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Comforter
(From Forerunner Commentary)

John 14:17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) In Greek, as in English, the word "spirit" is neuter. It naturally requires a neuter pronoun, which is rightly translated into English as "it," and is usually so translated. However, in some cases the translators have used a masculine pronoun where the original Greek uses "it." John 14:17 is such a case. The pronouns "he" and "him" should have been rendered "it." No doubt the translators erred because they themselves assumed the Holy Spirit to be a person. In John 14:26; 16:7-8, 13-14 the Holy Spirit is personified as the "Comforter" (Greek parakletos, which is grammatically masculine), hence the pronoun "he" (ekeinos) was used in the original Greek to agree with "Comforter," but should also be translated "it" in an English version. The plain fact of the whole matter, which few have ever realized, is that the commonly accepted "trinity" doctrine attempts to limit for all time the size of the Family of God. It denies the very purpose for which Elohim created mankind! What It Means to Be Born Again

John 14:23  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The meaning is so clear: The Father and the Son live in us, not a Third Person of a Trinity. This is in context just after Jesus says, "I will send another Comforter, . . . even the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-18).  John W. Ritenbaugh The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part 1)

1 Timothy 2:5  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) There is one mediator, Christ. The Holy Spirit is referred to as the parakletos, the Comforter. It is the guide, leading us into all truth. Comforter means "one who goes alongside." If this were a personality, then one would begin to think that it is in a position somewhere between us and the Father. But the Bible makes o mention of anything of the kind. There is only one between us and God, and that One is the Son. This is similar in form to I Corinthians 11:3, which shows that, of the Deities above us, only One stands between us and God the Father, that is, God the Son. This means that not even the Holy Spirit, sent to us as a Comforter, is a mediator. If the Holy Spirit were God (equal to the Father and the Son), it would be an affront of the highest order to exclude "Him" from an intermediary role between us and the Father—especially when we consider that the Bible assigns us, mere human beings, an intercessory role between others and the Father. By prayer we are to intercede before the Father for one another, which is a form of mediation. We go to the Father in behalf of our brothers and sisters who are undergoing trial, difficulty, sickness, or whatever. The Holy Spirit is excluded from this role because it is not a personality, yet we are given it because we are personalities. John W. Ritenbaugh The Holy Spirit

Look up 'Comforter' in Nave's  

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