The Essence of the Comforter
By: Zainab Al-Shammari
The Greek word for Comforter
is “parakletos”and the most
familiar translation of this
Greek word is “Comforter”.
However, several occasions in
the Bible mentioned the
Comforter and prompted the
importance of following and
believing in him. However,
there were many points of
views in identifying who the
Comforter is, as some people
believe he is a holy man,
whereas others believe he is the
Holy Spirit; some believe he is
one of the Persons of the Trinity
as the majority of Christians do,
however, others do not adopt
this belief for it contradicts their
doctrine in the One and Only
God and that the Trinity is
invalid. So to reach to a
compromise, reading the
scriptures and sayings of Jesus
(a.s) with an open mind away
from fanaticism, may take us to
a clear and intact conclusion on
the reality of the Comforter.
world in respect of sin, and of
righteousness, and of being
judged: Of sin, because they
have not faith in me; Of
righteousness, because I go to
the Father and you will see me
no more; Of being judged,
because the ruler of this world
has been judged." John: Chapter
16.
Now, let us put the spotlight on
the words of Jesus:
“for if I do not go away, the
Comforter will not come to
you” - this shows that the
Comforter and Jesus do not
come together, for as long as
Jesus is among them, the
Comforter will not come to
them.
Jesus (a.s) said:
"But now I am going to him
who sent me; and not one of
you says to me, where you are
going? But your hearts are full
of sorrow because I have said
these things. But what I am
saying is true: my going is for
your good: for if I do not go
away, the Comforter will not
come to you; but if I go, I will
send him to you. And he, when
he comes, will convict the
Which means the Comforter
does not exist during the life of
Jesus neither before him.
Whereas we know that the
Holy Spirit was always with
Jesus and he existed before and
after Jesus; as mentioned in the
Bible:
“And his father, Zacharias, was
full of the Holy Spirit, and with
the voice of a prophet said
these words: Praise be to the
Lord, the God of Israel, for he
has come to his people and
made them free”-Lk [1:67-68].
So, as we find here, the Holy
Spirit was already there with
Zacharias.