4/6 Through the Bible in Devotions

John 16

“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.” (v. 7)

We know that this “Comforter” is the Holy Spirit of God, and a great comfort He is to us too. He is actually introduced in the previous chapter, but here our Lord expounds more fully on Him and His duties. Jesus had the power to send the Comforter, even though it was “from the Father”, and He assures us that He will do just that, so that we are not left without comfort and guidance. The Israelites had the Father, the apostles had the Son, and the church has the Holy Spirit, alive and well on this earth. Actually, we have all three, but the comforter is still here in us, and will remain until the Lord takes Him out during the end times. He is called “The Spirit of Truth” and reveals Truth to us through the Word of God. When we hear or read God’s Word, it is this same comforter who enlightens us as to what the Lord is telling us, “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” (Vs. 8-11)

“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:” (15:26). Another aspect of the Holy Spirit is that He will testify of Christ. The proper order is that the Holy Spirit points to Jesus, and Jesus points us to the Father. The Son does not glorify Himself, but the Father only; the Holy Spirit does not glorify Himself, but points to the Son only. Whenever the Holy Spirit is exalted above Christ, the doctrine is wrong, and whenever Christ is magnified above the Father, the doctrine is also wrong. There are some factions of religion that do these things, and they are not scriptural practices. The Comforter is here to teach us the real from the false, and allows us discern, with the Word of God, what is true and what is false.

Then note also that the Holy Spirit could not come until the Son went away. Heaven could not be without two Persons of the trinity, and neither can we, by the way. There are some who do not believe in a triune (3 part) God, but the Bible shouts it out at us from many places. We serve three Gods in One. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all One God with one purpose, and that is to glorify the Father; nothing else really matters all that much.