Tag: holy-spirit

Our Helper

The Helper

John 16:6-7 (ESV)  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

In John 16, Jesus mentions a Helper that He will send to His disciples to help us in our ministry.  Most of us know this Helper is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), but how much do we really know about His work in us and in our ministry for the kingdom?  This Helper is also called another Helper (John 14:16)

First, I’d like to look at the word another used in John 14:16.  According to the Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (CWSDNT), the Greek word is allos and means another of the exact same kind, of equal quality; in this instance, it means the same kind as Jesus.  If it were another of a different kind, there is also a Greek word for that: heteros.  Jesus uses heteros in Matt. 6:24 when describing the fact we can’t serve two masters: God and money; he will hate the one and love the other (heteros).  So, the Helper here is another of the same sort of person as Jesus.

Some believe the Holy is just God’s energy or His active force, but being of the same quality and sort as Jesus shows the Holy Spirit is a person.  More on this later.

What sort of person is the Helper Jesus speaks of, and how will He work through us to accomplish God’s purpose in our lives?  The CWSDNT says the Greek word translated as Helper in John 16:7 is parakletos which is translated as a helper, an advocate, or an intercessor but means even more than that.  It also means a comforter, encourager, an exhorter, aid, a legal advisor, pleader, proxy, someone who comes forward in behalf of, and a representative.  The Holy Spirit is all of these things to the believer. Parakletos appears only five times in the New Testament, and all five are in John’s writings (John 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7, and 1 John 2:1).  In the First John verse, it is used to describe Jesus Himself: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Let’s look at some of the ways the Holy Spirit works in our lives:

Teacher – The Helper (the Holy Spirit) teaches believers and helps them understand God’s truth.

Jesus said he would teach believers and remind us of what He had said (John 14:26)

He enables us to understand the things freely given by God (1 Cor. 2:12-13)

Comforter – The Spirit strengthens and encourages believers.

                The church walks in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit (Acts. 9:31)

                We abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13)

Advocate – The Spirit helps believers and intercedes for them

                The Spirit intercedes for believers according to the will of God (Rom. 8:26-27)

                The Spirit speaks through believers when we are brought before authorities (Matt. 19-20)

Truth Guide – The Spirit leads us into God’s truth.

                He will guide us into all truth (John 16:13)

                He reveals the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10-16)

Empowers Believers – The Spirit provides power for holy living and ministry.

                We receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us (Acts. 1:8)

                The Spirit produces His fruit in believers (Gal. 5:22-23)

And for those who would doubt the Holy Spirit is a person, does a force do/have these?  Can you insult a force?  Can you lie to a force?  Can you blaspheme a force?  To put it another way, can you insult electricity, lie to radar, blaspheme gravity?

                The Holy Spirit:

  • Has a mind (Romans 8:27)
  • Knows (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)
  • Wills (1 Corinthians 12:11)
  • Loves (Romans 15:30)
  • Can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30)
  • Speaks (Acts 13:2)
  • Teaches (John 14:26)
  • Guides (John 16:13)
  • Testifies (John 15:26)
  • Commands (Acts 8:29)
  • Intercedes (Romans 8:26)
  • Can be lied to (Acts 5:3-4)
  • Can be resisted (Acts 7:51)
  • Can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29)
  • Can be blasphemed (Matthew 12:31-32)

Being Refilled

Acts. 4:31 (ESV)  And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

This passage used to really bother me.  These are the disciples including Peter and John who are praying, so they are already filled with the Holy Spirit.  Why, then, if they are filled with the Holy Spirit, why would they need to be refilled?  Maybe I have an answer now. Let’s look at the word, filled, first.

Filled is used in several ways when it’s used to describing people.  We can be filled with wrath (Luke 4:28), filled with fear (Luke 5:26), filled with madness (Luke 6:11).  The word can even be used of a group such as in Acts 13:45 where the Jewish leaders were “filled with jealousy” or Acts 19:29 where a city is “filled with confusion.”  In each of these passages, we see something, a powerful emotion in these cases, taking over a person or group and affecting their actions.  In the same way, being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit should affect our actions, cause us to act in line with God’s will.

When we fill something like, say, a coffee cup with coffee, the coffee replaces the air that was in the cup.  When an aircraft carrier floats in the sea, it displaces the water which would normally be there.  So, filling doesn’t just add something; it reduces something else. When we are refilled with the Holy Spirit, I believe the Holy Spirit displaces much of what was there: our fleshly nature. 

In our Christian life, we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment of conversion.  When we need a particular additional filling or empowering of the Spirit, a sort of shot in the arm of power, we can pray and the Holy Spirit will displace more of our own will or fear.  Speaking of a similar passage in Acts 4:8, the Faithlife Study Bible says this:  “In Acts, this term seems to denote a special empowering by the Holy Spirit that is in addition to His work of enabling believers to trust God and to live faithfully (e.g., Acts 2:4; 4:31; 9:17; 13:9).

Paul sees this too. In speaking to believers (who already have the Holy Spirit within them, of course), he tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit:

Eph. 5:18-21 (ESV)  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.  

Interestingly, Paul here compares being filled with the Holy Spirit and being drunk with wine.  Instead of being overwhelmed with “spirits,” we should seek to be overcome by the Spirit of God.

Why is this important?

Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, used to say “If God guides, God provides.”  This was often used in a financial sense such as “If God is telling us to purchase the Property on the corner of Fairview and Sunflower, He will provide the funds.”  I think this motto also applies to any task God gives us and we need more power from Him to accomplish that task. 

In Acts 4:31 above, John and Peter had just been warned not to preach Jesus in the streets of Jerusalem.  They had been strongly threatened probably with death (Acts. 5:33), but they were released.  A few days later, they were again brought before the council, and Gamaliel stepped in and said if what they were preaching was of God the council shouldn’t stand in their way.  So, the Jewish leaders just had them beaten and threatened them again (Acts 5:40)

These were some of the least serious examples of persecution heaped upon the disciples, but because God the Holy Spirit filled them, they actually rejoiced they were worthy to suffer for Jesus’ name and continued to preach no matter the threat or consequences.  (Acts. 5:41-42)

Isn’t this the sort of walk we want?  Don’t we want God to fill us more strongly at times when we are filled with feelings of inadequacy or fear.  The great advantage of being one of God’s children in times like these is the Holy Spirit has made Himself available to displace that inadequacy and/or fear in us.  We need only ask Him.