John 16:1-13 ▼

1 “I have told you these things so that you will not stumble or be caught off guard and fall away.

2 They will put you out of the synagogues and make you outcasts. And a time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God.

3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me.

4 I have told you these things [now], so that when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I did not say these things to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’

6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts [and taken complete possession of them].

7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].

8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world about [the guilt of] sin [and the need for a Savior], and about righteousness, and about judgment:

9 about sin [and the true nature of it], because they do not believe in Me [and My message];

10 about righteousness [personal integrity and godly character], because I am going to My Father and you will no longer see Me;

11 about judgment [the certainty of it], because the ruler of this world (Satan) has been judged and condemned.

12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now.

13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].