Advocate I

John 16:⁷ “…I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counsellor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].”  (AMP].

If you had the option of physically having Jesus with you everywhere you go, be your friend, solving your problems, and returning to the sender all the arrows fired at you. Or having the Holy Ghost with you, which will you choose? Most people will want Jesus with them physically. But Jesus says, it is best for us that the Holy Spirit comes because He is more versatile. While on earth, Jesus could only be in one place at a time, did you know that? Jesus was physically restricted to His body. But the Holy Spirit is everywhere at the same time, with the same power. When Lazarus was sick and they sent for Jesus, He did not come immediately. Imagine if they had the Holy Spirit; He can be right here and there at the same time – tangible.

John 16:⁷ “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.” The word Advocate [Counsellor in other translations] is the word Parakletos. The root meaning of Parakletos is Advocate, Counsellor; not just a counsellor that gives advice but more like a legal counsel. The Holy Spirit is an Advocate and an advocate is a lawyer. If the Holy Spirit is your lawyer in life, you will not lose any case and that is what Jesus reveals to us. He the Holy Spirit is our Advocate. He is our Helper, our Intercessor, our Strengthener, our Standby. Jesus was trying to console the disciples and by extension empowering us, that we have someone that will speak on our behalf. We have someone that not only knows the law, He is the law giver, the law originated from Him. We have someone that not only knows scriptures, all scripture was given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That is the Person we have, so all fear should be gone.

Jesus was saying that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will radically define three of the foundational notions of spirituality. The Holy Spirit has come and we have to get this because it is too important for us as Christians. The first thing that He is going to radically redefine is sin. Jesus says, the world is wrong about sin. There is a new definition for sin; Sin is not believing in Jesus. Before Jesus came, in the time of Noah, Joshua, Gideon, and the likes, the opposite of sin was righteousness. Now, the opposite of sin is faith in Christ Jesus. John 16:^8-9 “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.” Jesus’ audience here were the Rabbis; men with long beards, men who had read all sorts of scriptures. Yet Jesus says their sin is not believing in Him. Imagine the scenario; ‘This thirty-year-old son of a carpenter? We know His father, we know where His mother is, and we know His brothers for they are with us. He is telling us that our sin is not believing in Him?’ It was difficult for the Jews to accept; it still is for a lot of them.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, please open the heart of these scriptures to me and help me understand Your truth completely, in Jesus Name. Amen!