The Comforter
- Rev. Christopher Brademeyer
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
The Comforter
Pentecost – 5/24/2026
John 14:23-31
Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer
That portion of God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John in the fourteenth chapter with special emphasis on verses twenty-six through twenty-seven which read as follows:
[Jesus said,] “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”[1]
Thus far the Scriptures.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
By saying that “[t]he Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” our Lord teaches us not only that the Holy Spirit is real but also what the Holy Spirit does. This matters greatly, because there is much confusion about the Holy Spirit in the world today.
Many people speak of the Spirit as though He were merely a feeling, a force, or an experience. Others imagine that the Holy Spirit’s primary work is to produce dramatic signs, ecstatic speech, or emotional excitement. But Jesus teaches us otherwise. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal power. He is God Himself, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity and with the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He proceeds from the Father and the Son and is sent into the world by Christ.
And what is His office, that is, what is He given authority over? What is His work? The Holy Spirit does not come to speak about Himself. He comes to deliver Christ to sinners. He comes to create faith in Jesus. He comes to forgive sins. He comes to gather and sustain the Church through the Word of God.
This is what we confess in the explanation to the Third Article of the Creed: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him.” Left to ourselves, we are spiritually blind, dead in trespasses and sins, enemies of God by nature. Fallen man does not seek after God. Fallen man does not produce faith from within himself. Faith is not a human decision or accomplishment. Faith is the gift of God.
Therefore the Holy Spirit must come to us. He calls us by the Gospel. He enlightens us with His gifts. He sanctifies and keeps us in the true faith. Just as God once breathed life into Adam, so the Holy Spirit breathes spiritual life into dead sinners through the preaching of Christ crucified and risen.
Notice carefully how the Spirit works. Jesus says, “He will bring to your remembrance
all that I have said to you.” The Spirit works through the Word of Christ. The Holy Spirit is never separated from the Scriptures, from preaching, or from the Sacraments. He does not bypass these means. Rather, He works through them. When the Gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit is at work. When a child is baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit is at work. When absolution is spoken, the Spirit is at work. When Christ’s true body and blood are given for the forgiveness of sins, the Spirit is at work.
This is why Pentecost is not chiefly about tongues of fire or miraculous languages. Those signs accompanied the day, but they were not the center. The center was this: Christ sent forth His Spirit so that the saving Gospel would go into all the world. Pentecost is about the creation of the Church through the preaching of Christ. The same Holy Spirit continues His work among us now.
For you, dear Saints of the Lord, the Holy Spirit is your Comforter. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.” The Spirit delivers that peace to troubled consciences. When Satan accuses you of your sins, the Holy Spirit points you to Christ’s blood shed for you. When death terrifies you, the Spirit points you to Christ’s resurrection. When your heart is weak and burdened, the Spirit reminds you that you belong to Christ through Baptism.
The Holy Spirit also sustains you in the faith. Christians do not merely begin by the Spirit and then continue by their own strength. Every day the old Adam drags us toward sin and unbelief. Every day the world tempts us. Every day the devil attacks us. Therefore every day the Holy Spirit calls us back through repentance and faith. He keeps us near Christ and preserves us within the holy Christian Church.
And that is His great goal: to bind us to Christ. The Spirit never points inward to your own worthiness or emotions. He always points outward to Jesus. To Christ crucified. To Christ risen. To Christ reigning for sinners.
Where the Holy Spirit is at work, Christ is confessed. Sins are forgiven. Faith is created. The Church is gathered. And sinners are comforted with the promise of eternal life.
Therefore give thanks this Pentecost Day for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pray that He would continue to dwell among us through the Word and Sacraments. Pray that He would preserve us in the true faith unto life everlasting. For where the Holy Spirit is, there Christ is. And where Christ is, there is forgiveness, life, and salvation.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] John 14:26-27