February 16, 2023

John 14: 26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (NIV)

Apprentices to Jesus are lifelong learners.*

An attorney wears many different hats in the performance of his job. He provides legal advice, represents you in court, helps you complete and file important documents; he is a mediator and an advocate. My divorce attorney walked me through a process for which I was totally unprepared – and she gave me some very good personal advice as well. No matter which role your attorney is playing at the moment, he is still your attorney.

The same is true of the Holy Spirit. The word translated here as “Counselor,” is sometimes rendered as “Comforter.”  It literally means “one who is called to the side of another.” While the word usually refers to one who represents another in a legal process, it also applies to one who provides any kind of help or encouragement. So whether the Holy Spirit is serving as a counselor or a comforter or an advocate, he is still the Holy Spirit.

In this verse, Jesus tells his disciples that the Holy Spirit will come along side of them to teach them all things and to remind them of everything Jesus has said to them. This should come in handy as some of them will be responsible for writing parts of the New Testament and they probably weren’t taking good notes as they followed Jesus around. Without the fulfillment of this promise, we wouldn’t be able to trust in the accuracy and authenticity of the gospels and the epistles.

This promise was delivered by Jesus to a specific group of people, but the gift of the Holy Spirit is promised to us as well. When he performs any of his roles on our behalf – whether we need him to intercede for us to the Father, to comfort us, or to remind us of a passage of scripture that applies to our circumstances of the moment – he is still the Holy Spirit whom the Father sent in the name of Jesus. We are not alone!

Without the voice of the Holy Spirit, there is no conviction of sin and ultimately no truly wise counsel.*