"The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father shall send in my name, shall teach you a/l things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14.26). The function of the Holy Spirit in the hearts, minds and lives of all Christians is to be to each and all now what Jesus in His personal presence was to the disciples and believers during His life on Earth. 'Comforter' is not a good translation and the Greek word 'parakletos' really means one called to one's side as a helper or advocate. It is translated so in 1 John 2.1 AV. It appears four times in John's Gospel, always with reference to the Holy Spirit in its function of standing by and helping the disciples and all who would follow them in the way of Christ. "Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age," (Matt. 28.20 NRSV). Jesus had told them and it was by means of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit that His promise was fulfilled. In a very real sense Jesus was still with His disciples and that is what He meant when He said "I will not leave you comfortless, I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you" (John 14.18). The Holy Spirit was to be sent "in my name" (14.26), that is, in and with the power of Jesus, to impart only the words and instructions of Jesus (16.13-15), so speaking as it were on behalf of Jesus, to teach, testify, guide, recall, foresee and reprove. In these three chapters, 14, 15 and 16 of the gospel, all these operations are mentioned. Christ's entire work of pastoral care and spiritual enlightenment toward His followers is conducted through the medium of the Holy Spirit of God. The fact that He says the Spirit proceeds from the Father and is sent from the Father, in the same breath that He declares He Himself sends the Spirit (14.16; 15.26; 16.7) supports the concept of oneness of thought, action and power between the Father and the Son, which the New Testament so strenuously upholds.

Three times in John's gospel the Holy Spirit is equated with the Spirit of truth as though the two are identical (ch. 14.17; 15.26; 16.13) but this is only one aspect of that mighty universal energy which the Scriptures refer to as the Holy Spirit of God. It is the aspect in the mind of Paul, when he told the Corinthians (1 Cor. 2.9-14 RSV) "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard; nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God'. The office of the Holy Spirit in this connection, therefore, is to act as instructor that reveals Divine truth in all its aspects. This is done for those who have by total surrender and dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ entered into a state of union with God. The Holy Spirit has many characteristics. The earliest in time so far as man is concerned and the most spectacular in a material sense, is that described so vividly in the first chapter of Genesis at the time of creation. The earth was unformed; there was only chaos. The Spirit of God hovered over that chaos, and God spoke: "Let there be light! And there was light!" Simple words but they indicate a tremendous manifestation of energy, the energy that has its source in God and was mediated by the operation of God's Holy Spirit. From that point ensued the colossal action and interaction of natural forces that brought into being the earth as we now know it. All those forces were born of the Divine energy that is the Holy Spirit. Having brought this material creation into existence and introduced man to it, God exercises a continuous control over its ordering and destinies. Isaiah 40.22-31 is clear "It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers," bringing the great men to nothing and giving power to the weak. He controls the whole universe by His word. The stars themselves follow their courses in accord with His command. A remarkable picture of this universal oversight of His creation is given in the visions of Zechariah in the OT and John in the Revelation in the NT. The Holy Spirit is depicted as the seven eyes of God, continuously scanning the whole earth and always aware of all that is going on. In Zechariah 4, the seven lamps in the vision, yielding light from the olive oil which is always a symbol of the Holy Spirit are the "seven eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth". In that vision the application has to do with the moving of the Holy Spirit to the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of the Babylonian captivity, but John in the Book of Revelation sees the same seven lamps and seven eyes in a far more vital context. He sees (ch. 4 & 5) the triumphant Christ moving to the deliverance of all mankind from the bondage of sin and death. In the very presence of the Almighty Creator and Father upon the heavenly throne stand the seven lamps which are synonymous with the sevenfold Spirit of God, waiting to go out upon this mission of deliverance. This John sees as the triumphant Christ Himself, also having the seven eyes that are the sevenfold Spirit. So the Son is identified with the Spirit here just as He is in the gospel of John. The operation of the Spirit is the manifestation of Divine power emanating from the Father and channelled through the Son.

Beyond the material lies the spiritual. Just as the power of the Holy Spirit is evident in all the works of Nature, so is it manifested in its energising effect of the minds of believers. The first and perhaps the most striking example of this was the powers received by those gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. A group of quite ordinary men, from the lower walks of life, were distinguished by their common faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and their whole-hearted devotion to Him and His cause. There came suddenly upon them a new power, filling their minds and nerving their souls to deeds of daring they would not have dreamed of undertaking of their own volition. There was an outward sign, some kind of celestial radiance filling the room above their heads, 'tongues of fire' the historian termed it, and that to them was the sign of the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit which had been promised. Immediately their minds were quickened and they saw all things in a new light. The dimly understood prophecies of the Old Testament came at once into focus with the things that Jesus had told them about Himself and His coming kingdom. The injunction so recently laid upon them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation suddenly opened out into a broad and clear vision of their future lives' work. In the inspiration and enthusiasm of that mystic and yet enthralling experience they went straight out into the streets and preached as they had never preached before. It was upon that memorable day that the energy of the Holy Spirit was exerted so to work upon the minds of a few totally dedicated men as to achieve the mightiest and most significant of all God's works since the beginning of Creation, the institution of the Christian Church.

That was not the end of this wonderful aspect of the Spirit's working. "To every man" says Paul in 1 Cor. 12, "the manifestation of the Spirit is given". Various gifts and powers, he says, but all by the same Spirit. Various kinds of ministries and services, but all for the same Lord. Various directions in which Divine energy is exerted, but all from the same God ("operations" in 1 Cor. 12.6 is from a word meaning superhuman or spiritual energy only). In no better way could the Apostle have stressed the essential oneness existing between the Father and the Son in all that they accomplish through the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is that which is beyond even this. The Holy Spirit is a life-giving force. Put more accurately, the life which comes from God to His creatures, and all life is from God; there is no other source comes by the Spirit. We already know that life is only to be had through Christ "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" wrote John at the beginning of his Gospel and at the end of his first letter he wrote "whoso hath the Son hath life, but whoso hath not the Son hath not life". We have to accept therefore that life is of God, by the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the vehicle of life, the joint power of Father and Son conveying spiritual eternal life to the believer. This was the truth Jesus imparted to Nicodemus (John 4.5-8). In a more material sense that is how man received a transient terrestrial life. The earthly life now is but a short-term travesty of what real life can be. If Nicodemus wanted the true eternal life which is God's purpose for man he must receive an infusion of new life preparing him and fitting him for that world which is to be. He must, to use an easily understood expression, be "born again". Nicodemus found that hard to understand. So did the disciples at that time. They realised the truth better later on. Paul was able to say "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within you, then the God who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give new life to your mortal bodies by his indwelling Spirit" (Rom. 8.11 NEB). The dying life inherited from Adam. which of itself can only lead to the grave and extinction, is superseded by a new and eternal life which after the dissolution of this body leads to a new and never-dying life in the eternal beyond.

The basis of that wonder was laid down in the Old Testament for those with insight to read and understand. Talking about the animal creation, whose lives also depended upon God, the Psalmist says (Psa. 104.29-30 NIV) "When you take away their breath, they die, and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth." At a much earlier date Elihu the deep thinking friend of Job expressed the same truth in relation to man. "The Spirit of God has made me and the breath of the Almighty gives me life ... if he withdrew his spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together, and man would return to the dust" (Job 33.4 and 34.14 NIV). That is the fundamental truth of creation, the basis upon which all things exist. Ignored and denied by the wise men of this world, many of the world's scientists and philosophers, it stands always as an irrefutable fact. God is the source of life; without God, life and creation cannot be.

From this it follows that the Spirit of God in us, our 'possession' of the Holy Spirit is the power which links us with God. This is not just a figure of speech, it is reality. 1 John 2.1 tells us that we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. The word there translated 'advocate' is parakletos, the same word rendered 'comforter' in John's Gospel. So the Comforter which He promised to send after his ascension was his own power and influence present with his disciples when He was no longer bodily present in their company. So we are united with God in Christ through the Spirit of God and Christ extended into our hearts and lives. The reality of this union is stressed time and again in the Gospel of John. "I am in the Father ... the Father is in me ... you are in me

I am in you ... that they all may be one; as you, Father are in me, and I in you, that they may be one in us." So as H. Wheeler Robinson says in "Christian experience of the Holy Spirit", "the Spirit is conceived as the projected presence and activity of Christ himself with His Church and this explains the personalisation of the conception."

Closely associated with the idea of union with God is that of intercession. Christ is shown in Hebrews as one who "ever liveth to make intercession for those who come to God by him." (Heb. 7.25). As a rule this 'intercession' is associated with the thought of Christ interceding with the Father for forgiveness for sins committed but the word entunchano means primarily to meet, consult or converse with a person, and only secondarily to supplicate. This is communion with God, and Christ is an intercessor not as a supplicant but as a communicant. Romans 8 also takes this position and relates our Lord with the work of the Spirit. In v.34 Paul says Christ has risen and makes intercession for us at the right hand of God, but in v.26 the Spirit, the parakletos makes intercession. There is an identification here between Christ in person at the right hand of the Father and Christ present with His faithful upon earth through the Holy Spirit. The "groanings which cannot be uttered" of v.26 means a deep sighing from that which is felt but cannot be expressed in words. In Mark 8.12 we read that Jesus "sighed deeply in his spirit" at the Pharisees' obtuseness in seeking an outward sign. So in Rom. 8 there is a vivid presentation of the believers striving to maintain faith and hope against all apparent discouragement. We know not how to approach the Father for reassurance on these matters and the Holy Spirit within us assists us in our weakness and insufficiency to convey our unspoken and unutterable feelings to our Lord in heaven and He to the Father. The Father, one with the Son, already knows! "He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit". Mind here represents thoughts, intents and purposes. This too is related to the oneness with the Father who already knows the unspoken thoughts which are being conveyed to Him from the believer by the Spirit. The result is the reassurance that "all things are working together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose."

Finally there is the Holy Spirit in Christ. According to Heb. 9.14 it was through the eternal Spirit that Christ "offered himself without spot to God". How did the Spirit assist in the act of Christ offering Himself? It is evident that there was an exercise of Divine power mightily involved in the events surrounding Calvary. Ephesians 1.19-20 tells us that God exerted "his mighty power" raising Jesus from the dead. The reality of our Lord's death and resurrection is plainly declared in the Book of Revelation. "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold Jam alive for evermore." (1.18). The Holy Spirit is the means of the power of God in active operation and the New Testament makes it clear that the power of the Spirit was in and over Jesus throughout His earthly life in a very special sense. At the very commencement the angel told Mary "the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of the God" (Luke 1.35). Thirty years later, Jesus was baptised in preparation for His mission, the heavens opened and a visible form signalled a new outpouring of Divine power whereby He could go forward upon that mission. (Matt.3.16). Following His time of quiet consideration in the wilderness He returned "full of the Spirit" (Luke 4.1). Soon after at His first public appearance, He declared "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, the Lord hat/i anointed me ..." (Luke 4.18). Throughout His earthly life the Holy Spirit was the link for communion and power between Father and Son. It was this that enabled Jesus to do all that He came to do and to say at the end "I have

finished the work which you gave me to do. "Now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began" (John 17.5).

So the Comforter, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit of God, that Jesus promised His disciples would be their life-long guide and instructor and inspiration after His departure, has indeed proved to be, to them and to us, the entire activity of the Father in relation to us and to all men as mediated through Christ.

AOH