“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18 KJV). Jesus was about to fulfill His earthly mission of dying for our sins upon the Cross. He would rise from the dead and ascend back into Heaven, then He would send us His Spirit — the Paraklete or Comforter. “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” (16:7). What is this Comforter?   “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another [Greek, allos, another of the same kind] Comforter [Greek, paraklētos, advocate], that He may abide with you for ever” (14:16). Jesus was assuring us He would send us His Spirit to advocate for us, just as He did and does for us before the Father. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1John 2:1). A Paraclete or Advocate for the Christian is the direct opposite of our adversary the devil, who is the “accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). 

We need to get it into our understanding, “The LORD is on my [our] side” (Psalm 118:6). He is a holy God, who has chosen us to be His people, “because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2Thessalonians 2:13). And, if you are not convinced you are chosen, then read this description of yourself here: “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1Corinthians 1:27). There! God has chosen you. If the Spirit of God can persuade us of that truth, then the wicked one cannot succeed in his prosecution against us. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). We have Jesus’ promise, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18),  which gives us His Indwelling Spirit. Ever wonder why the NT makes such a big thing out of “repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38)? Because that baptismal declaration to “confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus” (Romans 10:9) declares your loyalty to Christ in front of humanity (not just the angels), for which He grants you the “gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). 

The Holy Spirit is not simply a ghostly presence, but the active source of all God’s gifts to us, as His children. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). (1) All of the Spiritual Gifts given for the ministry of the Church, are given through the Holy Spirit, i.e., “It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as He decides to each person, who produces all these things” (1 Corinthians 12:1 NET). (2) The Holy Spirit must guide our praying, since we really don’t know how to pray as we ought — just get your prayer started and trust the Holy Spirit is making suggestions to your mind, i.e., “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit [Himself] maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27). This only introduces a small part of the comfort, which we are given through the Holy Spirit. 

Father, cause us to be encouraged that You are advocating for us and not simply plotting against us to catch us in our too often sins. May we give you the credit for the Comfort You Are to us. May we volunteer to be on Your side, since You are doing so much to be on our side. We love You, and ask that You would cause us to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2Peter 3:18). Glorify Your name. And, Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.