Your 24/7 Companion – Day 5

“… He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement.” (John 16:8)

The Holy Spirit, the Counsellor does three things that are mentioned above. First, he convicts the world of guilt in regards to sin – to let them know they are on the wrong side. This sin is unbelief in Jesus (verse 9) and as a result, you have no relationship with God and do not have the Counsellor in you. The worlds unbelief proves the seriousness of sin. Nevertheless, our faith and the resident Holy Spirit makes us instrumental in introducing Jesus to people by our testimony and a lifestyle that honours him. However, eventually, the Holy Spirit convicts people of their sins and gets them to confess it.

Secondly, he convicts people of righteousness, in other words, of their “being in right standing” or “acquittal” of their sins if they believe in Jesus. Even if Jesus is not visibly present anymore, because he is with his Father, he is still present in word and power. Because the Spirit now lives in us as believers, and we use the word as a standard for the truth, we can be instrumental in demonstrating righteousness to people. But remember, it is still the Holy Spirit who convicts.

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit makes unbelieving people aware that their judgement will be the same as that of their master, the prince of this world (verse 11). He lost his position of power when Jesus came to earth (14:30) and he was driven out (12:31). If you and I live from and act by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we become an echo to the world of their sin of unbelief; a proof that there is a new life in Jesus and that judgement is the fate of anyone who denies the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But at the same time, our faith, our “being in right standing” and our “acquittal” is being used by our 24/7 Companion, the Holy Spirit, to make an appeal to everyone who does not believe.