The Holy Spirit as "Advocate"

[Tirian]

Greetings everyone,

It's been a long time between posts, but I always value being able to drop in from time to time to catch up on the latest here at PB.

I wonder if someone could elaborate on the sense of the word "advocate" in this text for me?

John 14:26 New International Version (NIV) 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

How does this contrast with the word Advocate in 1 John 2 which John attributes to the Lord?

I'm certainly not a Greek scholar (or amateur for that matter) but I think the same word is being used here in the greek. The context of the advocacy of Christ before the father in 1 John 2 seems to be more about our sin now and in the future, perhaps in relation to accusations being brought against us by the Accuser (Rev 12:10).

What is the advocacy of the Holy Spirit in John 14? Is there something in the original text to suggest that "comforter" may be a better translation? Or is the role of the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus the same in advocating for us before the Father? Is the role of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit interchangeable in both contexts?

Thank you friends,

Matt

 

[VictorBravo]

The word for advocate there, paraclete, comes from combining para (alongside) and kalein (to call). It is used in various senses, ranging from an encourager who walks along with someone on a difficult way, all the way to something like a courtroom advocate or intercessor, standing in behalf of an accused.

I think context gives leads to the meaning. In John's Gospel, the Holy Spirit is the one who is with the believer, lifting up, encouraging, exhorting, strengthening; he is a steady helper alongside.

In 1 John, referring to Jesus, the context leans more toward him being an advocate or intercessor.

 

[Dachaser]

Greetings everyone,

It's been a long time between posts, but I always value being able to drop in from time to time to catch up on the latest here at PB.

I wonder if someone could elaborate on the sense of the word "advocate" in this text for me?

John 14:26 New International Version (NIV) 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

How does this contrast with the word Advocate in 1 John 2 which John attributes to the Lord?

I'm certainly not a Greek scholar (or amateur for that matter) but I think the same word is being used here in the greek. The context of the advocacy of Christ before the father in 1 John 2 seems to be more about our sin now and in the future, perhaps in relation to accusations being brought against us by the Accuser (Rev 12:10).

What is the advocacy of the Holy Spirit in John 14? Is there something in the original text to suggest that "comforter" may be a better translation? Or is the role of the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus the same in advocating for us before the Father? Is the role of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit interchangeable in both contexts?

Thank you friends,

Matt

I would relate the role of the Holy Spirit in us to being the One who takes our prayers to Jesus, who than is the go between us and the Father. All of the Trinity are involved, but some differences in what They are doing on our behalf..

 

[jwithnell]

At this point, Jesus is looking ahead to Pentecost and seeing the Spirit's advocating for us in our prayer and other spiritual duties. Later, Paul teaches us that the presence of an intersessor is now established when he described the Spirit's advocacy for us in prayer (Romans 8:26).

I have pondered how we have Jesus presented to us as our advocate just a few verses later in Romans 8:34. It seems we need the Spirit's to assist us in prayer while we require Jesus' advocacy so that we may approach the Father. Yes, the whole Trinity is involved, but this is the manner that the scriptures detail.

 

[Jack K]

The word for advocate there, paraclete, comes from combining para (alongside) and kalein (to call). It is used in various senses, ranging from an encourager who walks along with someone on a difficult way, all the way to something like a courtroom advocate or intercessor, standing in behalf of an accused.

I think context gives leads to the meaning. In John's Gospel, the Holy Spirit is the one who is with the believer, lifting up, encouraging, exhorting, strengthening; he is a steady helper alongside.

In 1 John, referring to Jesus, the context leans more toward him being an advocate or intercessor.

I love how both Christ and the Spirit are identified as paraclete. It underscores the fact that this is a fundamental part of God's disposition toward us.

I wonder if all the ink spilled over whether the word means advocate, counsellor, encourager, comforter, etc. hasn't kept us from seeing a more fundamental truth: our tendency to imagine that God is watching from a distance to see if our efforts to please him measure up is utterly false. He is near and he is on our side.

 

[VictorBravo]

He is near and he is on our side.

That caused me to meditate a bit on Acts 17:27 and the surrounding verses.

 

[Dachaser]

I love how both Christ and the Spirit are identified as paraclete. It underscores the fact that this is a fundamental part of God's disposition toward us.

I wonder if all the ink spilled over whether the word means advocate, counsellor, encourager, comforter, etc. hasn't kept us from seeing a more fundamental truth: our tendency to imagine that God is watching from a distance to see if our efforts to please him measure up is utterly false. He is near and he is on our side.

I think that the Holy Spirit would be the One that takes our prayers to Jesus, who then intercedes for us to the Father.

 

[Dachaser]

I think that the Holy Spirit would be the One that takes our prayers to Jesus, who then intercedes for us to the Father.

 

[Jack K]

I think that the Holy Spirit would be the One that takes our prayers to Jesus, who then intercedes for us to the Father.

I think you probably didn't mean it this way... but that phrasing makes it sound like the Father remains distant from us when we pray and hears us only third-hand, as if we were passing along messages like a kids' game of "telephone." The Bible, rather, stresses the Father's attentiveness and nearness.

Now, it is true that the Spirit helps us in prayer and that we pray "in the Spirit." But the Spirit helps us in every activity of the Christian life, and we do all our Christian faith and service with an awareness of God's presence in us and his favor toward us. So the fact that we pray in the Spirit should be no surprise, and it does not mean the Spirit has a special messenger function within the Trinity.

It is also true that Jesus prays for us before God's throne. But we have reason to believe his intercessory prayers for us in heaven flow from his own desire rather than second-hand from us, as John 17 shows that Jesus is this kind of person—one who prays his own prayers for us, on his own initiative.

Jesus also is our mediator in that it is only by his saving work on our behalf that our prayers are surely heard. But when the Bible speaks of this mediating work, the emphasis is not on Jesus presenting our prayers to the Father but rather on how he gives us our own access as children of God. Passages like Matthew 6:5-13 and Matthew 7:7-11 assure us that our Father hears us and will respond. Luke 11:1-13 not only has us banging down the Father's door, but shows the Father responding by giving the Spirit—which makes the Spirit's help a result of prayer rather than a necessary part of being heard in the first place. And Hebrews 4:14-16 pictures how having Jesus as our High Priest makes us priests as well; we come before God's throne with confidence.

 

[Dachaser]

I think you probably didn't mean it this way... but that phrasing makes it sound like the Father remains distant from us when we pray and hears us only third-hand, as if we were passing along messages like a kids' game of "telephone." The Bible, rather, stresses the Father's attentiveness and nearness.

Now, it is true that the Spirit helps us in prayer and that we pray "in the Spirit." But the Spirit helps us in every activity of the Christian life, and we do all our Christian faith and service with an awareness of God's presence in us and his favor toward us. So the fact that we pray in the Spirit should be no surprise, and it does not mean the Spirit has a special messenger function within the Trinity.

It is also true that Jesus prays for us before God's throne. But we have reason to believe his intercessory prayers for us in heaven flow from his own desire rather than second-hand from us, as John 17 shows that Jesus is this kind of person—one who prays his own prayers for us, on his own initiative.

Jesus also is our mediator in that it is only by his saving work on our behalf that our prayers are surely heard. But when the Bible speaks of this mediating work, the emphasis is not on Jesus presenting our prayers to the Father but rather on how he gives us our own access as children of God. Passages like Matthew 6:5-13 and Matthew 7:7-11 assure us that our Father hears us and will respond. Luke 11:1-13 not only has us banging down the Father's door, but shows the Father responding by giving the Spirit—which makes the Spirit's help a result of prayer rather than a necessary part of being heard in the first place. And Hebrews 4:14-16 pictures how having Jesus as our High Priest makes us priests as well; we come before God's throne with confidence.

This does hit home to me big time that indeed God is for us, as all 3 Persons of the Trinity are personally involved in all of the aspects of our salvation.

 

[Tirian]

Thank you all for your engagement with the topic. It was a blessing to read through and process everyone's responses.

God bless you and keep you.

Matt