To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

 

John 16:5-16 NIV

 

The first time I read this passage, along with several others in which the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Counselor,” I always equated the word “counselor” to someone who would counsel with us, and help us to learn more about Jesus.  And, as far as the many jobs of the Holy Spirit, it is true that this is one of them.  BUT, in this passage and in others (John 14:16, for instance), when Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the Counselor,” He meant something much different; He meant our “Counsel for the Defense”… and He meant even more than that…

 

The Greek word used in the original manuscripts is parakletos which can mean intercessor, counselor, consoler, advocate, or comforter.  Actually, it was a legal term that had a much broader meaning than simply “counsel for the defense.”  In 1 John 2:1 (NIV), John says, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”  Jesus Himself is sitting at the right hand of the Father day and night, 365 days a year, pleading our case with the Father.  But even more than that, the term is translated “Counselor” in the NIV and “Comforter” in the King James had the much broader legal meaning of any person who helped someone in trouble with the law.   So, the Holy Spirit stands by God’s people day in and day out.  No matter what you or I do, the Holy Spirit stands right there with us, defending us in all ways.      

 

I don’t know about you, but having that piece of knowledge caused me to breath a great big sigh of relief!  I know me.  Even though I want to live my life as one pleasing to the Lord, it’s tough.  My flesh is in constant battle with my spirit, and sometimes my flesh wins, even though I don’t want it to.  Just knowing that the Holy Spirit is standing there with me, defending me, and pleading my case along with Jesus, makes me eternally grateful that it’s not all up to me.  Because I fail constantly, but Jesus never fails me.  His blood is sufficient to cover all of my sins, not just some of them.  And no matter how miserably I fail in my walk, the Holy Spirit will pick me up and set me back on track again, without fail.

 

Praise God today that once the Holy Spirit becomes your Counsel for the Defense, He will remain in that position from then on, and that He will be so much more for you.  All you have to do is ask.

 

Awesome, isn’t it?