Who is the Comforter in John 14-16?

“If you love me, keep my commands. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. [18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. [19] Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” (John 14:15-19 NIVUK).

The word “advocate” used here is is a translation of the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklétos). It is rendered  as Comforter in the King James Version (KJV), and as Helper in some English versions. Jesus called the advocate (or Helper or Comforter) the Spirit of truth (verse 17). In verse 26, he called it the Holy Ghost (KJV) or the Holy Spirit.

The mainstream teaching from John 14 to 16 is that the Comforter (or Helper or Advocate) is the third person of the Trinity or God the Holy Spirit. Did Jesus Christ talk of a third person here? Let us carefully examine the Scriptures.

The word παράκλητος (paraklétos) is used five times in the New Testament by John, four times in his gospel (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) and once in his epistle (1 John 2:1). In this last place he wrote that the paraklétos is Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. The verse reads, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (1 John 2:1 NIVUK).

Here John made it known that Jesus Christ is the paraklétos. But in his gospel, John wrote that Jesus promised “another Comforter” which Jesus himself called the Spirit of truth or the Holy Spirit. Is this one a different “person” from Jesus Christ? The answer is an emphatic NO! What Jesus promised here is that he will come back to his own in a different form, a nonphysical form, by means of his spirit. Observe these statements:

  • He said, ”But you know him, for he [now] lives with you [physically] and will [soon] be in you.” (John 14:17b NIVUK, words is square brackets are mine throughout). What Jesus meant here was that the one who was with them and talking to them was going to be the one who would live in them in a spiritual form forever.  This leaves us with no doubt  that the paraklétos mentioned in the gospel is Christ himself, who now lives in the true children of God by means of his spirit, which dwells in them. This is affirmed by  Paul when he wrote: “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” (Romans 8:9 NASB2020). The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ is the same spirit, known as the Holy Ghost (KJV) or Holy Spirit. God and Christ dwell in us by means of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (John 14:23; 1 Cor. 2:12; 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16; Gal. 2:20; 4:6; 1 Pet. 1:11). What Christ meant in John 14-16 is that God and  himself  will dwell in the true children of God by means of the Holy Spirit (John 14:23) in order to give them help from above. The idea of a third person  or God is a wild speculation by the fourth century  church fathers. Christ’s statement that the Comforter is the one who [now] dwells with you (John 14:17) is another proof that the Comforter is not a “third” person or God as erroneously taught in the Trinitarian creeds. The Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of God or of Christ was not given until Christ ascended to heaven. See John 7:39; 16:7 and Acts 1:5,8. Evidently, Jesus Christ himself was the one who [then] dwelt or lived with the disciples and who would [soon] live in them in another form – a spiritual, incorporeal form.

(2) He also said, ”If anyone loves me, they will obey me. Then my Father will love them, and we [the Father and I] will come to them and live in them. (John 14:23 CEVUK). How do God and Christ live in God’s own children? It is by means of God’s spirit living in them: “Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by [through, by means of] the Spirit He has given us.” (1 John 3:24 BSB).

(3) The question which Judas [or Jude, not Judas Iscariot] asked subsequent to the statement Jesus made in John 14:17 gives a clear affirmation that the disciples clearly understood Jesus Christ as referring to Himself as the Comforter. Jude asked, “how is it that thou will manifest thyself unto us and not unto the world?” (John 14:22). What was not clear to Jude was the form Jesus Christ was going to take. It was not clear to him that it was going to be in an invisible, spiritual form – by means of the spirit of Christ. He did not have any iota of doubt that Jesus Christ was talking to them about himself. The pronouns “thou” and “thyself” used by Jude in his question are plainly emphatic of the fact that Christ was talking to them that he is the Comforter who now lives with them in a physical form and who will soon live in them in another form.

What about the personsl pronouns used for the Comforter?

There are people who say that, in the King James Version (KJV), also known as the Authorized Version (AV) of the Bible, both personal and impersonal pronouns have been used for the Holy Spirit. They say that the personal pronouns  means that the Holy Spirit is a person. With regards to the Holy Spirit, there are five plausible reasons  why both personal and impersonal pronouns have been used:

  1. Rules of Grammar in Gendered Languages:

Many languages like Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Russian, etc. are gendered languages where all nouns are grammatically rendered either as masculine or feminine notwithstanding the fact that many of such objects, e.g. book, door, table, river, wisdom do not have biological gender. The word “Comforter” known in Greek as  παράκλητος (paraklétos) is a masculine noun (emphases added throughout). The rule is that if an object is grammatically gendered as masculine, masculine pronouns must be used for it but if it is gendered as feminine, feminine pronouns must be used in reference to it. Since the paraklétos is masculine in Greek grammar, only masculine pronouns must be used for it. But where the Holy Spirit is written as Πνεμα (Pneuma),  which is a neuter noun, a neuter pronoun such as “it” must be used for it. We need to understand that grammatical gender does not necessarily mean that the objects are literal beings, neither are they male or female. Examples are sea, ship, table  door, or book which are regarded as feminine or masculine nouns but are not persons and do not have biological genders. The use of personal pronouns such as “he”, “his”, “him”, “who” or “whom” for the “Comforter” or “Advocate” or “Helper” (Greek: paraklétos) or the Holy Spirit does not automatically confer personhood on the Holy Spirit. Such pronouns have been used in line with the rules of the grammar of gendered languages.

  • The Personal pronouns relate to persons:

In my own private study of the Bible, I have observed three things for which both personal and impersonal pronouns were used in the KJV. They are the tree in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, salt and the Holy Spirit. (I use the KJV here because it is a literal or word for word translation of the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek in which the original Bible texts were written). I believe there is a common reason for the use of personal and impersonal pronouns for them. An understanding of the reason behind the use of personal and impersonal pronouns for the tree and salt will help us understand why they are used for the Holy Spirit.

  1. The Tree in Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream:

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation by Daniel is recorded in chapter 4 of the Book of Daniel. The central object the king saw in his dream was a tree – very big and tall with many branches and fruits and luxuriant leaves. In verses 14 to 16, the personal pronouns “him” and “his” are used nine times for the tree and the impersonal pronouns “it” and “its” are used five times for the same tree in verses 12 to 15. Daniel told the king in verses 20 to 22 that the tree was a symbolic representation of the king himself. In verse 22, Daniel said, inter alia, “You, O king, are that tree” (NIV). 

b.Salt

Jesus Christ said, “Ye are the salt of the earth but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and be trodden under foot of men” (Matt. 5:13, KJV). (Mark 9:50 and Luke 14:34 are parallel verses.)

The use of both personal and neuter pronouns in the two examples above created an exception to the rule of the use of gendered nouns and pronouns for impersonal objects in gendered languages.

It is evident from chapter 4 of Daniel that the neuter pronouns are used for the tree, but the personal pronouns are used for the person symbolized by the tree which was king Nebuchadnezzar. In the same way, Matthew used “his” in Matthew 5:13 with “Ye” (You) in mind while the impersonal pronoun “it” relates to salt which is an impersonal object. The symbolic language used in the two passages is responsible for the use of both personal and impersonal pronouns in them.

c. The Holy Spirit:

It has been observed that both personal and neuter pronouns have been used in the KJV for the Holy Spirit. In chapters 14 to 16 of John, the Comforter or Helper (Greek: paraklétos) is said to be the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and personal pronouns “he”, “him” and “whom” are used for the Comforter.

It has also been observed that genderless pronouns such as “it” and “itself” have been used for the Holy Spirit in some other passages. John the Baptist said, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him [Jesus] (John 1:32). Apostle Paul wrote, “the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God … Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself make intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom 8:16, 26). Apostle Peter wrote, inter alia, “the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow” (1 Pet. 1:11). Apostle John, on his part, wrote, “But the anointing [or the Holy Spirit, see Acts 2:2-4; Matt. 3:16; Acts 10:38] which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things [compare 1 Cor. 2:13] and is truth, and is no lie [compare John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13], and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him [Christ]” (1 John 2:27).

From the above passages we have the knowledge that the Comforter in John 14 – 16 is Jesus Christ represented by his spirit dwelling in God’s true children. The Comforter is Christ himself dwelling in the true believers by means of his spirit. It is no longer Christ dwelling with them in a restricted, physical form but Christ now dwelling in them by means of his spirit.  The disciples of the Lord understood him when he said, “he [the Comforter] dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17). In modern English, the statement will read something like this: “he now lives with you [physically] and will be [or live] in you [in a spirit form]. It is evident that Jesus Christ was not talking about another literal and distinct person but himself.

Having seen all these scriptures it is evident that the personal pronouns used in John 14 to 16 were in reference to Jesus Christ who is the Comforter, while the impersonal pronouns are used for his spirit, the Holy Spirit. He told the disciples, “I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you” (John 14:18). In Matthew 28:20, He said, “I will be with you always, even until the end of the world [or this age]”.

Jesus Christ is the truth (John 14:6) and His Spirit is called the Spirit of truth (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). The Spirit of truth is called the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is also called the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9 -11). This one and the same spirit is called the breath of God (Job 27:3; 33:4). This Spirit or breath of God which is also called the Holy Spirit is what the invisible or incorporeal God uses as His invisible or incorporeal hand to do all His supernatural works in all of His creation.

With the exception of some places where God and Jesus Christ are referred to as the Holy Spirit, most of the passages in the New Testament use the term “Holy Spirit” or KJV’s “Holy Ghost” in reference to the breath or spirit of God. The Greek word

Πνεῦμα (Pneuma) which means “breath” or “wind” is used 383 times in the New Testament.  It is interesting to note that it is the word KJV translators translated as Holy Ghost. This breath or spirit of God with which the Almighty divinely anoints, sanctifies, empowers, and guides the true believers is not another “third” divine person or God.

An honest, objective, truthful and spirit-controlled study of the Bible has shown that the fourth and fifth century theology of a “third” person or “God the Holy Spirit” has no basis in the Bible. Unfortunately, most of Christendom gullibly imbibed this falsehood and almost all the people who have embraced this false doctrine have become “strongly” or “powerfully” deluded. Like the Jews who refused to believe in the Messiah despite the great light that was beamed on them, many Christians are refusing to accept the hard textural, exegetical, historical, and logical refutations of the Trinitarian dogma.

Noteworthy Commentaries:

I find it compelling to give excerpts from two different writings on the topic under discussion. I believe the authors were enlightened through illumination of the Holy Spirit:

Alexander MacLaren (1826 – 1910) called the Comforter “The Absent – Present Christ”. The following are excerpts from his exposition of John 14: 18 – 19:

“Now, what is this coming? It Is to be observed that our Lord says, not ‘I will’ as a future, but ‘I come’ or ‘I am coming’, as an immediately impending, and, we may almost say, present, thing. There can be no reference in the word to that final coming to judgement which lies so far ahead; because if there were, then there would follow from the text, that, until that period, all that love Him here upon earth are to wander about as orphans, desolate and forsaken, and that certainly can never be. So that we have to recognize here the promise of a coming which is contemporaneous with His absence, and which is, in fact, but the reverse side of His bodily absence”. He continued:

“It is true about Him that He ‘departs from’ His people in bodily form ‘for a season, that they may receive Him’ in a better form ‘forever’. This, then, is the heart and center of the consolation here, that howsoever the external presence may be withdrawn, and the ‘foolish senses’ may have to speak of an absent Christ, we may rejoice in the certainty that He is with all those that love Him, and all the more with them because of the very withdrawal of the earthly manifestation which has served its purpose, and now is laid aside as an impediment rather than as a help to the full communion. We confound bodily with real. The bodily presence is at an end; the real presence lasts forever.”

Thefollowingispartof an online articleby TrinityTruth.org:

“So who is the Comforter which is also called the Spirit of truth that guides us into all truth? It is in fact Christ by His holy Spirit. This is why the personal pronouns “he” and “him” are used as John was specifically referring to Christ even if it was by His Spirit … The “other comforter” is none other than Christ Himself in another form (Spirit form). He is not seen (physically) as He was when He was here on earth. He is removed from the eye of sense, but He is still with us in Spirit. Note also that the Comforter could not be given until Jesus had returned to His Father and was glorified because He comes back to us by His Spirit to be with us and comfort us unto the end of the world.”

Without doubt, we can conclude that the personal pronouns used for the Holy Spirit were purely in reference to Christ who is represented by his Spirit now dwelling emanatively in his true servants. The personal pronouns were used, not because the Spirit of truth is a literal person of its own but because it is the spirit of a literal person. Christ dwells in us through his Spirit which dwells in us (Rom. 8:9 – 11; 1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 3:17; 2 Tim. 1:14). The Comforter which Jesus Christ said will be in you (John 14:17) is the very one Paul referred to as Christ is in you (Rom. 8:10).