John 14:26 Meaning and Explanation

The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost. The Spirit is given a specific role here: to comfort, to teach, to remind. The Comforter arrives not as a stranger but as one sent by the Father in Jesus's name. The implication is that the Spirit carries Jesus's character and purpose. He is not sent to bring new truth alien to Jesus's teaching but to open up and apply the truth Jesus has already revealed. He shall teach you all things. The Spirit's teaching is comprehensive and continuous. He does not give static doctrine but living guidance. What the disciples need to understand about the Father, about Jesus, about themselves, about the world, the Spirit will illuminate. But not all at once. There is a pedagogical gentleness here. The Spirit teaches as people are able to receive.

Bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. The Spirit works with memory, not against it. He does not erase what Jesus taught and substitute new truth. Rather, he deepens the disciples' understanding of what they have already heard. A word of Jesus that seemed cryptic in the moment becomes luminous years later when the Spirit brings it to mind at the right moment. This is why the Gospels are so important for us. They are the record of what Jesus said. As we read them, the Spirit can bring those words to life in our hearts. We do not encounter the teachings of Jesus through the Spirit alone but through the Spirit working with Scripture.