He provides the backdrop to this designation by saying, ‘The whole world is hostile to Christ; no one stands by him’. Made all the more graphic, given the imminence of Gethsemane and the appearances Jesus would make before the Jews, Pilate and Herod – alone in the face of the hostile mob bent on settling for nothing less than his execution.

Out of all the names given to the Holy Spirit as he is revealed in Holy Scripture, few are more profound or precious than the ‘Paraclete’ (Jn 14.16). This designation has at one and the same time intrigued, but also excited Christians everywhere as they try to peer into the depths not only of what this means regarding the Spirit’s identity, but also how it is manifested through his ministry.

Different versions of the Bible offer various translations in an effort to capture the essence of what it means. They range from ‘Comforter’ (KJV), to ‘Counsellor’ (RSV, NIV, NLT), to ‘Advocate’ (NEB), to ‘Helper’ (NASB, ESV) and often, when being cited in extra-biblical literature, it is simply transliterated from the original as, ‘Paraclete’ [parakletos: Gk).

Some theologians, such as Sinclair Ferguson, unpack the concept bound up with this word in light of its original usage. Namely, that in the ancient Near East, when someone was called to stand before a court of law to defend themselves, they were entitled to have someone stand with them and act in their behalf. If such a person could afford formal legal representation, they could employ a suitably qualified professional; but if this was beyond their means, they could simply bring their ‘best friend’. So, as Dr Ferguson points out in relation to the way Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit to his disciples in the Upper Room – notably by describing him as ‘another Counsellor’ – he was reassuring his followers of two things. The first, that just as he, Jesus, had been the disciples’ best friend over the past three years, but was now about to depart, so the Holy Spirit would fulfil that role for them after Jesus’ return to glory. But the second implication bound up with Jesus’ choice of words at this point was the fact that since the Holy Spirit had in a profound sense been Jesus’ ‘Best Friend’ from the moment of his conception in the Virgin’s womb, and would be right though to his exaltation, our Lord was providing his faithful followers with the best friend imaginable.

Herman Bavinck, in his Reformed Dogmatics, sheds further light on the significance of the Spirit’s being ‘Paraclete’ by rendering it, ‘Christ’s public defender’.[1] He provides the backdrop to this designation by saying, ‘The whole world is hostile to Christ; no one stands by him’.[2] Made all the more graphic, given the imminence of Gethsemane and the appearances Jesus would make before the Jews, Pilate and Herod – alone in the face of the hostile mob bent on settling for nothing less than his execution.

Interestingly, Bavinck opts for this rendition in the chapter ‘Faith and its Ground’ in relation to God’s word in Scripture’s being the ground of faith. In other words, the fact that ‘God has said it’ is the strongest warrant for believing that faith in Christ will never be futile.

Read More