The Advocate, or the Comforter, or the Counselor: these are all efforts to translate the Greek word παράκλητος (parakletos). It’s a compound word, and the root meaning is “someone called alongside.” Thus the person who comes alongside you in the court of law to advocate for you is your parakletos. The friend who comes alongside you in the midst of sorrow, putting an arm around your shoulder to comfort you: that’s your parakletos as well. So some translations use the word Advocate or Counselor, and others use the word Comforter: any of these are good translations, but none tells you everything you need to know.

Jesus said, “When the Parakletos comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf” (John 15:26). Part of the ministry of the Spirit, then, is to give witness about Jesus: witness regarding his name, his person, and his ministry, which will in turn enable us to testify about Jesus (15:27).

We also learn that the Parakletos comes to dwell in believers (14:17) – as the means by which we share in the deep interpersonal love of the Father and the Son (14:20-21): “those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with them” (14:23). Thus we experience the intimate presence of the Father and the Son through the Spirit who comes to live within us.

The Holy Spirit will teach us and remind us of what Jesus said to us (14:26), convicting us when we are wrong (16:8-11), guiding us into all the truth (16:13), and glorifying Jesus by taking his word and declaring it to us (16:14). That is, it will be the ministry of the Parakletos to come alongside us in our Bible reading and our prayer, to impress the truth of Jesus into our hearts, and to enable us to live out our lives in discipleship.

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Spirit of God, we pray for your convicting power to turn us from our sins. Grant to us open hearts and minds, that we may learn the truth of Jesus from you. Comfort us in our sorrows; defend us in our trials; and let us feel the wonder of the presence of the Lord, Father Son and Spirit, within our hearts always.

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