Daily Devotions

Our verse for today says,

true lowliness of heart
which takes the humbler part,
and for its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

Jesus in John 16:8-11 says, “The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God's justice and the judgment. The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn't have faith in me. They are wrong about God's justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won't see me again. And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.”

In the Greco-Roman world, public reproof and exposure of wrongdoing were common practices, often used to maintain social order and moral standards. In the Jewish tradition, reproof was seen as a necessary part of community life, aimed at restoring individuals to righteousness. The New Testament reflects this cultural understanding, emphasising the role of the Holy Spirit in convicting the world of sin.

We have seen how the Spirit is our Comforter and Advocate, and yet here the Spirit is also one who convicts of sin—which might initially seem counterintuitive to the truths we have learned about the Spirit so far. The word Jesus uses for “convict” in Greek means to cross-examine, to question someone in order to show the holes in their story. 

Jesus is saying that our Advocate and Defender has become a prosecutor. It is like a parent, restraining a young child with a stern voice and firm hand to keep them from running into a busy street. It’s because the Father loves you, it’s because Jesus cares for you, it’s because the Holy Spirit wants you to live that God comes and pokes holes in your defence, in order to help you see your great need for the Lord.

Spirit, what will you tell us? Before the mountains, stars, springs, and seas, before the foundations of the earth, you were there, God as three as one in the eternity of the now. Spirit, thank you for this gift of knowing the truth of the Father (who gave us his Son), Son (who gave us himself), and Holy Spirit (who lives in our hearts as our constant companion now) You will guide us to the truth. Amen