Dr Paul Allen

The Spirit supports believers against the world (John 16:8, 11) The term ‘world’ ( kosmos ) is used by John more than any other NT writer (105 times, mainly in his Gospel) and with a variety of meanings, including the created planet (John 1:10), humanity (John 8:12) and, most often, humanity in its opposition to Jesus (John 7:7; 15:18; 16:20). In 16:8, 11, he uses the term to describe those who have rejected Jesus.  Despite their unbelief, Jesus reciprocates not by rejecting them but by dying for them (John 1:29; 3:16–17; 4:42). In 16:7–11, Jesus reveals that, when he leaves his followers, the Spirit will undertake the same function of helping people who reject the truth of the gospel to realise the remarkable fact that it is not only true, but that it is good news for them. In particular, the Spirit will convict and convince them of their sin and the fact that Jesus is their saviour. Consider the consternation of the disciples leading up to these statements by Jesus.  In the ...

If we are honest, most of us would have to admit that we are not . Few find the contentment for which we all long. The reasons for this are legion. First, we tend to wed contentment with the externals of life.  You know the kind of thing: all the stars align, you are on vacation up in the mountains (or at the beach), a cool breeze blows through the screened-in porch, the children are playing happily outside, no bugs are biting, no deadlines threaten, every bill is paid, and the investment accounts are all on the up. You sit back in your chair and think, “This is the life!” There is no battle for this kind of contentment. It just happens when la dolce vita happens. This brings us to our second reason why we do not find ourselves contented: in a fallen world, la dolce vita rarely happens. It might happen for others, but not for us. Some fly always seems to be buzzing around our ointment. Some cloud always seems to shadow our sun. Some child always seems to be crying in our family. S...