“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” - John 14:16-17 (NASB)
Chapters 13-17 in the Gospel of John are a watershed of promises. Jesus poured out his heart and love for his disciples and His prayer (John 17:20 NASB) establishes that Jesus included all believers in these promises. Today our promises are given by Jesus first to the eleven disciples left with Him. Satan, having entered Judas Iscariot, is exposed sent out to do his evil deed. Jesus first ‘asks the Father’ and with this began His priestly and intercessory work on our behalf. He asks and promises to send to them ‘another’ Helper and the Greek word means “another of the same kind.” Someone like Jesus Himself who takes His place to do His work. Jesus promises this someone will be a ‘helper.’ This is a kind of helper that is called “alongside to help, to encourage, to exhort.” He promises this helper will be with us forever as he come into us to dwell and abide. 'Abiding' has to do with God's Holy Spirit having permanent residence in all believers. This means Jesus gives us Himself. A powerful promise that God is not only with us, He is in us permanently – that is what ‘forever’ means.
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