The Parakletos

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him nor know Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

After they broke bread at that last supper and Jesus finished washing His disciples’ feet, He began to teach them some last things. One of the things He told them was the Scripture of our study. Jesus begins this promise with the word “and.” It’s attached to the previous Scripture. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) He made this promise to those who love Him and keep His commandments. Further on He explains, “Jesus answered and said to him, If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My Words, and the Word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.” (John 14:23-24)

This promise is only for those who love Jesus and obey His commandments.  This began at Pentecost and will continue through the Thousand Year Reign. Those who miss the rapture and believe after the rapture will also receive the Holy Spirit indwelling. I’ve heard that at the rapture when the believers are taken away, the Holy Spirit will not remain on the earth, but this cannot be if there will be new believers. The Gospel will continue to be preached. And the Holy Spirit will remain here on earth. And there will also be those who will believe during the reign of Christ on earth. Isaiah prophesied about this. “In days to come the mountain where the Temple stands will be the highest one of all, towering above all the hills. Many nations will come streaming to it, and their people will say, "Let us go up the hill of the LORD, to the Temple of Israel's God. He will teach us what he wants us to do; we will walk in the paths He has chosen. For the LORD's teaching comes from Jerusalem; from Zion He speaks to His people."

(Isaiah 2:2-3) and Micah also prophesied the very same thing. (Micah 4:1,2)

Jesus says He is another Comforter. The word another implies that He will be another like Jesus. And He is. He is God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity. And just like Jesus He is a “paraklētos” which means an intercessor, a consoler:  an advocate here on earth. Jesus is our intercessor, our High Priest in heaven. “Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Hebrews 4:14) John wrote how Jesus is our advocate who makes intercession for us in heaven when we sin. “My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1John 2:1) Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are our advocates and intercessors, the Holy Spirit on earth and Jesus in heaven.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. He will ever be with us to confirm the Truth to us. “However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatever He hears, He shall speak. And He will announce to you things to come.” (John 16:13) If we look to Him for making decisions and walking in the unknown, we can trust Him to lead us where the Father wants us. He will tell us the way to follow, what to say and what to do. He will confirm the Word to us. “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.” (John 14:26) He will keep us from being deceived. “But the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and no lie, and as He has taught you, abide in Him.” (1John 2:27)

Our Scripture of study tells us that the Holy Spirit will be with us forever. He will be with us in our earthly death and eternally. We will never be alone. He will guide us into eternity and be with us forever. I have never heard this before, but here it is. Jesus said it. I’d never contemplated that. How wonderful that we don’t have to wonder how we will know to make our way home. The Holy Spirit will guide us and lead us home. The world has a myriad of explanations as to why people who have had near death experiences say they were in heaven. When we hear their explanations, doubts arise about the afterlife. But we have the Word of Truth and the Spirit of Truth which tell us about a life with the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. It’s a life unimaginable as some have experienced. Death has no hold on us. We will live eternally, just as Jesus promised.

Ultimately, the Holy Spirit in us is the assurance that we belong to Jesus and that we will be forever with Him. He is the assurance of the promises of salvation and eternal life. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:16) Paul wrote to the Ephesians in his twelve-verse sentence, “in Whom also you, hearing the Word of Truth, the gospel of our salvation, in Whom also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Who is the earnest of our inheritance, to the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) The Holy Spirit in us is not only our assurance, but He is the guarantee of our eternal life.