Words are so important. Just ask the Apostle John who begins his Gospel by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In John 15:26, he uses the Greek word parakletos which our ESV translation calls “the Counselor.” Let’s unwind the translation process. In English, a counselor can be someone who offers advice. A counselor can also be used to refer to a lawyer – specifically an advocate for one side or the other in a legal dispute. The literal translation of the Greek word parakletos is “one called alongside.” An example from the first century world of our Gospel is the person who would bring his small boat alongside a large cargo ship before it tried to enter a harbor. The parakletos knew where every rock, reef, sand bar and current was in that harbor and would guide the ship safely to the dock by either leading it or coming aboard to take the steering rudder.
When quoting Jesus – the Word made flesh, it’s important to understand exactly what He is trying to tell us. Back in John 14:6, Jesus tells the disciple Thomas that He is “The way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” How is Jesus the way? He came from God to embody the fulness and holiness of God (Colossian 1:19). Having taught the truth of God’s Word, his sinless life allowed Him to be the only perfect sacrifice that could atone for all the sins of mankind. Yes, yours and mine (Romans 3:23). In Acts 3:15, Peter tells the crowd that gathered on the Day of Pentecost, “you have killed the author of life.”
With today’s Scripture passage Jesus teaches that He must die and be raised again in order for the Father to send the parakletos whom he calls “the Spirit of truth.” Without that Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we can only know what the world teaches us. The Spirit, though, will allow us to perceive and understand both the seen and unseen dimensions that make up the Truth. We will see, first of all, that we are not “good enough,” or even “pretty good.” The Spirit will reveal the Truth that there is absolutely nothing we can DO apart from accepting the gracious atoning sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross that will keep us from the wages of our sins. As Jesus says in John 15:5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
The parakletos will not only guide us to our eternal destiny, but he will also give us gifts (talents and skills) to accomplish our God-appointed tasks. Since the Holy Spirit dwells within all believers, he will coordinate and harmonize the whole Body of Christ to work together in love to fulfill the Father’s will, on earth as it is in heaven.
Lastly, the Holy Spirit will release God’s power – God’s life – in and through us to follow Jesus in all circumstances until we are all united with Him in the resurrected, heaven infused creation.
So this is the condensed version of a huge and wonderful topic. I’d like to encourage everyone to check out the book Pastor Matt mentioned: Jesus, Continued – Why the Spirit Inside You is Better than Jesus Beside You, by J. D. Greear.
Let me leave you with a quote from the famous 18th Century English street preacher, John Wesley. When asked by someone what his secret was that drew so many people to come hear him speak, Wesley said: “I get alone with God in prayer and Scripture study. Then the Holy Spirit sets me on fire. The people come out to watch me burn.” May we all burn with that same fire.