The Roles of the Holy Spirit According to John 14–16

 The Roles of the Holy Spirit According to John 14–16

 Briefly list and describe the roles of the Holy Spirit according to John 14–16. Which role is the easiest to explain? Which is the most difficult? Give reasons for your answers. Which of these roles is most relevant to your current church situation? Why?

The Gospel of John describes one of the advantages of Jesus returning to the Father was that He was going to send the Holy Spirit.[1] Kostenberger writes that the Holy Spirit was only able to come down once Jesus’ glorification was made come upon his death, burial, resurrection and ascent back to his Father.[2] Therefore, Jesus spent time preparing the disciples for this great event. The Holy Spirit stands as a substitute for Jesus’ earthly presence in the lives of believers.[3] The Holy Spirit would bring back to remembrance all that Jesus taught the disciples, and this is why Jesus told them not to worry about what they would say in front of governors, etc., because the Holy Spirit would speak through them.[4] The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth who would testify before others about Jesus through His disciples.[5] The Holy Spirit will convict those who are unbelievers about sin, righteousness and judgment.[6] The Holy Spirit speaks what is given for Him to say and will prophecy.[7] The Holy Spirit’s job is to elevate Jesus and make known to His followers the revelation of Jesus Christ.[8]

I believe that the easiest work of the Holy Spirit to explain is the conviction of right and wrong. Most people understand about the conscious and when they have done something wrong, they may be convicted of it from within. Therefore, when you teach them that the Holy Spirit convicts the person of what is right before the eyes of God and what is wrong in that it goes beyond just a feeling of guilt, but a conviction of wanting to please, God, they are able to understand the Holy Spirit much better from that aspect. The most challenging work of the Holy Spirit to explain to people is the gift of prophecy in my opinion. There are so many people claiming to hear from God that it can become confusing even for believers. This person is saying that the Spirit told them one thing and then the other person is saying something quite opposite. If believers can be confused by this, unbelievers would definitely be confused and think that we are just a ball of mess as believers. Therefore, I like to go to the scripture that is in Deuteronomy that describes the test of a true Word from God. If what that prophet says fail to come to past…it is not a word from the Lord.[9] This verse helps to bring clarity to those who are hearing various people claiming to get a prophetic Word from the Lord. As for which roles is more relevant in my current church, I do not believe that I can choose one role being more significant over the other. All the roles that the Holy Spirit performs are important to edify Jesus and to bring souls to Him. The Holy Spirit is an important part of the believer’s life and operates daily within us if we allow Him. We bring honor and glory to God when we allow the Holy Spirit to reign supreme in our life because Jesus died and rose again so that we may be able to operate in the power that He has given to us. Therefore, this is not a faucet where we are to turn it on and off, but the Holy Spirit is to operate continuously in our daily lives, which shows our love for Christ through our obedience.[10]

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[1] Andreas J Köstenberger, Encountering John: The Gospel in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2013), 145.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 148.

[4] John 14:26 (New International Version).

[5] John 15:26 (New International Version).

[6] John 16:8-11 (New International Version).

[7] John 16:13 (New International Version).

[8] John 16:14-15 (New International Version).

[9] Deut. 18:21-22 (New International Version).

[10] Donald Arthur Carson, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015), 498.

Holy Spirit (Counselor, Advocate, Parakletos)

 Holy Spirit (Counselor, Advocate, Parakletos)

List some of the possible translations of the term parakletos. Briefly discuss the positives and negatives of each possible translation. Which of these terms carries the most promise of accurately representing this word to a modern audience? Why? Look in your favorite Bible translation and see if you can find how it translates parakletos and give an example. Given the material for this module/week, do you think your Bible captures the nuance of this term correctly? Why or why not?

Carson gives five passages that introduces the understanding of Paraclete.

a.)    John 14:16-17 is where Jesus says that He will ask the Father to send another Counselor to be with the disciples as the Spirit of Truth.[1] The Father and Son works together with sending the Counselor to those who love and obey Him.[2] The Greek secularly describes the Paraclete in legal terms as an advocate and yet, other definitions are encouragement, to exhort, to strengthen and to call alongside.[3]  It may be best understood that Jesus was the first Advocate or Counselor for mankind who had to leave for the Holy Spirit to come and this is what He meant by sending “another” Counselor, so that those who believe would have someone working on their behalf on earth and guiding them along the way to do His divine will. Therefore, the Holy Spirit acts as a witness to who Jesus is and is therefore called the Spirit of Truth.[4] The NIV uses the word Counselor to describe the Holy Spirit, but Carson says that one should be careful not to take this to mean that someone is getting a therapy session or like a camp counselor. It should be viewed in legal terms in the sense of having someone act on your behalf and as a representation for the prosecution rather than the defense.[5] Therefore, the Holy Spirit convicts of Truth which tells what is right and not defend what is wrong.

b.)    John 14:26 is where Jesus says that He will send the Comforter teach and remind us of all things concerning Him.[6] The Holy Spirit is not just a mere substitute or a quilt to be put on for comfort, but He comes as an emissary of Jesus. Carson says that the promise in this text was not for subsequent disciples but was for Jesus’ disciples at the time.[7] If this is truly what the author is stating, I would respectfully disagree. Yes, the Holy Spirit was to bring to memory the things that Jesus had taught them concerning His truth, but I believe that the Holy Spirit still operates in the same way based upon what we read in the Bible concerning Christ today for we bear witness to the things of Him through the power of the Holy Spirit and will even more so during the last days.

c.)    John 15:26-27 is where Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit will come as the Spirit of Truth to testify about Him and that they were to also testify of Him because they were with Him.[8] The Holy Spirit joins with the disciples to bear witness about Christ being sent out from the Father and Son.[9] The Holy Spirit testifies about Christ to the world about the Father through Jesus, His word, ministry and miracles, His death and resurrection, and the blessings or judgment that will come in the end.[10]

d.)    John 16:7-11 is where Jesus tells the disciples that it is good for Him to leave so that the Comforter can come. The Holy Spirit will convict the world about sin, righteousness and His judgment, for He was returning to the Father, but the prince of this world would continue to rule but has been found condemned.[11] The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin because they do not believe in Jesus because their unbelief brings condemnation. Failure to believe is why do not wish to be convicted of wrong and is therefore, a willful action.[12] The Holy Spirit is not forceful but seeks to convict the world of their sin and their need for redemption through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit also convicts the world of righteousness because Jesus was returning to the Father, but the disciples would be left behind to model His righteousness before the whole world.[13] The Holy Spirit has to convict the world of judgment because the world was wrong about Jesus. Therefore, it stands condemned because it follows for father of lies who has spiritually blinded them concerning the things of Christ.[14]

e.)    John 16:12-15 is where Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit would not speak His own words but those words that He hears from Jesus concerning what’s to come and in so doing, edify Christ for the Father and Jesus operate as One.[15] The Holy Spirit gives the revelation of Jesus just as He did with John as he wrote the Book of Revelation. He teaches all things to the disciples and brings to mind what Jesus has placed on the inside of them concerning Him.[16] Jesus is the Truth that the Spirit leads them into as they learn of things to come from the Revealer of all things.[17]

When we look at the translations of parakletos, we must be careful to ensure that we have its correct interpretation. We must know that we are to use it in the legal sense to avoid diminishing the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is not a substitute for Christ but His representative just as ambassadors operate on behalf of their country. For the modern audience, the Greek’s secular translation of parakletos as it relates to a legal advocate is the most correct. Carson, however, makes it clear that one does not think of legal representation on behalf of the defense.[18] If we were to mistakenly think of the Holy Spirit in this manner, we would fail to credit Him for the role He operates in regarding convicting the world about sin, righteousness and judgment concerning their disbelief in Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwells on the inside of believers because we are to be representatives of Christ.[19] I tend to use the NIV and NLT in most of my Bible studies. The NIV uses the word Counselor in John 14:26 for example and the NLT uses the word Advocate for the same verse. I believe that both are correct, but they can also be misconstrued if not used appropriately. Whereas a counselor and advocate can both fight for the guilty party just like we have defense counselors and LGBTQ advocates, the Holy Spirit represents all Truth concerning Christ. Therefore, He is the Counselor and/or Advocate who represents Christ being Truth to the world through His followers. The Bible captures the Holy Spirit’s role correctly as being Jesus representative, counselor and advocate because the Bible let’s us know His role and for Whom He is sent.

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[1] John 14:16-17 (New International Version).

[2] Carson, John, 499.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid., 500.

[5] Ibid, 499.

[6] John 14:26 (New International Version).

[7] Carson, John, 505.

[8] John 15:26-27 (New International Version).

[9] Carson, John, 528.

[10] Carson, John, 530.

[11] John 16:7-11 (New International Version).

[12] Carson, John, 537.

[13] Ibid., 538.

[14] Ibid.

[15] John 16:12-15 (New International Version).

[16] Carson, John, 539-540.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid., 499.

[19] Andreas J Köstenberger, Encountering John: The Gospel in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2013), 146-147.