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How does the Helper differ from God's Holy Spirit?

(Edit on 2011.06.19)
A questionnaire form with a top-down system exists so as to assist in a different study format for those who are familar with their Bibles.  Nothing is submitted: naturally; it only assists you in going logically through the steps and scriptures.  It should not be used unless you are familiar with the Bible. 

This is the link if you should want to look: Top Down Helper

Bible students know that God's Holy Spirit has been operating since time immemorial.  It has operated on his prophets by making them speak inspired words and prophecies. On many occasions, it has permitted those endowed with Holy Spirit to accomplish miraculous deeds such as resurrect the dead and cure illnesses; it gave Samson extraordinary power, etc. The list is long.

Naturally, God's Holy Spirit operates in God's servants even today, but two of its most commonly known events of the past may be the following.  The first event verified here by two scriptures, demonstrate that Mary was made pregnant by God's Holy Spirit:
Luke 1:3, 35, But Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man? . . . 35And the angel answering said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and power of the Highest overshadow thee, wherefore the holy thing also which shall be born shall be called Son of God. (Darby)

Matt 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
And, this well known event that all Christians are familiar with:
Matthew 3:16-17, And Jesus being baptized, forthwith came out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened to him: and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him. 17And behold a voice from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (DRC)

A true Difference is Seen

In these scriptures, we clearly see God's spirit at work.  Further scriptures will be provided to demonstrate what here may be defined as God's general Holy Spirit and one other Holy Spirit which Christ named for us; the Paraclete, the Comforter, the Helper, the Advocate, and the Teacher all being names we may be familiar with for this - Christ Spirit.  Yes, that point we must not forget; the Paraclete is Christ Spirit, but that scripture will be shown a little later.  Let us examine the scriptures to attain to accurate knowledge about these two subjects.

About the Paraclete, John the apostle writes that it had not arrived because Christ first had to be glorified for it to come, be sent:
 
John 7:39, Now this he said of the Spirit which they should receive, who believed in him: for as yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (DRC)

While Jesus was yet alive and hadn't been killed the above would be true: "the spirit was not given . . ."  While this is stated clearly, we read something that seems to contradict this.
Matthew 10:5-7 . . .. These twelve Jesus sent: commanding them, saying: Go ye not into the way of the Gentiles, and into the city of the Samaritans enter ye not. 6But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7And going, preach, saying: The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils: freely have you received, freely give.
The disciples could not very well cure, resurrect the dead, cast out devils - unless they had God's spirit, could they!  Similarly, right after Jesus was resurrected, we read that he gave them Holy Spirit; however, he specifically told them to wait until Pentecost in Jerusalem to receive the Paraclete who would teach them all things.
 
John 20:22, ASV, And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit

It states that they received Holy Spirit in John 20:22.  This John tells us while at the same time telling us unequivocally that the Spirit couldn't be given until Christ died !  Then we similarly see in Matthew that the disciples are told to heal, to raise the dead, to cast out demons necessarily so by the Holy Spirit.   By this we may understand that the Paraclete, the Helper, the Comforter, cannot be God's general Holy Spirit.  As stated, it is Spirit, but not the same – a fundamental difference must be present.  And that is what this page explores.

Holy Spirit — its two expressions


Perhaps, that sounds strange, but consider what Jesus said:
John 16:7, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the (1) Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you.(1) Or Advocate ; Or Helper ; Gr Paraclete ) (ASV)

Jesus told his disciples that the Helper couldn't come unless he, Christ, went away. Since we know that God's Holy Spirit operated through Christ, the old prophets, John the Baptist, and so forth for millenia before Christ even – the difference is real. Still, in John 14:26, the Comforter, the Helper is named the Holy Spirit?


What does it mean?

 

A Gift

 

We know that God gave his son Jesus the Helper after he was resurrected even though the son received God's spirit while on earth !!!

A. The Helper served a specific purpose that gave those who received it, the Born Again, the Anointed, the knowledge that they had become spiritual sons of God, joint-heirs with Christ, and heirs of God.

 

Rom 8:16, 17, The Spirit itself testifieth with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if we suffer with [him], that we may be glorified together. (Webster)

Acts 2:33, Having therefore been exalted by the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which *ye* behold and hear. (Darby)
B. Peter here told us that this promised Holy Spirit, the Helper, had been poured out on this day despite the fact that Jesus just after his resurrection gave Holy Spirit to his disciples!

John 20:20-23, And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: 23 whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. (ASV)
 
From these facts it becomes obviously evident, logically eminent, when taken at its face value that the Comforter, Helper, the Paraclete, is a distinct and separate part of the Holy Spirit because it was given by God to his son, Jesus, and sent in Jesus' name with a specific task to accomplish.  This task, or tasks, the general Holy Spirit does not overlap. 

It is therefore in regard to the Paraclete, the Advocate, the Comforter that Paul to the Romans demonstrate that Christ's spirit is God's.  In regard to God's general Holy Spirit, we must keep in mind that it is Jehovah's, not Christ's.  In no way is this a confirmation of the teaching of the Trinity.
Rom 8:9, But *ye* are not in flesh but in Spirit, if indeed God's Spirit dwell in you; but if any one has not the Spirit of Christ *he* is not of him: (Darby)
C.
John 14:25-26, `These things I have spoken to you, remaining with you, 26and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I said to you. (YLT)
Because Christ received the Holy Spirit, the Helper, from God and because God sent it in Christ's name, Rom 8:9 equates God's spirit with Jesus' spirit. This is only true in regard to the Helper. God's Holy Spirit in general is not Christ's spirit.

We need to ask ourselves why we give new-born babies new names!  If then we have God's Holy Spirit already named, why did it need a new name?  Why do we now call it the Paraclete, etc, and why is this spirit defined this way - as the "spirit of truth."
 
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you.

Until now, they had been given the spirit aplenty, during Jesus' sojourn with them, and right after his resurrection.  However, only now, from Pentecost when the Paraclete is sent, is it personified as "he," is it given a name, "the spirit of truth," the Comforter, etc.  This needs to be understood!

Wait he says

Why were the disciples told to wait in Jerusalem for this "spirit of truth" if they had already been given it right after Jesus resurrected? 
 
Luke 24:49 And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.
Acts 1:4, 5,  and, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye heard from me: 5 For John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence.
 
Just because a bus is a vehicle and a small passenger car is a vehicle that doesn't make a bus into a personal passenger vehicle! In the same manner, the Helper is still Holy Spirit because God gave it to Christ. Still, a gift given causes change of ownership, and now this Paraclete is Christ's. He ,however, gave it specifically to the Born Again as a token as proof of being joint-heirs with Christ and heirs of God and as a teacher.
2 Corinthians 1:22, He has also put his seal upon us and has given us the token of what is to come, that is, the spirit, in our hearts. (NW)

 

Purpose Specific Spirit – a Different Owner

Thus the Helper is not given to God's servants at large. In this manner the Helper cannot be equated with the general Holy Spirit - it's purpose specific. (More on this in Born Again and other Spirit pages)

It had several functions besides the one just mentioned; these functions were specific to the Helper. So even though the Helper was Holy Spirit from God, it had been given to the Christ who gave it to his disciples. They could only get it through Christ, and it was not given to anyone else but the little flock.
Luke 12:32-34, Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. 34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (ASV)
Several of these points are covered in much greater detail in the Kingdom, Born Again, and Spirit pages.
Christ promised that the Helper would guide and teach the disciples all things. In the first century, we also know that the apostles and disciples who had first received the spirit were able to heal and to pass the Helper on to the next generation of their brothers by the laying on of hands.
(YTL)
John 14:26-27, and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I said to you. 27`Peace I leave to you; my peace I give to you, not according as the world doth give do I give to you; let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.

John 16:13, and when He may come--the Spirit of truth--He will guide you to all the truth, for He will not speak from Himself, but as many things as He will hear He will speak, and the coming things He will tell you.

Acts 8:14-17, And the apostles in Jerusalem having heard that Samaria hath received the word of God, did send unto them Peter and John, 15who having come down did pray concerning them, that they may receive the Holy Spirit, -- 16for as yet he was fallen upon none of them, and only they have been baptized--to the name of the Lord Jesus; 17then were they laying hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 1:6-7, Because of which reason I remind thee to rekindle the gift of God that is in thee through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of soberness.

Acts 9:34, And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals thee. Arise and make thy bed. And straightaway he arose. (ACV)

Admittedly, the above discussion may be said to be a technical exactness that need not be absolutely adhered to in daily speech.  Even knowing the above, we might refer to Christ's spirit as God's and vice versa where appropriate.

Still, knowing the above, we see that Paul doesn't say we have God's spirit, but that we have the spirit 'from God' or 'of God' in 1 Corinthians chapter two. 

Clearly, the above demonstrated without doubt that Christ's spirit is from God.  So while Paul didn't say Christ's spirit in chapter two, he still somehow said it.  Look and read!
I Corinthians 2:
10, . . .For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11For what man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man that is in him? So the things also that are of God no man knoweth, but the Spirit of God.

12Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God. 1

16For who hath known the mind of the Lord (God), that we may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (DRC) (the context shows that Lord refers to God Jehovah.  The word 'God' is my insert)

Since we have the "mind of Christ" but not the mind of Jehovah, it is obvious whose spirit operates in Saintly Christians.

Repeating:  Another page has been added to aid this subject.  It is in questionnaire form top down and should not be used unless you are familiar with the Bible.  This is the link: Top Down Helper
 
 
 
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