Our New Comforter

Introduction

Last week, we spoke about Jesus Christ as our Mediator between man and God, the One who reconciled man to God Himself. He is now seated at the right hand of the Heavenly Father, crowned with glory for His work of redemption.

Today, we will speak about this “other” Comforter whom the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ, sent to His disciples to set them apart, to entrust them with an essential mission for those who are called to bear witness to the Word, but also for all those who are children of God after their new birth, for their sanctification throughout their life on this earth.

Read the passage. “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.” John 14:16–17 AMP

Context of the Passage

After the departure of Judas, Jesus continues His teaching and the explanation of the final stage of the plan of redemption and of the work that would continue after His departure, to His disciples and to all those who would follow Christ, so that they would understand that everything would continue through them, not by their own strength, but by the powerful and divine action of another Comforter, who is divine.

These final hours that Jesus spends with them are precious. He gives them exhortations that will sustain them through the terrible trial they are about to face. He also gives them important revelations that will produce great hope in their hearts, so that they may move toward what their mission was revealed to be: the salvation of souls.

Who Is This Other Comforter?

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby)”

The Comforter is the Holy Spirit of God, the third Person of the divine Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is presented as a distinct Person within the Godhead, possessing personal characteristics such as intelligence, emotion, and will.

Jesus spoke of the Spirit of truth using personal pronouns, such as “He”, and He called Him the “Comforter,” a title also used for Jesus, thus affirming His personality.

The Holy Spirit is even explicitly called God and receives divine titles throughout Scripture, affirming His equality with the Father and the Son. Historically, some groups have questioned the divinity of the Holy Spirit, considering Him to be a creature or a manifestation of God’s power, but Christian doctrine affirms that the Holy Spirit is fully and truly God.

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is revealed in three clear ways: as a divine Person Pneuma, as a personal Comforter Paraklētos, and as the source of God’s effective power Dunamis.

As Pneuma, He is the divine Spirit of God, personal and holy, who gives life and dwells within believers. This is what confirms Him as a Person. When John tells us, “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), or when in the Book of Acts they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), this is the word used, defining what the Holy Spirit is.

His attributes are also central to the Christian faith, for He possesses the divine attributes of God: eternity (Hebrews 9:14), omniscience (John 14:26), omnipotence (Luke 1:35), and omnipresence (Psalm 139:7–10).

As Paraklētos, this is the word used in today’s passage. He is the Advocate and the Comforter who dwells in every believer, with the Church of Christ, teaching the truth of His Word, defending the faith, comforting believers, and leading them into all truth.

His shared essence with the Father and the Son in essential doctrines and roles, such as baptism and the administration of the Church, highlights His divinity. The words and works of the Holy Spirit are treated as those of God Himself.

The Holy Spirit performs personal actions: He teaches, guides, convicts, intercedes, and He even speaks (John 3:5; Acts 13:2). He can also be lied to, grieved, resisted, and blasphemed (Acts 5:3; Ephesians 4:30), clearly affirming His personality.

As Dunamis, He communicates the effective power of God, enabling believers to obey Christ and bear faithful witness beyond human ability. In fact, the root of this word gave us the word “dynamite,” to illustrate the kind of power that should be manifested when the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.

The Holy Spirit accomplishes divine works: creation, regeneration, the inspiration of Scripture « for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. » 2 Peter 1:21, and the resurrection of the dead (Romans 8:11).

This is not a matter of three different spirits, but of one and the same Holy Spirit.  These are not separate works, but one unified ministry of the same divine Person: the Spirit who dwells in us is the Helper who dwells with us, and the Helper who dwells with us is the power that enables us, all for the glory of Christ and the advancement of the Gospel.

Why Was the Holy Spirit Sent to Us?

“to be with you forever,”

The Holy Spirit was sent so that His disciples would be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Yes, the Lord is speaking to His disciples in this passage; however, this truth that founded the Church remains unchanged today.

His disciples were with Jesus Christ from the beginning of His ministry, and we are the born-again ones, those who have begun a new life with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, which gives us access to the same foundation and the same truths as the first disciples.

Jesus says in John 16:7–9: « But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper (Comforter) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me. »

This continuation of God’s plan for humanity is evident in this passage. Jesus tells us that it is better for Him to leave so that we may have access to this Comforter, in order to fulfill what God desired since the Old Covenant: to place His Spirit within us, changing our heart of stone into a heart of flesh, so that His Law would be written within us, to love Him in Spirit and in truth, with fervor and integrity, and not through visible and religious rituals.

This Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, revealing what is contrary and rebellious toward God, and leading those who believe to repentance and faith. When Jesus says, “because they do not believe in Me,” He is pointing to the unbelief of mankind. This is not merely a lack of intellectual agreement, but a refusal to trust Him as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and to follow Him.

This Comforter, the Holy Spirit, acts by reminding and applying the commandments of Jesus, and also through His disciples, the apostles, and through the Church, throughout the centuries.

Jesus says in the same chapter: « But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; this is why I said that He takes from Mine and will disclose it to you. »
John 16:13–15 NASB

The Holy Spirit works as the revealer of God’s will, through Jesus Christ, not on His own will but in perfect unity with the Son and the Father. In this verse we can clearly see the divine Trinity in action, one and only God (the Father, the Son, and the Spirit).

“the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him,”

The Spirit of truth is the Holy Spirit. He is the source of God’s truth. In the Gospel of John, truth is central, for Jesus Himself is “the way, the truth, and the life.” The Holy Spirit leads believers into all truth. He helps us understand the Word of God and truly know Jesus Christ. He stands in opposition to the spirit of error and deception that operates in the world.

The “world” here refers to those who live without God and reject His truth. It is marked by unbelief and spiritual blindness. This is why it cannot receive the Holy Spirit, because it does not believe and does not discern spiritual things.

The world limits itself to what is visible and does not recognize the spiritual reality of the Holy Spirit. Just as the world did not recognize Jesus, the Spirit is not known through intellectual knowledge alone. Knowing Him requires a heart open to God and to His revelation.

“but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you”

The disciples were in the presence of the Holy Spirit, because Jesus dwelt with them, fully man and fully God, anointed with the Holy Spirit sent from the Father for His sacrificial and redemptive mission, both for the Jews and the nations.

“He will be in you” announces the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, sealing the disciples with dunamis power for their mission to proclaim the Gospel to the nations in all the languages present in Jerusalem. 

This divine and holy pattern was started and ignited by the coming of the Holy Spirit and continues throughout the time of grace, until Christ returns.

To know the Holy Spirit, to have Him dwell with us, and to have Him dwell within us are different realities, yet they are complementary.

How Can We Avoid the Traps of the Spirit of Error?

To answer this question there is an explicit passage that will help us to understand.

Let’s read 1 John 4:1-6: « Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. » 1 John 4:1-6 NASB

Here John speaks about false prophets who had infiltrated the Christian communities, saying that Jesus was just a prophet and denying His true identity. These are considered antichrist, which means “against Christ.” They spoke, lived, and behaved like people of the world, loving the world.

John then says, “The one who knows God listens to us, and the one who is not from God does not listen to us.” This means that the spirit that is not willing to hear the truth of the Gospel is not from God, but those who listen and obey show that they are from God.

Often, we struggle to discern what comes from God through His Holy Spirit and what comes from the enemy, the spirit of error, which works through the action of our flesh.

Life in the Spirit is opposed to life in the flesh. We have spoken about this many times, but it is important to say it again, so that the Holy Spirit, who is present in this place, may convict us when we have sinned against God or when we have drifted away from Him.

For us to be unreachable targets for the enemy, the transformation of our heart is essential; without it, our thoughts will not be directed in the right way. The renewal of our minds comes next, because the condition of the heart produces our thoughts. Then our actions will aim toward the will of God and will bring Him glory.

The spirit of error, or the spirit of the world, can only reach those who do not have an intimate relationship with God, through prayer, the reading and study of His Word, and genuine fellowship.

The Holy Spirit does not contradict Himself. If the Spirit of God lives within us and our spiritual life is maintained, we can be confident that the Holy Spirit is in control and that all the actions we undertake will come from Him alone.

Test the spirits. Let us put on the spiritual armor of God, as the apostle Paul says, so that confusion and sin will not overcome us.

Finally, the measure of fruit in our lives will show whether we live by the Spirit or by the flesh (our five senses), for the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Conclusion

To conclude, I would like to speak of a message of love and hope that our Lord left to His disciples and that concerns us as well.

Jesus tells us: “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NASB

The tribulations and persecutions that the first disciples were going to face would be of great intensity and cruelty. This is not about comparing suffering with anyone else; rather, we must recognize that we all have different lives, different pasts, different presents, and different futures, and that the Spirit who lives within us is the Spirit of the living God, through whom the dead were raised and the blind received their sight.

Let us make the Holy Spirit our Comforter and our closest companion, inviting Him to guide and govern our lives, so that we may do the will of the Heavenly Father, overcome our sin, and glorify God in all that we do.