Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                   Chapter Fifteen

                                                                                                                                              Verses 26-27

Jesus returned to preaching to His disciples about the Comforter that He would send to them. The Spirit of Christ still inhabits His true Church made up of all believers saved by grace. Believers saved by grace are in all denominations. Some deceived believers may be in the cults. Jesus taught that His Spirit would cause some of His Apostles to remember much of what He had taught them, and His Spirit would inspire them to write the New Testament. John 14:26.

Jesus taught that only the Holy Spirit could preach His gospel. John 16:8-9. Only the Holy Spirit possesses the necessary power to preach His gospel. Jesus taught His disciples, and His Church, that the Holy Spirit would cause every believer to be a witness for Him. Acts 1:8. But just as Jesus was Lord and Master of His disciples, the Holy Spirit is the Lord and Master of His Church. No believer should witness for Christ, and no preacher should ever preach the gospel unless instructed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Believers should never decide on their own to witness for Christ. John 15:5. When believers witness on their own, it often becomes ineffective, and it may even drive some unbelievers further from faith in Christ. Every believer should pray and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to when they should witness for Him. Souls are won to faith in Christ only at particular times and places as appointed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit desires that the Church work together as a team. I Corinthians 12:1-31. The Holy Spirit decides how every believer should fit into His Church. The Holy Spirit may require one particular believer's only witness in his entire life to be his baptism in water, and yet, the Holy Spirit may appoint another believer to be an evangelist who preaches and wins thousands to Christ.

The Church, being comprised of weak humans, cannot possess the power within them to preach the gospel to the whole world. But the Almighty Holy Spirit certainly has the necessary power to preach the gospel to every human until God removes Him from the world prior to the Tribulation period. Colossians 1:23; II Thessalonians 2:7-8. But even during the Tribulation, God will not allow His gospel to go unpreached. God will send an angel to preach His gospel during the Tribulation that will last for seven years. Revelation 14:6-7.