In verse 7 the Lord said, “I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” The Son’s going was for the Spirit’s coming. He said that if He did not go, the Spirit would not come. The Lord’s going mentioned in this verse was ultimately fulfilled with the ascension in 20:17.
When the Son spoke these words, He was still in the flesh. Then He went into death in the flesh that He might be transfigured into the Spirit in resurrection.
The Son went into death in the flesh, but He came back in resurrection as the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). He came as the Spirit to be another Comforter. He went through death as the Redeemer to accomplish redemption for us, but He came in resurrection as the Spirit to impart Himself as life to us.
The Son’s sending of the Comforter was His coming as the Comforter. His sending was His coming. In other words, He sent Himself in another form to come as the other Comforter. This is excellent, marvelous, and yet mysterious. Some dear Christian friends are against this, asking how I could say that the Lord sent Himself. As my answer, I would ask you to read Zechariah 2:8-11. If you read this portion of the Word, trying your best to understand who is the Sender and who is the Sent One, you will eventually bow down and say, “Lord, You are both. You are the Sender as well as the Sent One.” Altogether it is just one Lord of hosts. The one Lord of hosts is both the Sender and the Sent One.
The crucial point of John 16 is the work of the Spirit. According to this chapter the work of the Spirit is in three categories: to convict the world; to glorify the Son by revealing Him with the fullness of the Father to the believers; and to disclose what is to come. John’s writings are also of three categories: the Gospel, the Epistles, and the Revelation. His Gospel is mainly to preach the gospel and convict the world, his Epistles are mainly to reveal the Son with the fullness of the Father, and his Revelation is the book unveiling all the things to come in the future.
In verse 8 the Lord said of the Spirit that “He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment.” Each of these three items—sin, righteousness, and judgment—is related to a person. Besides God, the divine Person, there are in the universe three main persons: Adam, Christ, and Satan. Sin is related to Adam, righteousness to Christ, and judgment to Satan.
Sin is related to Adam, for it was through Adam that sin entered the human race (Rom. 5:12). We were born of sin in Adam. If you were born in Adam, you were born a sinner.
Righteousness is related to Christ because righteousness comes from Christ and even is the resurrected Christ Himself (v. 10; 1 Cor. 1:30). Adam is sin, and Christ is righteousness. In Adam we are sinful and condemned; in Christ we are righteous and justified. In Adam we have inherited sin; in Christ we have righteousness imparted to us. It is unnecessary to consider how we should act or behave, because as long as we are in Adam we are sinful and as long as we are in Christ we are righteous. It is not a matter of conduct or behavior; it is a matter of where we are. In Christ we are righteous, and in Adam we are sinful. In Adam we are condemned, but in Christ we are justified. The only way to be freed from sin is to believe in Christ, the Son of God (v. 9). If we believe in Him, He is righteousness to us, and we are justified in Him (Rom. 3:24; 4:25).
Judgment is related to Satan. Judgment is for Satan. By believing in Christ we are translated out of Adam into Christ. However, if we do not believe in Christ but remain in Adam, we shall share the judgment upon Satan. Strictly speaking, God’s judgment is for Satan. God has no intention to see you or me or any human being suffer judgment. But if you remain in Adam, you will consequently be judged together with Satan, sharing the judgment of Satan. This means that you prefer to love Satan, staying in company with him and helping him to bear the terrible judgment. Do not sympathize with Satan nor have any pity on him. Do not remain in Adam to help Satan bear the judgment. 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).
These are the main points of the gospel. The Spirit convicts the world with these points. We cannot stay away from the three persons of Adam, Christ, and Satan when we preach the gospel. Every time we preach the gospel, we will be in the circle of these three persons. All mankind was born in Adam, but everyone can be translated out of Adam into Christ. If you remain in Adam, however, you will share Satan’s judgment.