Fifth Sunday of Easter (1880)John 16:5-15

I.The entire work of our salvation must be accomplished by God.

Beginning, middle, and end is in God's hand. The salvation, through which a man is saved, is therefore called the salvation of God, i.e., it is put into effect by God and brought to an end.1 The decree of redemption is conceived from eternity by God, before we were born2; God has carried out this decree in time through His incarnate Son3 while we were still His enemies.4 But even with the acquisition of salvation through Christ, it was not enough. If we should truly acquire salvation, then it must be appropriated to us by God the Holy Spirit.

The sending of the Holy Spirit: An absolutely necessary blessing of the grace of God for our salvation.

We recognize this when we consider1. on what it is based,

a. not on any merit on our part. Before the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, we are indeed enemies of God5,

b. but on the atoning death of Christ.6 Christ has not merely earned salvation itself with His death, but also the appropriation of salvation.7 Gerhard: "The grain of wheat falling into the earth has also brought us among other fruits even that of the Spirit8, as a sign of this Christ breathed on the apostles after His resurrection and said: Receive the Holy Spirit"9;

c. if the sending of the Holy Spirit is based on the atoning death of Christ, then it must be absolutely necessary for our salvation. What is purchased for so dear a price10 must be absolutely indispensable for us;

2. what it works,

1 Psalm 98:3, 50:23 passim.2 Ephesians 3:9.3 2 Corinthians 5:18-19.4 Romans 5:8.5 Romans 8:7-8.6 John 16:7.7 See Galatians 3:14.8 John 12:24.9 John 20:22.10 1 Peter 1:18-19.

a. among mankind in general.11 The Holy Spirit convicts mankind through His working in the Word

α. concerning sin, what sin is meant here in particular. The sin of not.א

believing in Christ;.ב why the Holy Spirit must now convict mankind of

this sin. This sin is unknown to man by nature, the greatest, the sin inevitably plunging mankind into eternal doom.

[Augustine: "He makes this sin considerable before other sins, as if it was the only one; because if this sin remains, then the others are retained; it this gives way, then the others are forgiven." Luther: "Therefore all our salvation and condemnation now lies on whether we believe or do not believe in Christ, and the verdict is already finally delivered which locks up heaven and denies everything, so would neither have nor accept this faith in Christ. For that disbelief retains all sin, that it cannot be forgiven, even as faith cancels all sin."]

β. concerning righteousness, what kind of righteousness is meant here. The.א

righteousness of Christ that He acquired through His going away to the Father and has brought to light, not for Himself, but for mankind12,

.ב why the Holy Spirit must now convict mankind of this righteousness. This righteousness is unknown by nature by every man.13

[Luther: "This righteousness, however, is completely concealed, not only from the world but also from the saints. It is not a thought, a word, or a work in ourselves, as the scholastics fantasied about grace when they said that it is something poured into our hearts. No, it is entirely outside and above us; it is Christ’s going to the Father (that is, His suffering and resurrection or ascension).... This is a peculiar righteousness; it is strange indeed that we are to be called righteous or to possess a righteousness which is really no work, no thought, in short, nothing whatever in us but is entirely outside us in Christ and yet becomes truly ours by reason of His grace and gift, and becomes our very own, as though we ourselves had achieved and earned it."]

γ. concerning judgment, what is meant by this judgment. The judgment.א

handed down about the devil by Christ's death and resurrection14,

.ב why the Holy Spirit must now convict mankind of this judgment. Mankind would otherwise not

11 John 16:8-11.12 Jeremiah 23:6; Romans 4:25; Hebrews 9:12ff.; Isaiah 53:11.13 Romans 3:21 ("revealed").14 John 12:31.

recognize that they serve a lord already awarded condemnation and are in danger to be condemned with him if they do not flee his kingdom. Even those who have become believing would still be afraid without reason before the vanquished, of whom one little word can fell;

b. what it has worked among the apostles in particular15,α. the apostles had still not understood all doctrine before

the sending of the Holy Spirit, rather, they were still caught up in some error16;

β. through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit they were infallible witnesses of the saving truth for the church until the last day. Their testimony, as it exists in Scripture, is infallible, because the infallible Holy Spirit himself has spoken through them. Their testimony is sufficient, so that we do not rely on so-called traditions, because the Holy Spirit has led them into all truth. The testimony of the Holy Spirit by the apostles is the glorification of Christ. So we immediately recognize as error every doctrine which will glorify he merit of the saints, Mary, the Pope, human wisdom and human virtue instead of Christ.

Franz Pieper

15 John 16:12-15.16 Acts 1:6; Mark 10:35ff.

II.Distress in earthly things, lack, poverty, disease, insult of honor, etc.

hits men of the world and children of God. The latter hasten to their God and find consolation in Him. But even the world knows to give a kind of comfort to their own as well sometimes through assisting with earthly means, often through sinful pleasures. But there still is another distress, a far larger and heavier one, the distress of the soul, spiritual distress. Among men there is no counsel, no comfort, no help. If they want to help in such distress from their own reason and strength, then they can only deceive, defraud those who are in distress, and thereby lead him into eternal perdition, in that they instruct him to recklessness or his own works.

But is it because there is no consolation? Praise God, yes! God Himself, the Holy Spirit will be their Comforter there. Our Gospel shows us this, etc.

The Holy Spirit, the true Comforter in spiritual distress;

we see in this connection:1. that He only comforts those who are capable of His comfort,

a. i.e. not those who then live recklessly, without inquiring about God and their salvation, those who do not care for Jesus, or really happy, if He withdraws His nearness, if one hears nothing about Him and His Word; in contrast to the disciples (the disciples are sad about the fact that their Lord will go away),

b. but only those who are really in need of comfort in spiritual distress; i.e. He comforts

α. the faithful who find themselves in distress and temptation through lack of knowledge17, like the disciples who believed in Jesus as the Savior, as such knew Him, but still did not comprehend His work of redemption. Thus He also now comforts those who get into spiritual distress about any teaching of Scripture;

β. but also those whom He has made sad about their sin, whose heart he has thereby broken and smashed, that He reveals to them their entire state through the preaching of the Law, it lets them feel that they must be eternally lost by their sin, and shows them that their unbelief, in which they have further pushed themselves away from Him, is the chief sin.18 They are in spiritual need and receptive to his comfort. Even a preacher, who should be the instrument of the Holy Spirit, should therefore bring only such comfort;

17 John 16:5-6.18 John 16:8-9.

2. but that He also gives the most all certain comfort,a. what this certain comfort is that He brings such spiritually

sorrowful,α. he works in them the divine conviction that Jesus is

going to the Father for them, and thus has acquired an accomplished righteousness for them by His redemption, with which they are able to stand before God.19

β. He convinces them that the prince of this world, who brings them through temptation into distress, is judged by Jesus, their Savior, therefore they should gain the victory with their Lord20,

γ. He makes them certain that He will lead them gradually into all truth21 (John 16:12, the disciples had the Holy Spirit even before that), so that they would then have ever fuller comfort from the knowledge of the divine will,

δ. He glorifies Christ more and more in them that in His light the darkness of their sadness must vanish;

b. how He proffers this consolation; through Christ's certain Word: He shall not speak of Himself etc., but what He hears from the Father and the Son, from Whom He proceeds.22

C.C.E.B.

19 John 16:8, 10.20 John 16:8, 11.21 John 16:13.22 John 16:13b, 14b, 15.