The Promise of the Spirit

MEMORY VERSE: “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you always. It is the Spirit of Truth.” —John 14:16, Goodspeed’s translation

JOHN 14:15-26

THE Holy Spirit which Jesus promised that the Father would send to be a Comforter, or Helper, for his followers, is the holy power of God. It is by this power that all of God’s works are accomplished. It was this Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters in a creative role. (Gen. 1:2) It was this power that enabled Jesus to perform miracles. (Matt. 12:28) In today’s lesson God’s power is described as “the Spirit of truth,” because it functions to illuminate the mind concerning the will of God. We could say that it is the power of God’s mind, or thoughts, in the minds and lives of his people.

The translators of the King James Version of the Bible believed that the Holy Spirit was a third person in a trinity of gods; hence in every text where it was possible they called it the “Holy Ghost,” in an effort to convey the thought of personality. In our lesson they have also used the personal pronouns “he,” “him,” and “whom” to convey their notion that the Holy Spirit is a person. The Revised Version refrains from the use of the word “Ghost” in many instances, but retains the personal pronouns in many cases. But there is no necessity for this, for the Greek pronouns involved could with equal propriety be translated in the neuter gender.

The fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that the Father would send the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. In referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit at that time, Peter quotes a prophecy which uses the expression “pour out,” and he also describes the happening with the expression “shed forth.” (Acts 2:17,18,33) Certainly a person could not properly be referred to as being “poured out” and “shed forth,” but divine power can, indeed, be so described.

In displaying the memory verse at the beginning of this lesson we have used Goodspeed’s translation because it properly uses the pronoun “it” in referring to the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as a comforter, or, as Goodspeed’s translation reads, a helper. Jesus also referred to it as “the Spirit of truth,” and he assured the disciples that when they received this gift from the Father it would guide them into all truth, all the truth, that is, that they needed to know at that time.

The death of Jesus left the disciples in great need of comfort, for they did not understand the necessity for his death until the Holy Spirit was poured upon them. Peter, for example, endeavored to dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem, where his enemies were plotting to kill him. Later he used his sword in an effort to rescue Jesus from those who had come to arrest him. But on the day of Pentecost, through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, he was able to quote from the Old Testament prophecies which foretold the death and resurrection of Jesus.—Acts 2:25-31

Jesus said to his disciples, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when the Spirit of truth is come, it will guide you into all truth: and it will show you things to come.” (John 16:12,13) Even many of the things which Jesus did say to his disciples were not clearly understood by them, and many of his teachings they failed to remember. So Jesus promised, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”—John 14:26

When Jesus was crucified and taken from the apostles they experienced great confusion and grief. But with the coming of the Holy Spirit everything began to fall into place. They understood more fully the meaning of his death. They remembered with joy the many things he had said to them, points of truth they had not then understood. Now all was clear. How they must have been comforted!

QUESTIONS

What is the Holy Spirit?

How does it bring comfort to the Lord’s people?

When did Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit have its fulfillment?

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