'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: And ye also shall bear witness,
because ye have been with Me from the beginning.'--JOHN xv. 26,
27.

Our Lord has been speaking of a world hostile to His followers and to
Him. He proceeds, in the words which immediately follow our text, to
paint that hostility as aggravated even to the pitch of religious
murder. But here He lets a beam of light in upon the darkness. These
forlorn Twelve, listening to Him, might well have said, 'Thou art
about to leave us; how can we alone face this world in arms, with
which Thou dost terrify us?' And here He lets them see that they will
not be left alone, but have a great Champion, clad in celestial
armour, who, coming straight from God, will be with them and put into
their hands a weapon, with which they may conquer the world, and turn
it into a friend, and with which alone they must meet the world's
hate.

So, then, we have three things in this text; the great promise of an
Ally in the conflict with the world; the witness which that Ally
bears, to fortify against the world; and the consequent witness with
which Christians may win the world.

I. Now consider briefly the first of these points, the great promise
of an Ally in the conflict with the world.

I may touch, very lightly, upon the wonderful designation of this
Champion-Friend whom Christ sends, because on former occasions in
this course of sermons we have had to deal with the same thoughts,