LESSON 1, "NEVERTHELESS I TELL YOU THE TRUTH:"

Today we begin a new series of Bible studies. Our Text will be John 16:7-11. The Passage can be summarized in three parts: Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the world. The last member of that trio is surprising, the world!

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." John 16:7-11

Jesus, obviously, spoke every one of these enlightening words. He is the "I" and the "Me" and the "My" of this Paragraph.

The Holy Spirit is here called the "Comforter." This word will require some in-depth study. It's one of the most encouraging terms in the Bible.

And the world is named, well, the "world!" Once this crowd is addressed as "they," a third person designation. Lost people are meant.

Therefore, we can expect to be Biblically taught the Holy Spirit's Mission to lost mankind! Or a major part of it anyway.

We also shall be given a hint as to the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit, operationally at least.

Truthfully, God is One. Yet He in His Unity exhibits Himself as Triune in Essence, Father and Son and Spirit. But in God's various works, like creation and redemption and sanctification, each Member of the Godhead (Paul's majestic term) has specific duties. Duties perfectly performed in every case.

So, get ready.

We are indeed about to enter a "doctrinal" portion of Scripture. It's primary goal is, I believe, to teach us certain central facts about our dear Saviour, the Holy Spirit, and even our earthly surroundings. The world that "lieth in wickedness" according to 1st John 5:19.

Often our Lord does this when He is about to teach a subject of great importance. He reemphasizes the theme of veracity. This word has a Latin background, where "veracitas" means "truth."

Jesus never lied! Not once! In fact, according to Titus 1:2, "God cannot lie." Hebrews 6:18 adds: "It is impossible for God to lie." Everything our Lord ever spoke was right, and still is!

But sometimes, simply to accent its vast importance, Jesus ascertains the accuracy of a statement.

He does so here, introducing John 16:7-11. His very words are: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth."

Wow!

The opening conjunction, "nevertheless" in English and "alla" in Greek, is introducing a contrasting thought. The Disciples are sorrowful that Jesus is going away, back to Heaven ... after His death and burial and resurrection!

So, our Lord is about to teach them why His departure will be a good thing! That's why he begins His Sermon with "nevertheless."

You men are sad ... BUT ... My going will make possible the Holy Spirit's coming! And that is for your benefit!

Here's another antithetical thought. The world, in the chapter's earlier verses, is persecuting the Disciples. Therefore the world needs the Holy Spirit to come and "change" it! Put it under "conviction!" To put it bluntly, "save" it! His "New Testament" Presence, the Spirit's, will change everything, at least for some in this dark world of sin.

Next in our Passage comes the first clause. "I tell you the truth" is spoken to reinforce the whole Context here, all five Verses. Again, that's John 16:7-11. Compare this promise to Jesus' words in John 14:2, "If it were not so, I would have told you." Luke 4:25 and 9:24 also are both similar, "But I tell you of a truth ...."

This is an important Text we are about to study. One that received special Divine authentication. In a Book that is already seven-fold perfect! "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Psalm 12:6

The verb "tell" is "lego," meaning "to say, to speak, to declare, to assert," all words of communication. Behind this term is the implication that Jesus "chose" His Own words, He being God! But still, in conjunction with God the Father.  "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me." Part of John 14:10, word for word!

And, as we have learned before, the noun "truth" is "aletheia," a blend of two other words. The prefix, "a," means "no," being a negative particle. And the stem is related to the verb "lanthano," that is, "to be hidden, to be unaware." Here's the New Testament idea of "truth:" it's something that, once learned, cannot be forgotten! Cannot be any longer hidden! Once you "see" it, you've "got" it! "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

I can hardly wait!

Wading into this Text should be both informative and encouraging!

I'll tell you why as the days progress, the Lord willing.

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 2, VERSE 7:

The opening sentence in today's Text is overwhelming!

Jesus, in John 16:7, plainly says, "It is expedient for you that I go away." Our Lord has in view His soon-coming Death, Burial, Resurrection and Ascension back to Heaven! He is "going away." Literally, "aperchomai" means "to go back, to depart, to come away."

But the surprising word is "expedient" really. "Sumphero" means "to carry" something "together" with someone else! Think of this word picture: "helping someone travel on down the road by toting their heavy load for them, or at least with them." In the New Testament "sumphero" is occasionally translated as "profitable, better," or even "good."

Now put this statement together, Jesus having said it! "Disciples, the eleven of you who remain, it's really best for you that I (Jesus) go back to Heaven now! My doing this will 'help' you far more than you realize!" Truthfully, the crucified and then resurrected and now ascended Jesus can do far more for us and to us and with us from His Father's Right Hand, much more than He ever could have while on earth!

Hard as it is to believe, we today are much better off than the saints who lived at the very time of Jesus, back in 30 AD or so! Eye-witnesses they were. But we have an Intercessor, an Advocate, a great High Priest, an all-seeing Saviour Who is constantly caring for His Children!

Glory to God!

We live in these days of "expediency," our Lord, according to Hebrews 7:25, "ever living to make intercession" for us!

But there's even another reason why it was best for Jesus to go back to Heaven. He did so forty days after His Resurrection too.

Again consulting today's Verse. "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." John 16:7

The "Comforter" is the precious Holy Spirit of God! For some reason, only fully known to God, the Holy Spirit could not be sent to earth in His present capacity ... until Jesus had been killed, buried, raised, and ascended back to Heaven. Here's how John explained it: "For the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." John 7:39

We are boldly being told that for now the Holy Spirit's ministry to us all who are saved is superior even to what Jesus could have done by Himself if still on earth, treading the Galilean hillsides.

Why?

How so?

Jesus could only be one place at a time, inhabiting a body as He does! The Holy Spirit can be everywhere at once, omnipresent!

Jesus, limited corporally, could have helped one saint at a time, or no more than those who were in His immediate vicinity! Yet the Holy Spirit, Jesus through Him anyway, can help us all at once! That's omniscience and omnipotence too!

The Spirit of God is simply more versatile to the Church than Jesus, even in His glorified Body, would have been! I say that reluctantly, but it's exactly what the Verse is teaching! What Jesus taught!

The key word is "expedient!" To our benefit! To help bear the load! To accompany us! To strengthen us! To commune with us!

Now, back to that great Biblical word "Comforter." He is "paracletos," the One Who is "called" (in Greek, "kaleo") to be "beside" (Greek, "para") us, helping us every step of the way Home, our Heavenly-Home! This is "expedience," remember "sumphero," that is, "bearing someone's load!"

In Greek culture a "paraclete" was one who encouraged and supported and strengthened others, especially those facing hard challenges. It was very often used of a military officer who met with his troops the night before battle, exhorting them to prevail, urging them to victory! He would remind them also of his planned presence in the heat of the war, leading the charge!

Wow!

Then, closing the Verse, Jesus uses the verb "depart," in Greek "poreuomai," meaning "to pursue a journey," better, "to walk, to go, to traverse from one point to another." Our Lord was soon, within a few weeks, to "depart" for Heaven!

Paul's trip to Heaven was called a "departure" also. "The time of my departure is at hand." But 2nd Timothy 4:6 uses a different word for "departure," spelled "analusis" and meaning "the unloosing of a ship on one shore, merely to travel across to another more distant shore!" It was a nautical term! All death meant to Paul was a swift sail across the river!

Amazing!

As the Verse today ends, Jesus promises that when He returns to Glory, He will "send" the Holy Spirit to earth! That verb, "pempo," does mean "to send," but energetically so. Literally, "to thrust, to insert, to place one thing into another." See this? The Holy Spirit is going to come and live, actually inhabit, the saints of God! He has been "inserted" into our lives!

Now, faring so much better than any Christian of any past age, we post-Calvary children of God have two Advocates! Two Paracletes! Two Encouragers! The Lord Jesus in Heaven ... and the Holy Spirit on earth!

That's good!

"We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins." 1st John 2:1-2. where "advocate" is "paracletos."

Then ... "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me." John 15:26, where "comforter" is also "paracletos."

Two!

I must close now.

The total verse we have enjoyed for the past two days: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." John 16:7

Thank you, Lord!

                                                                                 --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 3, VERSE 8:

The Verse reads, speaking of the Holy Spirit, "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." John 16:8

Notice the Holy Spirit here is referred to as "He," in the masculine gender. The grammatical antecedent of "He" is the noun "Comforter" in the previous Verse. Where Jesus said: "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."

The Comforter is Jesus' loving Name for the Spirit of God, spelled "paracletos" in Greek.

Jesus physically came to earth the day a Virgin named Mary gave birth, in Bethlehem of Judea over two thousand years ago.

The Holy Spirit came to earth, in His New Testament sense of Ministry, on the Day of Pentecost, about thirty-three years after Jesus' Birth.

"When He is come" is a reference to that Event. "Kai erchomai" in Greek, more specifically, "kai elthon," being an aorist participle, describing now completed action. There's NOT going to be another literal Day of Pentecost. Not dispensationally so.

Once the Holy Spirit arrives, He will reprove the "world" of certain things, three to be exact. Yes, our Verse today teaches us about the Spirit's work toward the "world!" Lost men and women! The vast throngs of the unsaved! The "world" or "kosmos" as an organized system of evil, resting in the hands of the evil one, the devil. "Kosmos" even means "that which is arranged or ordered systematically."

John 16:8 is not describing the Holy Spirit's Ministry to the saved. This is not His indwelling and infilling and sanctifying and edifying work! Not at all! This is His work outside the realm of the born-again!

Of course this, Verse 8, is exactly where the Spirit began with us, when we were lost. He "reproved us of our sin" for sure! He then revealed to us God's perfect Standard of "righteousness" too, Jesus Christ the Lord! And He showed us the awful reality of Hell, God's literal place of "judgment" as well. By then, we were gladly ready to yield to Christ! That's when He saved us!

Truthfully speaking, when we were lost we were part of that world!

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." John 16:8

The verb "reprove" is critical to our study today. "Elegcho" means "to confute by proof, to refute, to convict!" This is old-fashioned Holy Ghost conviction! That miserable condition we all experienced when we were first shown our "lostness" without Christ! Our awareness that we were on our way to Hell, and deservedly so! Our learning that Jesus was our only Hope for salvation! That we were living second by second under the wrath of God Almighty! Already doomed we were, sinners to the core!

We had been "reproved!"

Legally speaking; we were charged, arrested, arraigned, already tried and convicted, convicted  to die! Eternally so, in the flames of damnation for evermore!

The Holy Spirit remains in the world today, lost-people oriented, to "reprove them of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." John 16:8

But why did Jesus choose these three areas?

Of sin and righteousness and judgment?

He will more fully answer that question tomorrow through Wednesday, Lord willing, in Verses 9-11. But let's at least sketch the outline here today.

He must convict the lost of "sin" because they often do not fully realize that they are, indeed, dead in trespasses and iniquities!

Until a man gets lost, he cannot be found! Until she realizes she's dead spiritually,  she simply cannot be born-again!

The Spirit must reprove of "righteousness" because human beings are prone to define that term with their own good deeds! Our best efforts please us immensely! Yet Isaiah says: "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Isaiah 64:6

By the way, God's perfect Standard of righteousness is Jesus! He is the "Lord" our "Righteousness!" Jeremiah 23:6

And the Spirit will convince men of "judgment" too, because all will be held accountable, responsible for their sin! No one will be exempt, not even the devil! In modern minds, sin no longer has any consequences. This Verse; "The wages of sin is death," is now considered obsolete by multitudes! But there is coming a "great white throne" day of reckoning! "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." If you are lost and have just read these words, Revelation 20:11-15, you ought to be scared nearly out of your wits!

Holy Spirit, do thy work yet again today! So we pray.

And He answers: "I shall!"

"And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."

As always, Jesus was right!

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 4, VERSE 9:

Our Verse today completes a thought from a previous verse. Such literary constructions demand that we study the Bible "in context." That is, in its proper setting.

Here's what I mean.

John 16, verse 8: "And when he (the Holy Spirit, the Comforter) is come, He will reprove the world of sin ...."

Then John 16, verse 9: "Of sin, because they believe not on me."

Verse 9 further explains verse 8, helping Scripture interpret Scripture.

But, why does the Holy Spirit "reprove" or "convict" or "convince" or "bring to the place of repentance, demanding immediate change" (all meanings of "reprove," used in verse 8) the world?

At this point in His Sermon Jesus explains why a lost person must address the "sin" issue before he or she can be saved.

One simply must recognize his "lostness" before he or she can be born-again! Probably before he or she even will have a desire to be born-again!

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:10

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

"Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23

Without an awareness of sin ... one senses no need of a Saviour!

So, the Holy Spirit specializes in convicting the lost world of its sin!

But now an example of such sin is needed!

Maybe stealing?

Or lust?

Or lying?

Or overeating?

What shall it be?

Jesus goes to the very "top" of the sin list! Or should I say He goes to its very "bottom?"

Here's the greatest sin a person, anybody, has ever committed.

""Because they believe not on me." That's it! Jesus said, "They believe not on me!"

Because of Jesus' Death on the Cross, such faith is essential to salvation! "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

To believe not on God's "only begotten Son" is to call God Almighty a liar!

Read here. "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Jesus talking in John 3:18.

To believe not is to be already condemned to Hell!

"He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:36, still Jesus preaching. Wow, God's very wrath presently "abides" or "dwells" or "rests" on non-believers! One heart-beat from Hell!

Yes, precisely, that's the sin that will doom a person to eternal Fire, rejecting Jesus Christ!

All other sins are merely by-products of that Big One!

"And when He (the Holy Spirit, the Comforter) is come, He will reprove the world of sin .... of sin, because they believe not on Me."

Not to believe on Jesus is to slap Him in the face!

Not to love Him is to mock God's plan of Redemption!

Again, but this time in the exact words of Scripture: "He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son." 1st John 5:10

Here's the heart of the issue.

To believe Jesus as Saviour is to relinquish control of one's own life! To admit need! To enthrone God the Son, instead of one's selfish ego!

Man, apart from Holy Ghost conviction is just not willing to do such a Thing!

It's a power struggle!

Believe on Jesus?

Or believe in oneself?

Needless to say, among lost mankind, people rule!

Jesus is inconsequential.

And not until a sinner sees the grave error, the deadly consequence of his rejection and rebellion against Jesus, God the Son ... will he or she ever be saved by the Grace of God!

Somewhere on your way to salvation ... you did, essentially so, acknowledge your sin, the sin of "not believing on Jesus."

At that moment, rest assured, the Holy Spirit had you under conviction!

Praise the Lord!

Only sinners, dead in their trespasses and iniquities, can truly be born from above, born-again!

Thank you, Holy Spirit!

                                                                                 --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 5, VERSE 10:

When a sinner gets saved, three areas of life must be understood, clearly understood.

The Holy Spirit always covers these points when bringing a lost person "home" to Jesus!

Here they are. "And when He is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." John 16:8, where the great "He" Who is come is the Holy Ghost of God, the "Comforter," as Jesus loved to call Him.

But why must an unregenerate man or woman cross this "righteousness" bridge, on his way to Heaven?

The "sin" issue is easy to understand! Without the awareness of sin, a person will never seek a Saviour! In fact, the greatest sin of all involves the rejection of that Saviour!

But, again, why?

Why the "Righteousness" Factor?

Because of Who He is, Jesus!

He is a sinless Saviour!

He is God the Son as Saviour!

He is holy, harmless, undefiled, perfect!

Altogether lovely!

Infinitely precious!

In a word, RIGHTEOUS!

In God's eyes, in every way, always, Jesus is Righteous!

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," said the Father of Him again and again! See Matthew 3:17 and 17:5 and Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22 and 2nd Peter 1:17.

Had Jesus been some "fake" dying for his own wrongdoings, salvation too would be a sham.

But Jesus is Virgin Born, Heaven Sent, the antidote to Adam and his failure, Genuine and Real in every way!

Even His enemies had to confess so!

Pilate: "Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man." Luke 23:4

Caiaphas: "And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." John 11:49-52, wow!

The Soldier who was in charge of the execution squad: "And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God." Mark 15:39

The very thief dying by His side: "We (the two malefactors) receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss." Luke 23:41, nothing wrong!

What more testimony is needed?

Jesus is Righteous!

He is the fulfillment of Jeremiah 23:6. "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jesus is that Lord!

Jesus is so pristinely Righteous that God the Father "approved" of His Life and Ministry and Death and Sacrifice by doing one astounding thing! By raising Him for the Grave!

Yes!

Paul says so in Romans 1:4. Clearly talking about Jesus, the Apostle writes: "And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Who "declared" Him so? God the Father did!

And if Jesus is this Holy, Righteousness personified, how can I, an old ex-sinner be saved? How can I gain access to Heaven, God's eternal Home?

The "sin" issue alone does not save me, getting that mess cleaned up! Oh, yes. Our sin must be washed away, by the Blood of Jesus!

But more is necessary!

Negatively the "sin" is gone, when one is saved.

But, positively, and just as importantly, "righteousness" must be gained, applied, imputed to the sinner's heart!

And since our own righteousness is clearly inadequate, Whose will suffice? "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf." Isaiah 64:6

Jesus' Righteousness will suffice!

God will cover us in Jesus' Goodness, in His Blood, in His Holiness, in His Righteousness!

Here it is in one Verse: "For He (God the Father) hath made Him (God the Son) to be sin for us, Who (God the Son)  knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (God the Son)." 2nd Corinthians 5:21

Or as Romans 5:19 explains: "For as by one man's disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Jesus) shall many be made righteous." Mercy!

Jesus, the Righteous One!

That word "righteousness" is "dikaiosune" and means "straight or correct" in the eyes of God! It's probably derived from "deiknuo," meaning "to show, to display, to exhibit!"

Jesus is God's perfect Trophy of Righteousness, for all creation to see, for all eternity!

That's why Heaven is a place of praise! There now, this chorus rings loudly, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." Revelation 4:8 is directed to Jesus, the Righteous! Another Verse: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12

Righteous!

And here, our Verse for today, is the very epitome, the very heart, of Righteousness, demonstrated Righteousness! "Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more." John 16:10

Better yet, "And when he, the Holy Spirit, is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment ... of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more."

The "height" of Righteousness, its very Proof, is this: Jesus was raised from the Dead! Jesus was taken to Heaven, ascended, literally and physically! Jesus sits now at the Right Hand of God the Father! Jesus has remained there, and shall, until He returns to catch us into His Presence!

Righteousness on Display: ""Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more."

Glory to God!

Praise to Jesus!

And gratefulness to the Holy Spirit!

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 6, VERSE 11:

The word is nearly archaic!

What word?

Judgment.

Especially the judgment of God!

In America today I suspect a challenged football play, that "instant replay" thing, with a referee looking at a hooded television screen, might better represent "judgment" than a Great White Throne with Almighty God issuing decrees!

Judgment, the entire concept, is about gone!

But not in the Lord's Eyes!

In fact, one of the Holy Spirit's main occupations, especially concerning lost mankind, is to emphasize that neglected word!

Our Verse for today, with its antecedent verb, teaches us: "And when He (the Holy Spirit) is come, He will reprove the world ... of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." John 16:11

That's after He has "reproved" or "convicted" or "convinced" them of sin and of righteousness.

Apparently a person cannot be saved, not really saved, without strongly sensing and acting upon the issues of his or her "sin" and "righteousness" and, then finally, "judgment!"

To be saved, you must realize you are a sinner.

You must realize your bankrupt position in reference to righteousness.

And you must face the fact of Hell or the Lake of Fire, God's ultimate judgment.

These are not really things a lost man or woman must do, but rather are things the Holy Spirit does to the now-under-conviction and soon-to-be-saved individual.

Today, based on verse eleven, it's time to talk about "judgment."

The word is "krisis," a Greek noun meaning a "decision." When set in a legal or forensic context, the word can get serious in a hurry.

Truth be told, most of today's post-modern society probably does not believe the Bible's stories of judgment anyway.

Adam and Eve expelled from the Garden of Eden.

The world-wide Flood in Noah's day.

The Tower of Babel.

The death of Pharaoh, that Red Sea incident.

And we're just getting started, Biblically speaking!

Much less do many people now believe the Book of Revelation, apocalyptic and cataclysmic as it is.

World war!

Massive death!

Intercontinental famine!

Stars falling!

Invasions from the netherworld!

A Battle where blood flows like a river!

"Preposterous," they say.

"Primitive."

Well, what if I asked you to name the greatest of all God's judgments. I mean judgments upon His foes.

Far surpassing the extinction of the Canaanites.

Or the stoning of Achan and his family.

Or the Babylonian Captivity.

Or even Sodom and Gomorrah!

The answer: when God judged "the prince of this world."

Who is that?

The devil!

Verse 11 again: "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."

The expression "is judged" translates "krino," a verbal form of "krisis," rendering it "kekritai," an indicative mood, imperfect tense, passive voice, 3rd person singular action word.

This "judgment" has already happened, plus, its results continue to this very day! That's the sense of the imperfect tense in Greek.

I believe Satan was judged, mortally so, at the Cross of Calvary over two thousand years ago!

Jesus, speaking of His soon-coming bloody Ordeal, the Crucifixion, said: "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." In John 12:31 here, the devil got "thrown out" of something! The verb is "ekballo," that is, "kicked out! The Adversary "lost" the battle that Day!

Still talking about the Cross, "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." This is Jesus in John 14:30. The devil sought to harm Jesus at Calvary, but to no avail! The devil got "nothing" on Jesus, even then!

Now Paul on the Event, on the Cross, where Jesus ... "Blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." That verb "spoiled" is again a description of what Jesus did the the devil and his demons, as our Lord died! "Apekduomai" blends "apo" and "ek," both prepositions, and "duo," a verb! Here's what we get: Jesus "stripped" the devil of all his clothes, all his armour, of all his glory ... on the old rugged Cross!

Potentially, the devil is already a defeated creature!

Already judged!

But, even with this, the best is yet to come!

Some future day, at the end of the ages, John on Patmos records: "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelation 20:10

The devil!

Tormented in fire, forever!

No release!

No annihilation!

Weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth!

Thirst!

Defeat!

Shame!

Yet, still, eternal rebellion and hatred of Almighty God! "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still." Wow, Revelation 22:11

If God can bring the devil down ... He can handle any other enemy too!

Including defiant sinful, unrighteous, unbroken human beings!

See that list, underlined as it is?

Without acquiescing to the Holy Spirit's nudges about sin and righteousness and judgment, there's nothing left for a soul to endure but "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Hebrews 10:27

One more Passage, "And Jesus said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." As a result, "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." Luke 10:18 and 21

It made Jesus joyful, happy!

Satan fallen!

Now, that's judgment!

And if God can handle the greater enemy, already has, He can certainly take care of the smaller ones too!

Yes! "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27

And guess who the Judge is?

"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." John 5:22-23

Genesis 3:15 was right all the time! The devil bruised the heel of Jesus, probably on the Cross. But Jesus crushed the head of Satan, also from Golgotha's Hill!

God to Satan in the Garden of Eden, because of sin: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

The people of American will not, but they should be shaking in their boots this morning! God's judgment is coming! Actually, it's already started!

If the devil lost, so will all lesser haters of God!

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Psalm 9:17, the same type punishment the devil faces!

Amen!

                                                                                --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 7, CONCLUSION:

Here's the whole Text again. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." John 16:7-11

This Text, so filled with the Holy Spirit as its Subject, is still very "Christo-centric," as the theologians say! That is, Christ-centered!

I at first thought that God the Third Person "dominated" the entire paragraph. But on further reflection, I see Jesus more and more!

In fact, truth be told, when the True Holy Spirit is present ... by virtue of His Presence ... JESUS IS ALWAYS MAGNIFIED! Here's proof for my statement. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." John 13-14, watch those underlined words.

The Holy Spirit never uplifts Himself!

He always exalts the Son of God, God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Now, watch our Text carefully, John 16:7-11. And let me show you JESUS as He appears again and again.

First of all, Jesus is the Speaker, the Preacher, the Teacher. "Nevertheless I tell you ...." That's Jesus.

Then our Lord mentions His soon-coming Death, Burial, Resurrection, and forty days later, Ascension. "I go away." Then, "I depart." Jesus is in Heaven right now, at the Right Hand of God!

Then, Jesus is the One Who is to send the Holy Spirit back to earth, in the Spirit's New Testament capacity, in His post Day-of-Pentecost Ministry. "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." What authority! What Power Jesus possesses!

And even when we get to the part of the Verse that obviously focuses on the Holy Spirit Himself, look! "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me." That's Jesus again, the "Me" right there! The ultimate height of sin is "not believing on Jesus!" The Holy Spirit convicts people of sin ... to point them to Jesus, the One in Whom our faith must rest! Even to be saved!

Next the Spirit reproves or convicts sinners of "righteousness," but even that's because, says Jesus, "Because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more." Needing an Example of perfect, spotless Righteousness, the Holy Spirit of course takes a straight path to Jesus! Jesus is Righteousness! Salvation is Jesus-saturated! "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12, that's Jesus! Without Jesus' "imputed" or "applied" Righteousness, we will all miss Heaven!

Lastly, the Holy Spirit convicts the lost world of judgment. But, why? "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." Now "the prince of this world" is the devil, according to Jesus in John 12:31 and 14:30 and certainly here in 16:11. But, Who is going to judge him, judge the devil? Jesus is! "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." John 5:22-23

It's all about Jesus!

Just think! Who wrote this, the "motto" of the Christian life? "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." The Holy Spirit wrote it, Hebrews 12:2.

I first knew I was a sinner ... because I had not believed on Jesus. I had rejected the darling Son of God!

I knew that I lacked any true righteousness also ... because Jesus is the Real Pattern of Righteousness! God says so! His first declaration of such is found in Romans 1:4. "Our Lord ... declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Yes!

And I knew, as a lost sinner, I faced judgment, eternal hell forever! Why? Because even the devil will spend eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone, unendingly! And Who will put him there? Jesus will, He being the Judge! The Great White Throne Judge! "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it." Revelation 20:10-11

Salvation, Jesus!

No wonder God calls Him, rightfully so, Saviour!

"And thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

I call Him That too, the One Who "saves!"

I know!

He saved me!

                                                                             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

This five-verse Text is both doctrinal and devotional! In it we learn ... and worship! It describes the path through which every sinner is saved! Mercy! How very much we should thank God for John 16:7-11.