John 14:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

NIV: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

NASB: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.

CSB: But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

NLT: But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative — that is, the Holy Spirit — he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

KJV: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

NKJV: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Modern readers can read through the entire New Testament, with the benefit of more than two thousand years of scholarship. That makes it easy to laugh at the disciples for being dense—some of their responses to Jesus' teachings seem downright stupid (Matthew 16:11; Luke 24:25). It's crucial to remember there was no way for these men to fully grasp everything He was teaching until after those things had been accomplished. They did not yet have the New Testament, and they hadn't yet seen everything that was to come.

Their experiences were crucial, but they also needed the teaching influence of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). Especially in the case of Jesus' closest followers, the Holy Spirit will be instrumental in connecting His prior comments to their intended message (John 2:18–22; 12:16; Luke 24:6–8).

This statement is often misinterpreted by tearing it away from its context. As part of this discourse, Jesus is speaking of the teachings He delivered while on earth. It's not a guarantee of expertise in all earthly topics. Nor is the indication the Spirit will "teach you all things," in any sense, a promise that the Holy Spirit will deliver new revelations, or ongoing revelations, or personal revelations. The consistent theme of this passage is that the Spirit's role is to reinforce that which Christ has already taught. Godly guidance through the Holy Spirit bolsters the truths of His Word (1 Corinthians 4:6–7).

John 14:15–31 contains a prediction about the Holy Spirit. Jesus refers to this as the Spirit of Truth, and promises that the Spirit will arrive to help the disciples carry on after Jesus is ascended to heaven. Throughout this section, a person's love for Christ, their obedience to His teachings, and the indwelling of the Spirit are intertwined. As in prior statements, Jesus is focused on comfort and encouragement. He will continue to highlight the need to maintain faith, based on all He has said and done so far. Later, after advance warnings about what Christians will face, Jesus will return to describing the work and purpose of the Holy Spirit under the new covenant.

Christ reassures His followers that faith in Him is faith in God. To know Christ is to know ''the way, and the truth, and the life'' (John 14:6). The words, actions, and miracles of Jesus should give Christians confidence to trust that He will make good on His promises. Among those are His guarantee that He is preparing to come for us, so we can be where He is. Jesus also predicts the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is only available to believers, and this Helper acts to guide, teach, and remind us. Both for the disciples, and for future Christians, these words are meant to be comforting during hard times. Since Christ knew, in advance, what would happen, we can be even more confident to trust Him.

After completing His public ministry in Jerusalem (John 12:36–38), Jesus has washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:3–5), predicted His betrayal (John 13:21), and foreseen Peter's denial (John 13:37–38). Chapter 14 begins a series of remarks meant to encourage the disciples, in the face of dire warnings. Among these are reminders that Jesus is planning to bring them to be where He is, assurance that He is ''the way,'' and the first explicit promises of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 15 will continue this address, beginning with Jesus' claim to be ''the true vine.''

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.