Bible Study series: John 16:4b-15. “But if I go, I will send him to you.”
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At that link, I provide a lot more commentary.
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: John 16:4b-15
4b I have not told you these things from the beginning because I was with you. 5 But now I go to the one who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow fills your heart.
7 Nevertheless, I speak the truth to you: it is to your advantage that I depart, for if I do not depart, the Paraclete will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And he will convict the world about sin and about righteousness and about judgment. 9 About sin because they will not believe in me. 10 About righteousness because I go to my Father and you will no longer see me. 11 About judgment because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
12 I still have many things to say to you, but you are unable to bear them now. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own, but whatever things he will hear, he will speak and announce to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me because he will receive from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All the things the Father has are mine. Because of this, I have said that he receives from what is mine and will declare it to you. (John 16:4b-15)
Comments:
It is very difficult to know how to separate or attach vv. 1-4a and 4b-6. You can make your own arrangement if you like.
Some of the comments about the Paraklete repeat earlier ones.
4b-6:
Jesus withheld this information about persecution from the beginning because he was with them and protected them. But now with his soon-departure, he again forewarns them that persecution is coming, so they must be ready for it. The fact that Jesus repeats this unhappy prediction in this pericope and the previous one indicates its importance.
They are not now asking him where he is going, though Peter had done this earlier (13:36), but soon they will ask this question among themselves (v. 17), so they have not absorbed the depths of his teaching, which is the cross, the resurrection and the ascension. Yet in vv. 29-30, below, they will understand that he came from God. So they understand half his mission—his origins. But when will they know his return to his Father, which can only be the way of crucifixion.
The seeming contradiction is not serious. “Peter’s question [in 13:36 and Thomas’ statement in 14:5] has less to do with Jesus’ destination than with its consequences for the disciples. The question they failed to ask points up their lack of concern with what was about to take place in the affairs of their Master. Self-interest was the controlling motivation in each case: first it prompted Peter to ask; then it kept them all from asking” (Mounce, comments on v. 5),
Sorrow filled their hearts because he would not be with them in person. Imagine your redeemed beloved family member laying in the hospital saying that it is time for him to depart (die), so you must not sorrowful. He is going to a better place. You would still be very sad.
This departure was hard for them to accept, but he tells them that he has to go away because only then can he send the Spirit to them.
“The disciples have been living with Christ; what they need instruction on now is how to live life ‘in Christ’ and how to live by the Spirit / Paraclete in the new covenant” (Klink, comment on 4b, emphasis original).
“Even the desire for the continuance of bodily companionship of Jesus during his earthly ministry is now a sinful desire, for it displays ignorance or disbelief in the purpose of the death of Jesus and the goal of his mission” (Klink, comment on v. 6).
“The disciples have been asking several questions of that sort; they have not really asked thoughtful questions about where Jesus is going and what it means for them. They have been self-absorbed in their own loss. Moreover, the drift of all four Gospels assures us the none of the inner ring of disciples entertained the idea, before the cross, that that the Messiah would simultaneously be a conquering king, suffering, dying servant and resurrected Lord” (Carson, comment on v. 5)
7:
This is the fourth Paraclete saying:
1.. 14:15-17
2.. 14:25-26
3.. 15:26-27
4.. 16:4b-11
5.. 16:12-15
All of those passages present a consistent unity, not only in the Fourth Gospel, but also in the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus will baptize with the Spirit (Matt. 3:11-12; Mark 1:7-8; Luke 3:16-17). The Spirit will aid the disciples as they testify about Jesus and make their defence in court (Matt. 10:20; Mark 13:11). (HT: Bruce, comments on 14:16-17).
Next, let’s define the term “Paraclete.” It is related to the verb parakaleō (pronounced pah-rah-kah-leh-oh), which literally means “called” (-kaleō) and “alongside” (para). The verbal adjective Paraclete is used in vv. 16 and 26 and 15:26; 16:7. It is pronounced pah-rah-kleet or less formally, pair-uh-kleet. BDAG, whom many regard as the authoritative lexicon of the Greek NT, says that originally the verbal adjective means “someone who is called to someone’s aid.” It rarely means a “lawyer” or “attorney.” In the few places outside the NT, whether pre-Christian or extra-Christin contexts, it means in a general sense: “one who appears in another’s behalf, mediator, intercessor, helper.” Then the editors of BDAG leave it at that.
Novakovic refers to the linguists and translators Louw and Nida who say that the translation “Comforter” is too limited and “Helper” is highly generic (apparently meaning too vague). And “legal advocate” is too restrictive. Along with Novakovic, I chose “Paraclete” (pp. 126-28), but following BDAG, you may certainly translate it as “Mediator,” “Intercessor,” or “Helper.”
Jesus says, “another Paraclete,” implying that he was the first Paraclete, though the Fourth Gospel does not say this. However, 1 John 2:1 says that Jesus is the Paraclete. And many translations say “advocate,” so let’s not give up on the “lawyer” image.
John had already introduced the Spirit. Jesus was about to baptize in the Spirit, said John (1:32). Nicodemus and we must be born again of the Spirit (3:5-8). We must worship in Spirit (or spirit) (4:23-24). The Spirit gives life (6:63) The Spirit, however, had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified (7:39).
Klink (p. 633), who argues for translating the term as Paraclete and not the restrictive terms “Helper” or “Advocate” or “counselor” and so on, points out three roles of the Spirit anticipated in this verse and the other four passages. First, the Paraclete is still to come. He has been active because looking at Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 12:34, anyone who says Jesus is Lord by the Spirit shows the Spirit has been at work. But the Paraclete comes when Jesus departs, and the Paraclete begins the era of the New Covenant and new life in Christ. Second, The Paraclete has an active place in the hearts of the disciples. They will know the Paraclete just as they know the Father and Son. He will remain with them forever. Third, the Paraclete convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (v. 8).
8-11:
In these verses, the Spirit’s ministry is a prosecutor—to “expose, refute, convince, or convict”—any of those verbs can work.
While this [convicting sinners and bringing them to faith in Jesus] has been a major activity of the Spirit throughout history, these verses point to a different work of the Spirit in which he convicts the world of how wrong it has been in rejecting Jesus. The heavenly prosecutor will prove that the world is guilty for its rejection of Jesus and its distorted ideas of righteousness and judgment. (Mounce, comments on vv. 8-11)
Carson reminds us that that the Spirit convicts and exposes the world of its sin, so that he can call the world to repentance (comments on vv. 8-11).
“sin”: it comes from the noun hamartia (pronounced hah-mar-tee-ah). A deep study reveals that it means a “departure from either human or divine standards of uprightness” (BDAG, p. 50). It can also mean a “destructive evil power” (ibid., p. 51). In other words, sin has a life of its own. Be careful! In the older Greek of the classical world, it originally meant to “miss the mark” or target. Sin destroys, and that’s why God hates it, and so should we. The good news: God promises us forgiveness when we repent.
Here in John, the Spirit—the Paraclete—convicts the world of sin because they do not believe in him. The way to clean oneself from the former way of living sinfully is to believe in Jesus. When this happens, the believer is born again by the Spirit (John 3:3, 5), and he—the Paraclete—cleanses him.
Bible Basics about Sin: Word Studies
Human Sin: Original and Our Committed Sin
“righteousness”: BDAG defines it as follows: (1) “The quality, state, or practice of judicial responsibility with focus on fairness, justice, equitableness, fairness … practice justice and uprightness.” It can even be a system to deter crime. (2) “The quality or state of judicial correctness with focus on redemptive action, righteousness.” It is when God exercises his executive privilege to bestow a benefit. It is the opposite of condemnation. It is God’s pardoning action. (3) “The quality or characteristic of upright behavior, uprightness, righteousness … to do what is right … accomplish righteousness … of specific action of righteousness in the sense of fulfilling expectation not specifically in ordinances … uprightness as determined by divine / legal standards … that meets God’s standards.” The verb form can mean vindication.
These formal definitions can be complex—but also very rich. Here in this context, it means that when Jesus goes to the Father, the Son of God is vindicated. He has accomplished righteousness, both for himself and for us. This echoes Paul’s theology and Jesus accomplishing righteousness and then bestowing it on us. Or, if we translate the noun as “justice,” then the world’s idea of justice was wrong, when the world put Jesus to death. God’s idea was to raise him from the dead and “welcome him back to his preincarnate state of eternal glory (Acts 2:22-24)” (Mounce, comments on 9).
Carson says that no one can live up to Jesus’ righteousness before the Paraclete comes, but after he comes they can follow Jesus and “thus convict the world of its empty righteousness” (comment on vv. 8-11).
Do I Really Know God? He Is Righteous and Just
“judgment”: it is the Greek noun krisis (pronounced kree-sees or krih-sis). BDAG again: (1) legal process of judgment, judging, judgment.” It is the activity of God or the Messiah as judge, particularly on the last day. It can go against a person, such as condemnation. (2) It can refer to a “board of judges, court.” (3) It is the “administration of what is right and fair, right.” In this sense it means justice.
So what does it mean in this context?
Jesus already taught about Satan’s defeat: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be thrown out” (John 12:31). Then Jesus taught that Satan has no stronghold in Jesus, no handle by which to accuse him. “No longer do I talk much with you, for the ruler of the world comes, and he holds nothing in me” (14:30). As I noted in 12:31, this decisive division between him and the world has a spiritual dimension. The ruler of the world order and a spiritual-demonic kingdom will be thrown out or dethroned; now universal authority and judgment will have been handed over to the Son on the cross and resurrection and ascension (3:35; 5:19-29). The ruler of this world has no accusation to bring against the Son (14:30). His followers will also be accused, but they will receive help from the Paraclete, who will be the evidence that the ruler of this world is judged (16:11). “The ruler of this world is judged.” Jesus will discredit the ruler of the world. Jesus said he saw Satan fall from heaven (Luke 10:18); and Jesus said he was binding the strong man (Satan) (Matt. 12:29 // Mark 3:27 // Luke 8:21-22). The cross, seemingly expressing defeat, was actually the victory and vindication of the Son and defeat of Satan. Satan has been condemned. He has condemned us all of our lives. Do we realize he is the one who is condemned?
Bible Basics about the Final Judgment
In all three of these important words, let’s not forget that the Spirit is the one who exposes the heavenly Supreme Court and works his ministry. For the people, they can come to faith in Christ. For the world, they too can come to faith in him, but before then, he will be vindicated by his resurrection and ascension. The Spirit, through King Jesus, defeats the world-ruler, most clearly by the Spirit empowering the disciples to proclaim the gospel and set Satan’s captives free. Satan has been defeated (past tense), and now we must carry out the defeat in reality. It is like the D-Day Invasion. But it was clear to the “foresightful” and insightful that the amount of materiel favored the Allies (C. S. Lewis). After victory is promised, it still takes time to defeat the enemy, ultimately and in reality.
“Just as Jesus ‘takes away the sin of the world’ (1:29), so also does the Paraclete convict the world of its sin. The grace of God is that the work of the Spirit is to reveal the sinful condition of the world and the work of the Son is to remove it” (Klink, comment on v. 9)
Borchert summarizes this section very well:
The Paraclete’s forensic task here then is portrayed in the presence of the disciples and in the Johannine court of God like a counselor and judge in bringing to just judgment the world and its rebellious prince. This section then is not unrelated to the way Jesus had earlier been pictured as having been given the authority to render all judgment by the Father (cf. 5:22). In the midst of a hostile world, therefore, the disciples are clearly shown that to take the side of the world is hardly a viable option because of its dire consequences. The prince of the world and all who side with him stand condemned. (comment on v. 11).
12-13:
While Jesus was on earth, he revealed the Father to his disciples and often to the crowds, but he could not reveal everything. They could not bear more truth because they were not yet filled with the Spirit. In John 20:23, he breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit, so this begins their new journey, which will be completed in Acts 2 and the full outpouring of the Spirit
“the Spirit of truth”: the phrase “of truth” may be an objective genitive, so it may be translated as “the Spirit who communicates truth.” The phrase could be attributive (adjectival) and thus could be translated as “the true / truth-giving Spirit.” Or the phrase could be translated thus: “The Spirit, who is the truth.” I just went traditional and translated it was “the Spirit of truth,” and you can work out the other grammatical possibilities listed here on your own.
“into all truth” or “in all truth”? That depends on the Greek manuscripts. Professional grammarian Novakovic says we should not press the nuances too far; the prepositions “into” and “in” can mean the same thing in Greek in some contexts, as here. Bruce prefers not “into” all truth because they had already been introduced to the truth in Jesus, but the Spirit would guide them farther along the path of truth (comment on vv. 12-13). Jesus’s ministry of revelation would be carried on by the Spirit. Jesus embodies truth (John 14:6), so whatever the Spirit reveals will be about Jesus: “… when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus” (Eph. 4:21, NIV). The Spirit reveals the truth that is in Jesus.
Jesus said he did not act on his own but spoke the words that the Father directed him to speak (John 5:19, 30; 8:28; 12:49). His message does not rise above the Incarnate Word. Bruce wisely notes that we are to infer that the Gospel of John is the partial fulfillment of this promise. Excellent.
Now what about the things that are to come? The verb declare appears in John 4:25, where the Samaritan woman declared Jesus will “declare” or “announced” everything to us. The Messiah spelled out the fuller revelation of the Messiah’s coming, so the Spirit will reveal the Messiah in ways that are relevant to the future generations (Bruce again).
14-15:
And here is the fifth and final time of the Paraclete sayings (see v. 7). In v. 14, John uses the emphatic pronoun “that one” (masculine singular, agreeing in case with masculine singular Paraclete). In v. 15, the word “he,” implied by the third-person, singular verb, is the Spirit.
The Spirit will teach the disciples everything (14:26), he will bear witness or testify about Christ (16:8), and he will guide the disciples in the way of all truth (16:13). The Son came to glorify the Father (7:18; 17:4), and soon the Spirit will glorify Jesus by unfolding and revealing the meaning of Jesus’s person and work while he was on earth.
I really like the close connection between the Father and Son. Everything—not a few things—which the Father has belongs also to the Son, and what the Son has the Spirit will receive or take and declare it to you. Simple logic: Everything A possesses belongs to B, and everything B possesses belongs to C. Therefore, everything A possesses belongs to C.
“Jesus, knowing that the Father gave him all things into his hands and that he came from God and was going to the Father …” (John 13:3). Then Jesus got up and washed their feet. The point in my quoting that verse is to show that the Father has given Jesus everything. “In making known the Son, the Spirit at the same time makes known the Father who is revealed in the Son.
However, it is also clear from Scripture that the Son is submissive to the Father, and the Spirit is also submissive to the Father and the Son. Phil. 2:6: Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to hold on to, but he surrendered the environment of heaven and took the form of a servant.
Boiled down:
Function or role: the Father is over the Son while the Son was incarnated and carried out the plan of redemption
In their essence or essential nature: Father and Son are equal.
John 1:1-3 manage to say the Father and Son are equal in essence but different in persons.
The Trinity: What Are the Basics?
The Trinity: What Are Some Illustrations?
The Trinity: Why Would God Seem So Complicated?
The Trinity: What Does He Mean to Me?
See John 1 for some images of the Trinity:
Or go to the second link, above.
“glory” means, in many contexts, the light of God, shining to all the world. In the background is this passage about the Mount of Transfiguration:
1 Then after six days, Jesus took along Peter, James, and his brother John and brought them up into a high mountain privately. 2 He was changed before them, and his face shone as the sun, and his clothes became white like light. 3 Then look! Moses and Elijah appeared before them and were talking with him. 4 But in response, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here! If you want, I’ll make here three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah!” 5 While he was talking, look! A bright cloud covered them. And then listen! A voice from heaven from the cloud speaking: “This one is my beloved Son, in whom I have been well pleased. Listen to him.” (Matt. 17:1-5)
This brightness is the glory of God.
1. The Glory of God in the Old Testament
2. What Is the Glory of God in the New Testament?
3. What Does the Glory of God Mean to Us?
Moses experienced the glory of God:
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” (Exod. 33:18-22, NIV).
Commentator Bruce also saw this connection between the glory which Moses saw and the surpassing glory of Jesus. Further, he connects the glory of the old tabernacle with God pitching his tabernacle through his Son (comment on v. 14). “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Exod. 25:8, NIV). When the tabernacle was completed, we read: “34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exod. 40:34-35, NIV).
But Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Spirit, says that the glory which Moses experienced, soon faded away.
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! (2 Cor. 3:7-11, NIV)
The glory of the New Covenant, initiated by Jesus, will last forever.
Carson says that Jesus’s glory was displayed in his signs (2:11; 11:4, 40); he was supremely glorified in his death and exaltation (7:39: 12:16, 23: 13:31-32), Yes, he also had glory before he began his public ministry, for in fact he enjoyed glory with his Father before his incarnation and returned to his Father to receive the fulness of glory (15:5, 24). While other men seek their own glory, Jesus’s relationship with his Father meant that he did not need to seek his own glory; he was secure in his relationship with his Father. He sought only God’s glory (5:41; 7:18; 8:50). (comment on v. 14).
Keener also brings focus to John’s definition of glory:
Jesus, in contrast to his opponents, accepts this only from the Father (5:41, 33; 7:18; 8:50, 54; 9:24; 12:41, 43; 16:14; 17:12). The Fourth Gospel applies Jesus’ “glory” to various acts of self-revelation (his signs–2:11; 11:4, 40), but the ultimate expression of glory is the complex including Jesus’ death (12:16, 23, 28; 13:31-32; cf. 21:9), resurrection and exaltation (cf. 7:39; 12:16; 17:1, 5). This glory thus becomes the ultimate revelation of “grace and truth”: where the world’s hatred for God comes to its ultimate expression, so also does God’s love for the world (3:16). If the Johannine [adjective for John] community’s opponents regarded the cross as proof that Jesus was not the Messiah, John regards Jesus’ humiliation as the very revelation of God; his whole enfleshment, and especially his mortality and death, continue the ultimate revelation of God’s grace and truth revealed to Moses (p. 411)
GrowApp for John 16:4b-15
1. The devil stands judged and condemned. So why do you let him judge and condemn you?
2. What is one truth about Jesus that the Spirit declares to you? Be personal.
RELATED
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
12. Eyewitness Testimony in John’s Gospel
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
For the bibliography, click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
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