When the Holy Ghost is Come | Page 3

were as helpless as little children, as
defenceless as lambs in the midst of wolves. How could their poor
hearts be otherwise than troubled?
But then He gave them a strange, wonderful, reassuring promise: He
said, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the
Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide
with you for ever" (John xiv. 15, 16). I am going away, but Another
shall come, who will fill My place. He shall not go away, but abide

with you for ever, and He "shall be in you." And later He added: "It is
expedient for you"--that is, better for you-- "that I go away; for if I go
not away, the Comforter will not come."
Who is this other One--this Comforter? He must be some august Divine
Person, and not a mere influence or impersonal force, for how else
could He take and fill the place of Jesus? How else could it be said that
it was better to have Him than to have Jesus remaining in the flesh? He
must be strong and wise, and tender and true, to take the place of the
Blessed One who is to die and depart. Who is He?
John, writing in the Greek language, calls Him "Paraclete," but we in
English call Him Comforter. But Paraclete means more, much more
than Comforter. It means "one called in to help: an advocate, a helper."
The same word is used of Jesus in i John ii. i: "We have an Advocate,"
a Paraclete, a Helper, "with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Just
as Jesus had gone to be the disciples' Advocate, their Helper in the
Heavens, so this other Paraclete was to be their Advocate, their Helper
on earth. He would be their Comforter when comfort was needed; but
He would be more; He would be also their Teacher, Guide,
Strengthener, as Jesus had been. At every point of need there would He
be as an ever-present and all-wise, almighty Helper. He would meet
their need with His sufficiency; their weakness with His strength; their
foolishness with His wisdom; their ignorance with His knowledge;
their blindness and short-sightedness with His perfect, all-embracing
vision. Hallelujah! What a Comforter! Why should they be troubled?
They were weak, but He would strengthen them with might in the inner
man (Eph. iii. 16). They were to give the world the words of Jesus, and
teach all nations (Matthew xxviii. 19, 20); and He would teach them all
things, and bring to their remembrance whatsoever Jesus had said to
them (John xiv. 26).
They were to guide their converts in the right way, and He was to guide
them into all truth (John xvi. 13). They were to attack hoary systems of
evil, and inbred and actively intrenched sin, in every human heart; but
He was to go before them, preparing the way for conquest, by
convincing the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John
xvi. 8). They were to bear heavy burdens and face superhuman tasks,
but He was to give them power (Acts i. 8). Indeed, He was to be a
Comforter, a Strengthener, a Helper.

Jesus had been external to them. Often they missed Him. Sometimes
He was asleep when they felt they sorely needed Him. Sometimes He
was on the mountains, while they were in the valley vainly trying to
cast out stubborn devils, or wearily toiling on the tumultuous,
wind-tossed sea. Sometimes He was surrounded by vast crowds, and
He entered into high disputes with the doctors of the law, and they had
to wait till He was alone to seek explanations of His teachings. But they
were never to lose this other Helper in the crowd, nor be separated for
an instant from Him, for no human being, nor untoward circumstance,
nor physical necessity, could ever come between Him and them, for,
said Jesus, "He shall be in you."
From the words used to declare the sayings, the doings, the offices and
works of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, we are forced to conclude that
He is a Divine Person. Out of the multitude of Scriptures which might
be quoted, note this passage, which, as nearly as is possible with human
language, reveals to us His personality: "Now there were in the Church
that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers... As they ministered
to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate Me Barnabas and
Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had
fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed into Seleucia"
(Acts xiii. 1-4).
Further on we read that they "were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to