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⁷But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; ¹⁰in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

I find this passage very interesting, if cryptic.

• Because men do not believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is has been convicting the world of guilt regarding sin.
• Because Jesus will be with the Father, where we cannot see Him, the Holy Spirit has been convicting the world of guilt in regards to righteousness.
• Because Jesus was condemned, the Holy Spirit has been convicting the world of guilt in regards to judgment.

These were statements of the future when Jesus spoke them, but I have reworded them as words of history, as the Holy Spirit has been fulfilling them for almost 2000 years now… and that time is eventually coming to a close.

So, what do these passages mean?

Let’s dissect them by going at them from another perspective…

• Because men are sinful, they do not believe in Jesus, hence the need for the Holy Spirit to convict them of their guilt.
• Because men do not believe God, do not obey Him, and do not revere His name (i.e., because they are not righteous), even with Jesus here(!), therefore Jesus went to be with the Father, so that the Holy Spirit could convict them of their guilt… from within their hearts.
• Because men judge others incorrectly, Jesus was condemned, hence the need for the Holy Spirit to convict them of their guilt.

Conclusion?  When the church has either learned to be righteous, or has left the earth, then Jesus (that which is perfect!) will come back, and the Holy Spirit’s work will be complete.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit is still here, and now we know why, because true transformation comes from within… when God pricks us from within. 

Righteousness… the ultimate gift of the Holy Spirit!

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 8:08 am and is filed under Word Studies, Bible Commentary, Devotional Notes, Righteousness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.