THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR ADVOCATE

STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (I)

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR ADVOCATE

SCRIPTURE:

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. John 14:15

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7

OBSERVATION:

Time and again during His ministry, the Lord reminded His disciples of the Holy Spirit whom He would send to them. The Greek Word that He used to describe the Holy Spirit was “Parakletos”, which literally means “one called to one’s side”. It was commonly used in a court of justice to denote a counsel or advocate for the defense. In its widest sense, it means Helper or Comforter. All this gives us the picture of the role of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, our Helper, our Advocate, our Defender.

Note how the Lord said ““another” Advocate. The Greek Word to denote “another”, means “someone else similar”. When Jesus was on the earth, He spoke up for His disciples, protecting them and helping them whenever they were in need. Once He left, He promised He would send another like Him to be our Advocate. In fact, He said it was good that He went away so that this Advocate would come to us. Limited by his human body on earth, the Lord was able to only impact a certain number of people. However, the Holy Spirit who is unlimited in nature, is able to impact and help infinite numbers of believers all over the world all at the same time.

APPLICATION:

Meditate on the Holy Spirit as our Parakletos, our Advocate, our Defender, our Helper, our Comforter. Thank God for the precious gift of His Holy Spirit. An Advocate speaks on the client’s behalf, to stand up for him, and speak for his rights in a way the client is unable to on his own. If God is for us, who can be against us? We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit, our precious Advocate. It is He who will help us and stand up for us when we are in need.

The word Advocate also reminds us that we are in a courtroom, before God. And thank God that we have not just one, but two powerful Advocates, for Jesus is also our Advocate. While the Holy Spirit is our Advocate with us on earth, Jesus is our Advocate before the Father in Heaven. And it is based on His Finished Work on the Cross that Jesus pleads our righteousness.

The next time guilt condemns us, and weighs heavily on our spirit, do not despair, but pray to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, thanking them, that they are our Advocates, defending us, helping us, speaking for us!

PRAYER:

Precious Lord Jesus, precious Holy Spirit, I thank You that You are my Advocates, my Helpers in time of need, my Comforters, my Deliverers. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that I have righteousness in You, not of my own, but completely from Your finished work on the Cross! Thank You, Holy Spirit, that You too are my Advocate, helping me and speaking for me, even after the many times I fail. Help me, precious, Lord. Let me not remain in guilt and hopelessness, but teach me to look forward and trust in You, that in all things You will defend me. Bless You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.