John 16:5-7
5. And now I go to him who sent me, and none of you asketh me, Whither
goest thou? 6. But because I have told you these things, sorrow hath filled
your hearts. 7. But 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 to you; but
shall go away, I will send him to you.
5. And now I go to him who sent me. By a very excellent consolation
he assuages the grief which they might feel on account of his departure,
and this was highly necessary. They who had hitherto been allowed to remain
at their ease, were called to severe and arduous battles for the future.
What then, would have become of them, if they had not known that Christ
was in heaven, as the guardian of their salvation? For to go to the Father
is nothing else than to be received into the heavenly glory, in order to
possess the highest authority. This is held out to them, therefore, as
a solace and remedy of grief, that, though Christ be absent from them in
body, yet he will sit at the right hand of the Father, to protect believers
by his power.
Here Christ reproves the apostles for two faults; first, that they were
too much attached to the visible presence of his flesh; and, secondly,
that, when this had been taken away, they were seized with grief, and did
not lift their eyes to a higher region. The same thing happens to us; for
we always hold Christ bound by our senses, and then, if he do not appear
to us according: to our desire, we contrive for ourselves a ground of despair.
And none of you asketh me, whither goest thou? It may appear
to be an unfounded charge against the apostles, that they did not ask whether
their Master was going; for they had formerly inquired at him on this subject
with great earnestness. But the answer is easy. When they inquired, they
did not raise their minds to confidence, and this was the chief duty which
they were bound to perform. The meaning therefore is, as soon as you hear
of my departure, you become alarmed, and do not consider whither I am going,
or for what purpose I go away.”
7. Yet I tell you the truth. That they may no longer wish to
have him present before their eyes, he testifies that his absence will
be advantageous, and makes use of a sort of oath; for we are carnal, and
consequently nothing is more difficult than to tear from our minds this
foolish inclination, by which we attempt to draw down Christ from heaven
to us. He explains where the advantage lies, by saying, that the Holy Spirit
could not be given to them, if he did not leave the world. But far more
advantageous and far more desirable is that presence of Christ, by which
he communicates himself to us through the grace and power of his Spirit,
than if he were present before our eyes. And here we must not put the question,
“Could not Christ have drawn down the Holy Spirit while he dwelt on earth?”
For Christ takes for granted all that had been decreed by the Father and,
indeed, when the Lord has once pointed out what he wishes to be done, to
dispute about what is possible would be foolish and pernicious.
John 16:8-15
8. And when he is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment 9. Of sin, because they believe not in me
10. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more.
11. Of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged. 12.
I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13.
But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will lead you into all truth;
for he will not speak from himself, but will speak all that he has heard,
and will declare to you the things that are to come. 14. He will glorify
me, for he will take of what is mine, and will declare it to you. 15. All
things that the Father hath are mine; therefore I said to you, He will
take of what is mine, and will declare it to you.
8. And when he is come. Passing by the diversity of expositions,
which we have received in consequence of the obscurity of the passage,
I shall only state what appears to me to be in accordance with Christ’s
true meaning. He had promised his Spirit to the disciples; and now he praises
the excellence of the gift from its effect, because this Spirit will not
only guide, support, and protect them in private, but will extend more
widely his power and efficacy.
He will convince the world; that is, he will not remain shut up in you,
but; his power will go forth from you to be displayed to the whole world.
He therefore promises to them a Spirit, who will be the Judge of the world,
and by whom their preaching will be so powerful and efficacious, that it
will bring into subjection those who formerly indulged in unbounded licentiousness,
and were restrained by no fear or reverence.
It ought to be observed, that in this passage Christ does not speak
of secret revelations, but of the power of the Spirit, which appears in
the outward doctrine of the Gospel, and in the voice of men. For how comes
it that the voice proceeding from the mouth of a man penetrates into the
hearts, takes root there, and at length yields fruit, changing hearts of
stone into hearts of flesh, and renewing men, but because the Spirit of
Christ quickens it? Otherwise it would be a dead letter and a useless sound,
as Paul says in that beautiful passage, in which he boasts of being a minister
of the Spirit, (2 Corinthians 3:6,) because God wrought powerfully in his
doctrine. The meaning therefore is, that, though the Spirit had been given
to the apostles, they would be endued with a heavenly and Divine power,
by which they would exercise jurisdiction over the whole world. Now, this
is ascribed to the Spirit rather than to themselves, because they will
have no power of their own, but will be only ministers and organs, and
the Holy Spirit will be their director and governor.
Under the term world are, I think, included not only those who would
be truly converted to Christ, but hypocrites and reprobates. For there
are two ways in which the Spirit convinces men by the preaching of the
Gospel. Some are moved in good earnest, so as to bow down willingly, and
to assent willingly to the judgment by which they are condemned. Others,
though they are convinced of guilt and cannot escape, yet do not sincerely
yield, or submit themselves to the authority and jurisdiction of the Holy
Spirit, but, on the contrary, being subdued they groan inwardly, and, being
overwhelmed with confusion, still do not cease to cherish obstinacy within
their hearts.
We now perceive in what manner the Spirit was to convince the world
by the apostles. It was, because God revealed his judgment in the Gospel,
by which their consciences were struck, and began to perceive their evils
and the grace of God. for the verb ejle>gcein here signifies to convince
or convict; and, for understanding this passage, not a little light will
be obtained from the words of the Apostle Paul, when he says,
If all shall prophesy, and an unbeliever or unlearned man enter, he
is convicted by all, he is judged by all, and thus shall the secrets of
his heart be made manifest, (1 Corinthians 14:23.)
In that passage Paul speaks particularly of one kind of conviction,
that is; when the Lord brings his elect to repentance by the Gospel; but
this plainly shows in what manner the Spirit of God, by the sound of the
human voice, constrains men, who formerly were not accustomed to his yoke,
to acknowledge and submit to his authority.
A question now arises, For what purpose did Christ say this? Some think
that he points out the cause of the hatred which he had mentioned; as if
he had said, that the reason why they will be hated by the world is, that
the Spirit, on the other hand, will earnestly solicit the world by means
of them. But I rather agree with those who tell us that the design of Christ
was different, as I stated briefly at the commencement of the exposition
of this verse; for it was of great importance that the apostles should
know that the gift of the Spirit, which had been promised to them, was
of no ordinary value. He therefore describes its uncommon excellence, by
saying that God will, in this way, erect his tribunal for judging the whole
world.
9. Of sin. It now remains that we see what it is to convince
of sin. Christ appears to make unbelief the only cause of sin, and this
is tortured by commentators in various ways; but, as I have already said,
I do not intend to detail the opinions which have been held and advanced.
First, it ought to be observed, that the judgment of the Spirit commences
with the demonstration of sin; for the commencement of spiritual instruction
is, that men born in sin have nothing in them but what leads to sin. Again,
Christ mentioned unbelief, in order to show what is the nature of men in
itself for, since faith is the bond by which he is united to us, until
we believe in him, we are out of him and separated from him. The import
of these words is as if he had said, “When the Spirit is come, he will
produce full conviction that, apart from me, sin reigns in the world;”
and, therefore, unbelief is here mentioned, because it separates us from
Christ, in consequence of which nothing is left to us but sin. In short,
by these words he condemns the corruption and depravity of human nature,
that we may not suppose that a single drop of integrity is in us without
Christ.
10. Of righteousness. We must attend to the succession of steps
which Christ lays down. He now says that the world must be convinced of
righteousness; for men will never hunger and thirst for righteousness,
but, on the contrary, will disdainfully reject all that is said concerning
it, if they have not been moved by a conviction of sin. As to believers
particularly, we ought to understand that they cannot make progress in
the Gospel till they have first been humbled; and this cannot take place,
till they have acknowledged their sins. It is undoubtedly the peculiar
office of the Law to summon consciences to the judgment-seat of God, and
to strike them with terror; but the Gospel cannot be preached in a proper
manner, till it lead men from sin to righteousness, and from death to life;
and, therefore, it is necessary to borrow from the Law that first clause
of which Christ spoke.
By righteousness must here be understood that which is imparted to us
through the grace of Christ. Christ makes it to consist in his ascension
to the Father, and not without good reason; for, as Paul declares that
he rose for our justification, (Romans 4:25) so he now sits at the right
hand of the Father in such a manner as to exercise all the authority that
has been given to him, and thus to fill all things, (Ephesians 4:10.) In
short, from the heavenly glory he fills the world with the sweet savor
of his righteousness. Now the Spirit declares, by the Gospel, that this
is the only way in which we are accounted righteous. Next to the conviction
of sin, this is the second step, that the Spirit should convince the world
what true righteousness is, namely, that Christ, by his ascension to heaven,
has established the kingdom of life, and now sits at the right hand of
the Father, to confirm true righteousness.
11. Of judgment. Those who understand the word (kri>sewv) judgment
as signifying condemnation, have some argument on their side; for Christ
immediately adds, that the prince of this world hath been judged. But I
prefer a different opinion, namely, that, the light of the Gospel having
been kindled, the Spirit manifests that the world has been brought into
a state of good order by the victory of Christ, by which he overturned
the authority of Satan; as if he had said, that this is a true restoration,
by which all things are reformed, when Christ alone holds the kingdom,
having subdued and triumphed over Satan. Judgment, therefore, is contrasted
with what is confused and disordered, or, to express it briefly, it is
the opposite (th~v ajtaxi>av) of confusion, or, we might call it righteousness,
a sense which it often bears in Scripture. The meaning therefore is, that
Satan, so long as he retains the government, perplexes and disturbs all
things, so that there is an unseemly and disgraceful confusion in the works
of God; but when he is stripped of his tyranny by Christ, then the world
is restored, and good order is seen to reign. Thus the Spirit convinces
the world of judgment; that is, having vanquished the prince of wickedness,
Christ restores to order those things which formerly were torn and decayed.
12. I have still many things to say to you. Christ’s discourse
could not have so much influence over his disciples, as to prevent their
ignorance from still keeping them in perplexity about many things; and
not only so, but they scarcely obtained a slight taste of those things
which ought to have imparted to them full satisfaction, had it not been
for the obstruction arising from the weakness of the flesh. It was, therefore,
impossible but that the consciousness of their poverty should oppress them
with fear and anxiety. But Christ meets it by this consolation, that, when
they have received the Spirit, they will be new men, and altogether different
from what they were before.
But you are not able to bear them now. When he says that, were
he to tell them anything more, or what was loftier, they would not be able
to bear it, his object is to encourage them by the hope of better progress,
that they may not lose courage; for the grace which he was to bestow on
them ought not to be estimated by their present feelings, since they were
at so great a distance from heaven. In short, he bids them be cheerful
and courageous, whatever may be their present weakness. But as there was
nothing else than doctrine on which they could rely, Christ reminds them
that he had accommodated it to their capacity, yet so as to lead them to
expect that they would soon afterwards obtain loftier and more abundant
instruction; as if he had said, “If what you have heard from me is not
yet sufficient to confirm you, have patience for a little; for ere long,
having enjoyed the teaching of the Spirit, you will need nothing more;
he will remove all the ignorance that now remains in you.”
Now arises a question, what were those things which the apostles were
not yet able to learn? The Papists, for the purpose of putting forward
their inventions as the oracles of God, wickedly abuse this passage. “Christ,”
they tell us, “promised to the apostles new revelations; and, therefore,
we must not abide solely by Scripture, for something beyond Scripture is
here promised by him to his followers.” In the first place, if they choose
to talk with Augustine, the solution will be easily obtained. His words
are, “Since Christ is silent, which of us shall say that it was this or
that? Or, if he shall venture to say so, how shall he prove it? Who is
so rash and insolent, even though he say what is true, as to affirm, without
any Divine testimony, that those are the things which the Lord at that
time did not choose to say?” But we have a surer way of refuting them,
taken from Christ’s own words, which follow.
13. But when he is come, the Spirit of truth. The Spirit, whom
Christ promised to the apostles, is declared to be perfect Master or Teacher
of truth. And why was he promised, but that they might deliver from hand
to hand the wisdom which they had received from him? The Spirit was given
to them, and under his guidance and direction they discharged the office
to which they had been appointed.
He will lead you into all truth. That very Spirit had lead them
into all truth, when they committed to writing the substance of their doctrine.
Whoever imagines that anything must be added to their doctrine, as if it
were imperfect and but half-finished, not only accuses the apostles of
dishonesty, but blasphemes against the Spirit. If the doctrine which they
committed to writing had proceeded from mere learners or persons imperfectly
taught, an addition to it would not have been superfluous; but now that
their writings may be regarded as perpetual records of that revelation
which was promised and given to them, nothing can be added to them without
doing grievous injury to the Holy Spirit.
When they come to determine what those things actually were, the Papists
act a highly ridiculous part, for they define those mysteries, which the
apostles were unable to bear, to be certain childish fooleries, the most
absurd and stupid things that can be imagined. Was it necessary that the
Spirit should come down from heaven that the apostles might learn what
ceremony must be used in consecrating cups with their altars, in baptizing
church-bells, in blessing the holy water, and in celebrating Mass? Whence
then do fools and children obtain their learning, who understand all those
matters most thoroughly? Nothing is more evident than that the Papists
mock God, when they pretend that those things came from heaven, which resemble
as much the mysteries of Ceres or Proserpine as they are at variance with
the pure wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
If we do not wish to be ungrateful to God, let us rest satisfied with
that doctrine of which the writings of the apostles declare them to be
the authors, since in it the highest perfection of heavenly wisdom is made
known to us, fitted to make the man of God perfect (2 Timothy 3:17.) Beyond
this let us not reckon ourselves at liberty to go; for our height, and
breadth, and depth, consist in knowing the love of God, which is manifested
to us in Christ. This knowledge, as Paul informs us, far exceeds all learning,
(Ephesians 3:18;) and when he declares that
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ, (Colossians
2:3,)
he does not contrive some unknown Christ, but one whom by his preaching
he painted to the life, so that, as he tells the Galatians,
we see him, as it were, crucified before our eyes,
(Galatians 3:1.)
But that no ambiguity may remain, Christ himself afterwards explains
by his own words what those things are which the apostles were not yet
able to bear.
He will tell you things which are to come. Some indeed limit
this to the Spirit of prophecy; but, in my opinion, it denotes rather the
future condition of his spiritual kingdom, such as the apostles, soon after
his resurrection, saw it to be, but were at that time utterly unable to
comprehend. He does not therefore promise them prophecies of things that
would happen after their death, but means only that the nature of his kingdom
will be widely different, and its glory far greater than their minds are
now able to conceive. The Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Ephesians,
from the first chapter to the close of the fourth, explains the treasures
of this hidden wisdom, which the heavenly angels learn with astonishment
from the Church; and therefore we need not go to seek them from the archives
or repositories of the Pope.
For he will not speak from himself. This is a confirmation of
the clause, He will lead you into all truth. We know that God is the fountain
of truth, and that out of Him there is nothing that is firm or sure; and,
therefore, that the apostles may safely place full confidence in the oracles
of the Spirit, Christ declares that they will be divine oracles; as if
he had said, that every thing which the Holy Spirit shall bring proceeds
from God himself. And yet these words take nothing away from the majesty
of the Spirit, as if he were not God, or as if he were inferior to the
Father, but are accommodated to the capacity of our understanding; for
the reason why his Divinity is expressly mentioned is, because, on account
of the veil that is between us, we do not sufficiently understand with
what reverence we ought to receive what the Spirit reveals to us. In like
manner, he is elsewhere called the earnest, by which God ratifies to us
our salvation, and the seal, by which he seals to us its certainty, (Ephesians
1:13, 14.) In short, Christ intended to teach that the doctrine of the
Spirit would not be of this world, as if it were produced in the air, but
that it would proceed from the secret places of the heavenly sanctuary.
14. He will glorify me. Christ now reminds them that the Spirit
will not come to erect any new kingdom, but rather to confirm the glory
which has been given to him by the Father. For many foolishly imagine that
Christ taught only so as to lay down the first lessons, and then to send
the disciples to a higher school. In this way they make the Gospel to be
of no greater value than the Law, of which it is said that it was a schoolmaster
of the ancient people, (Galatians 3:24.)
This error is followed by another equally intolerable, that, having
bid adieu to Christ, as if his reign were terminated, and he were now nothing
at all, they substitute the Spirit in his place. From this source the sacrileges
of Popery and Mahometanism have flowed; for, though those two Antichrists
differ from each other in many respects, still they agree in holding a
common principle; and that is, that in the Gospel we receive the earliest
instructions to lead us into the right faith, but that we must seek elsewhere
the perfection of doctrine, that it may complete the course of our education.
If Scripture is quoted against the Pope, he maintains that we ought not
to confine ourselves to it, because the Spirit is come, and has carried
us above Scripture by many additions. Mahomet asserts that, without his
Alcoran, men always re-main children. Thus, by a false pretense of the
Spirit, the world was bewitched to depart from the simple purity of Christ;
for, as soon as the Spirit is separated from the word of Christ, the door
is open to all kinds of delusions and impostures. A similar method of deceiving
has been attempted, in the present age, by many fanatics. The written doctrine
appeared to them to be literal, and, therefore, they chose to contrive
a new theology that would consist of revelations.
We now see that the information given by Christ, that he would be glorified
by the Spirit whom he should send, is far from being superfluous; for it
was intended to inform us, that the office of the Holy Spirit was nothing
else than to establish the kingdom of Christ, and to maintain and confirm
for ever all that was given him by the Father. Why then does he speak of
the Spirit’s teaching? Not to withdraw us from the school of Christ, but
rather to ratify that word by which we are commanded to listen to him,
otherwise he would diminish the glory of Christ. The reason is added, Christ
says,
For he will take of what is mine. By these words he means that we receive
the Spirit in order that we may enjoy Christ’s blessings. For what does
he bestow on us? That we may be washed by the blood of Christ, that sin
may be blotted out in us by his death, that our old man may be crucified,
(Romans 6:6,) that his resurrection may be efficacious in forming us again
to newness of life, (Romans 6:4;) and, in short, that we may become partakers
of his benefits. Nothing, therefore, is bestowed on us by the Spirit apart
from Christ, but he takes it from Christ, that he may communicate it to
us. We ought to take the same view of his doctrine; for he does not enlighten
us, in order to draw us away in the smallest degree from Christ, but to
fulfill what Paul says, that Christ is made to us wisdom, (1 Corinthians
1:30,) and likewise to display those treasures which are hidden in Christ,
(Colossians 2:3.) In a word, the Spirit enriches us with no other than
the riches of Christ, that he may display his glory in all things.
15. All things that the Father hath are mine. As it might be
thought that Christ took away from the Father what he claimed for himself,
he acknowledges that he has received from the Father all that he communicates
to us by the Spirit. When he says that all things that the Father hath
are his, he speaks in the person of the Mediator, for we must draw out
of his fullness, (John 1:16.) He always keeps his eye on us, as we have
said. We see, on the other hand, how the greater part of men deceive themselves;
for they pass by Christ, and go out of the way to seek God by circuitous
paths.
Other commentators explain these words to mean, that all that the Father
hath belongs equally to the Son, because he is the same God. But here he
does not speak of his hidden and intrinsic power, as it is called, but
of that office which he has been appointed to exercise toward us. In short,
he speaks of his riches, that he may invite us to enjoy them, and reckons
the Spirit among the gifts which we receive from the rather by his hand.
