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John 16:5-15, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
John 16:5-15
The Spirit Exposes the World and Guides the Disciples
The Spirit exposes a false verdict and guides witnesses into Jesus' truth.
Sorrow has filled the disciples because he is going away. He says the departure is to their advantage, because otherwise the Paraclete will not come. When the Spirit comes, he will expose the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment: sin, because they do not believe in him; righteousness, because he goes to the Father; judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. The Spirit will guide them into all truth, speak what he hears, disclose what is coming, and glorify Jesus from what belongs to the Father and the Son.
Conviction here concerns the world's mistaken verdict on Jesus and God's reversal of it. It is not a technique for inducing guilt, manufacturing shame, or running an altar call by panic. Guidance into all truth is addressed to these witnesses in the farewell setting. It does not grant unlimited new revelation, a secret canon, or institutional infallibility. The world's judgment does not permit hatred of people outside the church.
How this should shape us
Depend on the Spirit to tell the truth about Jesus, not to run a guilt machine. Test every claim of guidance by whether it glorifies him, matches what he said, and protects people. A leader who says 'the Spirit told me' is still accountable. Do not treat outsiders as a mass already condemned for existing.
Teach it back
Explain John 16:5-15 in your own words. Include its place in John's movement, the decisive claim or action, one sourced uncertainty, and one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible interpreters differ?
Best judgment: The difficult 'reprove' or 'convict' language concerns the world's mistaken verdict on Jesus and God's reversal, not a technique for inducing guilt. Guidance into all truth is addressed to Jesus' witnesses in the farewell setting and does not grant unlimited new revelation or institutional infallibility.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
John 16:5-15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 16:5-15
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 16:5-15
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible John PDF, John 16:5-15 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Enter the Bible John course, Farewell and Spirit materials; applied to 16:5-15
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Last Supper and Farewell Discourses study guide; applied to 16:5-15
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 16:5-15
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: John 16:5-15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 16:5-15
Open the John Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 16:5-15
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible John PDF, John 16:5-15 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET John PDF ↗modern scholarly book introduction
John course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Craig R. Koester; revised by Karoline M. Lewis
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Exact location: Enter the Bible John course, Farewell and Spirit materials; applied to 16:5-15
Open the Enter the Bible John course ↗modern scholarly narrative and theological course
The Gospel of John: course introduction and twelve study guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Last Supper and Farewell Discourses study guide; applied to 16:5-15
Open the Yale Gospel of John course ↗modern open confessional commentary
John
Andreas J. Köstenberger
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Exact location: Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 16:5-15
Open Köstenberger's John commentary ↗