The Holy Spirit: Sent in Christ’s Name to Represent Him

From Acts chapter one, verse four, we have followed the conversation of Jesus Christ about the Holy Spirit and have now come to John 14. Today we will give our attention to verse 26, which says: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and He will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

The Amplified Bible puts it this way: Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, in my place, to represent me and act on my behalf, He will teach you all things and He will cause you to recall, will remind you of and bring to your remembrance everything I have told you.

The Amplified Bible defines this very well—that this Holy Spirit is our Helper. And in whose name will this Holy Spirit come? Jesus Christ says: when I have gone, the Helper who will come will come in My name.

The Depth of the Name of Jesus

And what is that name—Jesus? Jesus is a title, a position that was given to Christ, given for us, given for humanity. Under heaven, above the earth, among people, there is no other name. There is great depth in this name.

And Jesus Christ says that He will come in My name and what will He do? He will bring to remembrance all those things that I said to you, all the works that I did while staying on this earth with you for three and a half years, all the teachings that were given—He will remind you of all those things. He will bring you to remember.

How do we today come to know those things that happened two thousand and sixteen years ago? In what way does our heart get transformed? Why do we come to believe? We did not see Jesus Christ dying on the cross, nor did our grandparents or the fourth and fifth generation see it. But two thousand and sixteen years ago there was a witness, there was a person whose name is the Holy Spirit. And Jesus Christ in His discussion is telling them this very thing: when I have gone, you and all those who will come after you—all those things that I said while living on this earth, He will remind you of them.

The Holy Spirit: Christ's Representative

He says, "In my place"—He will come in My place. So how can we keep Christ Jesus in our lives, how can we connect with Him? This is the work of the Holy Spirit. He says, "In my place, to represent me, on my behalf"—what an important work this person is doing! This is the third person of God whose name is the Holy Spirit. And this Holy Spirit, having come forth from God the Father, is doing the works of Jesus Christ on this earth today.

And it is very wonderful that He is coming in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, much is possible. What is impossible through a human being is possible through God, in His name. In His name, there is much.

Here Jesus Christ is saying that this Holy Spirit, this Helper, this guide, this one who helps, will come in My name and will present Me, will remain in My place.

The New Creation and the Holy Spirit

So today when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ—that on the cross Jesus Christ made a new creation of all humanity—Ephesians 2:10 says, "We are the workmanship of God." We are all the creation made by the hands of God. First He had created Adam from dust in the Garden of Eden. But when that creation was damaged, then God made a new creation by the power of the Holy Spirit in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, upon that cross at Calvary, within His body. And this is the new creation into which every one must come. This is a new humanity. The first Adam was one humanity, but this humanity has come as a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we become a new creation, as it is written in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Whoever is in Christ is a new creation"—how does this new creation work? Whose help is given to it? That is the Holy Spirit.

In Acts, before going to heaven, Jesus Christ is giving this important discussion, this promise regarding the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit He is giving all this discussion, all the commands. The Holy Spirit remained with Jesus Christ in all things from His lifetime through His death, resurrection, ascension, and coronation, and this same Holy Spirit is among us today. He has made this dark age into an age of Grace.

Revelation, Not Merely Knowledge

The Holy Spirit wants to tell everyone about the works Christ has done, He tells the words of Christ, He reminds them. When we read the Word of God, He gives us revelation of it. This is not knowledge, this is revelation that is revealed in the soul of man. It is possible that by reading great books, by studying in great classrooms, we may acquire knowledge.

But what does the Holy Spirit do? The Holy Spirit reveals in our soul all those things that God, His Son the Lord Jesus Christ has done in our lives—all those things He reveals, He makes manifest. Then we can know those truths—that the Lord Jesus Christ made how great a sacrifice for all of humanity.

And this sacrifice was not an ordinary sacrifice, it was not the sacrifice of one human being, but it was the sacrifice of all humanity that was in the first Adam, that sinful humanity. Within the sinless, unstained body of Jesus Christ—that is, God placed all the sins of humanity upon the body of Jesus Christ and passed judgment upon Him. And this judgment was the sentence of death, because the wages of sin is death, and God's gift for all of humanity is eternal life, salvation.

Spiritual Reflection

This Holy Spirit touches our soul, He tells us. Therefore the Holy Spirit is very important, and that is why the Lord Jesus Christ is discussing Him again and again with His disciples. The disciples were very frightened, very unsettled, because Jesus Christ had said that now I am going away and leaving you.

But they received great peace when the Lord Jesus Christ said: I will be among you again—not in the body, but in the spirit. The Holy Spirit today comes and dwells within every person who believes in Jesus Christ and reminds him of all those things that the Lord Jesus Christ told.

We can know Jesus Christ only when we know the Holy Spirit. Therefore the Holy Spirit is very necessary for us, for every believer. Colossians 3:16 says: Paul says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." And when we fill our soul with the Word of God, with the word of Christ, then the Holy Spirit opens those words and reveals in our lives the matters of those words, the mysteries, that mystery which God has not hidden. He reminds us, brings it to remembrance, and helps us so that we may move forward in our service in this spiritual life.

Practical Application

The Holy Spirit does not work apart from the Word. He opens what Christ has spoken and makes it alive and real within us. Knowledge gained through study and education is valuable, but it is something different from the revelation that the Holy Spirit brings. When we open the Word of God with willing hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to work, He takes what Christ has given and makes it a living reality in our daily lives. This is why the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of the Holy Spirit so often to His disciples—because without Him, the words and works of Christ would remain only words on a page. With Him, they become the very life and breath of the believer.