The holy spirit testifies about jesus

THE HOLY SPIRIT TESTIFIES ABOUT JESUS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 15:26 26"When the Advocate comes, whom I
will send to you from the Father-the Spirit of truth
who goes out from the Father-he will testify about
me.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Witness, Divine And Human
John 15:26, 27
J.R. Thomson
The work of God in the world, so far as it is spiritual, is effected by
human agency. Upon man's heart the Author of life and salvation works
by means of truth and love, embodied in human language and human
actions. The Word, in acting as "the faithful and true Witness,"
"became flesh." And in this dispensation, whilst Christ is the Savior and
the Lord of men, Christ is revealed by the Spirit to human hearts, and it
is through human agency, thus called into action, that the kingdom of
God is advanced, and the gracious purposes of God fulfilled.
I. THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO CHRIST.
1. This is a Witness Divine in origin and nature. He proceedeth from the
Father, and all his acts and operations are Divine.

2. This is a Witness possessing the very highest qualifications. This
appears even from the appellations by which he is here mentioned:
"The Spirit of truth," whose special office it is to make the Word of
God, the gospel of salvation, real, living, and powerful over the nature of
man; "the Comforter," or Advocate, who comes to the feeble and
helpless disciple of Christ, and pours into him celestial strength and
wisdom.
3. This is a Witness commissioned by Christ to testify of himself. What
authority does the Lord Jesus claim, when he says, "Whom I will send
unto you;" and how distinct is the declaration of the purpose of his
mission in the promise, "He shall testify of me"!
II. THE WITNESS TO CHRIST BORNE BY HIS OWN DISCIPLES.
1. Their qualifications.
(1) They were competent witnesses to Christ, for they had for years been
in his society - were, in fact, his closest companions.
(2) They were effective witnesses, for they were in sympathy with him to
whom they bore testimony. His spirit had entered into them; they were
penetrated with his ardent compassion for sinners; they partook his
disposition of unselfishness and consecration.
(3) They were copious witnesses; for, on account of their opportunities of
beholding their Master's works, and listening to his discourses and
conversations, they had much to tell of what their eyes had seen, their
ears heard, their hands handled, of the Word of Life.
2. The method of their testimony. The apostles and other disciples of
Jesus bore witness to him:
(1) By the unconscious, unuttered language of character, principles, and
life. By reason of their participation in their Master's spirit, men "took
knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus."
(2) By their preaching and teaching. Their witness was by the living
voice, to Jew and Gentile. Christianity was a religion, as it still remains,

marked by this peculiarity; it is promulgated by the utterance of those
who themselves are convinced of its Divine authority and its adaptation
to the needs of men.
(3) By written record. It was in fulfillment of this promise, which was
also a command, that the evangelists and apostles wrote those treatises
which remain to this day the memorials of our Savior's humiliation and
glory, and the inspired application of Christian facts and doctrines to
the necessities of human life. In fact, the whole of the New Testament is
an act of obedience to this authoritative direction of the Master, "Ye
shall bear witness."
3. The matter of their testimony. Chiefly, if not exclusively, their witness
was to relate to Christ himself.. This was an appointment of Divine
wisdom; for the Lord Jesus was incarnate Wisdom, Truth, Pity, and
Benevolence. It has ever been found in human experience that those
who have received the inspired witness to Immanuel, have received with
him all the spiritual and immortal blessings which God made him the
Medium of carrying to human souls.
APPLICATION. The Holy Spirit is still witnessing in the Church to him
who is its Savior and Lord; and it is the part of all who receive this
witness in the power of the same Spirit to repeat and extend the
testimony. - T.
Biblical Illustrator
But when the Comforter is come.
John 15:26, 27
The Holy Spirit: His work and mission
G. Osborn, D. D.
I. THE HOLY SPIRIT.
1. Our text speaks of the Holy Spirit as a Person. "He shall testify;"

"and ye also" (see also John 16:7, 8, 13, 14, 15). In the first of these
places He is spoken of as a Person acting with other persons, of whose
personality there can be no doubt, viz., the apostles. In the last He is
represented as acting intermediately between the Father, an undoubted
Person, and the apostles. We know that the effects of His operation are
sometimes personified. But still our Lord and the sacred writers speak
of Him in a way which requires us to understand an intelligent agent,
e.g., in the form of baptism (Matthew 28:19). If the Spirit is a figure of
speech, so are the Father and the Son.
2. He is a Divine Person. Otherwise an idol is set up on the very
threshold of the Christian temple; and we are taught by the form of
baptism to worship a creature of our own fancy. If the inspired language
is perplexing, if He is not a real Person, it is delusive and dangerous if
He be not divine (Matthew 12:28; John 14:12; of. Romans 15:19). We
turn our thoughts to the offer of forgiveness so free and wide (Isaiah
55:7; Mark 3:28); but amidst all this wealth of mercy we find a solitary
exception — blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Mark 3:29). Is a figure
of speech the object of the one irremissible sin!
3. The Three Divine Persons, though equal in dignity and power, have
been pleased to establish a method of procedure which corresponds in a
measure to the mode of the Divine existence. The Father is "of none,"
and is never said to be sent or given. The Son is of the Father, and as the
Son of the Father, is sent and given by Him (2 John 3; 1 John 4:9; John
3:16), The Holy Spirit is never said to give or send the Son; but to
proceed from the Father, to be given, and sent by the Father. In like
manner, also, as the Son is called the Son of the Father, the Holy Spirit is
called "the Spirit of His Son," etc. (Galatians 4:6; 1 Peter 1:11), and is
said to be sent and given by Christ (John 16:7; Acts 2:83).
II. HIS WORK.
1. "The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy." All the
preannouncements concerning the coming and work of Christ were but
the voice of the Spirit (Matthew 1:22; Acts 28:25). This testimony is so

manifold as to anticipate the gospel at every point (Acts 26:22). It was
by the agency of the Spirit that this prophecy was turned into history.(1)
Our Redeemer must be a man like ourselves, and a body was prepared
Him by the agency of the Spirit (Luke 1:35).(2) He must be a holy man,
and so that conceived by the Holy Ghost was "that holy thing," and
continued so.(3) In His public capacity He was anointed with the Holy
Ghost and power.(4) To the same gracious agency we are taught to
ascribe the virtues exhibited in His passion.(5) After death Jesus was
"quickened by the Spirit."
2. The Holy Spirit's testimony as borne by the apostles.(1) All Christ's
oral teachings was recalled to their minds, and the knowledge, courage,
etc., needed to discharge their duties.(2) Their testimony was confirmed
by the Spirit in a wonderful manner in "wonders and signs," etc.(3) The
spoken testimony has perished, but the written testimony remains from
generation to generation.(4) In the long succession of faithful men who
have been "able to teach others also," from that day to this the Spirit
has borne a continuous testimony to Christ.
3. In the Church, as in the ministry, the Holy Spirit bears this testimony,
and not only in many persons, but in many ways in the same persons.(1)
He testifies to men's need of Christ, by convincing them of sin.(2) He
reveals Christ as a Saviour, and enables the penitent to receive and rest
on Him for salvation.(3) The spirit of adoption is a testimony of Christ.
When we cry, "Abba, Father," it is by the spirit of God's Son.(4) The
spirit of adoption is also the spirit of holiness, and growth in holiness is
inseparably connected with the knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18;
Hebrews 6:1).
(G. Osborn, D. D.)
The Spirit testifying of Christ
W. P. Lockhart.
I. CONSIDER STATEMENTS IN GENERAL TERMS OF THE WORK

OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
1. "He shall testify" — bear witness. Now, when we have a witness it is
most important that we should understand whether or not he is
competent to bear witness about the matter in question. This witness is
"the Spirit who searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." He is
a Divine and therefore a competent witness with regard to Christ Jesus.
2. Again, in a court of justice it is important to know whether a witness
is reliable. This witness is none other than "the Spirit of Truth" Himself.
3. He is one who puts honour on Christ. In John 16:14 we read, "He
shall glorify Me." As we preach, the Holy Ghost bears witness to Him —
carries home the truth in power to the hearts of those to whom it is
addressed, and by His sweet constraint leads them to yield to the
Saviour and to put their trust in Him.
4. In John 16:8, etc., we read —
(1)"He will convict of sin because they believe not on Me;" of all sins the
most heinous is the rejection of Christ Jesus.
(2)"Of righteousness," etc., i.e., of righteousness in Christ Jesus.
(3)"Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." This is of
triumph over Satan's power.
II. STATEMENTS OF HIS WORK IN PARTICULAR CASES.
1. A striking example of that is afforded in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10. What a
catalogue! "Such were some of you," says the apostle, "but ye are
washed, ye are sanctified," etc. What a wondrous change! How had the
change come about? By the Spirit of God. He had spoken to them; He
had dealt with them; He had drawn them; He had united them to Christ
Jesus, so that they were sanctified and justified in Him. A strolling
conjuror was one night in a tramps' lodging house in Sheffield, and
different members of the fraternity were sitting over the fire, and they
were overhauling the contents of their bags, and he told me that he saw
one bring out a New Testament that he had bought for his little girl. The

conjuror was greatly struck, and bought it, and that night, before he lay
down upon his bed in that tramps' lodging house, by the dim light of the
candle, he opened his new purchase to see what it contained, and his eye
fell upon these words, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God?" He was like a man who had been shot. He
tossed backwards and forwards upon his bed that night; there was no
rest, no sleep for him. The Holy Ghost had carried the word home to his
heart. He gave up his conjuring, and followed some honest trade, and
for months he went up and down England with the arrow of conviction
sticking fast in his heart; and then, through the kindly counsels of a
town missionary, he was brought to put his trust in the Lord Jesus as his
Saviour. When last I saw him he was earning an honest living, making
and selling braces, and as he offered them for sale he would speak some
homely earnest words about the Saviour.
2. If you will turn to the Epistle to Titus 3:3, you will find another list of
sins. Now, when we read the list in the Corinthians, we cannot help
thinking what loathsome, horrible people they were. When we read the
list in Titus, we cannot help thinking what exceedingly disagreeable
people they must have been to live with. But the Apostle says, "But after
that the kindness and love of God our Saviour," etc. Those persons had
become the heirs of God in the hope of eternal life. And how? By the
work of God, because the Holy Spirit had spoken to them and had dealt
with them, had wrought in their hearts, had drawn them to the Lord
Jesus, and united them in faith to Him.
III. THERE ARE SOME NEGATIVE STATEMENTS OF GREAT
IMPORTANCE, AS THROWING LIGHT UPON THIS SUBJECT.
1. Turn to Romans 8:9. "If any man," whosoever he may be, however
beautiful may be his character, and however excellent may be his
natural disposition, "have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His."
2. Another statement occurs in 1 Corinthians 12:3. These words imply
that we not only recognize in Christ a Saviour, but a Lord to whom we
yield, and to whose service we consecrate all that we are and all that we

have. No man can do that but by the Holy Ghost.
3. Another negative statement is found in Jude 1:19, where we read,
"These be they who separate themselves, sensual — not having the
Spirit" — those who are beyond the pale; those who are not to be
numbered amongst the children of God. They are in their natural or
unrenewed state because they have not the Spirit.
IV. ONE OR TWO VERY PERSONAL OR STRIKING WORDS IN
SCRIPTURE ON THIS SAME SUBJECT.
1. "My Spirit shall not always strive with men."
2. Turn to Hebrews 3:15; Hebrews 4:7. Why has God seen fit to repeat
that sentence three times over? Do you know that when a division on a
most important subject is about to take place in the House of Commons
the whips on the respective sides of the House send out a letter urging
members individually not to fail to be present? And they put what is
called "underlining," and when you have a three-line whip or a four-
line whip" it means that the matter is most urgent, and that the member
must by all means give heed to it, Now, when God caused this word to
be written three times over, it is as if He had sent out a three-line whip
to the children of men. It is the message of one who loves the souls of
men as tenderly as does the Father or as does the Son.
(W. P. Lockhart.)
The Spirit the witness to truth
E. V. Gerhart, D. D.
1. Pilate put the question to our Lord, What is truth? The answer was
given in a manner more direct and forcible than words can express: in
person and in deed. Jesus was Himself the Truth. But Pilate had neither
an eye to see the Truth, nor an ear to hear it.
2. Many men, worthy and noble, before and since have put the question,

presuming that truth belongs to the region of thought and human
speech. But truth does not lie in the sphere of thought and speculation.
Reflections and images of the truth are indeed to be found there; but
truth is deeper and more original than human intelligence. Our Lord
says of Himself, "I am the Truth" — absolute Truth. All other truth is
such only relatively to Himself. He is the Truth of all other truths. But to
know the truth and to receive its light and power, a man must be in
positive sympathy with it. "Every one that is of the truth heareth My
voice."
3. Jesus Christ witnesses of Himself as the Absolute Truth by the Holy
Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth. Other witnesses, indeed, there are and
will always be. But such only are witnesses who are the organs of the
Spirit. Let us consider the Christian doctrine — that the Holy Ghost, as
the Spirit of Truth, is the all-sufficient witness to Jesus Christ.
I. THAT THE SPIRIT IS THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH IS SPECIALLY
MANIFESTED BY THE FACT THAT THROUGH HIS AGENCY THE
TRUTH OF THE GODHEAD HAS BECOME INCARNATE IN MAN.
1. The Creator and the creature, the Absolute Truth in God and the
relative truth in man are constituted one life in the person of Jesus
Christ. The Word was made flesh by the Holy Ghost. "The Holy Ghost
shall come upon thee," etc. The Divine was made human according to
the law of human life; for Jesus was born. And the human was assumed
into the Divine after the Divine manner, for Jesus was conceived by the
Holy Ghost. The eternal and absolute Truth was revealed and made
manifest in the person and life of a veritable man, who is for us and for
all men the living and ultimate Truth, in whom and by whom alone the
truth of all truths is accessible to faith, and through faith accessible to
intelligence.
2. If we inquire further, How was it that He became the Truth in life and
in death? The answer is as by the Spirit Jesus was born the Holy Babe,
so by the Spirit did He manifest God by a perfectly holy manhood, and
offer a spotless sacrifice for sin upon the cross, and vanquish all the

powers of darkness in His resurrection from the dead.
II. THIS SPIRIT OF TRUTH, WHEREBY JESUS ACCOMPLISHED
THE WORK OF REDEMPTION, IS BY HIM SENT FROM HEAVEN
TO EARTH AS HIS REPRESENTATIVE AND WITNESS, THAT HE
MAY LIVE IN THOSE WHO RECEIVE HIM AND GUIDE THEM
INTO ALL TRUTH. The Spirit makes those true who are by nature
perverse.
1. The truth is heavenly and spiritual, not earthly and material. No
earthly thing can witness of the essence of the heavenly. No material
thing can exhibit the life of the spirtual. Human genius cannot look into
the depths of the Divine and announce its unfathomable fulness. If, as
He claims, Jesus be the Truth, and if the Truth be spiritual and
heavenly, transcendent and Divine, then in this fallen, dark, wicked
world, where the He is enthroned and men walk in a vain show, there
can be no agencies, no resources, whereby the depraved heart and the
darkened understanding and the perverted will may come to a
knowledge of the Truth. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard," etc. The
wisdom of this world is utterly inadequate to the task of discovering the
truth of God. But God has revealed to us His wisdom by the Spirit.
2. It must needs be, then, that the truth being spiritual and heavenly, the
agency, by whom we may know the truth, must likewise be spiritual and
heavenly. To this end, the presence and the power of the Spirit is
effectual. In those who receive Him, the Spirit dissipates the clouds of
natural darkness, removes the aversion of the carnal mind, and sheds
the light of heavenly truth into the soul with convincing power. As on the
day of Pentecost the Spirit touched the consciences of the multitudes; as
the revelation of Christ smote Saul of Tarsus to the ground, as the Spirit
opened the heart of Lydia, so has the same Spirit all along the ages been
a power working mysteriously in those to whom the Word was
preached, convincing them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
The Spirit alone can shed the light of truth into the souls of men now.
III. THE SPIRIT AWAKENS IN MEN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE

TRUTH BY MAKING THEM POSSESSORS OF THE TRUTH.
1. No right knowledge of Jesus Christ is external or merely intellectual.
To appreciate Christ men must be members of Christ. The Spirit,
accordingly, is the Divine agency whereby Christ apprehends men and
men appropriate Christ. In the Spirit the separation is resolved into
unity, the contradiction into the fellowship of faith. The dominion of
error and falsehood is broken — broken because He who is the Truth
lives in the believer, and the believer thus also becomes true.
2. To this end the power of the Spirit is effectual, independently of time
or place, independently of rank or station.
3. For this work of the Spirit there can be no substitute. No discoveries
in the natural world, no progress in science, no achievement of human
genius can put man in possession of the truth, and thus make man
personally true. In spite of all these empty glories he will remain the
victim of a lie, and all his proud knowledge will confirm his delusion
and deepen his spiritual darkness.
IV. MAKING MEN POSSESSORS OF THE TRUTH, THE SPIRIT IS
ALSO THE POWER BY WHICH BELIEVERS FULFIL THE TRUTH
BY A RIGHTEOUS AND GODLY WALK.
1. When the truth lives in the soul, it becomes the principle of action.
The truth fills our ethical nature and gives it freedom. The truth sets the
will free from the bondage of self-love and the world spirit. It becomes
active in the truth and for the truth. Thus consciously active our ethical
life acquires strength, that strength which is of the truth itself, a
strength as mighty as the truth is mighty.
2. No such strength can come from the resoluteness and firmness of the
natural will; not from any kind of self-imposed moral discipline. The
self-denial and self-sacrifice of which the natural man is capable is but
the renunciation of one falsehood to lay hold of another. The noble
heroism and the stern morality of which, without possessing the truth
that is in Christ, some men are capable, falls short just as certainly of

freedom.
3. Not that the spiritual man is without spot or blemish. Nevertheless the
man who by the Spirit possesses the truth and lives by faith under its
power, asserts and develops a new morality. Thus in him the Spirit bears
witness of Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the believer in
turn is a living perpetual witness to the truth of God in Christ.
V. RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, HE
BECOMES FOR THE CHURCH AND FOR THE INDIVIDUAL
CHRISTIAN THE WITNESS TO CHRIST.
1. He is the immediate witness. The Spirit is the living bond by which
Jesus Christ and fallen men become one life. Possessing the believer,
Christ authenticates Himself to his heart and mind, in his will and
consciousness. In that He shows unto us the things of Christ, the Spirit
witnesses directly of Christ to us that He (Jesus Christ) is the Truth.
Such witness is like the witness of self-consciousness. No truth can be
more certainly known than this: that I am, that I think and will. Even
so, in the heart and consciousness of a true believer, does the Holy Ghost
testify that Jesus is the Truth of all truths.
2. The Spirit is the all-sufficient witness. Whatever question the natural
reason may raise, or philosophy suggest; whatever new problem may
arise in the history of the world; whatever doubts may be prompted by
revolutions in science or convulsions in social life; whatever strength the
human intellect may acquire by culture and discipline; however
imposing and fearful may be the hostile array of the enemies of the
Cross; however proud and triumphant the boasts and predictions of
unbelief and naturalism, the status of the Christian Church remains
unchanged. The witness is at hand, adequate to every objection that
scepticism, materialism, and wickedness may seek to establish; a witness
just as satisfying to every man who is not of the lie but of the truth as an
axiom of quantitative truth is satisfying to the intellect of a
mathematician. Here is the refuge and the strength of the Church and of
the ministry and of the people of God in every land and in every age. No

other witness is valid, or can satisfy the spiritual demands of the soul.
(E. V. Gerhart, D. D.)
The great world-restoring Spirit
D. Thomas D. D.
I. HIS ADVENT FORETOLD. "When the Comforter is come."
1. The prediction was given to comfort them in the prospect of the
persecution to which Christ had just directed their attention. They are
given to understand that however great their approaching trials may be,
and though He Himself was about departing from them, One would
soon come to them from His Father who would be all sufficient for their
help.
2. The prediction was strikingly fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, in
connection with the preaching of Peter (Acts 2:1-3).
II. HIS CHARACTER PORTRAYED. "The Spirit of truth." There is a
spirit of lying abroad in the world, sowing the seeds of error in human
souls, and cultivating them into briars and thorns, into poisonous weeds
and upas trees. But here is the Spirit of Truth who is also abroad and at
work.
1. He is infallible Truth. Truth without any admixture of error or
impunity. His ideas and His affections, so to say, are in perfect accord
with eternal fact.
2. He is Redemptive Truth. His truth is to open the eyes of ignorance, to
break the chains of bondage, to cleanse the heart from impurities, to
deliver the conscience from guilt l In one word, to restore the soul to the
knowledge, the image, the friendship, and the enjoyment of the great
God.
III. HIS WORK INDICATED.

1. His work is that of an advocate. He goes into the court of human
conscience and there He pleads for spirituality, benevolence,
righteousness, God, against worldliness, selfishness, wrong, the devil.
Sometimes He pleads in whispers, sometimes in thunder. Always is He
earnest and persevering. He inspires His ministers to say, "We beseech
you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled unto God."
2. His work is that of a witness. A witness for Christ, for the perfection
of His character, the purity of His doctrines, and the beneficence of His
influence. He does this through the teaching, the miraculous works, the
moral triumphs, and the noble lives of those whom He inspired as the
apostles of Christ. Conclusion: Let the assurance that this restoring
Spirit is in the world encourage us in our efforts to spread truth, and in
our trials to be magnanimous and patient.
(D. Thomas D. D.)
The defence against a hostile world
A. Maclaren, D. D.
Our Lord has been speaking of a world hostile to His followers and to
Him. He proceeds, in the words which follow, to paint that hostility as
aggravated even to the pitch of religious murder. But here He lets a
beam of light in upon the darkness. He lets them see that they will not
be left alone, but have a great champion, who will put into their hands a
weapon, with which they may conquer the world, and turn it into a
friend, and with which alone they must meet the world's hate. Consider
—
I. THE GREAT PROMISE OF AN ALLY AS AGAINST A HOSTILE
WORLD.
1. The wonderful designation of this Champion Friend.(1) The
"Comforter" is no mere gentle consoler. The word which means one
who is summoned to the side of another, conveys the idea of a helper.

The verses before our text suggest what sort of aid and succour the
disciples will need. And that Paraclete is a strong Spirit who will be our
champion and our ally, whatever antagonism may storm against us, and
however strong and well-armed may be the assaulting legions of the
world's hate.(2) "The Spirit of Truth," which means not so much His
characteristic attribute as rather the weapon which He wields, or the
material with which He works. That is to say, the Spirit of God is the
Strengthener, the Encourager, the Comforter, the Fighter for us and
with us, because He wields that great body of truth, the perfect
revelation of God, and man, and duty, and salvation, which is embodied
in the Incarnation and work of Jesus Christ our Lord. The truth is His
weapon, and it is by that that He makes us strong.
2. The two-fold description of the mission of this Divine Champion.(1)
"Sent" by Christ. In a previous part of this discourse, our Lord speaks
of Him as being sent by the Father in His name and in answer to His
prayer. The representation here is by no means antagonistic to this, for
"whatsoever the Son seeth the Father do that also the Son doeth
likewise." And therefore the Spirit is sent forth by the Father, and also
the Son sends the Spirit.(2) But, on the other hand, we are not to regard
that Divine Spirit as merely a messenger sent by another. He "proceeds
from the Father." That word has been the battlefield of theological
controversy, but what is meant is the simple historical coming forth into
human life of that Divine Spirit. And, possibly, the word is chosen to
give the idea of a voluntary and personal action of the Messenger, who
not only is sent by the Father, but of Himself proceeds on the mighty
work to which He is destined. Mark that wonderful phrase, twice
repeated and emphasized by repetition "from the Father." The word
translated "from" designates a position at the side of, and suggests
much rather the intimate and ineffable union between, Father, Son, and
Spirit than the source from which the Spirit comes.
3. Is not all this enough to make the weakest strong, and to make us
"more than conquerors through Him that loved us"? All nations have
legends of the gods fighting at the head of their armies, and through the
dust of battle the white horses and the shining armour of the celestial

champions have been seen. The chiddish dream is a historical reality. It
is not we that fight, it is the Spirit of God that fighteth in us.
II. THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT WHICH FORTIFIES AGAINST
THE WORLD. "He shall bear witness of Me." That phrase, "unto
you," tells us that the witness is something which is done within the
circle of the Christian believers, and not in the wide field of the world's
history or in nature. Of course it is a great truth that long before Jesus
Christ, and today far beyond the limits of His name the Spirit of God is
working. As of old, He brooded over the chaotic darkness, ever
labouring to turn chaos into order, and darkness into light; so today, all
over the field of humanity, He is operating. But what is spoken of here is
something that is done in and on Christian men, and not even through
them on the world, but in them for themselves. "He shall testify of Me"
to you.
1. The first application of these words is to the little group listening to
Him. Never were men more desolate and beaten down than these were,
in the prospect of Christ's departure. Never were men more utterly
bewildered and dispirited than these were, in the days between His
crucifixion and His resurrection. Think of them during His earthly life,
their narrow understandings, their manifold faults, moral as well as
intellectual. What was it that made these dwarfs into giants in six weeks;
that made them start up all at once as heroes and that so swiftly
matured them, as the fruits and flowers are ripened under tropical
sunshine? The witness of the Spirit of God working within them,
working upon what they knew of the historical facts of Christ's life, and
interpreting them, was the explanation of their change and growth. And
the New Testament is product of that. Christ's life was the truth which
the Spirit used, and the product of His teaching was these epistles which
we have, and which for us step into the place which the historical facts
held for them; and become the instrument with which the Spirit of God
will deepen our understanding of Christ and enlarge our knowledge of
what He is to us.
2. The promise still applies to each of us in a secondary and modified

sense. For there is nothing in these great valedictory words which is not
the revelation of a permanent truth in regard to the Christian Church.
And, therefore, we have the promise of a universal gift to all Christian
men and women, an actual Divine Spirit to dwell with each of us, to
speak in our hearts. And what will He do there? He will teach us a
deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ. He will help us to understand better
what He is. He will show us more and more of the whole sweep of His
work, of the whole infinite truth for morals and religion, for politics and
society, for time and for eternity, about men and about God, which is
wrapped up in that great saying which we first of all, perhaps under the
pressure of our own sense of sin, grasp as our deliverance from sin —
"God so loved the world," etc. And as the days roll on, and new
problems rise, and new difficulties present themselves, and new
circumstances emerge in our personal life, we find the truth that we first
of all dimly grasped as life and salvation, opening out into wisdom and
depth and meaning that we never dreamed of in the early hours.
3. Then, note that this inward witness of Christ's depth and
preciousness is the true weapon and stay against a hostile world.(1) A
little candle in a room will make the lightning outside almost invisible;
and if I have burning in my heart the inward experience and conviction
of what Jesus Christ is, and what He has done and will do for me — oh,
then all the storm without may rage and it will not trouble.(2) If you
take an empty vessel and bring pressure to bear upon it, in go the sides.
Fill it, and they will resist the pressure. So with growing knowledge of
Christ and growing personal experience of His sweetness in our souls,
we shall be able to throw off, untouched and undinted, the pressure
which would otherwise have crushed us.
4. And so here is the true secret of tranquillity, in an age of questioning
and doubt. Let me have that Divine voice speaking in my heart, and no
matter what questions may be doubtful, this is sure — "We know whom
we have believed"; and we can say, "Settle all your controversies any
way you like, one thing I know" — "the Son of God is come and hath
given us understanding that we may know Him that is true; and we are
in Him that is true." Labour for more of this inward, personal

conviction of the preciousness of Jesus Christ to strengthen you against
a hostile world.
5. And remember that there are conditions under which this Voice
speaks in our souls —(1) One is that we attend to the instrument which
the Spirit of God uses, and that is "the truth." If Christians will not
read their Bibles, they need not expect to have the words of these Bibles
interpreted and made real to them by any inward experience.(2) And
there must be moral discipline too. Laziness, worldliness, the absorption
of attention with other things, self-conceit, prejudice, and the taking of
our religion at second hand, stand in the way of our hearing the Spirit of
God when He speaks. Come away from the babble and go by yourself,
and take your Bibles with you and read them and meditate upon them
and get near the Master of whom they speak, and the Spirit which uses
the truth will use it to fortify you.
III. THE CONSEQUENT WITNESS WITH WHICH THE
CHRISTIAN MAY WIN THE WORLD. "And ye also shall bear witness
of Me," etc. That also has, of course, direct reference to the apostles,
and therefore their qualification was simply the companionship with
Him which enabled them to say, "We saw what we tell you; we were
witnesses from the beginning." But then, again, it belongs to us all, and
so here is the task of the Christian Church in all its members. They
receive the witness of the Spirit, and they are Christ's witnesses in the
world. Note —
1. What we have to do — to bear witness: not to argue, to adorn, but
simply to attest.
2. What we have to attest — the fact, not of the historical life of Jesus
Christ, because we are not in a position to be witnesses of that, but the
fact of His preciousness and power, and the fact of our own experience
of what He has done for us.
3. That is by far the most powerful agency for winning the world. You
can never make men angry by saying to them, "We have found the
Messias." You cannot irritate people, or provoke them into a

controversial opposition when you say, "Brother I let me tell you my
experience. I was dark, sad, sinful, weak, solitary, miserable; and I got
light, gladness, pardon, strength, companionship, and a joyful hope."
We can all say that. This is the witness that needs no eloquence, no
genius, no anything except honesty and experience; and whosoever has
tasted and felt and handled of the Word of Life may surely go to a
brother and say, "Brother! I have eaten and am satisfied. Will you not
help yourself?" We can all do it, and we ought to do it. Conclusion: The
Christian privilege of being witnessed to by the Spirit of God in our
hearts brings with it the Christian duty of befog witnesses in our turn to
the world. Oh! listen to the Master, who says, "Him that confesseth Me
before men, will I also confess before My Father in heaven."
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Our Ally
Alexander Maclaren
John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father…
'But when the Comforter Is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He
shall testify of Me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been
with Me from the beginning.' -- JOHN xv.26, 27.
Our Lord has been speaking of a world hostile to His followers and to
Him. He proceeds, in the words which immediately follow our text, to

paint that hostility as aggravated even to the pitch of religious murder.
But here He lets a beam of light in upon the darkness. These forlorn
Twelve, listening to Him, might well have said, 'Thou art about to leave
us; how can we alone face this world in arms, with which Thou dost
terrify us?' And here He lets them see that they will not be left alone,
but have a great Champion, clad in celestial armour, who, coming
straight from God, will be with them and put into their hands a weapon,
with which they may conquer the world, and turn it into a friend, and
with which alone they must meet the world's hate.
So, then, we have three things in this text; the great promise of an Ally
in the conflict with the world; the witness which that Ally bears, to
fortify against the world; and the consequent witness with which
Christians may win the world.
I. Now consider briefly the first of these points, the great promise of an
Ally in the conflict with the world.
I may touch, very lightly, upon the wonderful designation of this
Champion-Friend whom Christ sends, because on former occasions in
this course of sermons we have had to deal with the same thoughts, and
there will be subsequent opportunities of recurring to them. But I may
just emphasise in a few sentences the points which our Lord here
signalises in regard to the Champion whom He sends. There is a double
designation of that Spirit, 'the Comforter' and 'the Spirit of truth.'
There is a double description of His mission, as being 'sent' by Jesus,
and as 'proceeding from the Father,' and there is a single statement as to
the position from which He comes to us. A word about each of these
things.
I have already explained in former sermons that the notion of

'Comforter,' as it is understood in modern English, is a great deal too
restricted and narrow to cover the whole ground of this great and
blessed promise. The Comforter whom Christ sends is no mere drier of
men's tears and gentle Consoler of human sorrows, but He is a mightier
Spirit than that, and the word by which He is described in our text,
which means 'one who is summoned to the side of another,' conveys the
idea of a helper who is brought to the man to be helped, in order to
render whatever aid and succour that man's weakness and
circumstances may require. The verses before our text suggest what sort
of aid and succour the disciples will need. They are to be as sheep in the
midst of wolves. Their defenceless purity will need a Protector, a strong
Shepherd. They stand alone amongst enemies. There must be some one
beside them to fight for them, to shield and to encourage them, to be
their Safety and their Peace. And that Paraclete, who is called to our
side, comes for the special help which these special circumstances
require, and is a strong Spirit who will be our Champion and our Ally,
whatever antagonism may storm against us, and however strong and
well-armed may be the assaulting legions of the world's hate.
Then, still further, the other designation here of this strong Succourer
and Friend is 'the Spirit of truth,' by which is designated, not so much
His characteristic attribute, as rather the weapon which He wields, or
the material with which He works. The 'truth' is His instrument; that is
to say, the Spirit of God sent by Jesus Christ is the Strengthener, the
Encourager, the Comforter, the Fighter for us and with us, because He
wields that great body of truth, the perfect revelation of God, and man,
and duty, and salvation, which is embodied in the incarnation and work
of Jesus Christ our Lord. The truth is His weapon, and it is by it that He
makes us strong.
Then, still further, there is a twofold description here of the mission of
this divine Champion, as 'sent' by Christ, and 'proceeding from the
Father.'

In regard to the former, I need only remind you that, in a previous part
of this wonderful discourse, our Lord speaks of that divine Spirit as
being sent by the Father in His name and in answer to His prayer. The
representation here is by no means antagonistic to, or diverse from, that
other representation, but rather the fact that the Father and the Son,
according to the deep teaching of Scripture, are in so far one as that
'whatsoever the Son seeth the Father do that also the Son doeth
likewise,' makes it possible to attribute to Him the work which, in
another place, is ascribed to the Father. In speaking of the Persons of
the Deity, let us never forget that that word is only partially applicable
to that ineffable Being, and that whilst with us it implies absolute
separation of individuals, it does not mean such separation in the case of
its imperfect transference to the mysteries of the divine nature; but
rather, the Son doeth what the Father doeth, and therefore the Spirit is
sent forth by the Father, and also the Son sends the Spirit.
But, on the other hand, we are not to regard that divine Spirit as merely
a Messenger sent by another. He 'proceeds from the Father.' That word
has been the battlefield of theological controversy, with which I do not
purpose to trouble you now. For I do not suppose that in its use here it
refers at all to the subject to which it has been sometimes applied, nor
contains any kind of revelation of the eternal depths of the divine
Nature and its relations to itself. What is meant here is the historical
coming forth into human life of that divine Spirit. And, possibly, the
word 'proceeds' is chosen in order to contrast with the word 'sent,' and
to give the idea of a voluntary and personal action of the Messenger,
who not only is sent by the Father, but of Himself proceeds on the
mighty work to which He is destined.
Be that as it may, mark only, for the last thought here about the details
of this great promise, that wonderful phrase, twice repeated in our

Lord's words, and emphasised by its verbal repetition in the two
clauses, which in all other respects are so different -- 'from the Father.'
The word translated 'from' is not the ordinary word so rendered, but
rather designates a position at the side of than an origin from, and
suggests much rather the intimate and ineffable union between Father,
Son, and Spirit, than the source from which the Spirit comes. I touch
upon these things very lightly, and gather them up into one sentence.
Here, then, are the points. A Person who is spoken of as 'He' -- a divine
Person whose home from of old has been close by the Father's side -- a
Person whose instrument is the revealed truth ensphered and in germ in
the facts of Christ's incarnation and life -- a divine Person, wielding the
truth, who is sent by Christ as His Representative, and in some sense a
continuance of His personal Presence -- a divine, personal Spirit coming
from the Father, wielding the truth, sent by Christ, and at the side of all
the persecuted and the weak, all world-hated and Christian men, as
their Champion, their Combatant, their Ally, their Inspiration, and their
Power. Is not that enough to make the weakest strong? Is not that
enough to make us 'more than conquerors through Him that loved us'?
All nations have legends of the gods fighting at the head of their armies,
and through the dust of battle the white horses and the shining armour
of the celestial champions have been seen. The childish dream is a
historical reality. It is not we that fight, it is the Spirit of God that
fighteth in us.
II. And so note, secondly, the witness of the Spirit which fortifies against
the world.
'He shall bear witness of Me.' Now we must especially observe here that
little phrase, 'unto you.' For that tells us at once that the witness which
our Lord has in mind here is something which is done within the circle
of the Christian believers, and not in the wide field of the world's
history or in nature. Of course it is a great truth that long before Jesus
Christ, and to-day far beyond the limits of His name and knowledge, to

say nothing of His faith and obedience, the Spirit of God is working. As
of old He brooded over the chaotic darkness, ever labouring to turn
chaos into order, and darkness into light, and deformity into beauty; so
today, all over the field of humanity, He is operating. Grand as that
truth is, it is not the truth here. What is spoken of here is something that
is done in and on Christian men, and not even through them on the
world, but in them for themselves. 'He shall testify of Me' to you.
Now it is to be noted, also, that the first and special application of these
words is to the little group listening to Him. Never were men more
desolate and beaten down than these were, in the prospect of Christ's
departure. Never were men more utterly bewildered and dispirited than
these were, in the days between His crucifixion and His resurrection.
Think of them during His earthly life, their narrow understandings,
their manifold faults, moral as well as intellectual. How little perception
they had of anything that He said to them, as their own foolish questions
abundantly show! How little they had drunk in His spirit, as their selfish
and ambitious janglings amongst themselves abundantly show! They
were but Jews like their brethren, believing, indeed, that Jesus Christ
was the Messiah, but not knowing what it was that they believed, or of
what kind the Messiah was in whom they were thus partially trusting.
But they loved Him and were led by Him, and so they were brought into
a larger place by the Spirit whom Christ sent.
What was it that made these dwarfs into giants in six weeks? What was
it that turned their narrowness into breadth; that made them start up
all at once as heroes, and that so swiftly matured them, as the fruits and
flowers are ripened under tropical sunshine? The resurrection and
ascension of Jesus Christ had a great deal to do with the change; but
they were not its whole cause. There is no explanation of the
extraordinary transformation of these men as we see them in the pages
of the Gospels, and as we find them on the pages of the Acts of the
Apostles, except this -- the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus

Christ as facts, and the Spirit on Pentecost as an indwelling Interpreter
of the facts. He came, and the weak became strong, and the foolish wise,
and the blind enlightened, and they began to understand -- though it
needed all their lives to perfect the teaching, -- what it was that their
ignorant hands had grasped and their dim perceptions had seen, when
they touched the hands and looked upon the face of Jesus Christ. The
witness of the Spirit of God working within them, working upon what
they knew of the historical facts of Christ's life, and interpreting these to
them, was the explanation of their change and growth. And the New
Testament is the product of that change. Christ's life was the truth
which the Spirit used, and a product of His teaching was these Epistles
which we have, and which for us step into the place which the historical
facts held for them, and become the instrument with which the Spirit of
God will deepen our understanding of Christ and enlarge our
knowledge of what He is to us.
So, dear friends, whilst here we have a promise which specially applies,
no doubt, to these twelve Apostles, and the result of which in them was
different from its result in us, inasmuch as the Spirit's teaching,
recorded in the New Testament, becomes for us the authoritative rule of
faith and practice, the promise still applies to each of us in a secondary
and modified sense. For there is nothing in these great valedictory
words of our Lord's which has not a universal bearing, and is not the
revelation of a permanent truth in regard to the Christian Church. And,
therefore, here we have the promise of a universal gift to all Christian
men and women, of an actual divine Spirit to dwell with each of us, to
speak in our hearts.
And what will He speak there? He will teach us a deeper knowledge of
Jesus Christ. He will help us to understand better what He is. He will
show us more and more of the whole sweep of His work, of the whole
infinite truth for morals and religion, for politics and society, for time
and for eternity, about men and about God, which is wrapped up in that

great saying which we first of all, perhaps under the pressure of our own
sense of sin, grasp as our deliverance from sin: 'God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.' That is the sum of truth
which the Spirit of God interprets to every faithful heart. And as the
days roll on, and new problems rise, and new difficulties present
themselves, and new circumstances emerge in our personal life, we find
the truth, which we at first dimly grasped as life and salvation, opening
out into wisdom and depth and meaning that we never dreamed of in
the early hours. A Spirit that bears witness of Christ and will make us
understand Him better every day we live, if we choose, is the promise
that is given here, for all Christian men and women.
Then note that this inward witness of Christ's depth and preciousness is
our true weapon and stay against a hostile world. A little candle in a
room will make the lightning outside almost invisible; and if I have
burning in my heart the inward experience and conviction of what Jesus
Christ is and what He has done and will do for me -- Oh! then, all the
storm without may rage, and it will not trouble me.
If you take an empty vessel and bring pressure to bear upon it, in go the
sides. Fill it, and they will resist the pressure. So with growing
knowledge of Christ, and growing personal experience of His sweetness
in our souls, we shall be able, untouched and undinted, to throw off the
pressure which would otherwise have crushed us.
Therefore, dear friends, here is the true secret of tranquillity, in an age
of questioning and doubt. Let me have that divine Voice speaking in my
heart, as I may have, and no matter what questions may be doubtful,
this is sure -- 'We know in whom we have believed'; and we can say,
'Settle all your controversies any way you like: one thing I know, and
that divine Voice is ever saying it to me in my deepest consciousness --

the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding that we may
know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is true.' Labour for more
of this inward, personal conviction of the preciousness of Jesus Christ to
strengthen you against a hostile world.
And remember that there are conditions under which this Voice speaks
in our souls. One is that we attend to the instrument which the Spirit of
God uses, and that is 'the truth.' If Christians will not read their Bibles,
they need not expect to have the words of these Bibles interpreted and
made real to them by any inward experience. If you want to have a faith
which is vindicated and warranted by your daily experience, there is
only one way to get it, and that is, to use the truth which the Spirit uses,
and to bring yourself into contact, continual and reverent and
intelligent, with the great body of divine truth that is conveyed in these
authoritative words of the Spirit of God speaking through the first
witnesses.
And there must be moral discipline too. Laziness, worldliness, the
absorption of attention with other things, self-conceit, prejudice, and, I
was going to say, almost above all, the taking of our religion and
religious opinions at secondhand from men and teachers and books -- all
these stand in the way of our hearing the Spirit of God when He speaks.
Come away from the babble and go by yourself, and take your Bibles
with you, and read them, and meditate upon them, and get near the
Master of whom they speak, and the Spirit which uses the truth will use
it to fortify you.
III. And, lastly, note the consequent witness with which the Christian
may win the world.
'And ye also shall bear witness of Me, because ye have been with Me

from the beginning.' That 'also' has, of course, direct reference to the
Apostles' witness to the facts of our Lord's historical appearance, His
life, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension; and therefore their
qualification was simply the companionship with Him which enabled
them to say, 'We saw what we tell you; we were witnesses from the
beginning.'
But then, again, I say that there is no word here that belongs only to the
Apostles; it belongs to us all, and so here is the task of the Christian
Church in all its members. They receive the witness of the Spirit, and
they are Christ's witnesses in the world.
Note what we have to do -- to bear witness; not to argue, not to adorn,
but simply to attest. Note what we have to attest -- the fact, not of the
historical life of Jesus Christ, because we are not in a position to be
witnesses of that, but the fact of His preciousness and power, and the
fact of our own experience of what He has done for us. Note, that that is
by far the most powerful agency for winning the world. You can never
make men angry by saying to them, 'We have found tho Messias.' You
cannot irritate people, or provoke them into a controversial opposition
when you say, 'Brother, let me tell you my experience. I was dark, sad,
sinful, weak, solitary, miserable; and I got light, gladness, pardon,
strength, companionship, and a joyful hope. I was blind -- you
remember me when my eyes were dark, and I sat begging outside the
Temple; I was blind, now I see -- look at my eyeballs.' We can all say
that. This is the witness that needs no eloquence, no genius, no anything
except honesty and experience; and whosoever has tasted and felt and
handled of the Word of Life may surely go to a brother and say,
'Brother, I have eaten and am satisfied. Will you not help yourselves?'
We can all do it, and we ought to do it. The Christian privilege of being
witnessed to by the Spirit of God in our hearts brings with it the
Christian duty of being witnesses in our turn to the world. That is our
only weapon against the hostility which godless humanity bears to

ourselves and to our Master. We may win men by that; we can win them
by nothing else. 'Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servants
whom I have chosen.' Christian friend, listen to the Master, who says,
'Him that confesseth Me before men, him will I also confess before My
Father in heaven.' MACLAREN
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
But when the Comforter is come - See on John 14:16; (note).
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on John 15:26". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/john-15.html. 1832.
return to 'Jump List'
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send you from the Father,
even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear
witness of me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with
me from the beginning.
This is the third of the five so-called Paraclete passages in John, so
named because the Greek word [@parakletos]; translated "Comforter,"
is found in the first four of these passages. See under John 14:16,17.

There is no contradiction in the fact of Jesus' sending the Comforter
and the Father's sending him (see under John 15:23). Critics who see a
contradiction in these passages have simply missed the main point of
this Gospel, namely, that Christ and the Father are one.
Spirit of truth ... is another designation of the Comforter and stresses
the function of completing the apostles' memory of all that Jesus had
told them, the same being, in turn, all that God had told Jesus (John
15:15). There is an intimate connection here with John 15:15, making it
impossible to think of this reference to the Comforter as an
interpolation. This reference is absolutely necessary to understanding
(1) how it will be possible for the apostles to deliver the total message of
Christ to the world (John 15:15), and (2) how they are to realize such
fruits of the Spirit as "peace" (John 14:27), "love" (John 15:10), "joy"
(John 15:11), etc. This repeated mention of certain fruits of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:22) in the verses leading up to this passage makes it certain
that further reference to the blessed Comforter had been in Jesus' mind
throughout the chapter.
Because ye have been with me from the beginning ... This has reference
to a primary requirement for the office of an apostle (Acts 1:21,22); and
the introduction of this clause by the word "because" shows that these
teachings about the Holy Spirit have reference to apostles, and not to all
Christians. It is true, of course, that Christians receive an earnest of the
Holy Spirit; but it is simply not true, nor do the Scriptures teach it, that
the Holy Spirit will guide Christians into all truth. The proof of this is
apparent in the fact that "all truth" is something that cannot be
accurately associated with ANY Christian! Note also the fact that the
guidance into all truth (in the apostles) by the Spirit was to be
accomplished by bringing to their remembrance whatsoever Jesus had
said unto them (John 14:26). How could the Holy Spirit help just any
Christian to "remember what Jesus had said unto him," when, as a
matter of fact, the Christian has never heard Jesus say anything at all?
Thus, this final clause becomes a key to understanding the Paraclete
passages.

Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of
Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other
rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on John 15:26". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/john-15.html.
Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
But when the Comforter is come,.... Or advocate, the Spirit of God; who
was to be, and has been an advocate for Christ, against the world, and
for his people, against all their enemies; and who as he was to reprove,
and did reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, in favour
of Christ, so he was to assist his people, and plead their cause, and help
them, in vindication of themselves, before the princes of the earth, as he
did: and who also was to act, and has acted the part of a "comforter" to
them, under all the hatred and violence they have met with from the
world; by taking and applying the things of Christ to them; by shedding
the love of God in them; by applying the promises of the Gospel to
them; by witnessing their adoption, and sealing them up to the day of
redemption:
whom I will send unto you from the Father; visibly, as on the day of
Pentecost, in cloven tongues as of fire; and invisibly into their hearts, by
the secret influence of his light and grace; which mission, as it suggests
no inferiority in the spirit, either to the Father or the Son; since the
same spirit with the Father, was the sender of Christ; so it is expressive
of the equal deity of Christ, and his joint power and authority with the

Father:
even the Spirit of truth; who is the true Spirit, truth itself; yea, the true
God, with the Father and Son; the Spirit of him who is truth; the
dictator of the Scriptures of truth; who leads his people into all truth;
and is the Spirit of truth, as he is a witness or testifier of Christ,
hereafter promised:
which proceedeth from the Father; Christ is not content to describe him
by his work and office, as, an, advocate and comforter, and as the Spirit
of truth: and from his mission by him from the Father; all which shows
his usefulness and authority; but also from his nature and essence,
which is the same with the Father's; and from his peculiar personal and
distinctive character, expressed by his proceeding from the Father; and
which is mentioned, as what is distinct from his mission by Christ, from
the Father before spoken of; and designs no other, than the eternal,
ineffable, and continued act of his procession, from the Father and the
Son; in which he partakes of the same nature with them, and which
personally distinguishes him from them. The ancient JewsF24 spoke of
him just in the same language; "the Spirit of God", in Genesis 1:2; they
say is the Holy Spirit, , "which proceedeth from God": very pertinently
does Christ take notice of this his character here, when he was about to
speak of him as his testifier:
he shall testify of me: of his deity and sonship, of his incarnation, of his
being the Messiah, of his sufferings and death, of his resurrection and
ascension, of his exaltation at the right hand of God, and of his
ordination to be the Judge of quick and dead; all which he bore
testimony to, by the gifts bestowed upon the apostles, and the great
grace that was upon them all; by the signs, wonders, and divers
miracles, by which the Gospel of Christ was confirmed; and by the
power, influence, and success, which attended the preaching of it every
where. Thus he testified of Christ, against the blaspheming Jews, and
persecuting Gentiles, to the reproof and confusion of them; and he
testified of him to the apostles, and all true believers, to their great joy
and comfort, and to the support of them, under all the malice and

hatred of the world.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and
adapted for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes
Reserved, Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on John 15:26". "The New John Gill
Exposition of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/john-15.html. 1999.
Geneva Study Bible
8 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me:
(8) We will surely stand against the rage of the wicked by the inward
testimony of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit speaks in no other way
and is consistent with what he spoke by the mouth of the apostles.
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography

Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on John 15:26". "The 1599 Geneva
Study Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/john-
15.html. 1599-1645.
People's New Testament
When the Comforter is come. See the preceding chapter.
Shall testify concerning me. See John 16:13-15.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic
edition that is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Website.
Original work done by Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The Restoration Movement Pages.
Bibliography
Johnson, Barton W. "Commentary on John 15:26". "People's New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pnt/john-
15.html. 1891.
Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament
When the Comforter is come (οταν ελτηι ο παρακλητος — hotan elthe.
Indefinite temporal clause with οταν — hotan and the second aorist
active subjunctive of ερχομαι — erchomai “whenever the Comforter
comes.”

Whom I will send unto you from the Father (ον εγω πεμπσω υμιν παρα
του πατρος — hon egosion of the Holy Spirit from the Father and from
the Son.
Which (ο — ho). Grammatical neuter to agree with πνευμα — pneuma
and should be rendered “who” like ο — ho in John 14:26.
Proceedeth from the Father (παρα του πατρος εκπορευεται — para tou
patros ekporeuetai). “From beside the Father” as in the preceding
clause.
He (εκεινος — ekeinos). Emphatic masculine pronoun, not neuter
(εκεινο — ekeino) though following ο — ho
Shall bear witness of me (μαρτυρησει περι εμου — martureμαρτυρεω
— martureo
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament. Copyright
Broadman Press 1932,33, Renewal 1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern Baptist Sunday School Board)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on John 15:26". "Robertson's Word
Pictures of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/john-15.html.
Broadman Press 1932,33. Renewal 1960.

Wesley's Explanatory Notes
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
When the Comforter is come, whom I will send from the Father, the
Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me —
The Spirit's coming, and being sent by our Lord from the Father, to
testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly distinguish him from
the Father and the Son; and his title as the Spirit of truth, together with
his proceeding from the Father, can agree to none but a Divine person.
And that he proceeds from the Son, as well as from the Father, may be
fairly argued from his being called the Spirit of Christ, 1 Peter 1:11; and
from his being here said to be sent by Christ from the Father, as well as
sent by the Father in his name.
Copyright Statement
Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on John 15:26". "John Wesley's
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/john-15.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall bear witness of me:

But when the Comforter is come . . . he shall bear witness of me. One of
the principal offices of the Spirit is to testify of Christ (John 16:13-15).
The Spirit testified through the apostles and other messengers (Acts
2:4), so that in a sense the apostles were double witnesses. They
themselves could testify as to what they had seen and heard. The Spirit
could aid them to testify accurately, and with a full intelligence as to the
real meaning of things. The Spirit also gave attention to apostolic
testimony by enabling the apostles to work miracles.
Copyright Statement
Website. These files were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First
published online in 1996 at The Restoration Movement Pages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentary on John
15:26". "The Fourfold Gospel".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/john-15.html.
Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
26.But when the Comforter is come. After having explained to the
apostles that the Gospel ought not to be less highly valued by them,

because it has many adversaries, even within the Church itself; Christ
now, in opposition to the wicked fury of those men, produces the
testimony of the Spirit, and if their consciences rest on this testimony,
they will never be shaken; as if he had said, “True, the world will rage
against you; some will mock, and others will curse your doctrine; but
none of their attacks will be so violent as to shake the firmness of your
faith, when the Holy Spirit shall have been given to you to establish you
by his testimony.” And, indeed, when the world rages on all sides, our
only protection is, that the truth of God, scaled by the Holy Spirit on our
hearts, despises and defies all that is in the world; for, if it were subject
to the opinions of men, our faith would be overwhelmed a hundred
times in a day.
We ought, therefore, to observe carefully in what manner we ought to
remain firm among so many storms. It is because
we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of
God, that we may know the things which have been given to us by God,
(1 Corinthians 2:12.)
This single witness powerfully drives away, scatters, and overturns, all
that the world rears up to obscure or crush the truth of God. All who
are endued with this Spirit are so far from being in danger of falling into
despondency on account of the hatred or contempt of the world, that
every one of them will obtain glorious victory over the whole world. Yet
we must beware of relying on the good opinion of men; for so long as
faith shall wonder in this manner, or rather, as soon as it shall have gone
out of the sanctuary of God, it must become involved in miserable
uncertainty. It must, therefore, be brought back to the inward and
secret testimony of the Spirit, which, believers know, has been given to
them from heaven.
The Spirit is said to testify of Christ, because he retains and fixes our
faith on him alone, that we may not seek elsewhere any part of our
salvation. He calls him also the Comforter, that, relying on his
protection, we may never be alarmed; for by this title Christ intended to

fortify our faith, that it may not yield to any temptations. When he calls
him the Spirit of truth, we must apply the term to the matter in hand;
for we must presuppose a contrast to this effect, that, when they have
not this Witness, men are carried about in various ways, and have no
firm resting-place, but, wherever he speaks, he delivers the minds of
men from all doubt and fear of being deceived.
When he says that he will send him from the Father, and, again, that he
proceedeth from the Father, he does so in order to increase the weight of
his authority; for the testimony of the Spirit would not be sufficient
against attacks so powerful, and against efforts so numerous and fierce,
if we were not convinced that he proceedeth from God So then it is
Christ who sends the Spirit, but it is from the heavenly glory, that we
may know that it is not a gift of men, but a sure pledge of Divine grace.
Hence it appears how idle was the subtlety of the Greeks, when they
argued, on the ground of these words, that the Spirit does notproceed
from the Son; for here Christ, according to his custom, mentions the
Father in order to raise our eyes to the contemplation of his Divinity.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on John 15:26". "Calvin's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/john-
15.html. 1840-57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the

Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
Ver. 26. Whom I will send unto you from, &c] Christ hath satisfied the
wrath of the Father; and now the Father, and Christ both, as reconciled,
send the Spirit, as the fruit of both their loves, and as an earnest, which
is part of the whole sum.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on John 15:26". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/john-
15.html. 1865-1868.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
John 15:26. But when the Comforter is come,— "For your
encouragement, however, Iassure you, that all of them will not continue
thus obstinately bent against me and my religion. When he who is to
comfort you under all your troubles by his divine inspiration and the aid
he will afford you, and who, on that account, is justly styledthe
Comforter; when this divine Person is come, whom I will find unto you
from the Father, to remain always with you, he shall bear witness to me
and to my religion so effectually, that many of the Jews shall be
converted." Our Lord says of this Spirit of truth, that he proceedeth,—
εκπορευεται,— from the Father: which denotes the eternal procession of
the Holy Spirit; whereby the manner of his subsistence is defined, as

that of the Son is by the word generation, as far perhaps as it can be to
us in this mortal state. The Spirit's coming, and being sent by our Lord,
from the Father, to testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly
distinguish him from the Father and Son: and his title, as the Spirit of
truth, together with his proceeding from the Father, can apply to none
but a divine person: for this title is too high for a creature; and I cannot
see any sufficient reason why his proceeding from the Father is
mentioned in the present tense, in the midst of a sentence, where
Christ's sending him, and his testifying of Christ, are spoken of as
future; unless it be to intimate his necessary, unbeginning, and never
ending procession from the Father, in such a sublime manner as lies
beyond the reach of all our ideas, but is some way answerable to what is
called eternal generation with regard to Christ, in correspondence to his
character as the Son: and yet that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the
Son as well as from the Father, may be fairly, clearly, and fully argued
from his being called the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of the Son, as
well as of the Father, (1 Peter 1:11. Galatians 4:6.) and from his being
here said to be sent by Christ from the Father, as well as sent by the
Father in his name, ch. John 14:26. And this, at the same time, shews the
equal divinity of the Father and Son, inasmuch as they have equal
power of sending the Holy Spirit to bear the peculiar part, and to have
the glory that belongs to him, in the work of salvation: so that the
Sacred Three are here represented both in their personal characters,
and in their divine and oeconomical glories.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentary on John 15:26". Thomas Coke
Commentary on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/john-15.html. 1801-

1803.
Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Here our Holy Lord confirms himself, that, though he had laid them
under many aspersions and scandals from the world, yet all these should
be done away by the coming of the Holy Spirit who should testify of
him, and make his person and doctrine to be acknowledged in the
world; and that they themselves should bear witness of him who had
been with him from the beginning; that is, since he first began to
exercise his prophetic office.
Observe here, 1. That Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are three distinct
persons in the godhead.
2. That the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and the Son: here
the Son is said to send him: and, as to the Father, he is said to proceed
from him.
If the Holy Ghost doth not proceed from the Son, why he is called The
Spirit of the Son, Galatians 4:6? Why is he said here to be sent by the
Son? The Comforter whom I will send unto you from the Father. And if
the Spirit doth not proceed from the Son, what personal relation can we
conceive between the Son and the Spirit?
Observe, 3. That it is the highest dignity and honour of the apostles and
ministers of Christ, that the Spirit beareth no testimony unto Christ, but
with and according to the testimony given by them; for here it is
conjoined, He shall testify of me! and ye shall also bear witness, who
have been with me from the beginning.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Burkitt, William. "Commentary on John 15:26". Expository Notes with
Practical Observations on the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wbc/john-15.html. 1700-
1703.
Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary
26.] This assurance carries on the testimony concerning Christ,—which
the world should see and hear, and yet reject and hate Him,—even to
the end of time, by means of the Spirit of Truth: so that on the one hand
this seeing and hating must not be expected to cease as long as the Spirit
bears this witness,—and on the other, He, the Spirit of Truth, will never
cease to overcome the hating world by this His testimony.
παράκλ.] See ch. John 14:16 and note.ὁ
ν γ πέμψω] Stier (whose comment on this verse should beὃ ἐ ὼ
consulted) dwells on the accurate division of the clauses here, παράκλ.ὁ
ν γ πέμψω,—but τ πνε μα τ. ληθ. παρ τ. πατρ ςὃ ἐ ὼ ὸ ῦ ἀ ὃ ὰ ὸ
κπορεύεται. The first clause he regards as spoken œconomically, of theἐ
Spirit in His office as Paraclete, sent from the Father by the glorified
Son (or, by the Father in the Son’s name, ch. John 14:26), and bringing
in the dispensation of the Spirit;—the second ontologically, of the
essential nature of the Spirit Himself, that He proceeded forth from the
Father. (And if from the Father, from the Son also,—see ch. John 16:15,
and those passages where the Spirit is said to be His Spirit, Romans 8:9;
Galatians 4:6; Philippians 1:19; 1 Peter 1:11; also Revelation 22:1.)
Perhaps however it is better to take the whole œconomically, as
Luthardt has done. Then ν γ πέμψω παρ τ. π. is parallel withὃ ἐ ὼ ὰ ὃ
παρ το π. κπορεύεται, and the procession from the Father is theὰ ῦ ἐ
sending by the Son. At all events, this passage, as Beza remarks, cannot
be alleged either one way or the other in the controversy with the Greek
Church on the procession of the Holy Spirit. See this done in the interest

of the Greek view, by Theodor. Mops(221) in loc.
κε νος, as opposed to the world which hates Christ. On the emphaticἐ ῖ
use of this pronoun as identifying the chief subject of the sentence, see
note, ch. John 7:29.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on John 15:26". Greek Testament Critical
Exegetical Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/john-15.html. 1863-
1878.
Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae
DISCOURSE: 1701
THE PERSONALITY AND OFFICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
John 15:26. When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you
from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the
Father, he shall testify of me.
THE characters of the most holy men may suffer from envy and
malevolence; but their righteousness often shines forth the brighter
afterwards, as the sun obscured for awhile by an intervening cloud.
According to all human appearances, our Lord’s name must either have
sunk into speedy oblivion, or been handed down with infamy to the
latest posterity. It scarcely seemed possible that the ignominy of his
cross could ever be so obliterated as to be succeeded by respect and
honour: but our Lord knew that the testimony of the Spirit would

assuredly effect this. While therefore he consoled both himself and his
Disciples with the reflection, that the causeless enmity of his countrymen
was nothing more than a completion of the prophecies, he taught them
to look forward to the time, when the Spirit of God should come down
visibly from heaven, and by the most indubitable testimony efface every
stain, and rectify the mistaken apprehensions of the world respecting
him.
Let us consider,
I. Our Lord’s description of his promised messenger—
In speaking of the inscrutable mysteries of our religion, we are
constrained to represent, heavenly things in terms, not strictly just
perhaps, but such as are best accommodated to our own feeble
apprehensions. We observe then respecting the messenger whom Jesus
undertook to send, that,
He is a distinct person—
[Many deny the distinct personality of the Spirit, and affirm that he is
only a virtue or quality belonging to the Father: but our text clearly
shews, that this is not a just and scriptural idea: the names here given to
the Spirit, as “the Comforter,” and “the Spirit of Truth,” import that he
is a distinct person. And the circumstance of his mission leaves no doubt
upon the subject; for he “proceeds from the Father,” is “sent” by the
Son, and comes down to us. Besides, the very end of his mission implies
the same; for he comes to “testify,” that is, to be a witness.]
Yet, though distinct from the Father, he is, in his essential properties,
equal to him—
[He is sent to testify to all persons, in all places, at the very same instant
of time: and does not the execution of such an office require both
omnipresence and omniscience? Must he not know what every person
needs to be instructed in, and be every where present to hear and grant
their requests? And are there any attributes more appropriate to the
Deity than these? Yet these the Spirit has in common with the Father:

David says respecting him, “Whither shall I go then from thy Spirit? If I
go up to heaven, thou art there; if I go down to hell, thou art there also
[Note: Psalms 139:6-7.]:” and St. Paul observes that “the Spirit
searcheth all things, even the deep things of God [Note: 1 Corinthians
2:10.].” Nor are these testimonies unsupported by others that are yet
more direct and clear: for the Spirit is constantly joined both with the
Father and the Son as equally worthy of the highest honour [Note:
Matthew 28:19.], and equally a source of the richest blessings [Note: 2
Corinthians 13:14.]. Indeed he is expressly and repeatedly called God.
They who lied unto him, were therefore guilty of lying unto God [Note:
Acts 5:3-4.]; and they who had him dwelling in them, were therefore the
temples of the living God [Note: 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.].]
Nevertheless in some respects he is subordinate both to the Father and
the Son—
[In the order of subsistence, as the Father is not of the Son, but the Son
of the Father, so neither the Father nor the Son proceeds from the
Spirit, but the Spirit from them, inasmuch as he proceeds from the
Father, and is sent by the Son. In the order of operation also the Spirit is
inferior: the Father is represented as the fountain of authority and of
blessings: the Son acts as his servant [Note: Isaiah 42:1.]: and the Spirit
acts under Christ, being sent or deputed by him, (according as it was
determined in the eternal counsels of the Father,) to apply to men that
redemption, which was procured for them by his death. The Spirit acted
in this subordinate capacity before the time of Christ’s incarnation: it
was by him that Christ went and preached to the antediluvian world
[Note: 1 Peter 3:18-19.]: by him also he inspired the prophets to foretel
the things relating to his sufferings and glory [Note: 1 Peter 1:11.].
During the days of our Lord’s ministry on earth the Spirit still acted in
subserviency to him; it was by the Spirit that Christ cast out devils
[Note: Matthew 12:28.], and performed his other miracles. In a more
especial manner did the Spirit exert himself in subserviency to Christ
after he had ascended to heaven; it was then that the Spirit began fully
to execute the office assigned him, and to “glorify Christ” before an
ungodly and unbelieving world [Note: John 16:14.]. To this very hour

does the Spirit bear the same part, “convincing the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment [Note: John 16:8.],” in order to magnify
Christ, and to enlarge his kingdom.]
As our attention is principally directed to the Holy Spirit, we shall
proceed to state,
II. The particular office committed to him—
The Father, Son, and Spirit, have distinct and different offices in the
economy of redemption. That of the Spirit is twofold:
1. To be a witness for Christ—
[Our blessed Lord died under circumstances of the deepest ignominy
and reproach; being treated by his whole nation as the vilest of
malefactors. Nor could it be conceived that one, who under such
circumstances saved not himself, should be constituted by God the
Saviour of others. This was, to all appearance, so absurd an idea that it
never could have gained any credit in the world, if it had not been
confirmed by the most unquestionable testimony. To overcome these
obstacles, the Holy Spirit testified of two things, namely, the
righteousness of his person, and the sufficiency of his salvation. While
the Apostles testified of these things to the ears of men, the Spirit
confirmed their word with visible signs [Note: Hebrews 2:4.], and sealed
it on men’s hearts by his invisible, but effectual, influence [Note: 1
Thessalonians 1:5.]. This he did, not only on the day of Pentecost, when
three thousand were converted at once, but on many other occasions. It
is worthy of remark, that when he visibly descended on the Gentiles in
confirmation of the word that was delivered by Peter, he descended at
the very instant that the Apostle began to speak of the fulness and
excellency of Christ’s salvation [Note: Acts 10:43-44.]; as though he
designed to intimate, that this was the great truth which he came to
attest, and which we ought to receive with our whole hearts.]
2. To be a Comforter to us—
[When a soul begins to feel its guilty and undone state, it needs a

comforter: but there is no creature in heaven or earth that can
administer effectual consolation; none but the Holy Spirit is sufficient
for so great a work: if he reveal Christ to the soul, all tears will instantly
be wiped away; but if he withhold his influence, sorrow and
despondency will overwhelm it utterly. Thus also in all subsequent trials
and temptations, it is the Holy Ghost alone that can heal the wounded
spirit, or bind up the broken and contrite heart. And it must further be
noticed, that the principal, if not the only, way, in which he administers
consolation to us, is by testifying of Christ; it is by shewing to us his
beauty, his sufficiency, his truth and faithfulness, and by enabling us to
rest entirely on him: and as there can be no comfort till this be done, so
there can be nothing but joy and exultation arising from it.]
This subject naturally leads us to reflect,
1. How great and glorious a person Christ is!
[It has been already shewn that the Holy Spirit is God equal with the
Father: yet has Christ authority to send him into our hearts. If Christ
say, Go, my Spirit, and quicken that dead sinner; go and dwell in that
polluted heart; go and comfort that drooping and desponding soul; in
short, whatever commission Jesus gives to the ever-blessed Spirit, it is
executed instantly, and to its utmost extent. No unworthiness in us
excites any reluctance in the mind of the Spirit; if Jesus do but speak, it
is done. Who then would not wish to have this glorious person for his
friend? Who does not desire an interest in him? Who would not seek
him who is so able and willing to save? Blessed Lord, send thy Spirit
now to testify of thee, and to glorify thee in all our hearts!]
2. How unspeakable is the happiness of Christ’s faithful people!
[These enjoy the witness of the Spirit in their own hearts [Note: 1 John
5:10.]. The Spirit not only testifies to them that Jesus is the Saviour of
believers in general, but their Saviour in particular: he witnesses to, and
with, their spirits, that they are children of God; and if children, then
heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ [Note: Romans 8:16-17.].
Can we conceive any greater happiness than this? Surely not in this

present world. Let every one then aspire after this honour; let every one
seek the Spirit, not merely as an instructor, but a comforter. Thus shall
we be filled with consolation, even under the most afflictive
circumstances; and his testimonies shall prove to us an earnest, and a
foretaste, of our heavenly inheritance.]
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Simeon, Charles. "Commentary on John 15:26". Charles Simeon's
Horae Homileticae.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/shh/john-15.html. 1832.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament
John 15:26. δ , but) The testimony of the Paraclete (Comforter) and ofὲ
the disciples is put in contrast with the ignorance and hatred of the
world.— παρ το πατρ ς, from the Father) The Spirit of God is theὰ ῦ ὸ
same as the Spirit of Christ: Romans 8:9; Galatians 4:6. Both are here
implied; for as the Son is said to “send the Paraclete” (Comforter), not
to the exclusion of the Father: so “the Spirit of Truth” is said to
‘proceed’ from the Father (not to the exclusion of the Son).—
κπορεύεται, proceedeth) Revelation 22:1. Separation from the personἐ
or thing from which the procession takes place is not always denoted by
this verb, LXX., Exodus 25:35, “According to the six branches that
proceed out of the candlestick” ( το ς κπορευομένοις κ τ ς λυχνίας).ῖ ἐ ἐ ῆ

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, Johann Albrecht. "Commentary on John 15:26". Johann
Albrecht Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/john-15.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible
Concerning the Holy Ghost as a Comforter we have spoken largely,
John 14:16,26; as also his mission from the Father and the Son, and in
what sense he is called
the Spirit of truth: See Poole on "John 14:16". See Poole on "John
14:26". What proceeding from the Father is here meant, is questioned
amongst divines: some understand it only of his coming out from the
Father, and being poured out upon the disciples in the days of
Pentecost: others understand it of the Holy Spirit’s eternal proceeding.
Those that interpret it of the first, urge the use of the Greek word, here
used to signify God’s manifestation of himself by some external sign, as
they say the Septuagint useth the same word. They also urge the same
use of a parallel word, John 8:42 16:28. But the generality of the best
interpreters think it is best understood of the eternal procession of the
Holy Spirit:
1. Because Christ here distinguishes the Spirit’s proceeding from the
Father from his sending.
2. Having himself promised to send the Spirit, he seemeth further to
describe him as proceeding from the Father.
3. The word here used is not any where used in the New Testament to
signify a temporal mission.

Some will say: But doth not the Spirit proceed from the Son?
Answer. The Greek Church in latter ages hath denied this, and this is
the principal text they rest on; but those churches that are more
orthodox have constantly affirmed it:
1. Because he here saith he would send it.
2. Because he is often called the Spirit of Christ, Romans 8:9 Galatians
4:6.
3. Because otherwise there were no personal relation between Christ
and the Spirit.
Our Saviour here having first said he would send him, here only nameth
his proceeding from the Father; that they might not suspect his
testimony, or think that he spake arrogantly.
He shall testify of me; the Spirit, he saith, should testify of him, both by
those gifts with which he was to fill the apostles, and to the hearts of
God’s people.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentary on John 15:26". Matthew Poole's
English Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/john-15.html. 1685.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
He shall testify of me; to the integrity and divinity of my character, and
to the truth and meaning of my teachings.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on John 15:26". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/john-
15.html. American Tract Society. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
26. γ πέμψω. γώ is an emphatic claim to Divinity. Here it is the Sonἐ ὼ Ἐ
who Bends the Advocate from the Father (see on John 1:6). In John
14:16 the Father sends in answer to the Son’s prayer. In John 14:26 the
Father sends in the Son’s name. These are three ways of expressing that
the mission of the Paraclete is the act both of the Father and of the Son,
Who are one. see on John 1:33. For τ. πν. τ. ληθ. see on John 14:17.ἀ
π. τ. πατρ ς κπορεύεται. It seems best to take this much discussedὃ ὸ ἐ
clause as simply yet another way of expressing the fact of the mission of
the Paraclete. If the Paraclete is sent by the Son from the Father, and by
the Father in the Son’s name and at the Son’s request, then the
Paraclete ‘proceedeth from the Father.’ If this be correct, then this
statement refers to the office and not to the Person of the Holy Spirit,
and has no bearing either way on the great question between the
Eastern and Western Churches, the Filioque added in the West to the
Nicene Creed. The word used here for ‘proceed’ is the same as that used
in the Creed of Nicea, and the Easterns quote these words of Christ
Himself as being against not merely the insertion of the clause ‘and the
Son’ into the Creed (which all admit to have been made irregularly), but
against the truth of the statement that the Spirit, not only in His
temporal mission, but in His Person, from all eternity proceeds from

both the Father and the Son. On the whole question see Pearson On the
Creed, Art. viii.; Reunion Conference at Bonn, 1875, pp. 9–85,
Rivingtons; Pusey On the Clause “and the Son,” a Letter to Dr Liddon,
Parker, 1876. κπορεύεσθαι occurs in this Gospel only here and JohnἘ
5:29, but is frequent in the other Gospels and in Revelation (Matthew
3:5; Matthew 4:4; Matthew 15:11; Matthew 15:18; Mark 7:15; Mark
7:18; Mark 7:20-21; Mark 7:23; Luke 4:22; Luke 4:37; Revelation 1:16;
Revelation 4:5, &c.), and there seems to be nothing in the word itself to
limit it to the Eternal Procession. On the other hand the παρά is strongly
in favour of the reference being to the mission. Comp. John 16:27, John
17:8. In the Creeds κ is the preposition invariably used of the Eternalἐ
Procession, τ κ τ. πατρ ς κπορευόμενον: and “the Greek Fathersὸ ἐ ὸ ἐ
who apply this passage to the eternal Procession instinctively substitute
κ for παρά” (Westcott). For κε νος see on John 1:18; He in contrast toἐ ἐ ῖ
the world which hates and rejects Christ. Christ has the witness of the
Spirit of truth, and this has the authority of the Father: it is impossible
to have higher testimony than this.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
"Commentary on John 15:26". "Cambridge Greek Testament for
Schools and Colleges".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/john-15.html. 1896.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
26. Comforter… Spirit… shall testify—Though a wicked world reject
and deny, there is a Holy Spirit that confirms and testifies. And here is
the great issue. The world, with the spirit of evil, is on one hand, and

Jesus, with his apostles and the Spirit of truth, is on the other. But the
result of this issue cannot be doubtful. That Spirit proceedeth from the
Father. Over all is God the Father Almighty. And where shall be the
victory when God contendeth? Boastful and mighty as is the world,
there is one who is mightier—GOD.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on John 15:26". "Whedon's
Commentary on the Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/john-15.html. 1874-
1909.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
John 15:26. But the work of the Apostles was not to be wholly fruitless,
nor was their experience to be wholly comprised in fruitless persecution.
ταν δ λθ … περ μο . The Spirit of Truth will witness concerningὅ ὲ ἔ ῃ ὶ ἐ ῦ
me. The Spirit is here designated, as in John 14:16, “the Paraclete,” and
the Spirit of Truth. There, and in John 14:26, it is the Father who is to
give and send Him in Christ’s name: here it is ν γ πέμψω παρ τοὃ ἐ ὼ ὰ ῦ
πατρός, as if the Spirit were not only dwelling with the Father, but could
only be sent out from the Father as the source of the sending. This is still
further emphasised in the added clause, παρ το πατρ ςὃ ὰ ῦ ὸ
κπορεύεται. To define the mode of being of the Spirit, or His essentialἐ
relation to the Father, would have been quite out of place in the
circumstances. These words must be understood of the mission of the
Spirit. What the disciples needed to know was that He came out from
the Father, and of this they are here assured. κε νος μαρτυρήσει περἐ ῖ ὶ

μο , “He,” that person thus elaborately described, who is truth andἐ ῦ
who comes out from Him who sent me, “will witness concerning me”.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on John 15:26". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/john-15.html. 1897-
1910.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Whom I will send. The Holy Ghost is sent by the Son: therefore he
proceedeth from him also, as from the Father; though the schismatical
Greeks think differently; (Bristow) otherwise, as Dr. Challoner says, he
could not be sent by the Son.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentary on John 15:26". "George
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/john-15.html. 1859.

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
the Comforter. See John 14:16.
is come = shall have come.
send. Greek. pempo. App-174.
from. Greek. para. App-104.
the Spirit of truth. See on John 14:17.
proceedeth = goeth forth.
he. Greek. ekeinos, as in John 14:26.
shall = will; one of the many instances where both Authorized Version
and Revised Version blur the sense of their translation by the misuse of
"shall "and "will".
testify = bear witness. Greek. martureo. See note on John 1:7.
of = concerning. Greek. peri. App-104.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on John 15:26". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/john-15.html. 1909-
1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged

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