The Mission of the Holy Spirit

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

God works through the actions of the Holy Spirit. When God created, the Spirit descended to hover over the earth (Gen 1:2). When Jesus' ministry began, the Spirit descended upon him to empower his work (Mark 1:10). When the apostle’s ministry began, the Spirit descended upon them (Acts 2:1-4). So, as Tony Evans says, “The Holy Spirit is not merely an addendum to the Christian faith. He is at the heart and core of it. ... Therefore, if we are going to live the victorious Christian life, it is critical that we understand the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit.”¹ So let’s look at what Jesus told us about the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said the Spirit would be “another Helper.” The word rendered “helper” here is also often translated counselor, advocate, or comforter. The “another” is important, too. Jesus was telling us that this new Helper would be like the old one — himself. He is given to believers to guide and defend and strengthen like Jesus did when he was on earth. But instead of being a single individual who could only be in one place at a time, the Spirit would “be in you” so that he is equally available to all believers everywhere. Evans says, “Jesus knew that after His resurrection, the disciples would need supernatural power to pull off what He wanted them to do. And He knew where they were going to get that power: from the enabling, internal presence of the Holy Spirit.”¹

Jesus also said the Spirit would “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26) and “guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13). This was spoken to the apostles, and it is an important part of the doctrine of the inspiration of scripture, that the Spirit helped the apostles remember what Jesus taught them. Bruce says we shouldn’t think that the Spirit was going to reveal new truth to the apostles. “They had already been introduced to the way of truth by Jesus, and the Spirit would guide them further along that way.”²

But this is for us, too. The Spirit will help us remember the scripture that we have stored in our hearts when we need it. “Jesus believed that the Holy Spirit would be a better teacher than even he was. That may sound hard to believe, but the Spirit, Jesus explained, could apply the Word more powerfully than he did, because he could speak it into the deep recesses of our heart at just the right moments.”³

Next, Jesus said, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). The Spirit is our defender; he is the world’s prosecutor. “The aim of the Spirit’s work is not to produce a guilty verdict—that already stands (John 3:18, 36)—but to bring the defendant to see the perilous condition in which he stands. That may prompt him to enter a plea for mercy; for only mercy will save him.”⁴

Ultimately, though, the Spirit’s mission is really about one thing: “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). The Spirit’s goal is to glorify Christ. “So whenever you have anything that transcends the priority of Jesus Christ, it is not the Holy Spirit’s doing. Anytime there is an emphasis on the Spirit that supersedes the centrality and priority of Jesus Christ, it is not the Holy Spirit doing it.”¹ JD Greear says, “There is a certain irony in how the Spirit operates; whenever he is really present, you are not thinking about him, you’re thinking about Jesus.”³

This glorifying Christ includes making what he taught clear as discussed above. Bruce says, “The Spirit glorifies the Son by unfolding clearly the meaning of his person and work.”² That makes sense: We cannot glorify Christ if we misunderstand who he is and what he came to do.

Jesus told his disciples, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you” (John 16:7). It is to our advantage that Christ’s presence was replaced by the Spirit’s. Our Helper is here, living inside us. He is the power of God at work in the Church and in God’s people, and we should be grateful for the gift we have been given.


For more on this topic, I recommend Jesus, Continued...: Why the Spirit Inside You Is Better than Jesus Beside You by JD Greear.

1 Tony Evans, Theology You Can Count On
2 FF Bruce, The Gospel and Epistles of John
3 JD Greear, Jesus, Continued...
4 DA Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus


Part of Christianity 101