On the Spirit as the Helper
On the Spirit as the Helper.
THE HOLY SPIRIT: The eternal life-giving Third Person of the Holy Trinity; the intimate bond of divine love and truth shared by God the Father and God the Son; the dynamic power of God offered to every human being on earth; the supernatural Presence in the Community of God who is personal without being material; the invisible creative force with divine intelligence who truly knows the mind of God from the inside; the Spirit of God who thus has all knowledge and is present everywhere in the universe; the sacred energy streaming forth from the Father and the Son, pouring love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), producing virtuous qualities in us (Galatians 5:22-23), and gradually transforming each believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
God’s eternal Spirit was present at creation, of course, “brooding like a bird over the watery abyss.” (Gen. 1:1, MSG). No surprise there. All three Persons of God existed together eternally before creation began, and they will be intimate spiritual companions forever after the world’s recreation as well. At creation, the Spirit was like a mother bird hatching an egg, bringing beauty and order out of nothingness and chaos, waiting to take us under His wing.
Because the Triune God is united and inseparable, the Father and the Son is everywhere the Spirit us. If the Spirit dwells in us and alongside us, so does the Father and the Son. If the Father and the Son have promised to make a home in us, the Spirit is right there as well, arm-in-arm in their Trinitarian Presence, establishing a dwelling place in us. Since we are welcomed inside the relationship of the Trinity, the Spirit helps make that happen. Since we are adopted into God’s family as His children, we can be sure the Spirit was a part of that process. We can be assured the Spirit will work to sustain us in the Trinitarian circle and fellowship.
St. Paul’s Trinitarian blessing that closes his second letter to the Corinthians contains an interesting observation concerning the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). After praying for them to be blessed in the grace of Jesus Christ and the love of God, Paul completes the blessing by praying that they would experience the “koinonia” of the Holy Spirit. Koinonia is another rich Greek biblical term, meaning communion, participation in, companionship, intimate partnership with, deep fellowship with. We are not only joined into the community of the Trinity through the Spirit, but we are plugged into a profound fellowship with other believers as well. There would be no communion with other people were it not for the source of all communion, the intimate unity of the triune God. We are one with other believers only because of our oneness with the Trinity. Believers are welcomed into the relationship of the Trinity, and through that spiritual source of oneness we have the possibility of intimate fellowship with fellow believers. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, along with the Father and the Son, and thus we are able to live inside the Trinity while the Trinity lives within us and we live within the community of believers. The Holy Spirit, our true Companion, our intimate Friend “who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Paraclete), who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads you into all the truth… It is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Helper (paraclete) won’t come. When I do go away, then I will send Him to you. I will not abandon you as orphans.” (John 14:15-18 and 16:7).
The Holy Spirit is the ultimate Helper with a certain style. Jesus puts an even finer point on the Spirit’s Helping style when He called the Spirit “paraclete” in the Gospel of John. Paraclete is a Greek term meaning “called to come alongside of,” and is often translated as Helper in John. Paraclete is one of those rich biblical terms that cannot be described in one or two words. It means many things, and so translations vary in describing what a paraclete actually does. The truth is that the paraclete is called alongside each believer to be a divine Friend and do many Helpful things, to fulfill numerous roles. For the sake of accuracy, let’s look at paraclete in its many contexts to flesh out the Spirit’s helping style. Remember, Jesus is the one who pointedly and purposefully called His Spirit paraclete. Let’s unpack that complex word this way:
P Points to Jesus and Glorifies Him (John 16:13-14).
A Advises and Counsels (John 14:26).
R Reminds us so as to promote Understanding (John 14:26).
A Advocates for and Defends (1 John 2:1).
C Comforts and brings Peace (John 14:27).
L Loves and Convicts (John 14:16, 16:8).
E Exhorts and Coaches (Romans 12:8).
T Teaches and Guides into Truth (John 14:26 and 16:13).
E Encourages and Inspires (Romans 1:12; Acts 4:36; Colossians 2:2-4).
As you can see, the Holy Spirit, the paraclete, has a wide-ranging Helping style all His own. The Spirit is called to come alongside us in order to point us to Jesus, advise and counsel us, remind us in order to understand, advocate for us, comfort us, love us and convict us, exhort and coach us, teach and guide us, and encourage us. That is the style, the method of influence that is intended for the benefit of every person being indwelled and empowered by the Spirit.