Does The Holy Spirit "Convict" Christians?

Biblegems #301

Question: Christians frequently say things like, “I feel convicted by the Holy Spirit.” Does the Holy Spirit convict Christians, or is conviction the same as condemnation and judgment, and only done by God as Judge?

It would certainly be terrific in an ideal world if people always used perfectly precise words to express themselves—words such as “convict,” for example. I expect that in heaven all the communication confusion we experience in the fallen world will be clear up. Until then…

The word “convict” is sometimes taught to be a legal term of judgment and condemnation exclusively, and therefore not to be used to describe how the Holy Spirit interacts with believers. It is usually claimed in these circles that the word “convict” is never used in the Bible of the Holy Spirit’s interaction with believers.

“Convict” in the Bible

Speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said:

   John. 16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:… (ESV)

The NT Greek word behind the English translation is elegcho (pronounced, el-eng-ko). Its specific meaning is broad, depending upon the context. The Mounce Greek Dictionary defines elegcho and gives scriptural examples of its various uses:

   “…to put to proof, to test; to convict, Jn. 8:46; Jas. 2:9; to refute, confute, 

1 Cor. 14:24; Tit. 1:9; to detect, lay bare, expose, Jn. 3:20; Eph. 5:11, 13; to reprove, rebuke, Mt. 18:15; Lk. 3:19; 1 Tim. 5:20; to discipline, chastise, Heb. 12:5; Rev. 3:19; pass. to experience conviction, Jn. 3:20; 1 Cor. 14:24 ˘ rebuke; refute”        —(Underlining is mine).

As the definition and variety of uses shows, it is incorrect to say that “convict” is strictly a legal term of condemnation and judgment. In fact, the apostle Paul uses the word elegcho (“conviction”) to describe how God can expose the secrets of an unbeliever’s heart who participates in a worship service:

         1Cor. 14:24-25 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted (elegcho) by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you (ESV).

He is “convicted by all”—meaning the Holy Spirit working through the believers present in worship. This is not judgment; it is spiritual surgery!

For Christians to use “convict” in describing the corrective ministry of the Holy Spirit is neither incorrect nor unbiblical, unless it is used in the sense of condemnation.

Words do mean things, and improperly used words can lead to confusion. But we all “get it” when a believer says he is convicted by the Holy Spirit. Such “conviction” is how the Lord rebukes His children in love:

Heb. 12:5-6 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you (i.e., “convicts”; Gk.: elegcho), because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

   

Jesus And The Drowned Pigs

Question: What happened to the demons that were transferred to the pigs when they drowned? Demons don't drown, do they?

The Passage (NIV 2011):

Mark 5:11-13     A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.”          He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 

Demons, of course are evil, or “impure spirits” (Mk. 5:8), and therefore cannot be drowned. Rather, Jesus describes demons as spirits who are constantly in search of human bodies to inhabit like parasites:    

         Matt. 12:43-45  “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

This is why the “The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them” (Mk.5:12). A disembodied demon is like a creature desperately searching for water in the desert. The man Jesus encountered on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in “the region of the Garasenes” (Mk. 5:1)—a Gentile community where pig farming was common—had become the host body for numerous demons.

The demonic spirits immediately recognized Jesus as “the Son of the Most High God” (Mk. 5:7), and assumed He had come to send them to the Abyss (Lk. 8:31), a place of confinement for certain demonic spirits (fallen angels) until the Day of Judgment:

         Jude 6  And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

Terrified of the Abyss, and equally terrified of having no host body to inhabit, the demons begged Jesus to use the pigs as hosts (Mk. 5:12). The pigs proved to be an incompatible host to the demonic spirits (which Jesus already knew to be the case). Normally, pigs can swim. But these poor creatures went completely berserk under the influence of the impure spirits and rushed mindlessly out of control down the cliff side into the Sea of Galilee to their deaths. Yet, by agreeing to the demons’ request, Jesus not only released the tormented man from thousands of demons, He also demonstrated His total authority over the natural and spiritual realms to the Gentile community.

In the end, the demons still found themselves disembodied, wandering in a spiritual wilderness looking for other potential hosts. The man Jesus had set free was restored to his family and community; and the man’s family community no longer lived in fear—all for the small price of a herd of pigs!

Why Jesus Taught In Parables

Biblegems # 278

Question: According to Luke 8:10, Jesus didn’t want anyone except His disciples to understand the parables of the Kingdom of God, so why teach the others in parables at all?

Here is the reference:

Luke 8:9-10  His [Jesus’] disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

          “ ‘though seeing, they may not see;

                   though hearing, they may not understand. “

This is Jesus’ typical response in the Gospels, showing that the quote above is not a fluke but represents Jesus’ intentional teaching strategy about the Kingdom of God. The reason for this has several layers.

Reason #1 Jesus was intentionally fulfilling His role of Messiah as predicted by the Old Testament prophets:

         Matt. 13:34-35  Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,

                  I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

The “prophet” quoted here is king David in Psalm 78:2.

Reason #2  Proverbs and parables already had a long history in Scripture as a principal tool for teaching spiritual truth (Prov. 1:1-6). In fact, proverbs and parables were recognized for their value in sifting out those who “despise wisdom and instruction” that leads to a deep understanding of God  (Prov. 1:7).

Reason #3  As our Savior-Messiah, Jesus fulfills the three-fold roles of Prophet, Priest and King. As a prophet in His own right, Jesus communicated what He heard directly from God the Father which, at times, came in the form of parables. As the Lord says in the prophet Hosea:

         Hos. 12:10  “I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them.”

Reason #4 Jesus used parables to describe the realities of the coming Kingdom of God. In doing so, He also had to help His listeners un-learn misconceptions about the Kingdom of God passed on through religious instruction for generations. They were expecting the Messiah to rally the people of Israel to defeat the Roman Empire and re-establish Israel’s independence, accompanied by an angelic army that would miraculously appear. As Jesus approached Jerusalem on what came to be known as “Palm Sunday,” surrounded by thousands of supporters, with thousands more joining from Jerusalem itself, those exuberant crowds thought the day of overthrowing the Roman yoke had come:

         Luke 19:11  While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

Jesus used parables to draw familiar illustrations from everyday life that pointed to the Kingdom’s true nature. These stories, then and now, still accomplish their purpose, sifting out those who truly want the truth from those who want to shape the Kingdom of God into a mold they are comfortable with.

         Luke 18:17 “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”