¹⁶ “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever …”

“Another Helper” will be given to us at the Son’s request. The third person of the Trinity is now in this world to be of assistance to us. Do you believe that? We think so little of the Holy Spirit in today’s church, not withstanding the penchant in some circles to exalt the Spirit’s so-called manifestations. Yet even there, there is really little deep thought about the role of the Spirit beyond the sensational.

That this ‘Helper’ refers to the Holy Spirit is evident from the context. But notice first of all, Jesus wants us to have the Holy Spirit. The Son will ask (from our perspective, the Son already has asked) His Father to present us with this gift. And at the moment of our salvation, that is what takes place, we receive among other things, the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity (see 2 Cor 1:22, Rom 8:9, 15, 1 Cor 6:19).

Second, the Holy Spirit is a person, not just a spiritual force or a figure of speech. Third, He is distinct from the Son and from the Father, He is not just an expression of the other two members of the Trinity. In the well known Christian baptism formula, we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). All three are on equal basis, yet are distinct.

Third, the Spirit will be ours forever. We are sealed permanently (Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 1:22) and we are secure.

Not to be missed, the Spirit is our Helper. He is a helper like Jesus (notice the word, “another” Helper). He is in our lives in the absence of the physical Jesus. The disciples were concerned about Jesus leaving them, but He would give them the presence of Deity in the person of the Spirit. His work in our lives will not be essentially different than Jesus’ work. If that were the case, He would have used another Greek word, “heteros,” which means another of a different kind. But Jesus used “allos” which simply means another.

The word “Helper” comes from the Greek word “parakletos” which refers to one who comes along side, to help, encourage. He assists us in doing the “better works” Jesus spoke of earlier. Just as Jesus came into the world to help us return to God, that is, to enter His Kingdom, the Holy Spirit has come to help us live in the Kingdom of God here and now. Just like the apostles after the Day of Pentecost, believers today are completely dependent upon and empowered by the “help” of the Spirit. Without Him we can do nothing.

Lord, thank You for not leaving us alone, but for giving us the power to accomplish Your purposes, Your great works here on earth.