The Personality of the Holy Spirit — Part 2

Sermon delivered on January 28th, 2018
Morning Service

By: Pastor Greg Hocson

Scripture Texts: John 14:15; 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15

 

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18: I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 

 

John 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 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 proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. 

 

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8: And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9: Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10: Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11: Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12: I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13: 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 shew you things to come. 14: He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15: All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

 

Introduction

When the first disciples were called by Christ, they all dropped everything and followed Him. They quit their jobs. They left their homes and their families. They had given all for Christ's sake. But now after three and a half years of walking daily with the Saviour, hearing His words, seeing His work, Jesus has told them He is going away to return to where He came from. They have been with Jesus for three and a half years and now He is leaving them. Upon receiving this news, the disciples' hearts were filled with sorrow. They were deflated, scared, and feeling abandoned by the One whom they had given all of themselves to.

 

Our Lord is very aware of the fears of the disciples, and so He knows exactly what they need to hear. Here is what our Lord says to His disciples,

John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

 

The Lord loved His disciples so much to leave them comfortless. The word "Comfortless" in Greek in "orphanous" from which we get our word orphans. I will not leave you as orphans. I will not leave you parentless.  Orphans are not only parentless but also many times are desolate, helpless, and comfortless. Orphans many times have no one to protect them and no one to provide for them. They have no one to stand up for their rights. There is no one to intercede for them. There is no one to speak up on their behalf. They are defenseless in this world. They have no teacher to show them what's right from wrong. 

 

It would be this way for the disciples if the Lord Jesus leaves them by themselves and on their own. And so it would also be with us.

 

But it was not the Lord Jesus' purpose to leave His disciples orphans in the world. The comfort the Saviour gave to His sorrowing disciples was the promise of another Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

 

To the disciples, Jesus Christ leaving them seemed to be a great lost and a total disaster. What could they possibly do without Christ alongside them? They had given up everything for Him and now He is leaving them. How could they ever personally overcome such loss? What good can come out of Christ departure?

 

But listen to what our Lord said to His disciples regarding His departure,

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

 

Instead of losing out they will actually gain. It was to their advantage that He goes away. Jesus Christ going away meant the coming of another Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

 

The word "Comforter" in Greek is "Parakletos". Parakletos is composed of two words, namely, para and kletos. "Para" — means to be beside and "kletos" comes for the root word "kaleo" which means to call. Combining the two words "prakletos" means "the one who is called to be beside". The Holy Spirit is our "Parkletos or Paraclete". He is the One who is called alongside of the children of God as their Comforter, Helper and Advocate.

 

This morning consider with me the believer's "Parakletos" - our Comforter.

 

Our Comforter

I will not leave you comfortless. I will send you another Comforter. We live in a world in which we certainly need comfort. Many times God's people are suffering people.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

 

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

 

Acts 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

 

So here the Lord Jesus is promising His downhearted disciples the Holy Spirit of God to give them God's comfort. One of the greatest aims of the Gospel is the comfort of the people of God. 

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

 

2 Corinthians 1: 3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4: Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5: For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

 

Are you sorrowing today? Let me tell you, there is a Comforter whose special ministry is to come and comfort.

 

The word "comfort" comes from two words namely, "Com" — with and "Forte" — strength. The Holy is One who comes and brings with Him strength for the need. He comes beside you to strengthen and to encourage.

 

Notice in John 14:16, our Lord calls the Holy Spirt "Another Comforter". The Greek word is "allos" which means "another of the same kind." As Jesus is a divine person who comforts and helps His disciples, so also is the Spirit.

 

What Christ is saying is that He is sending One of exactly the same essence as Himself. He was not sending them just any other Comforter, but He is sending One exactly like Himself. As Jesus had been their Paraclete for three years who had helped them, comforted them, and walked alongside them. Now they would have another Comforter—One exactly like Jesus—to minister to them as Jesus Christ had when He was here on earth.

 

What kind of Comforter is Holy Spirit?

1. He is a Holy Comforter

John 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 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. 

He is called the Holy Ghost. His name indicates His work. There can be no comfort apart from goodness and holiness.

Isaiah 48:2 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

 

2. He is a loving Comforter

We don't normally talk about the Holy Spirit's love but the Bible speaks of the love of the Spirit.

Romans 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

Do you know how much the Holy Spirit loves you? Can you measure the love of the Spirit?

 

3. He is a faithful Comforter

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18: I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

 

He is faithful: trust Him; He will never deceive you; trust Him; He will never leave you.

"The Comforter, as a faithful guide, in places of difficulty takes the traveller by the hand, and in addition to words of counsel, restrains him when he would step into danger, and kindly compels him to proceed when through fear or thoughtlessness he hesitates and may be overtaken by storm or darkness.— Newman Hall

 

4. He is a wise Comforter

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10: But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11: For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Sometimes, when we visit hurting people we don't know exactly what they need, we want to comfort them but we don't know how.

 

But oh! How wise the Holy Spirit is! He comes and He knows exactly what the person needs. He knows how and when to comfort.

 

5. He is an active Comforter

He does not comfort by words, but by deeds. Some comfort by "Be ye warmed and be ye filled, giving nothing." But the Holy Ghost gives, He intercedes; He gives us promises, He gives us grace, and so He comforts us. 

 

6. He is a powerful Comforter

He never attempts what He cannot accomplish.

 

By revealing Jesus to the soul the Holy Spirit produces that love which is the strongest motive to holiness, and which is the fulfilling of the law. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.And "the love of Christ constraineth us to live not to ourselves, but to Him who died for us and rose again."

 

7. He is an ever-present Comforter

He is always near you, and specially when you need comfort in your distress and discouragement.

 

"The Holy Ghost is in you; He goes where you go; He dwells with you; He makes your bodies temples of the Holy Ghost; He makes your souls wells of living water; He is the glory in the midst, in the heart, of each of you." — John Milne

 

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

 

Closing Thoughts

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I are not alone. Our Lord has not left us orphans. He has sent us another Comforter whose ministry is, among others, to teach, to guide and comfort. This is the wonderful gift that the Father, because of His love, gave to those who believe in His Son and His resurrection from the dead. Jesus is not somewhere far away from you. He is very close to you. Jesus, through the Comforter, is in you! 

 

Colossians 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

 

If you are a child of God, Christ is in you. The Comforter is in you! What a wonderful gift and reality! 

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

 

May we abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. All joy and peace and hope can only be experience through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. It's not by might or power of man, but by that same divine power which first began the good work in us.

 

AMEN!