The Helper

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have told you.

-John 14:26 (ISV)

My question is, "do you know the Helper?"  We all need help, to follow Jesus, to obey his commands; and to live the life.  The Father already has sent help for us, to do that, in the Holy Spirit.  Every Christian needs to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a person and he is God.  He is not just power or an ethereal force, but a person.  He is all about Christ, the Lord Jesus.  He is the one who leads all Christians to be Christlike.  He helps us to walk in Christ.

The way that the Helper helps us is to teach us.  He teaches us in our lives, together and alone, with him.  Our lives are his class room.  He is a teacher who gives special attention to each learner, like a mentor, or a counselor.  

He can also be called the Comforter.  As he helps, guides, and counsels each one of us, he is comforting us.  The majority of New Testament  translators have chosen the word comforter to translate the word that Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit.

We need comforting.  We receive comforting from God and give comforting to others.  

In the Church, we have teaching as a high priority.  We teach and get taught in many different formats.  The Spirit of God is the premiere teacher.  Jesus says that he will teach us and remind us.  Before he tells us that though, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit this special name that is translated helper or comforter.  The name tells you about this person.

If you have ever had a mean teacher, that is a teacher who is not like the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit; because Jesus calls him the Helper or the Comforter.  His teaching, his teaching ways or style, is always helpful and comforting.  He is like a true friend.  

When ministry is about teaching, is our teaching helpful and comforting?  If Jesus described the teacher, who also is God, as helpful and comforting; like a friend (MSG) or counselor (NIV) or advocate (NLT), how does that comport to the teaching ministry in the church?

When people say something like, "wow, the Holy Spirit sure is here today", how does that relate to what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit teaching us?  How do we get from Jesus comforting his first disciples, when he is about to leave them, saying that the Father will send the Holy Spirit, to teach them and remind them of what he has said; to church gatherings today?

Jesus said, "he will teach you".  How does that work in our lives?  How does that work in the greater gathering or assembling of the church?  With all the aspects of the person of the Holy Spirit, described by the words 'helper', 'counselor', 'friend', 'advocate', or 'comforter'; there is one big purpose that he has for us.  That is that he teaches.

There are various ways of learning.  Reading, listening, and doing; are three ways.  The Spirit of God teaches us how to obey Jesus in the doing.  We need to learn what Jesus taught and what he did (Acts 1:1), so that we can know and do.  We have a lot of knowledge that makes us hypocrites because we do not do it.  We read it or hear it.  We think about it.  We believe we believe it.  But we don't do it.

The Holy Spirit teaches us to take Jesus' sayings, his words, or his commands; and do them in our lives.  As a teacher, the Spirit does not just entertain us and stimulate us with his teaching; but he gives us the goods to take home, into our lives.  You walk away from his transformative teaching changed in the way you will now live.  Because he teaches us how to do, not just what to know.

If you are not engaged in an ongoing learning relationship with the Spirit of God, where in he trains you on how to walk in Christ, then you are missing out on your inheritance as a child of God.  It's never to late to start.  Let's pray.