Friday, May 9, 2008
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor (Paraclete) to be with you forever.
ANOTHER PARACLETE
John the Apostle tells us that in Jesus our Savior we Christians have an Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). He takes up our case with the Father -- pleading, of course, not our works, but what He did in our place.
Jesus was also an Advocate during His earthly ministry. He represented the Father in speaking to His disciples. Now, in discussing the work of the Holy Spirit from Pentecost onward, Jesus says the Spirit will be "another Paraclete" -- that is, like Himself, another Advocate. As Jesus presented the case of the Father to the disciples, the Spirit will take up the case of the Son to them. "He will glorify Me," Jesus says, "for He shall take of mine and report it to you" (John 16:14).
The word "advocate" emphasizes the act of speaking to someone on someone else's behalf. The word "paraclete" is a Greek term that had become part of common speech in Jesus' day even among people speaking a different language. (cp. French words like "concierge" or "maître de" nowadays). This term emphasizes the intimate relationship of the advocate with the person to whom he was sent to speak (lit. "alongside").
Just as Jesus was close to His disciples, speaking to them as a Friend, even so, Jesus says, the Spirit sent from the Father will be "alongside" Jesus' disciples. And the Spirit's presence will be continual -- even to the end of time. Whether coming or going, our Lord is ever one step ahead of our Adversary, the old evil Foe.
