The Comforter's Testimony

In our text, it is said that the Comforter himself would testify when he came. Indeed, in Acts 2, when the Comforter came, he testified through the disciples of the Lord, just as Jesus had promised. Jesus had also told them that "ye also shall bear witness", and this was demonstrated perfectly at Pentecost, in Acts 2. After the Comforter had testified in tongues through Peter and the other disciples, Peter stood up and in his own tongue gave a wonderful, convincing testimony which, with the Spirit's testimony, brought about three thousand souls to Christ. It took the testimony of both the Comforter and Peter to accomplish this remarkable change in so many lives; and I am persuaded that the same two witnesses, God's and man's, will be required to bring about the long-awaited, end-time revival spoken of by the prophets.

We are informed that "two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor" (Eccl. 4:9). Moreover, under Moses's Law, no one was condemned without the testimony of at least two witnesses. Jesus, referring to this rule, said, "It is also written in your Law that the testimony of two men is true." Then he continued, "I am one that beareth witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me" (Jn.8:17-18). Yes, the Father bore witness of the Son many times, especially at his baptism by John in the Jordan River, when the Spirit descended as a dove upon Jesus and a voice from heaven cried, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Friend, do you have this second testimony from God?

The Spirit's witness, the Comforter's Testimony, sets God's way of salvation apart from all religions on earth, for no other religion bears God's mark of approval: the Spirit's testimony. Only God's is a two-testimony religion. Throughout history, men from every culture have claimed to belong to God, but man's testimony alone is insufficient and untrustworthy. It is the second testimony which confirms God's covenant.

Paul wrote (Rom.8:16), "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." These are the two witnesses, my reader: God's Spirit and yours. I know that you have one of them, but what about the one that confirms the covenant, the Comforter's testimony? In other words, did the Spirit of God testify through you in tongues when it entered? Without this witness from God, man's testimony, being alone, carries no weight at all in heaven. No one's claim to be born again is valid until he is baptized with the holy Ghost and speaks in tongues, for the baptism of the Spirit, first given on the day of Pentecost to Jesus's disciples, is the new birth experience (Rom.6:3; 1Cor.12:13; Gal.3:27).

Despite the testimonies of multitudes of believers, many Christian scholars and ministers deny the continued existence of the Comforter's Testimony. While admitting that the earliest disciples spoke in tongues, these teachers hold that tongues have ceased, though they cannot say who did away with them. The Scriptures, however, give no indication of the withdrawal of the blessings Christ bestowed. Long after the initial outpouring of the holy Ghost in Acts 2, Paul and the church were speaking in tongues and thanking God for it (1Cor.14:18). Gentiles also received the holy Ghost and spoke in tongues (Acts 10:44-46), as did disciples at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-6). And remember, Paul strictly warned the church that if any man, or even an angel, came preaching any other gospel than that which he preached, "let him be accursed" (Gal.1:8-9). If anyone has caused speaking in tongues to cease, it is Christian minster who teaches people against it, not Jesus, who purchased that blessing with his blood.

Many Christian ministers teach that speaking in tongues is not for us today, but God knows their hearts. In fact, it is precisely because God knows their hearts that they have not been given His Spirit and do not speak in tongues. Peter said that "God gives the holy Ghost to all those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32). Therefore, we know that those who have not received the holy Ghost have not obeyed God, though they certainly may do so; and we pray that they will.

Some Christian ministers, with foolish boldness, even dare to teach that speaking in tongues is a work of the devil! Oh, how I fear for such men! They may be sealing their eternal destination. Jesus said, "All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme. But he that shall blaspheme against the holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation" (Mk.3:28-29). The disciples who were first filled with the holy Spirit were mocked and accused of being drunk (Acts 2:13), and ignorant men at times still mock Spirit-filled people. Paul knew that some, "unlearned" in the things of God, upon hearing the church speak in tongues would call the saints insane (1Cor.14:23); but Paul also knew that the church was in fact "giving thanks well".

The gift of God's holy Spirit, and the miraculous sign it brings with it, came to us at a very great cost. It cost God the sending of His beloved Son from the perfection of his heavenly home to an earth steeped in heartache, sorrow, disease, sin, and death. It cost the Savior inexpressible anguish and ignominious death on Calvary's cross. Other miraculous wonders preceded the death of Christ Jesus, but not the sign of the covenant: the Comforter's Testimony. Can you imagine Jesus, after coming to this sinful world and giving his life to complete God's plan of salvation, allowing someone to change His plan, or to do away with part of it? Nor has he ever returned to alter the way he made for us. No, my friend, this New Covenant is eternal and unchangeable. Jesus declared, "My words shall never pass away." We must go God's way, for "he that climbeth in some other way is a thief and a robber." Upon reading Paul's words, "tongues are for a sign to unbelievers" (1Cor. 14:22), one should ask, "A sign of what?" The obvious answer is that this heavenly utterance is a sign intended by a loving God to guide sinners to the right way.

After the Lord ascended, his disciples went forth with miraculous signs attending their message. Jesus had told them to teach others "whatsoever I have commanded you." And what had he commanded them? He commanded them to preach the gospel, saying, "These signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils. They shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents. And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mk.16:17-18). Yes, speaking in tongues is one of the signs of the true church. Because Jesus's words here clearly show the difference between the true church of God and the many churches of Christianity which are not of God, Christian scholars have made great efforts to discredit these verses; but every faithful child of God knows that these words are from Jesus.

Not knowing what the Comforter's Testimony is, misguided disciples of Jesus, more full of confidence than of knowledge, often refer to their happy feelings as proof that they possess the Spirit. Eventually, however, such people, if sincere, must admit that this witness is an unreliable one. It will fail them in time of greatest need. Now, while in favor with men, while in health, while financially secure, while surrounded with friends, they feel blessed; but later, when those conditions are reversed, they will feel unhappy. They will lose what they now suppose to be the Comforter's Testimony. Others point to "what the Scriptures say" as proof of their having the Spirit; but, friend, the Bible has never said anything. It is a book. Everything anybody has ever received from the Bible he has read, and whether or not someone understands what he has read is the issue we are discussing.

Some, in the face of Jesus's declaration, "When the Comforter is come . . . he shall testify of me" (Jn.15: 26), think that this testimony of the Comforter is their peace of mind; but when they see many who claim no religion at all apparently having the same peace of mind, their concept of the Comforter's Testimony proves insufficient to sustain their faith, or to give them trustworthy assurance. When the dark hour comes, they, too, must face defeat and surrender their claims as being false and satanic. But what joy, peace, and righteousness come to those who have the witness of God - to those who have the real holy Ghost and who have learned to walk in it!

Jesus promised this divine witness to his followers and died that they might have it; so "why should it be thought a thing incredible with you" that God should still be testifying today through those who yield themselves to His will and power?

"When the Comforter is come . . . he shall testify of me. And ye also shall bear witness. . ." (Jn.15: 26). These are the two witnesses: God's Spirit and yours. Are you among the many who can say only with their voice, "I am born again"? Or do you have the second Witness that you are born of God? Please don't allow a man with nothing but a doctrine to steal your hope of eternal life. Many Christians trust that they are being led rightly, when they are actually being carried by Satan's deception into temptations and pits of evil. Jesus, who loves you, offers you life.

On Pentecost morning, the first group of disciples were born again, and the church came into existence. Christ is offering to you now your own pentecost experience, your own new birth into the kingdom of God, a kingdom into which no man can take you, and out of which no man can cast you. The only thing men can do is either to dissuade you or encourage you to pursue the thing you need most: the baptism Jesus gives, with the evidence which always accompanies it: THE COMFORTER'S TESTIMONY.

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