THE PROMISED HELPER

JOHN 14:16–18

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever”

(John 14:16).

Those who keep Christ’s precepts would receive a great blessing: that Jesus would make a request to God in their interest. Jesus promised that in answer to this request the Father would give to the disciples another Helper. In the next verse this Helper is called the Spirit of truth.

The passage clearly indicates that the Holy Spirit is not merely a power but a person, just like the Father and the Son. He is another Helper, not a different Helper. The word another means “one like myself,” who will take “my place” and do “my work.” Hence, if Jesus is a person, the Holy Spirit must also be a person. And just as Christ is divine, so is the Spirit. Divine names are given to Him (Acts 5:4; 28:25; Heb. 10:15), and divine attributes are ascribed to Him (1 Cor. 2:10; 12:4–6; Heb. 9:14). Passages such as Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 indicate that the three persons are completely equal.

The Holy Spirit proceeds both from the Father and the Son. The Father gives Him, and the Son sends Him. He is the Spirit of the Father; He is also the Spirit of Christ. Hendriksen writes, “The Holy Spirit is the person in whom the Father and the Son meet one another.”

The Spirit is here called a paraclete, which is a lawyer or an assistant in a legal question. But the word means much more. The Holy Spirit is a Helper in many respects. He comforts and encourages, but He also teaches, guides in the truth, brings the teaching of Christ home to the recollection of the disciples, and dwells within them as a source of inspiration and life. The Father and the Son poured out the Spirit upon the church to comfort it, admonish, teach and guide it.

In 1 John 2:1, Jesus Himself is called Paraclete. He is the Helper in the sense of being an Advocate. Jesus was a Helper to the disciples, but He would go to be their helper in heaven, while another would be with them on earth. The Spirit would never leave them, and would dwell within their hearts personally and powerfully. When this occurred at Pentecost the prophecy of Jeremiah (31:31) was fulfilled.

CORAM DEO

Psalm 124–127

1 Corinthians 7:1–24

Read Acts 2. This was the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise. The Holy Spirit now abides in His church in a living and powerful way. What comfort does that bring to you concerning your own spiritual life? Think about what it means to be the “dwelling place of the Lord.”

For further study: 1 Cor. 12:2–11 • 2 Thess. 2:13–17 • 1 Peter 1:3–12

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