Who is this other One--this Comforter? He must be some august
Divine Person, and not a mere influence or impersonal force, for
how else could He take and fill the place of Jesus? How else
could it be said that it was better to have Him than to have
Jesus remaining in the flesh? He must be strong and wise, and
tender and true, to take the place of the Blessed One who is to
die and depart. Who is He?
John, writing in the Greek language, calls Him "Paraclete," but
we in English call Him Comforter. But Paraclete means more, much
more than Comforter. It means "one called in to help: an
advocate, a helper." The same word is used of Jesus in i John ii.
i: "We have an Advocate," a Paraclete, a Helper, "with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Just as Jesus had gone to be
the disciples' Advocate, their Helper in the Heavens, so this
other Paraclete was to be their Advocate, their Helper on earth.
He would be their Comforter when comfort was needed; but He would
be more; He would be also their Teacher, Guide, Strengthener, as
Jesus had been. At every point of need there would He be as an
ever-present and all-wise, almighty Helper. He would meet their
need with His sufficiency; their weakness with His strength;
their foolishness with His wisdom; their ignorance with His
knowledge; their blindness and short-sightedness with His
perfect, all-embracing vision. Hallelujah! What a Comforter! Why
should they be troubled?
They were weak, but He would strengthen them with might in the
inner man (Eph. iii. 16). They were to give the world the words
of Jesus, and teach all nations (Matthew xxviii. 19, 20); and He
would teach them all things, and bring to their remembrance
whatsoever Jesus had said to them (John xiv. 26).
They were to guide their converts in the right way, and He was to
guide them into all truth (John xvi. 13). They were to attack
hoary systems of evil, and inbred and actively intrenched sin, in
every human heart; but He was to go before them, preparing the
way for conquest, by convincing the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment (John xvi. 8). They were to bear heavy burdens and
face superhuman tasks, but He was to give them power (Acts i. 8).
Indeed, He was to be a Comforter, a Strengthener, a Helper.
Jesus had been external to them. Often they missed Him. Sometimes
He was asleep when they felt they sorely needed Him. Sometimes He
was on the mountains, while they were in the valley vainly trying
to cast out stubborn devils, or wearily toiling on the tumultuous,
wind-tossed sea. Sometimes He was surrounded by vast crowds, and
He entered into high disputes with the doctors of the law, and
they had to wait till He was alone to seek explanations of His
teachings. But they were never to lose this other Helper in the
crowd, nor be separated for an instant from Him, for no human
being, nor untoward circumstance, nor physical necessity, could
ever come between Him and them, for, said Jesus, "He shall be in
you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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