“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.
Parallel translations
- WEB “When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.
- KJV But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
- BSB When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.
- NKJV “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
- NASB “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, namely, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, He will testify about Me,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus will send the Counselor, the Spirit of truth from the Father, who will testify about Him. The Spirit bears witness to Christ.
Overview
Amid the theme of persecution, Jesus renews the promise of the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Son. The Spirit's role is to testify concerning Jesus, strengthening and empowering the disciples' witness in a hostile world. This verse has long informed the church's reflection on the Spirit's relation to the Father and the Son within the Trinity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 14:26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
- John 14:16–17I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever, —
- John 16:13–15However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.
- Acts 5:32We are His witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
- Acts 2:32–33This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
- Acts 15:8God, who knows the heart, testified about them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just like he did to us.
- 1 Jn 5:6–10This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
- Luke 24:49Behold, I send out the promise of my Father on you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.”
- Rev 22:1He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
- John 16:7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
- 1 Cor 1:6even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
- Heb 2:4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
- John 8:42Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 15:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.
How traditions read this
The East–West split over the Nicene Creed.
The Spirit proceeds from the Father AND the Son (the "filioque"). The Son sends the Spirit and the Spirit is "of the Son," so the West confesses a double procession.
Key points · "Whom I will send to you from the Father"; the Spirit called the Spirit of the Son (Gal 4:6).
Catechism §246; the Western form of the Nicene Creed
The Spirit proceeds from the Father ALONE (working through the Son in mission, but eternally from the Father). The East rejects the filioque as an unauthorized addition that blurs the persons.
Key points · "The Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father"; the unaltered Creed of 381.
Photius; the Cappadocian Fathers · Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (381)
Most Protestants inherited and kept the Western filioque, confessing the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son — while many today seek reconciliation with the East over the wording.
Key points · Continuity with the Western creed; the Son''s sending of the Spirit.
Westminster Confession ch. 2
Each view is stated as that tradition would put it, with representative sources. Limitless Word presents them side by side and endorses none — see the methodology.