John 14:25-27 - The Advocate

14:25,26

Jesus had spoken and taught many things (see verse 24), the teaching would not stop after His departure but would continue. The Holy Spirit would continue to teach them. This is one of the few places where the Holy Spirit is explicitly identified with the Helper. Here it says the Father will send the Holy Spirit. Elsewhere it refers to Jesus sending the Holy Spirit (eg 15:26). The Spirit is sent in Jesus’ Name. That means He comes to represent Jesus, to teach us the things that Jesus taught, also to remind the disciples of the things that Jesus taught. This is part of the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture.

So part of the blessing of the gospel is that we can be taught in the same way that the disciples were taught. So how did Jesus teach His disciples? He brought up incidents and situations that they encountered along the way. He exposed defects in their heart attitudes, limits on their understanding, and above all else He revealed to them what Scripture really meant. We should expect the Holy Spirit to do the same with us.

14:27

Jesus then promises to give them His peace. This peace is not like the world’s peace which is usually based on falsehood or vain hopes. Jesus’ peace is based on truth. Jesus also taught them in the midst of conflict and testing situations, as indeed He was doing here. The disciples were in the midst of a terrible situation, their saviour was about to be killed. In the midst of this Jesus taught them some of the greatest truths contained in the Bible. When we go through difficult circumstances we too should expect Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, to teach us new things (new to us, that it is). There are times to have quiet contemplation and meditation, but Jesus also teaches in the midst of the storm.

So we should not let our hearts be troubled or be afraid. Now I guess all of us feel troubled or afraid from time to time, even a lot of the time. What should we do? We should speak to our souls to be still (Psalm 131). Now we might ask what good will that do, but in Phil 4:6,7 it tells us the same thing. We should pray, and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. When we do stuff God does stuff. Our part may seem inconsequential, but when we take these small steps God takes big steps in our lives.