16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
26But 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 14:16, 26 (KJV)
Jesus is nearing the end of His earthly ministry, and He was preparing His disciples for His departure. He had spent a few years with them, teaching them the things of God, teaching them the principles of the Kingdom. Now, His departure was at hand. Jesus makes them two promises to them, both concerning the Holy Spirit.
Look at verse 16, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." Just as Jesus fulfilled the promise of the Messiah, the coming Holy Spirit fulfills this promise of a Comforter, or Advocate. The Holy Spirit will be with them for ever, and is still with us today. The term Comforter means "an advocate, one who is summoned to the side of another, one who is summoned to plead a cause."* The Holy Spirit is someone who will be with us, standing side by side with us as we go through life. But that is not all, as we see in verse 26.
The end of verse 26 says, "he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." The work of the Holy Spirit is twofold. First "he shall teach you all things." The Spirit will teach them the things they need to teach others. I can't tell you how long I spend each day praying and asking God to teach me His Word, so that I can teach others. Part of the work of the Spirit is to teach us all things. The Spirit will teach us the things we need to live the life God has revealed to us. The Spirit will teach us the Word as we take time and study the Bible. The Spirit will teach us how to stay pure in a polluted world. The Spirit will teach us all things. The question is, are we listening? Secondly, the Spirit will "bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." How many times have you walked out of a meeting or a church service and forget the things talked about or preached? Sure, we've all done it. Another part to the work of the Spirit is to bring all things to your remembrance. Just when you need a Word from the Lord, it's there. When you're sharing your faith with someone, all of a sudden a verse you haven't thought of pops into you mind. This happens all the time when I'm preaching or teaching. That's the Spirit, reminding you of the Word of God. Let's face it, we are a forgetful people. God may do a mighty work in your life today, and tomorrow you forget what He did. The Spirit will remind you.
Are you allowing the Spirit to teach you the things of God? Are you allowing the Spirit to guide you along the way you are to live? Are you listening for the Spirit as He gives you the Words to say? Think About It.
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