A Good Word – παράκλητος (Helper)

We were in need, and Christ came to our aid.

We were desperate, and the Son of God became the Son of Man, born in human flesh. We were going astray, and Jesus showed us the way by His perfect life. We were dead in our sins, and Christ died so that we might live. We were confused and hopeless, and Jesus gave us hope; He walked out of the tomb, victorious over the grave. We needed uninhibited access to the Father, and Christ ascended to heaven, where He intercedes for us. We were powerless, and Jesus sent His Spirit to dwell in us, to guide us, to aid us when we are in need.

“Aid.” A paráklētos is one who renders aid. Appearing only five times in the New Testament and only in Johannine literature (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7—referring to the Holy Spirit; 1 John 2:1—referring to Christ), the Greek word paráklētos (παράκλητος) has been translated “Helper,” “Comforter,” “Counselor,” or “Advocate.” In its most common usage, paráklētos is a legal term. Imagine yourself in a courtroom, accused of a crime. Desperate and alone, how will you convince the judge of your innocence? You need a spokesperson, someone to plead your case on your behalf. You need someone to come to your aid. You need a paráklētos.

In the high-stakes economy of sin and salvation, by God’s grace, you have two.

When we were awaiting just judgment for our sins in God’s heavenly law court, Jesus came to our aid. Dying in our stead, Christ gave us His righteousness so that when the Father looks upon us, He sees Christ. And when we inevitably fall into sin, “we have an Advocate (paráklētos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1 ESV).

Not only that, we also have “another Advocate” (John 14:16 NIV)—the Holy Spirit. Jesus returned to heaven, where He renders us heavenly aid, and He has sent His Spirit to aid us here on earth. The Spirit is the helping presence who comes to our defense when we fall back into the clutches of sin from which Christ freed us. When the world tries to starve us with lies, the Spirit nourishes us in the truth.             

The Spirit is “another Helper” (ESV) because He points to the Helper, Jesus Christ, who first came to our aid and who now advocates for us with the Father. The Spirit connects Christ in heaven with His church on earth. Moreover, because of these two Helpers, we have everything we need to live a life of godliness; we have a sure hope for an eternal life with the triune God.

When we desperately needed help, God sent a Helper … and then He sent another One.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy [Spirit];
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.^[1]

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^[1] Gloria Patri is an anonymously authored early church creed or hymn. It is also known as “The Lesser Doxology.” See also Scott Aniol, ed., Psalms and Hymns to the Living God (China: G3 Ministries, 2023), #161.