Holy Spirit As Our Advocate By Babatunde Olugboji
Do you know that as believers, we have not one, but two advocates? Aren’t we blessed? Last week we identified Jesus as our advocate, today we’ll talk about our other advocate, the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told His disciples in John 14:16: “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.’ He added in verses 16 -17 of the same John 14: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth.”
The Greek word translated “Counselor” or “Comforter” (see John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) is ‘parakletos’ which also means “one called to the side of another.” It can be understood as the one who works alongside someone, to provide support and advise to the one who needs it. This Counselor is God the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity who has been “called to our side.” He is a personal being, and He indwells every believer.
When Jesus was on earth, He guarded, guided, and taught His disciples; but, in John 14 – 16, we learned that He was preparing to leave them. He promised that the Spirit of God would come to the disciples and dwell in them, taking the place of their master’s physical presence. Jesus called the Spirit “another Comforter” -another of the same kind, similar to Him. The Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God is not different from the Son of God. In essence, both are God.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God would come on people momentarily, for a purpose and then leave them. For example, God’s Spirit departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14; 18:12). David, when confessing his sin, asked that the Spirit not be taken from him (Psalm 51:11).
However, when the Spirit was given at Pentecost, He came to God’s people to remain with them forever. Even when we grieve the Holy Spirit, He will not leave us. As Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” How is He with us when He is in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father? He is with us by His Spirit, the Helper, the parakletos.
The Spirit teaches us the Word and guides us into truth. He reminds us of what Jesus has taught so that we can depend on His Word at challenging times. The Spirit works in us to give us His peace (John 14:27), His love (John 15:9 – 10), and His joy (John 15:11). He comforts our hearts and minds in a troubled world.
The power of the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to live by the Spirit and “not gratify the desires of the sinful flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). The Spirit can then produce His fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22–23) to the glory of God the Father.
To have the Holy Spirit as our advocate is to have Him making a case for us before God Himself the Father. What a blessing to have the Holy Spirit in our lives as our Comforter, our Encourager, our Counselor, and our Advocate!
Have a great week.
Kingdom Dynamics, a weekly column written by Dr. Babatunde Olugboji, the President, Kingdom House, a non-profit organization in New Jersey, USA.
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