adam. The only way to be freed from sin is to believe in Christ, the Son of God. If we believe in Him, He will be righteousness to us, and we shall be justified in Him (Rom. 3:24; 4:25). If we do not repent of the sin in Adam and believe in Christ the Son of God, we shall remain in sin and share the judgment of Satan for eternity (Matt. 25:41).
In John 16:8-11 the convicting work of the Spirit 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 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 are related to these three persons: 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 have received Him as our righteousness. However, all those who do not believe in Christ will suffer the judgment of Satan. Because they remain followers of Satan, they will have the same destiny as Satan.
In verse 9 the Lord says that the Spirit would convict the world “concerning sin, because they do not believe into Me.” Here we see that for a person to perish the unique sin is to not believe in the Son (3:16). The sin here is the unwillingness to be transferred from Adam into Christ. If people wish to remain in Adam, it means that they want to remain in the old realm and not move into the new realm, which is Christ. There is no need for us to commit sin in order to perish. If we simply do not believe in the Lord Jesus, we are already qualified to perish. We may be a gentleman, but as long as we do not believe in the Lord Jesus, we are destined to perish. The unique way to escape from our sinful situation is to believe in the Lord; the unique sin that qualifies us to perish is to not believe in Him. Therefore, the key today is whether we believe or not. If we believe, we shall be transferred out of Adam into Christ. But if we do not believe, we shall perish.
In verse 10 the Lord said that the Spirit would convict the world “concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father.” This means that the Father has been fully satisfied with the Lord’s redemptive death on the cross and has accepted Him in His resurrection. The proof that the Father is satisfied with Christ’s redemption is that the Father resurrected Him from the dead and exalted Him to His right hand. The resurrection and ascension of Christ are the evidences proving that His redemption has satisfied God and has met all the demands and requirements of God. Therefore, He was released from death to be exalted to the heavens at the right hand of God. Now God’s righteousness is manifested in justifying those who believe in Christ (Rom. 3:26). If sinners will believe in Christ, God will justify them, for Christ Himself will become their righteousness.
We are justified in Christ’s resurrection, as proved by Romans 4:25 and 10:9. Romans 4:25 says, “Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised for our justification,” and 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” According to the Scriptures, we must believe that God has raised Him from the dead, for we may believe that the Lord has died and yet not believe that He was raised from the dead. If we believe that the Lord has been raised from the dead, this surely implies our faith in His death. Everybody believes that the Lord died, but revelation is needed to believe that the Lord has been resurrected. In Him, the resurrected One, we are accepted before God. Furthermore, as the resurrected One, He is also in us to live for us the life which can be justified by God and which is always acceptable to God. Therefore, Romans 4:25 says that He was raised because of our justification. Justification includes the fact that God has resurrected Christ, accepted Him, and that He has been satisfied with His redemptive death.
In John 16:11 the Lord said that the Spirit would convict the world “concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.” We have seen that judgment is related to the devil. Satan, the devil, is the author of sin, the origin of death, the father of all sinners, and the ruler of the world. As such, judgment has been prepared for him. We must recognize that judgment is not for man but for Satan. It is not God’s intention to judge man, because His judgment is for Satan. The lake of fire has been prepared as God’s judgment upon Satan; it was never intended for man. In Matthew 25:41 the Lord said that the King will say to some people, “Go away from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” The eternal fire has been prepared for Satan and his angels—the devil and his followers—not for human beings. But if we refuse to come out of Adam into Christ, we will share the judgment that is for Satan, because we prefer to remain as his followers.
Satan, the ruler of the world, has been judged in the flesh of Christ on the cross (John 12:31-33; 3:14). On the cross the Lord as the Son of Man was lifted up in the form of a serpent (3:14), that is, “in the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Rom. 8:3). Satan, the ruler of this world, as “the ancient serpent” (Rev. 12:9; 20:2) has injected himself into man’s flesh. Through His death on the cross “in the likeness of the flesh of sin,” the Lord has destroyed Satan who is in the flesh (Heb. 2:14). By judging Satan in this way (John 16:11), the world which hung upon Satan was also judged. Hence, the Lord’s being lifted up judged the world and cast out its ruler, Satan.
When the Spirit comes, He convicts unbelievers—fallen sinners—of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Sinners, who are born in Adam, must believe in the resurrected Christ so that they may have Him as their righteousness. If they do not believe, they will be judged by God as Satan is. When the gospel is preached in a proper way, those who hear should have the desire not to remain in Adam but to be transferred into Christ. These people will then be regenerated and saved. To them the convicting Spirit will become the regenerating Spirit (3:6), the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), and the Spirit of reality, dwelling within them (John 14:17).
The Spirit came to us to convict us of 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. We have also become children of God and members of Christ. Now we can be filled and saturated with the Triune God who is dispensing Himself into us and mingling Himself with us.