Digest Number 265 - JESUS AND THE COMFORTER

[Guest guest]

shriadishakti , Pamela Ellis

<musicalenclined> wrote:

> Dearest Jagbir,

> I could come back with many scriptures, but i will not......i will

> just leave it at this.....When Jesus said, It is finished,,,,,i

> believe Him,,,,,the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost

> Acts Chapter 2......the Holy Spirit is a Spirit Jesus And The

> Comforter

>

 

 

" JESUS AND THE COMFORTER

 

Whenever Muslims seek to prove that Muhammad is foretold in the New

Testament, they immediately appeal to the promise of Jesus that

the " Comforter " would follow him and claim that this Comforter was

Muhammad (particularly as in the Qur'an, Jesus is alleged to have

foretold the coming of Muhammad in Surah 61.6 in similar language).

Whereas the Revised Standard Version uses the word " Counsellor "

rather than " Comforter " , we shall use the word " Comforter "

throughout this chapter because it is more familiar to the Muslims.

The texts where the Comforter is mentioned by Jesus are:

 

" And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter,

to be with you for ever, 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.

 

" But the Comforter, 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. " John 14.26

 

" But when the Comforter comes, whom I shall send you from the

Father, even the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, he

will bear witness to me. " John 15.26

 

" Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I

go away, for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to

you; but if I go, I will send him to you. " John 16.7

 

It is generally alleged by Muslims that the Greek word " paracletos "

(meaning Comforter, Counsellor, Advocate, etc., in effect, one who

unites men to God) is not the original word but that Jesus in fact

foretold the coming of Muhammad by name and that the translation of

his name into Greek (or at least the meaning of his name in Greek)

is " periklutos " , that is, the " praised one. " There is not a shred of

evidence in favour of the assertion that the original word

was " periklutos. " We have thousands of New Testament manuscripts pre-

dating Islam and not one of these contains the word " periklutos. " In

view of the fact that Muslims are prone to levelling false

allegations that Christians are regularly changing the Bible, it is

rather intriguing to find that they have no scruples about doing

this themselves when it suits them to do so. In any event a cursory

reading of the texts where the word " paracletos " appears will show

that this is the only word that suits the context as I will show in

one instance later on in this chapter.

 

Some wiser Muslims admit that " paracletos " is correct, but they

claim in any event that Muhammad was the Comforter whom Jesus was

referring to. Let us briefly examine some of the texts in a truly

exegetical manner to discover whether Muhammad is indeed the

Comforter whose coming Jesus foretold. It is quite obvious from the

four texts quoted that Comforter, Holy Spirit, and Spirit of Truth

are interchangeable terms and that Jesus is speaking of the same

person in each instance. The one obvious fact that emerges is that

the Comforter is a spirit. (The fact that Jesus always speaks of the

Spirit in the masculine gender in no way suggests that the Comforter

must be a man as some of the publications in the Bibliography

suggest. God himself is always spoken of in both the Bible and the

Qur'an in the masculine gender and God is spirit — John 4.24. In

the same way Jesus always speaks of the Comforter as a spirit and

not as a man).

 

If we apply sound exegesis to John 14.16-17 we shall discover no

less than eight reasons why the Comforter cannot possibly be

Muhammad.

 

1. " He will give YOU another Comforter. "

 

Jesus promised his disciples that God would send the Comforter to

them. He would send the Spirit of Truth to Peter, and to John, and

to the rest of the disciples — not to Meccans. Medinans or

Arabians.

 

2. " He will give you ANOTHER Comforter. "

 

If, as Muslims allege, the original word was periklutos and that

Christians changed it into paracletos, then the sentence would have

read, " He will give you another praised one. " This statement is both

out of place in its context and devoid of support elsewhere in the

Bible. Jesus is never called the " periklutos " in the Bible (the word

appears nowhere in the Bible) so it is grossly unlikely that he

would have said " He will give you another praised one " when he never

used that title for himself. Worse still, as the Muslims allege that

he actually foretold the coming of Muhammad by mentioning his name,

the sentence in that case would have read " He will give you another

Muhammad. " The further the Muslims try to press the point, the more

absurd it tends to become. John 16.12-13 makes it clear that the

word " paracletos " is obviously the correct one. The text reads: " I

have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the

truth. " In other words, I have been your Comforter, your paracletos,

and have many things to tell you, but I send the Spirit of Truth to

you, another Comforter, another paracletos.

 

In 1 John 2.1 we read that Christians have an " advocate " with the

Father, " Jesus Christ the Righteous " , and the word

translated " advocate " is paracletos in the Greek. So Jesus is our

paracletos, our Comforter and advocate with the Father, and he

promised to give his disciples another Comforter. It is therefore

logical to find that Jesus promised another paracletos when he

himself was described as the paracletos of his followers, but it is

illogical to suggest that he would speak of " another periklutos "

when the word was never used to describe him in the first place.

 

3. " To be with you FOREVER. "

 

When Muhammad came he did not stay with his people forever but died

in 632 AD and his tomb is in Medina where his body has lain for over

1300 years. Nevertheless Jesus said that the Comforter, once he had

come, would never leave his disciples, but would be with them

forever.

 

4. " The Spirit of Truth whom the world CANNOT receive. "

 

The Qur'an says that Muhammad came as a universal messenger to men

(Surah 34.28). If so, Jesus was not referring to Muhammad for he

said that the world cannot receive the Comforter, the Spirit of

Truth.

 

5. " You KNOW him. "

 

It is quite obvious from this statement that the disciples knew the

Spirit of Truth. As Muhammad was only born more than five hundred

years later, it certainly could not be him. The next clause brings

out just how the disciples knew him. At this stage we can see quite

clearly that the Comforter is a spirit who was in the disciples'

presence already.

 

6. " He dwells WITH you. "

 

Where did the Comforter dwell with them? From various verses,

especially John 1.32, we can see that the Spirit was in Jesus

himself and so was with the disciples.

 

7. " He will be IN you. "

 

Here the death-blow is dealt to the theory that Muhammad is the

Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. As the Spirit was in Jesus, so he

would be in the disciples as well. The Greek word here is " en " and

this means " right inside. " So Jesus was in fact saying " he will be

right inside you. "

 

8. The last reason is really a re-emphasis of the first one. Do you

notice how often Jesus addresses his own disciples when he speaks of

the sphere of influence of the Comforter? " You know him ... he

dwells with you ... he will be in you. " Quite clearly the disciples

were to anticipate the coming of the Comforter as a spirit who would

come to them just after Jesus had left them. No other interpretation

can possibly be drawn from this text. Only wishful thinking makes

the Muslims allege that Muhammad was foretold by Jesus, but a

practical interpretation of the texts destroys this

possibility. . . .

 

What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived,

what God has prepared for those who love him, God has revealed to us

through the Spirit. For what person knows a man's thoughts except

the spirit of the man which is in him? So no one comprehends the

thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not

the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God, that we

might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 1 Corinthians 2.9-

13.

 

Paul makes it plain that the Spirit had already been given and if it

had not, it could not have been to any advantage to the disciples to

be without Jesus once he had ascended to heaven.

 

So it is abundantly proved that Muhammad is not the Spirit of Truth,

the Comforter, whose coming Jesus foretold. Who is the Comforter

then? He is the very Spirit of the living God as can be seen from

some of the quotations already given. On the day when the Comforter

duly came upon the disciples, his coming was accompanied by a

tremendous sound, " like the rush of a mighty wind " (Acts 2.2). When

the Jews heard this, they rushed together to see what was happening.

Peter declared to them all:

 

" This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And in the last days

it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all

flesh.' " Acts 2.16-17.

 

The Comforter, the Spirit of God, had come down on the disciples as

Jesus had promised and was to be given to believing Christian men

and women from every nation under the sun. . . . The Comforter is

also called " the Spirit of Christ " (Romans 8. 9) and the reason is

plain from what Jesus said:

 

1. " He will glorify me " (John 16.14).

 

2. " He will bear witness to me " (John 15.26).

 

3. " He will convince the world concerning sin because they do not

believe in me " (John 16. 8-9).

 

4. " He will take what is mine and declare it to you " (John 16.14).

 

5. " He will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you "

(John 14.26).

 

Quite obviously the great work of the Comforter is to bring people

to Jesus, to make them see him as Saviour and Lord, and to draw them

to him. The Comforter was given so that the glory of Jesus might be

revealed to men and in men. A beautiful example of this is given by

the Apostle John:

 

His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was

glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him

and done to him. John 12.16

 

Without the Spirit, they had no understanding, but when they

received the Spirit after Jesus was glorified, then they remembered

as Jesus said they would. John illustrates this in this passage as

well:

 

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and

proclaimed, 'If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who

believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will

flow rivers of living water'. Now this he said about the Spirit,

which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the

Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John

7.37-39.

 

As soon as Jesus was glorified the Spirit was given so that the

glory of Jesus in heaven might become real to men here on earth. As

Peter said (Acts 2.33), once Jesus was exalted at the right hand of

God, the Spirit was freely given to his disciples.

 

Again Peter said, " The God of our fathers glorified Jesus " (Acts

3.13). We cannot see or comprehend this glory of Jesus here on earth

(and Jesus himself said, " I do not receive glory from men " John

5.41), but he sent the Spirit so that we might behold this glory by

the eye of faith. As Jesus himself said to his disciples of the

Spirit:

 

" He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to

you. All that the Father has is mine, therefore I said that he will

take what is mine and declare it to you. " John 16.14-15.

 

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and he is given to all true

believers so that the glory of Jesus in heaven may become real to

men on earth. John makes it plain how a man receives the Holy Spirit:

 

Now this he spoke about the Spirit, which those who BELIEVED in him

were to receive. John 7.39

 

To receive the Comforter, the Spirit of God, one must believe in

Jesus and surrender body and soul to him. Without the Spirit no one

sees or believes in the glory of Christ, but for those who are his

true followers and who are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (1 Peter

1.2), Peter says:

 

Without having seen him, you love him, though you do not now see

him, you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted

joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your

souls. 1 Peter 1.8-9.

 

The distinction between those who have received the Spirit and those

who have not, those who have beheld the glory of Christ and those

who have not, comes out very clearly as Peter continues to speak to

his fellow-believers:

 

To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do

not believe, 'The very stone which the builders rejected has become

the head of the corner'. 1 Peter 2.7

 

The Bible says much about the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, but

the great and most handsome work of the Spirit is summed up in

Jesus' words:

 

" He WILL GLORIFY ME. " John 16.14

 

Although the Spirit had been at work in the world before the advent

of Jesus Christ, and had indeed filled many of the great prophets

and men of old with a longing for the coming Christ, he only finally

united himself to men, and men to God, and indeed true believers to

one another after the resurrection and ascension of Christ to heaven.

 

Jesus Christ spoke to his own disciples of the coming of the

Comforter because the Spirit was sent down to comfort and regenerate

all true believers in Jesus. This is one of the most significant and

consistent elements of the teaching of Jesus about the Comforter.

The prime purpose of the coming of the Comforter . . . was to draw

men to him so that those who are influenced by the work of the

Comforter will therefore become followers of Jesus. It is further

evidence against the theory that Muhammad was the Comforter for,

whereas the Comforter would not speak of himself but only of Jesus,

Muhammad drew attention away from Jesus to himself, describing

himself as the ultimate apostle of God to be followed and obeyed.

The Comforter was never to do a thing like this. Jesus made it plain

that the Comforter would draw the attention and faith of all men to

himself and would glorify him before the eyes of faith of true

believers as the Lord of glory in heaven.

 

After Jesus Christ had ascended to heaven to be glorified at the

right hand of God above all the angels and departed saints, the

Comforter came immediately upon his disciples to make this glory

real to them and through them to spread it all over the world. For

Jesus Christ is the very image of the Father's glory. In him are all

things united, whether in heaven or on earth. He is the climax of

God's plan for the fullness of time. He is the beginning and the end

of all God's gracious work in all ages — for all the salvation

and glory that God has prepared for those who love him are vested in

Jesus.

 

The Comforter came to give us a foretaste of this glory. He came to

make the resplendent glory of Jesus real to those who follow him. As

Moses encouraged his people to look forward to the prophet who would

be like him, who would mediate a new covenant to save all who truly

believe, so the Comforter encourages Christ's followers in this age

to look up to the risen, ascended, Lord Jesus Christ who sits on the

throne of God in eternal glory above the heavens.

 

Far from Muhammad being foretold in the Bible, every prophecy, every

agent of God, every true prophet and spirit, looks upward towards

the radiance of the Father's glory, the one who sits upon the

throne, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ ascended to heaven —

God took him to himself. For Jesus alone is the Redeemer of the

world. He alone is able, as a man, to enter the holy presence of the

Father's throne and fill it with his own glorious majesty. So

likewise he is able to reconcile sinful men to God and will one day

be seen again in all his splendour as he comes to call his own —

those who eagerly awaited his coming before his time and all those

who since his sojourn on this earth look forward to his return from

heaven — to be with him where he is to behold with awe the glory

which the Father gave him in his love for him before the foundation

of the world.

 

Moses rejoiced to see his day when speaking of the prophet to come.

The Comforter today still rejoices to reveal his glory and majesty

to those in whom he dwells. The angels and departed saints await

with longing for the day when he shall be revealed to all the

universe in all his magnificence — when all men shall be raised

from the dead to see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven

with power and great glory, a day when the Comforter's work will be

finally completed, a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue

confess that it is Jesus Christ who is Lord — to the everlasting

glory of God the Father — Amen! "

 

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