This Paraclete is a distinct gift to the twelve, to take the place of the personal presence and guidance of the leader who is preparing to leave them.

What is the nature of this promised one?  By examining the lexicons we find that Paraclete is: 

1.  One called or sent to assist another.

2.  One who pleads the cause of another.

3.  A monitor.

4.  An instructor.

5.  A guide.

6.  A helper.

7.  A supporter.

8.  A comforter.

Of this Paraclete Jesus says: 

1.  Whom the world can not receive.

2.  He dwelleth with you and shall be in you.

3.  He shall teach you all things.

4.  He shall bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have spoken unto you.

5.  He shall testify of me.

6.  He shall convict the world of sin.

7.  He shall convict the world of righteousness.

8.  He shall convict the world of judgment.

9.  He shall guide you into all truth.

10.  He shall show you things to come.

11.  He shall receive of mine and show it unto you.

Here we have eleven distinct things that the Paraclete is to do for the apostles.

All these offices of the Paraclete were needed by the apostles in their work of proclaiming Christianity and establishing the church.  They were ignorant and unlearned, humanly speaking, and could never have gone forth to success without this supernatural Paraclete.  They took no thought what they should say, for it was given them at the proper time.  Others have to take thought.  Paul tells Timothy to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  Timothy had to study because he did not possess the Paraclete.  Yet Timothy did possess the gift of the Spirit.  “For which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6).

Men to-day are required to study that they may know what to say.  A failure to observe this exhortation of the apostle is the reason why a great many do not know what to say.  The Paraclete was not only an instructor, but he was an infallible guide.  This is evident from the fact that no apostle ever contradicted another nor said anything foolish.  I never heard a man of to-day lay claim to being guided “into all truth by the Spirit,” who did not say something foolish in the next five minutes.  If any man claims the direct guidance of the Spirit to-day, he can not consistently deny that same claim to others.  But we have all sorts of men teaching all sorts of doctrines, often contradicting each other.  Does the Spirit guide one man to preach up Universalism and another man to preach it down!  The same is true of Calvinism, Mormonism or any other ism.