The Comforter has Come, the Comforter has Come, or has It/He?

To get an understanding of who or what the Comforter/Helper is let's look at everything the scriptures say about it:

John 14:15-21, 25-26

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
KJV

John 16:7-13
 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. KJV

What I'm not going to do at this time is get into who or what the Comforter is. You can figure that out from the context. What I am going to do is get into what he, she, or it is going to do when they do come.

1. It shall teach you all things(not some)
2. He shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatever Jesus has said to you.
3. He will reprove the world of sin.
4. He will reprove the world of righteousness
5. He will reprove the world of judgment
6. He will guide you into all truth (not some)
7. He will show you things to come.

I can't speak for anyone else, but the spirit I received when I made Jesus my Lord and spoke in tongues hasn't done any of these things! There is no doubt in my mind that these characteristics are talking about what God is going to do with Israel when He establishes a New Covenant with them:

Jer 31:31-34

 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. KJV

Ezek 37:26-28

 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.

27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

28 And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. KJV

Whatever the case may be, this comforter is nothing like the spirit the believers of today have according to 1 Corinthians 14. 

Some Differences between being Born from Above and being Born Again

 In order to understand what being "born again" means we must first look at the context in which it is used.

John 3:1-8
 Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish council.

2 He came to Jesus one night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that God has sent you as a teacher. No one can perform the miracles you perform unless God is with him."

3 Jesus replied to Nicodemus, "I can guarantee this truth: No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above (anoothen)." This is normally translated born again.

4 Nicodemus asked him, "How can anyone be born when he's an old man? He can't go back inside his mother a second time to be born, can he?"

5 Jesus answered Nicodemus, "I can guarantee this truth: No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit (pneuma).

6 Flesh and blood give birth to flesh and blood, but the Spirit (pneuma) gives birth to things that are spiritual (pneuma).

7 Don't be surprised when I tell you that all of you must be born from above (anoothen).

8 The wind (pneuma) blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it's going. That's the way it is with everyone born of the spirit (pneuma)."

(from GOD'S WORD Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved.)

The next usage of anothen is in verse 31:

John 3:31-34

 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the spirit by measure unto him. KJV

What was it that Jesus expected Nicodemus to know? For starters, Ezek 11:19:

 "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:" KJV

Also, Ezek 36:26-27:  "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." KJV

Finally, Jer 31:33-34:  "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." KJV

This is what Jesus knew and expected Nicodemus to know as well. Jesus expected  "those days" that Jeremiah spoke about, to begin immediately after his ascension and culminate with the Battle of Armageddon, when the Kingdom of God would begin. His mindset was a relatively short period of time.

Now, let's take a look at anagennao, to produce again, to beget again, to beget anew. Its first usage is in 1 Peter 1:3-5:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 

NKJV

The second and final usage 1 Peter 1:22-23:  "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, NKJV

In contrasting the usages of these Greek words we can immediately see that there is no mention of "seed" or any "begetting" in John. Not only that, but we also see with that seed is an incorruptible, undefiled inheritance that does njot fade away with time! It is also interesting that 1:5 mentions "the last time," perhaps a parallel of "after those days."

In summary we know Jesus was talking to "a master (teacher) of Israel" and that he, Jesus, was referring to some Hebrew Scriptures when he spoke of being born from above and seeing and entering the kingdom of God. For the Jews, it was going to be impossible for them to enter into the kingdom without God making it happen. Ezekiel and Jeremiah show us that God was going to put his spirit in them and they are, in the future, going to walk in his ways. 

On the other hand, both Jew and Gentile can be begotten again now, enjoy the current benefits of salvation, reap the rewards of our godly works in heaven and then enjoy the full benefits of salvation  after those days of the tribulation. I would say there is a vast difference between what Jesus and Peter were speaking of. And these are just the ones on the surface!