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Author: Stephen Weller
534 words, 3 minutes read time

The Helper

Scripture: John 15:25-26

With the previous lesson we finished the section on the hatred of the world toward righteousness. With this lesson we will begin a section about the coming Spirit of truth.

^{Jn 15:26} “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. ²⁷ And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

The “Helper” is defined as “the Spirit of truth” who will be sent to us from the Father by request from Jesus. As the Spirit of truth, he will guide the followers of Jesus into all truth (John 16:13). At the time of spiritual birth, when we become a member of the body of Christ, he will indwell us and will remain with us forever. Paul uses our physical body as a metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12:12 – 31 to describe the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of that body and in a sense the Spirit is like our nervous system that connects all the body’s members together and to the head. As a result, in heaven when the body is complete, there will be perfect unity between the head of the body and its members and between its members. Since the Spirit indwells each of us and since he is God, he is love, and that love is agape or sacrificial love and it fills each of us. I can’t begin to get my mind around the beauty and function of such a body that is filled with such love and functions with that love. When, in this environment of love, all aspects of sin are gone, life will be so radically different.

The Spirit will bear witness of Jesus. He is our connection to Jesus; to his thoughts and desires; to truth and to life. The Spirit will teach us and bring into remembrance all things (John 14:26). In this life we dwell in bodies of sinful flesh and are greatly impacted by the world and its offerings, and as a result there is much disunity in the body and interference of communication between us and Jesus Christ and between members, but as we learn the Scriptures and surrender to the Spirit’s control, we can grow in this unity and function, then to be fully realized in heaven.

As we study the Word we learn about Jesus Christ because the Word is God and became flesh. As the Spirit bears witness of and gives us understanding of Jesus, we are to bear witness as disciples of Jesus. Just as the Father guided Jesus in his ministry, Jesus will guide us through the Spirit in our ministry to others as we share the gospel and disciple new converts.

Conclusion

The Helper was sent at Pentecost and has indwelt those born spiritually ever since. What is your understanding of the Spirit’s help in your life? How do you involve him in prayer, Bible study, and ministry? Do you see him as a vital link between you and Jesus and other believers?