Another Counselor
January 18
Several times in today’s chapter Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit. In fact, He not only talks about the Holy Spirit but the Father as well, sharing some of the Bible’s clearest and most detailed insights about them. John 14 then is a very important passage, and one reason is that it is unmistakably and unapologetically Trinitarian. It reveals to us the mysterious God who exists in three Persons.
This truth, however, is not always well received. A popular argument employed by opponents of the concept of the Trinity points out that the word “trinity” doesn’t appear in the Bible. They then conclude that since the word doesn’t appear, the idea of the Trinity isn’t there either. This is a logical fallacy called a non sequitur, meaning its conclusion does not follow its premise.
Indeed, the word “trinity” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. But thousands of other words like “omnipotence”, “omniscience”, and “omnipresent” don’t either. Since these words can’t be found in the biblical text, should we also infer that God, respectively, isn’t all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere? Of course not. Why? Because a multitude of verses clearly reveal that He possesses all of these qualities. Equally, the word “trinity” doesn’t need to appear in Scripture because the doctrine of the Trinity is clearly seen and well supported in verse after verse.
I said on the first day of our journey, when we looked at John 1, “Genesis 1:1 tells us that God created everything. John 1:3 tells us that the Word (Jesus) created everything. Genesis 1:2 completes the picture of a Triune God—One God in three persons—by telling us that the Spirit of God was present as He hovered over the earth’s surface.”
In today’s reading, Jesus says that He must leave the disciples and go to the Father. (John 14:12) He follows this announcement with a promise: the Father will send the Holy Spirit as “another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.” John 14:16–17 (CSB)
Did you catch that? Jesus said the Holy Spirit would remain with the disciples in His absence. Isaiah said that the Messiah’s Name would be Immanuel, which means, “God is with us”. (Isaiah 7:14) God is with us. God is with you.
Last week I addressed that the Incarnation tells us that God became a Man, the Man Jesus Christ, Who was both fully God and fully Man. He always was God, and He always will be God.
Jesus said that the Father would send another Counselor. He implies that He was the first Counselor, as “someone to walk alongside”. The Holy Spirit is another Counselor. The original Greek word here allos, translated as “another” doesn’t mean an additional or different kind of Counselor. It means another of the same kind. The Holy Spirit is another Counselor of the same kind as Jesus. The Holy Spirit is someone Who walks alongside you. God walks with you.
But the Holy Spirit is not just with us. Notice the last part of John 14:17, “He … will be in you.” This is a radical departure from the Holy Spirit’s work in the Old Testament. Under that covenant, God’s Spirit would occasionally come upon a prophet, priest, king, etc. God’s Spirit would come on ordained people to do special things for God. Under the New Covenant, however, God’s Spirit comes and dwells in ordinary people to do all kinds of things for God. (John 14:12–14)
The prophet Ezekiel says of the New Covenant, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.” Ezekiel 36:26–27 (CSB)
Jesus promised that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to live in His covenant people. But why did the Father do this? To make us holy. The Holy Spirit came to change our “wanter,” so that we will want to obey Him. What’s truly staggering here, though, is that He not only changes our desires to live obediently, but gives us the power to do so! No longer do God’s people merely have God’s Law to follow. Under the New Covenant, He has “written His law on our hearts” by placing His Holy Spirit within us to change our desires to His and give us the ability to do what glorifies Him. (2 Corinthians 3:3)
Application
Do you feel that you struggle perhaps too much in your walk with Jesus? Does obedience to God seem impossible to you? How often do you feel that you just can’t live a life that pleases God?
Spend a few minutes reviewing John 14:15-31. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak through God’s Word to show you areas where you need to draw from His power in order to produce holiness in you—from the inside out.
The Holy Spirit’s work in you doesn’t just produce holiness in your behavior. Holy behavior is the fruit of holy beliefs and holy attitudes that He teaches and instills.
If you are a believer, God’s Holy Spirit is with you. And, God’s Holy Spirit is “working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13, CSB) The Holy Spirit labors within you, me, and all believers to produce the work of holiness and the willingness to walk in it before Father.
© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman