When Jesus was spending His last days before the crucifixion with His disciples, He explained to them that when He was no longer with them, the Father would send the Holy Spirit to dwell within them. They didn’t understand what He was talking about fully until they experienced it. I guess we are the same way. Until you have given your life to Christ, and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within, you can’t truly understand the role of the Holy Spirit.
In John 14:26 and John 15:26 the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Holy Ghost or Comforter. He will be sent by the Father in Jesus’ name. He will come to perfect the work Jesus began. He will apply Jesus teaching to the heart of those who are His. When Jesus was here with his disciples, one of His roles was to teach his followers. The Holy Spirit also will teach us and help us to understand the teachings of the Bible. In John 15:26, he is called the Spirit of truth. He is sent from the Father, and he will guide us to all truth. In verse 27, we are reminded that the Holy Spirit was with the Father from the beginning.
John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeded from the Father, he shall testify of me:”
John 15:27 “And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”
When a person repents of their sin and believes in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes and literally breathes new life into the walking dead. You may be walking around functioning physically, but your destiny is death in Hell before the Holy Spirit enters your life.
The Holy Spirit will also convict us of sin in our lives. In John 16:8-11, Jesus is telling His disciples that He is about to go away, and when He does they will receive the Holy Spirit to dwell within. That promise is the same for us today. All believers will have this Spirit at the time of conversion. Jesus, while on earth, was limited to His physical body. He could not be everywhere at the same time. However, the Holy Spirit can and does convict the whole world. When the Holy Spirit begins to work in our hearts he will convince us we are guilty before God.
John 16:8-13 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”
As mentioned in John 14:26, 15:26, and in John 16:7, the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, and He is our comforter. In the Greek language, this word means intercessor, consoler, and advocate. Our use of the word is usually to bring ease to a person in pain or suffering grief, but that is not the entire meaning of the word here. In John 14:16, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “another Comforter,” The Holy Spirit would perform the roles Jesus had done while He was with the disciples. Jesus had been a counselor, a guide, and a friend. Now we can rest assured we will receive instruction and consolation from the Holy Spirit in the absence of the physical Jesus.
John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”
He aids us in our prayer life. There are times we don’t know what to pray. We don’t understand what God is doing, and we feel helpless to utter the right words, or so burdened we just can’t focus on prayer. In Romans 8:26, we learn that when we feel that way, the Holy Spirit takes over. He helps our infirmities, which refers to the weaknesses to which we are prone.
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helped our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
The Holy Spirit loves us just as the Father and Son do. He is seeking to guide us, comfort us, convict us of wrong, and draw us into a closer walk with Jesus. What a marvelous blessing the Holy Spirit brings to our lives. The more we yield to Him, the more we have the fulness of Him.
Are you in tune with the Holy Spirit? Are you welcoming and open to His work in your life?
