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claim to trust in Christ, to love Him, is to claim to have received His Spirit, the Spirit of
the Truth. Thus every believer claims to have received the love of the Truth. The
condemnation of II Thess. 2: 10-12 is not for believers.
Nevertheless Paul is at pains to protect the Thessalonian believers from deception
(II Thess. 2: 1-3), as we have already seen. There are also similar warnings to believers
of the present dispensation as has been pointed out in earlier studies. Although not yet
having reached its peak, the Lie abounds today as perhaps never before in history. How
much we need to heed the warnings of Scripture! How much we need the help and
protection God has provided for us.
The Spirit of the Truth is the Comforter. The N.I.V. translates it as "Counsellor". In
I John 2: 1 it is rendered `advocate'--"we have an Advocate with the Father". It seems
there has been some difficulty in supplying an English equivalent which will fully convey
the meaning of the original. It has been said that an early translator coined the word
Comforter from the Latin `con' and `forte', meaning `with strength', but the thought of
the Holy Spirit as the Strengthener seems to fall short of the full meaning. It is generally
agreed that the Greek parakletos literally means `one called alongside to help', an
advocate; but in our understanding of `advocate' nothing more than an intercessor or
mediator is signified. The Comforter was to be `another Christ' to the disciples, and only
the four Gospels are a sufficient commentary on His relationship with them. He had been
to them Counsellor, Strengthener, Encourager, Reprover, Guide, Teacher, and much else
besides Mediator. Such an One is the Spirit of Truth to the believer. He encourages us as
when He `bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God' (Rom. 8: 16),
He helps when `we know not what we should pray for as we ought', then `the Spirit
Himself maketh intercession for us' (Rom. 8: 26).
"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" said the Lord (John 14: 18). "I
will not leave you orphans", literally: the disciples would not be left bereft of all He had
been to them. This is underlined by the remaining two references to the Spirit of the
Truth in John's Gospel:
"When the Comforter is come . . . . . even the Spirit of truth . . . . . He shall testify of
Me" (15: 26).
"When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall
not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will
shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall
shew it unto you" (16: 13, 14).
The complete ministry of Christ as `Comforter' would be undertaken by the Spirit of
the Truth: He would completely `mediate' the presence of Christ to the believer.
Against a background of hatred, rejection and persecution by the world
(John 15: 18-21), when the faith of the disciples might be shaken, "That One shall bear
witness concerning Me" (15: 26). Because `sorrow hath filled your heart' on learning
that their Lord was returning to the Father, He would guide them into all the truth they
would need, would make known to them the coming things, and, above all, would glorify
their Lord. "Sorrow" (16: 6), is probably not strong enough: the root thought is of pain: