And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever—The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you.Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He was about to face death on the cross. Knowing they would soon be without Him, the disciples were displeased and concerned. Jesus encouraged them by telling them that He wasn't leaving them as orphans, and would be sending them someone who wouldn't just replace Him, but would be exactly like Him, and would do just as He would.
The word "another" actually means "one of the very same kind, the very same kind, or an exact duplicate." In other words, Jesus was telling them that the Holy Spirit is not a third-string replacement. In fact, Jesus goes on to say in John 16:7,
…I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you].Why would it be advantageous for us that Jesus leave and the Holy Spirit come? The word used for "comforter" when describing the Holy Spirit is the Greek word "parakletos"; "kletos" means "to call" and "para" means "alongside."
The Holy Spirit has been called to be alongside us to help us! That's His purpose. He's there to comfort and encourage us. He has the answers we seek and will lead us into all truth. He's also our Intercessor, our Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby. So often, we look to people to fill these roles for us, but no one can help us like He can.
Baptized in the Spirit
How do we tap into and access His help? When we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell on the inside of us—there is no doubt about that, but to experience the fullness of the benefits of the Holy Spirit, we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, which is a completely different experience that follows salvation.
That is why Jesus said in Luke 24:49 (KJV),
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.The disciples were already born again at that point and yet Jesus told them to wait before they went out to minister. He wanted them to be endued (clothed, armed, furnished) with power, and not just some power—"dunamis" power which translates to "dynamite, explosive" power! Think about that. Of all the words that could have been used to describe power, the word for dynamite is used—that's miracle-working power that they would have access to!
How do we know the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit and endued with power? The Bible reveals speaking in tongues as the evidence and we see that this occurred with the disciples in Acts 2:1-4 on the Day of Pentecost. When the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave utterance.
In Acts 19 we find another example of this occurring with a group of believers when the Apostle Paul spoke at Ephesus. They too were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke with new tongues. Historians estimate that the account at Ephesus took place thirty-five to forty years after the Day of Pentecost, and that's just one example of many.
Why is that important? It shows us that the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues wasn't exclusive to those present at the Day of Pentecost; being Spirit-filled is meant for every believer.
The Church Today
It's unfortunate that, in many churches today when teaching on the role of the Holy Spirit, the focus is on tongues with little or no mention about the power. As a result, tongues has become a point of contention for many, when in fact, it is the evidence that something supernatural has taken place in our lives.
Jesus said that we would do the same works He did, and even greater. When will that happen? When we become the Spirit-filled church that displays the dynamite, explosive power that Jesus spoke of, we will fulfill our purpose.
Imagine the lives we will touch and the miracles we will see. Are you ready? Wouldn't you like to see someone healed simply because your shadow passed over them? Wouldn't you like to see people leave the world of witchcraft and fortune telling because they see that the power in your life is unlike anything they've ever experienced? Those things happened in the book of Acts, and they can happen today!