But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:
when.
John 14:16,17,26 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; …
John 16:7,13,14 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…
Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
which.
John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
he.
John 16:14,15 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you…
Acts 2:32,33 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses…
Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
whom I will send to you from the Father
This phrase emphasizes the divine origin and mission of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, in His divine authority, sends the Spirit from the Father, highlighting the unity and cooperation within the Trinity. This sending is a continuation of the mission of Jesus, ensuring that His presence and power remain with the disciples. The sending of the Spirit is a pivotal moment in the New Testament, marking the beginning of the Church's mission at Pentecost (Acts 2).
the Spirit of truth
The Holy Spirit is described as the "Spirit of truth," indicating His role in guiding believers into all truth (John 16:13). This title underscores the Spirit's function in revealing and affirming the truth of Jesus' teachings. In a world filled with deception and falsehood, the Spirit of truth provides discernment and understanding, enabling believers to live according to God's will.
who proceeds from the Father
This phrase highlights the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father, a theological concept that has been central to Christian doctrine. It affirms the Spirit's divine origin and His intimate relationship with the Father. The procession of the Spirit is a mystery of the Trinity, reflecting the eternal relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
He will testify about Me
The Holy Spirit's primary role is to bear witness to Jesus Christ. This testimony involves affirming Jesus' identity as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. The Spirit's testimony is both internal, confirming the truth of the Gospel in the hearts of believers, and external, empowering the Church to proclaim the message of Christ to the world. This testimony fulfills the prophetic role of the Spirit, as seen in the Old Testament, where the Spirit empowered prophets to speak God's truth.
• Jesus speaks of a definite, future arrival. He is not offering a vague hope but a sure promise, as literal as His own resurrection (John 14:16).
• “Advocate” (Paraclete) highlights the Spirit’s personal ministry—comforting (Acts 9:31), guiding (Romans 8:14), and empowering believers (Acts 1:8).
• The disciples would not be left orphaned; the coming of the Holy Spirit guarantees ongoing fellowship with God (John 14:18).
• The mission of the Spirit flows from both the Son and the Father, underlining the unity of the Godhead (John 16:7; Acts 2:33).
• Jesus Himself—now exalted—initiates this sending. The same Lord who commands winds and waves also dispatches the Spirit, assuring us of reliability and authority (Matthew 28:18; Galatians 4:6).
• “To you” makes the promise personal; every believer is included, not just the original apostles (Ephesians 1:13).
• “Spirit of truth” underscores the Spirit’s character and agenda: He never contradicts Scripture, because He authored it (2 Peter 1:21).
• Proceeding “from the Father” confirms the Spirit’s divine origin and equality with the Father—He is no mere influence but God Himself (1 John 5:6).
• Because the Spirit is truth, He exposes error and anchors believers in sound doctrine (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13).
• The Spirit’s primary work is Christ-centered witness. He spotlights Jesus’ person and finished work (John 16:13-14).
• In practical terms:
– Scripture becomes alive, pointing to Christ (Luke 24:27).
– Believers receive boldness to proclaim the gospel (Acts 4:31).
– Hearts are convicted of sin and drawn to the Savior (John 16:8-11).
• Whenever Jesus is exalted, we can be confident the Spirit is active (1 Corinthians 12:3).
John 15:26 promises the personal arrival of the Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus from the Father. This Spirit is truth itself, originating within the Godhead, and His central mission is to bear witness to Christ. Believers, therefore, can rest in the certainty of divine help, guidance, and power, knowing the Spirit always leads them to a deeper, clearer, and bolder confession of Jesus.
(26) But when the Comforter is come.--Better, But when the Advocate is come. (Comp. Excursus G.)Whom I will send unto you from the Father.--Comp. John 14:16, and Note on John 15:26. The pronoun is here emphatic. "Whom I will send . . ." The mission by the Father in answer to the Son's prayer, and the mission by the Father in the Son's name, and the mission by the Son Himself, are thought of as one and the same thing.
Even the Spirit of truth.--Comp. Note on John 14:17.
Which proceedeth from the Father.--The force of these words is to give weight to the witness which the Spirit shall bear of the Son. He is the Advocate whom the Son will send from the Father, but He is also and emphatically the Spirit of Truth proceeding from the Father, and His witness therefore will be that of the Father Himself. These two clauses ("whom I will send unto you from the Father," "which proceedeth from the Father") are to be regarded as parallels; and both of them probably refer to the office of the Holy Spirit. The Vulgate renders the verb in the latter clause by the word "procedit," and the older expositors generally understood it of the person of the Holy Ghost. The Eastern Church, from the days of Theodore of Mopsuestia downwards, have claimed this text as proving the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father only, and have quoted it as decisive against the addition of the "filioque clause" in the Nicene Creed. The Western Church, comparing it with John 16:15, and such texts as Romans 8:9; Galatians 4:6; Philippians 1:9; 1Peter 1:11, have held that it includes the procession from the Son. If it refers to the person of the Holy Spirit, it must be granted that the ipsissima verba of our Lord are in favour of the interpretation of the Greek Church; but if it refers, as with much greater probability it does, to the office of the Holy Ghost, then these words have no bearing upon the doctrinal question at issue. The student should read on this subject, Pearson On the Creed, Art. viii., more particularly his invaluable collection of notes. . . .
Verses 26, 27. - A new source of consolation now appears. Already twice over he has spoken of the Paraclete (John 14:16 and 26),(1) as being sent by the Father in answer to his prayer, to be the compensation to his disciples for his personal departure, and also
(2) as the Instructor and Leader into all truth. Once more he promises great things and mighty aid in their conflict with the world's hate by the mission of the Comforter. This great mission is said to be his own. Whensoever the Paraolete of whom I have spoken shall have come, whom I will send to you from (the side of, παρὰ) the Father, the Spirit of the truth, which proceedeth from (παρὰ) the Father, he (ἐκεῖνος) shall bear witness concerning me, and you also bear witness because ye are with me from the beginning of the Messianic work (ἀπ ἀρχῆς, not ἐν ἀρχῆ). This is the great text on which the Western Church and the Greeks have alike relied for their doctrine concerning the "procession of the Spirit," the timeless, pre-mundane relations among the Personalities of the Godhead. The expression ἐκπορεύεται only occurs in this place, and from it ἐκπορεύσις became the ecclesiastical term for the relation which the Holy Spirit sustains to the Father, just as γεννήσις was the especial term to denote the peculiarity of the Son, and just as ἀγεννήσια, the condition of unbegottenness and paternity was that used to denote the Father's own hypostatic distinction. The Holy Spirit is ever proceeding, issuing forth from, sent by the Father on his work of Divine self-manifestation and Divine activity in the universe. Of this there can be no question, and the Nicene symbol originally expressed it without amplification, and the Greeks founded upon it their conception of the Trinity. The relation of the Son and Spirit to the Father were believed to be co-ordinate; and, though both were of the same eternal substance, yet both were equal to the Father. But the Western Church in after-years - notwithstanding the tremendous anathemas against all alteration which guarded the Nicene and Chalcedonian formulae - felt that the whole truth concerning the Divinity of the Son was concealed, if the idea was not also conveyed which our Lord utters side by side with the ἐκπορεύεται παρὰ τοῦ Πατρός in this verse. Christ says, "I will send him παρὰ τοῦ Πατρός," and this must be compared with (John 14:26), "whom the Father will send in my Name;" and the Latins, to express this thought, added filioque to the phrase, "proceeding from the Father," and claimed our Lord as equally the Source of the Divine Spirit with the Father, so that it runs, "proceeding from the Father and the Son." In the endless discussions that arose, the two Churches probably meant to effect the same thing, viz. to affirm the glory and perfect Deity of the Lord Christ. The Greeks, in ancient times, never limited their statement to proceeding from the Father only;" nor did they object to add, "through or by the Son;" but it is probable that Augustine and the Western Church, and the liturgical forms that arose in it, approach a little more closely to the reality and quality of him who said, "I and my Father are one" in this respect, that the Spirit proceedeth from the Father and Son, when he comes into human hearts and testifies of Christ. There are those (Beza, Luthardt, Alford, Meyer) who urge that these passages do not bear at all upon the internal relations of the Godhead, but simply refer to the temporal mission of the Holy Spirit. "The words," says Luthardt, "must be understood historically, not metaphysically," and much may be said in favor of this view. If this verse does not furnish the basis of an argument, there is no other which can be advanced to establish the view either of the Eastern or Western Church. The witness of the Paraclete is said here to cover the gravest difficulties and provide the richest consolations. If the Lord intended to teach the fundamental nature of the Holy Spirit, the literal statement would be a powerful defense of the Greek doctrine; but if the passage here speaks of the official work and temporal mission, the words have no direct bearing upon that doctrine. The denial of the filioque has the logical tendency to make the Spirit and Son co-ordinate and subordinate emanations of the Father, and so to go back to the monarchianism from which the Church escaped at Nicaea. (See Pearson on the Creed, art. 8; 'Dict. Christian Biography,' art. "Holy Ghost;" Smeaten, 'Doctrine of the Holy Spirit;' Hagenbach, 'History of Christian Doctrines.') The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit will counteract the hatred in the world by regenerating individuals within it. More than that, said Christ, he (ἐκεῖνος) will bear witness to me, in the Divine strength and courage which he will give to you, in the new and corrective ideas which he will supply, in the great works seen to be mine, which you will have grace to initiate (see Acts 1:8 , - passages where the "Acts of the Apostles" are seen to be "Acts of the Risen Jesus"); and ye also bear witness, etc. Your own experience of me from the commencement of my ministry will give you a class of testimony which will leave an indelible impression on the heart of the world.
. . .
Parallel Commentaries ...