Christ Has Promised His Disciples Another Advocate


Must Know Bible Basics /

2,000 years ago, Christ came down to this earth with a very important mission. It’s such a decisive mission that the future and hope of humanity would be determined by it. Christ’s ultimate purpose was to reconcile mankind back to God by abolishing that unbridgeable gap that had long existed between both God and mankind due to sin. Glory to God and to the Lamb, it’s a mission that was fulfilled as intended the moment Jesus gave His life on the cross as a sacrifice for humanity’s sins and came back to life 3 days later.

That wasn’t the end of it at all. There’s another critical aspect of His death that must be carried out in the life of individuals who’ve come to Him on the basis of His sacrificial death on their behalf. Having said that, it’s an ongoing transformation that must be taken place in the lives of His followers. Why such transformation is so crucial? First, Christ’s death has a very specific purpose and meaning, which are laid upon entirely on enabling people to totally abandon the sinful lives they used to live in the sight of God by offering them His own righteousness. His death makes it possible for Him to duplicate Himself through us, meaning that by accepting Him as Savior and Lord, we receive His life. Thereby, our lives must reflect who He really is. When the world looks at us, they should see that Christ lives in us.

Such transformation is the very thing that will tangibly display the awesome life-changing power of the Lord’s death on people’s lives (2 Corinthians 5:17). Interestingly, just as Christ was sent by the Father with such a highly critical mission, so is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who is famously known as the “Helper” comes to indwell those who believe in the name of Christ. His job is to work through us in such a powerful manner in order to enable us to do the very things that we could have never done in our human power and will, such as living holy lives by denying the intense desires of the flesh, trusting God in the midst of trials, and bearing good fruits for the glory of God.

Christ Presents The Holy Spirit to His Disciples.

Prior to Christ’s ascension to heaven, He had quite a monumental conversation with His disciples regarding someone whose coming was imminent. During such conversation, He told them that God was about to send them another advocate according to (John 14:16). It’s worthwhile that we take a thorough look at the term “another” in relation to the kind of relationship Christ had with His disciples. As stated, this term means someone just like Him who will love them, care for them, help them, be alongside with them, and support them in like manner. Moreover, Jesus talked about various roles the Holy Spirit would play in their lives on behalf of Him. Among these are leading them into all truth, reminding them of what He said, revealing Him to a dying world, and glorifying Him (John 16:13-15).

It’s Important That We Understand The Ministry of The Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, the Spirit of God seems to be the most ignored and misunderstood person out of the Godhead. As Christians, it’s very important for us to realize that without the Holy Spirit, we wouldn’t have been able to know and confess Christ as Lord and Savior (1 Corinthians 12:3); thus, we wouldn’t have been able to get saved. We wouldn’t have been able to understand the Word of God by grasping the life-changing purpose behind it. We wouldn’t have been able to live the Christian life; consequently, we wouldn’t have been able to please God. Keep in mind, the Holy Spirit is the very Agent through whom God carries out His works (Zechariah 4:6).

The Holy Spirit is sent to fulfill what He’s been commissioned to do by God (John 16:13). His job is to glorify the person of Jesus Christ by revealing Him to us, by enabling us to have a sincere understanding regarding His sacrificial death for us, by empowering us to live in such a manner that honors Christ, by empowering us to cease living in accordance with the flesh, by empowering us to become more and more like Christ, by empowering us to share the gospel boldly to others, and by enabling us to love the Lord wholeheartedly, which ultimately leads to obedience and reverence (John 14:15).

The Holy Spirit is the One who constantly reminds us of our identity in Christ. He’s the One who bears witness to our own human spirit that we’re children of God (Romans 8:16). He’s the One who helps us endure temptation through the means of self-control. The role of the Holy Spirit goes far beyond what we’re able to understand with our finite mind. The point is that after learning about His far reaching ministry, it would be foolish for us not to allow Him to do what He was sent to do in our lives by following His leading. 

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