John’s Use of Parakletos (John 14-16)

In Reference To

The Third Person In The Trinity

John R. Neal

Amridge University

Turner School of Theology

Biblical Etymology & Exegesis (FD 9353)

Dr. James Smeal

July 26, 2012

Table of Contents

I. Introduction …………………………………………………………… 1II. Context ………………………………………………………………… 2III. Provisional Translation ……………………………………………….. 3IV. Meaning of Parakletos ………………………………………………… 4V. Exegesis ……………………………………………………………… 7

A. First Paraclete Passage (Jn. 14:15-17) ………………………….. 7B. Second Paraclete Passage (Jn. 14:25-26) ………………………. 10C. Third Paraclete Passage (Jn. 15:26-27) ………………………… 12D. Fourth Paraclete Passage (Jn. 16:7-11) ………………………… 13E. Fifth Paraclete Passage (Jn. 16:12-15) …………………………. 16

VI. Conclusion ………………………………………………………….. 18VII. Bibliography ………………………………………………………… 20

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iii

Abstract: The

Purpose of this

research paper is to

examine how John

develops the concept

of the Spirit or

“Helper” in the Fourth

Gospel (Jn. 14-16) in

order to better

understand his role

within the Divine

Trinity. This paper

will also look at how

Jesus is likewise our

Helper from 1 John

2:1. Thanks to Drs.

Smeal and Cloud for

their help. Thanks to

the seminar

participants for

helping make this

class a success!

iv

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John’s Use of Parakletos (John 14-16)

In Reference to the Third

Person in the Trinity

Introduction

Interest in the role of the third person of the Trinity began last semester in the course

Biblical Doctrines with Dr. Williams. The topic on the doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the

Spirit is the subject this author selected to research. While much of the work focused upon the

doctrine of God in the Old Testament, I would like to further examine the Spirit’s role (his

economic role within the Trinity) in the New Testament.

One of the most important passages in the New Testament dealing with the third person

of the Trinity is John 14-16. John’s gospel pays considerable attention to the work and role of

the Holy Spirit. The fourth gospel perhaps even more than Luke stresses the importance of the

Holy Spirit in the ministry of our Lord and ultimately in the teaching and preaching of the

apostles in the early church. One first comes upon John mentioning the Holy Spirit back in John

chapter three where Jesus discusses entrance into the kingdom with Nicodemus. Jesus says that

unless a man is born of “water” and “Spirit” (i.e., Holy Spirit), then he cannot enter into God’s

kingdom (John 3:3, 5). Jesus describes God the Father as “Spirit” (i.e., he is not human, without

flesh and blood, John 4:24). Then in John chapters 14, 15, and 16, Jesus further expounds upon

the coming Spirit (who he is and what he does).

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Context

The greatest focus of our Lord’s public teaching on the Spirit occurs here in John

chapters 14-16. Jesus is finished with “his public ministry” (see John 12:36b) and is spending

time in seclusion with his disciples (Matthew 26:20) trying to prepare them for his suffering on

the cross, resurrection, and return to the Heavenly Father.1 The mention of the Holy Spirit

“introduces” the reader to a peculiar theme in Jesus’ two so-called “farewell” discourses, John

13:31-14:31 and John 15:1-16:33. These two discourses begins after Jesus sends Judas away (to

finish the betrayal) from the upper room following the Passover festival (John 13:30). In these

two sections, Jesus relates five lessons about the nature and work of the Spirit. These five

parakletos passages are: (1) John 14:15-17; (2) 14:25-26; (3) 15:26-27; (4) 16:7-11; and (5)

16:12-15.2 Some scholars try and argue that the parakletos material, which is unique to Joannine

literature, has been integrated into the “present” context. The series of sayings seems to fit well

into the context and there does not seem to be any reason why this material is not original.3

This exegetical paper will first give a provisional translation of the paraclete passages,

followed by an examination of the meaning of this word, and whether or not the Greek term has

a “background in similar ideas in the Old Testament (Hebrew, Greek), in Jewish writings, or in

works outside of Judaism.4 Then this paper will examine the passages under consideration from

1Harvey Floyd, “Is The Holy Spirit For Me? A Search for the Meaning of the Spirit in Today’s Church (Nashville: 20th Century Christian, 1987), 19.

2D.A. Carson, The Gospel According To John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 480-550.

3Ibid., 480-81. The two discourses can further be subdivided as follows: First Discourse: (1) Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial (13:31-38); (2) The Promise of a Place Where Jesus is Going (14:1-4); (3) Jesus as the Way to the Father (14:5-14); (4) The Departure of Jesus and the Coming of the Spirit of Truth (14:15-31). Second Discourse: (1) The Vine and the Branches (15:1-16); (2) Opposition from the World (15:17-16:4a); (3) The Work of the Holy Spirit (16:4b-15); (4) The Prospect of Joy Beyond the Trouble of this World (16:16-33). Carson, 480-542.

4Hermon Ridderbos, The Gospel of John, A Theological Commentary Trans. By John Vriend. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 500. Ridderbos poses these questions in his commentary.

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John 14-16. The conclusion will summarize the findings and test whether the idea that “Helper”

is a proper understanding of the word in relation to the overall book of John.

Provisional Translation

John 14:15-17: “15If you love me, (then) you will keep my commandments. 16And I myself will

ask the Father and he will give you another Helper, in order that he might be with you forever,

17the Spirit of truth, who (which) the world is not able to receive, because he does not behold nor

know him (it); you yourself know him (it), because he remains beside you and he will be in you.”

John 14:25-26: “25These things I have spoken to you while remaining beside you; 26but the

Helper, the Holy Spirit, who (which) the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all

things and will bring to your remembrance all things which I spoke to you.”

John 15:26-27: “26Whenever the Helper comes whom I myself will send to you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth, which comes out from the Father, that one will bear witness concerning me.

And you yourselves also bear witness (testify), because you are with me from the beginning.”

John 16:7-11: “7I myself speak the truth to you, it is profitable to you that I depart (go away).

For except (unless) I go away, (then) the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, (then) he will

come to you. 8And that one coming he will convict the world concerning sin and concerning

righteousness and concerning judgment. 9Concerning sin (on the one hand), because they are not

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believing in me; 10concerning righteousness (on the other had), because I go to the Father and

you no long behold me; 11and concerning judgment, because the one who rules this world has

been judged.”

John 16:12-15: “12Yet I have much to say to you, but you are not able to bear (it) now; 13but

whenever that one comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you in all truth; for he will not speak

from himself, but as much as he will hear he will speak and he will report to you the things

coming. 14That one will glorify me, because he will receive out of (from) me and he will report

to you. 15All things as much as the Father has is mine; on account of this I spoke because he

receives out of (from) me and I will report (it) to you.”5

Meaning of Parakeletos

The Classical Greek Lexicon, Liddell-Scott, states that para/klhtoj is a “verbal

adjective” from the verb, parakale/w, meaning “called to one’s aid,” especially “in a court of

justice” (related to the Latin, advocatus, referring to an “advocate). A second definition they

give is of a “helper,” thus the New Testament meaning of o( para/klhtoj as that of “Helper”

or “Comforter.” In the passive sense, the word originally meant “asked” or called, “one who is

called to someone’s aid.” The Latin Church fathers normally render this word with the term

“advocatus” (our word for lawyer), but the “technical” sense of either “attorney” or “lawyer” is

5Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger, The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition (Stuttgart: German Bible Society, 1994), 379-380, 381, 384, 384-85, 385. Translation mine.

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not common. Where the term does occur outside Biblical literature, the word carries the idea of

a “mediator, intercessor," or a "helper” (i.e., the one who is going in behalf of another).6

While the related terms do appear in the Septuagint (para/klhsij, paraklhtikoj,

paraklhtwr, parakale/w), the verbal adjective, para/klhtoj, does not appear in the Greek

translation of the Old Testament.7 This places the exegete in somewhat of a disadvantage

because this does not give an Old Testament context (from the perspective of the LXX) for this

particular word. Adding to the issue of understanding this term is the fact that John is the only

New Testament author who uses this word (here in the fourth gospel as well as in his first

epistle). What are some of the approaches scholars take to try and give a firm meaning for

para/klhtoj?

First, some try to solve this dilemma by connecting John’s usage of this word with the

Hebrew/Aramaic equivalent (a “loan word”), or , as evidence

for a Jewish idea of legal “counsel” or “advocate” (one like Moses) in the mind of Jewish rabbis

before the first century A.D.8 Second, others try connecting the New Testament meaning with

the Classical sense. Cotterell and Turner warn against applying this usage from Classical times

to the New Testament. Just as the word a(marti/a probably no longer carries the idea of

6William F. Ardnt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature 2nd Ed. Revised and Augmented by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker from Walter Bauer’s Fifth Ed, 1958. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979), s.v. para/klhtoj, 618. The verb parakale/w means: (1) to “call to one’s side, summon,” (2) to “appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage,” (3) to “request, implore, appeal to, entreat,” (4) “comfort, encourage, cheer up,” or (5) sense of “console or conciliate, speak to in a friendly manner, apologize to,” pg. 617.

7Edwin Hatch and Henry A. Redpath, A Concordance To The Septuagint And The Other Greek Versions Of The Old Testament Including The Apocryphal Books (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1906), 185, 187; A Handy Concordance Of The Septuagint, Giving Various Readings From Codices Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Sinaiticus, And Ephraemi, With An Appendix Of Words, From Origen’s Hexapla, Etc., Not Found In The Above Manuscripts (London: S. Bagster And Sons, 1887), 125, 138; Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, Eds. Theological Dictionary Of The New Testament, Vol. V, Trans. By Geoffrey W. Bromiley. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), s.v. para/klhtoj, by Behm: 803.

8T.D.N.T., Vol. V, 803.

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“arrows falling short of their targets” in the first century A.D., so also the idea of para/kale/w

(and by extension para/klhtoj) no longer means in the New Testament “to call someone

alongside to assist,” but more of the idea of “to request,” or “to encourage,” or “to cheer up.” 9 A

third solution is to turn to the early church fathers and early versions (translations) of the New

Testament. This argument of turning to the early versions is not helpful from the Latin Vulgate,

which renders the term as “advocatum” (legal defense) in 1 John 2:1 and transliterates the term

in John 14-16 from the Greek (paracletus). The Eastern Syriac likewise transliterates the Greek,

while the Palestinian Syriac renders this term as “comforter,” and the Coptic versions follow suit

with the Latin and Syriac versions.10

While all of these approaches may have some merit, they still are unable to answer the

question: what did the inspired writer mean? Since we cannot base our understanding of this

term upon an understanding of “ancient usage,” then we must depend upon the context (John 14-

16; 1 John 2) for the meaning.11 As shown from the above translation, I believe the idea behind

para/klhtoj is Helper. I believe this is also a safe and accurate rendering in 1 John 2:1.

Exegesis

The First of the Paraclete Passaages

John 14:15-17: “15If you love me, (then) you will keep my commandments. 16And I

myself will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper, in order that he might be

9Peter Cotterell and Max Turner, Linguistics & Biblical Interpretation (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1989), 133.

10T.D.N.T., Vol. V, 803-06. Ridderbos, 500-04. R. Grayson, B. Fischer, H.I. Frede, and H.F.D., Biblia

Cacra Vulgata, 5th Ed. www.academic-bible.com, Accessed July 3, 2012.

11Ridderbos, 501. Ridderbos points out that we must turn to the “concepts” and “figures” that stand behind the New Testament and John’s writings.

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with you forever, 17the Spirit of truth, who (which) the world is not able to receive, because

he does not behold nor know him (it); you yourself know him (it), because he remains

beside you and he will be in you.”12

John begins verse 15 with what Machen describes as a subjunctive in a future condition,

or a third-class condition. The “protasis” part of the conditional sentence (“if you love me”) is a

present active subjunctive, second person plural, from a)gapa/w, meaning to love. The

“apodosis” (then) or “conclusion” part of the sentence is a future active indicative, second person

plural, from thre/w, meaning to “keep” or “guard,” in the sense of keeping or observing, paying

special attention to God’s law.13 The structure of the third class condition (or future more vivid

as referred to by Dr. Smeal) requires the “particle e)a/n” to be followed by “a subjunctive mood

in any tense,”14 while the apodosis can take any form.15 This particle, which is a combination of

ei) and a)/n, along with the subjunctive mood helps give the conditional clause a “sense of

contingency.”16 The promise to the apostles to send the “Helper” in the next verse is dependent

or conditional upon their loving and observing his commandments. Carson notes that Jesus is

not assuming that his disciples either love him or not, but he is projecting “a condition and

12The Greek New Testament, 380.

13J. Gresham Machen, New Testament Greek For Beginners (Toronto: The Macmillian Company, 1923, 1951), 132-33. A.G.D., 814-15.

14Daniel B. Wallace, The Basics Of New Testament Syntax, An Intermediate Greek Grammar, The Abridgment of Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 313-14.

15Ray Summers, Essentials Of New Testament Greek (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1950), 109. Summers refers to this class as the “probable future,” 109.

16Wallace, 313-14.

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stipulates its entailment.” They will keep what he commands.17 One cannot sever either their

“love for Christ” nor obedience to his commands (see John 14:21, 23; 15:14; 1 John 5:3).18

Jesus promises in John 14:16 to “ask” (e)rwth/sw, future active with the idea of

requesting or beseeching)19 the Father to send “another Helper” (verse 16). The word “another”

comes from a)/lloj, meaning one “other” or one who is “different” than the one speaking.20 The

term “another” in reference to the Helper distinguishes the coming one from Jesus. Blass and

DeBrunner suggest that this pronominal adjective should be translated, ‘I will send you “another,

namely a counselor.’”21 Even though they both are divine (Jesus is also a Helper of another sort,

1 John 2:1), yet the Spirit is distinct in person from the Son. This is in agreement with other

passages within the gospel of John which speak to the three persons within Deity (John 1:1, 18,

29-34). Perhaps John is trying to clear up any misunderstandings about the Word and Helper

being one and the same divine being.22 The promise is given to the disciples that the “Helper”

will be with them “forever.” This is in keeping with our Lord’s statement in 14:1-3 that he is

going back to the Father, but that he will not leave them as little “orphans” (14:18). The usage

here of the “masculine pronouns and adjectives” (in 14:16, “another,” in 14:26, “he,” and in

17Carson, 498. This is a future tense, not an imperative.

18Ibid. A.G.D., 311-12. The sense here is asking through prayer. While there may be a distinction between e)rwta/w (to ask, ask for something, beseech) and ai)te/w (to ask, ask for, demand, A.G.D., 25-26), in John 16:23 the two verbs seem to be synonymous.

19A.G.D., 311-12.

20Ibid, 39-40.

21F. Blass and A. DeBrunner, A Greek Grammar Of The New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, A Translation and Revision of the ninth-tenth German edition incorporating notes of A. DeBrunner by Robert W. Funk. (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1961), 160.

22Ridderbos, 504. While one must be careful not to read into the context, this passage lends support to the traditional view of the Trinity (the Father, Son, and Spirit).

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16:13, “he) in reference to the third person in the Trinity “shows” that he is not some impersonal

force but “fully personal.”23

Then in verse 17, Jesus lists some important attributes about the Helper that speaks to his

deity. First of all, he is called the “Spirit of truth” (to/ pneu=ma th=j a)lhqei/aj), a phrase

Jesus also uses in reference to the Helper in John 15:26 and 16:13.24 God’s Spirit stands in

contrast with those who are in the world, those whose father is the devil and does not represent

the truth (John 8:44). The devil speaks lies rather than the truth. On the other hand, God is the

only true source of truth. Jesus promises that his “truth” would set them free (John 8:32). The

epistle of first John says much about the Spirit of truth. There the apostle warns that “every

spirit” which is not of the truth or of God is to be “tested” (1 John 4:1, 6). There is a “Spirit of

Deceit” which leads disciples away from the truth and John describes him as the anti-Christ.25

Secondly, while Jesus the Word is fully divine in the flesh (incarnate), being “full of grace and

truth” (John 1:14), yet the Spirit will not come in fleshly form.26 The Helper will take up

residence in them. This would ultimately be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), but the

fourth gospel records Jesus giving them what I believe is a temporary or partial measure of the

Spirit prior to his ascension back to the Father (John 20:22) to get them by until he comes in full

force at Pentecost. For those who are in the “world,” they are unable to ‘take’ or ‘receive’ the

Spirit for two reasons: they cannot behold or see him and they nor do they know him. The idea

23George Arthur Buttrick, Ed. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, K-Q (New York, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962), s.v. “PARACLETE,” by G. W.H. Lampe, 654-55. Although this source is a little dated, I believe many of these older articles to be superior to their counterparts in the latest edition.

24Carson, 500.

25Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel and Epistles of John, A Concise Commentary (Collegeville, MN: The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., 1988) 105-06

26Brown, An Introduction To The New Testament, The Anchor Bible Reference Library (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 353.

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of world here is not that spherical ball that the Word helped create (John 1:10), but rather those

who are lost, “estranged from and hostile to God.”27

The Second of the Paraclete Passages

John 14:25-26: “25These things I have spoken to you while remaining beside you;

26but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who (which) the Father will send in my name, that one

will teach you all things and will bring to your remembrance all things which I spoke to

you.”28

Jesus begins this second passage by showing another important aspect about the coming

Helper. The phrase, ‘whom the Father will send,’ is from pe/myei (future active indicative,

third person singular). This phrase and the one to follow (literally, “that one will teach you all

things”) is what grammarians refer to as a predictive future. Concerning the predictive future,

Dana and Mantey state that the most “simple” and “ordinary” importance of this type of future is

to “predict an event which is expected to occur in the future”29 or an “action” which will “take

place” or a “state” that will be.30 He is the divine guide or revealer that will help “teach” them

everything and bring to their memory the things Jesus taught them while on earth. One also

finds here the use of the double accusative of person-thing. Some verbs (dida/skw being one

27Ridderbos, 44.

28The Greek New Testament, 381. 29H.E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manuel Grammar of the Greek New Testament (Toronto: The

Macmillian Company, 1957), 192.

30James A. Broooks and Carlto L. Winbery, Syntax Of New Testament Greek (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1979), 95.

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of them) can in fact take “two direct objects, one a person and the other a thing.”31 This two-fold

mission of the Helper is that of “teaching and reminding.” The apostles would be under the

“guidance” or influence of the Spirit,32 an idea that is found elsewhere in the New Testament (2

Peter 1:19-22; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Holy Spirit gives life (John 6:63), and that life comes from the “truth” that sets

mankind free (John 8:32). The Spirit offers up that spring of living water (John 7:37-39), that

same living water that Jesus offered to the woman of Sychar (John 4:13-14). The things they

could not possibly understand now would be revealed to them later on (John 12:16).33 The

Helper will come in the name of the Son and have the authority of the Father and Son. In other

words, the Son and Spirit are in agreement on their teaching. The Spirit is not in opposition with

the Son. According to this passage, they speak the same message.

The Third of the Paraclete Passages

John 15:26-27: “26Whenever the Helper comes whom I myself will send to you from

the Father, the Spirit of truth, which comes out from the Father, that one will bear witness

concerning me. And you yourselves also bear witness (testify), because you are with me

from the beginning.”34

31Wallace, 83. A.T. Robertson, A Grammar Of The Greek New Testament In The Light Of Historical Research (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1934), 482. Wallace explains the double accusative of person-thing as “the person is the object affected, while the thing is the object effected.”

32Floyd, 20.

33Carson, 505.

34The Greek New Testament, 384.

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According to this passage, the purpose of the Spirit is not to call attention to himself, but

to testify concerning the Son (this is a far cry from the misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit

among many today). In verse 26, Jesus again here refers to the Holy Spirit as the Helper and

Spirit of truth. The Spirit comes ‘out of’ (para/ with the genitive) carries the idea of “from (the

side of)” the Father.35 This shows the close nature and relationship between the Father and

Spirit. The reference to the Holy Spirit as “that one” comes from the nominative masculine

singular demonstrative pronoun e)kei=noj and means “that person or thing, that.”36 This is a

“pleonastic” or “redundant” usage of the demonstrative pronoun. Wallace notes that at times a

demonstrative is employed “when no ambiguity would result” if the pronoun were “deleted.”

This is particularly true in the nominative case. The pronoun “that” repeats the subject just

referenced.37

In verse 27, where Jesus says (in the provisional translation) ‘you are with me forever,’

the author of the fourth gospel is using the durative or progressive present. Brooks and Winbery

describe this use of the present tense as either an “action or state of being which began in the past

and is described as continuing until the present.” The notion of past and present are united into

one “single affirmation.” While an “adverb of time” is normally used in the durative present, a

simple verb often is “sufficient.” Brooks and Winbery render this phrase by using the English

perfect tense, “You have been with me from the beginning.”38 Dana and Mantey refer to this

special usage of the present as the “static.” They describe the static present as representing a

“condition which is assumed as perpetually existing, or to be even taken for granted as a fact.” 35Wallace, 169.

36A.G.D., 239. 37Wallace, 147. On page 148, Wallace has a long discussion about whether e)kei=noj modifies “Spirit”

or “Helper.” He makes the case that the masculine singular demonstrative pronoun modifies Helper.

38Brooks and Winbery, 84-85.

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We find this here in John 15:27. While they state that this tense is “rare,” still this shows “fully

the significant of the genius of the tense.”39

The Fourth of the Paraclete Passages

John 16:7-11: “7I myself speak the truth to you, it is profitable to you that I depart

(go away). For except (unless) I go away, (then) the Helper will not come to you. But if I

go, (then) he will come to you. 8And that one coming he will convict the world concerning

sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment. 9Concerning sin (on the one

hand), because they are not believing in me; 10concerning righteousness (on the other had),

because I go to the Father and you no long behold me; 11and concerning judgment, because

the one who rules this world has been judged.”40

The coming of the Helper is contingent upon the Son returning to the Father. While the

term para/klhtoj probably does not carry the Classical idea of a lawyer or attorney, there is one

passage that may hint at this idea. In verses 8-11, Jesus is describing what could be called a

judge or prosecuting attorney (the one who convicts). The word for convict (e)le/gcei, from

e)le/gcw) can carry some four different meanings: (1) to “bring to light,” to “expose” or “set

forth; (2) to “convict or convince” someone of something; (3) to “reprove” or “correct”; (4) or

the heightened sense of punishment or “discipline.” Ridderbos even suggests the idea of the

“prove guilty.”41 One of the roles of the Spirit is that of convicting the world of sin. The second

choice seems likely in this context, but we also know that Paul told Timothy that his preaching

39Dana and Mantey, 186. 40The Greek New Testament, 384-85.

41Ridderbos, 531.

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(based upon God’s word) is intended to “reprove” (same word, 2 Timothy 4:2).42 The apostolic

preaching would bring about this rebuke upon the world. The Holy Spirit’s revealed word is the

standard by which we measure sin, righteousness, and judgment.43 The world is guilty because

they reject (do not believe in) the Son. If they reject the Son, then they will also reject the Spirit

or Helper.44

The apostle John continues this concept of the Helper in the epistle of First John. In 1

John 2:1, John writes, “My little children, I write these things to you in order that you might not

sin, and if someone sins, we have a Helper to the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The

reference to Jesus there as the Helper is not one who convicts the world of sin, but one who helps

(and perhaps in the Classical sense of coming to one’s aid) the Christian when he or she sins. As

Christians, we have as our Helper the one who is the “expiation” or “propitiation,” the one who

became our “sin-offering” (i(lasmo/j) on the cross.45 Thus the Holy Spirit and Jesus are both

Helpers, but not in the same way. The Spirit helps with revelation and convicting, while Jesus

helps the Christian take care of the problem of sin.

Jesus refers in verses 8-11 to why the Helper is like one who convicts the world.

Robertson refers to these particular verses as an example of a “causal” sentence, specifically a

causal sentence with a “subordinating” conjunction.” Here the conjunction o(/ti occurs in

verses 9, 10, and 11. A causal conjunction “expresses the basis or ground of an action.” The

42A.G.D., 249.

43For a much fuller treatment on the idea of the Spirit’s conviction, see B.F. Westcott, The Gospel According To St. John, The Authorized Version With Introduction And Notes (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, Repr. 1981), 227-30.

44Ridderbos, 532-33.

45A.G.D., 375. This lexicon notes that the LXX uses this term in reference to the “lid” or covering “on the ark of the covenant,” where the blood of the goat would be sprinkled as a “sin-offering” upon the ark covering on the feast day of Atonement, 375.

15

normal conjunctions in this category are ga/r, dio/ti, e)pei/, e)peidh/, e)peidh/per,

kaqw/j, w(j, and o(/ti. The conjunction is best translated as “since” or “because.”46

The Fifth Paraclete Passage

John 16:12-15: “12Yet I have much to say to you, but you are not able to bear (it)

now; 13but whenever that one comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you in all truth; for

he will not speak from himself, but as much as he will hear he will speak and he will report

to you the things coming. 14That one will glorify me, because he will receive out of (from)

me and he will report to you. 15All things as much as the Father has is mine; on account of

this I spoke because he receives out of (from) me and I will report (it) to you.”47

This is the fifth and last of the Paraclete passages and is a fitting “climax” to Jesus’

discussion. Here our Lord reminds them of the further revelation which is to come.48 Christ has

much he would like to tell them (verse 12), but they are not able “to bear” (basta/zein, second

aorist active infinitive) it now. The usage of the aorist infinitive is the “predominate

construction” with verbs like du/namai (to be able).49

In verse 13 Jesus says, ‘but whenever that one comes,’ (e)/lq$, second aorist active

subjunctive of e)/rxomai), which is the use of a temporal clause with a subjunctive.50

46Robertson, 962-964. Wallace, 299. See also Blass and DeBrunner, 238-39.47The Greek New Testament, 384-85.

48Carson, 539.

49Robertson, 857. Blass and DeBrunner, 196-97. Robertson notes that while there is “no time” in the use of the infinitive “except relative time in indirect discourse,” yet the aorist infinitive is an example of the “punctilliar action,” 857.

50Dana and Mantey, 280.

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According to Dana and Mantey, the “subjunctive is used where the temporal clause is conceived

as an indefinite possibility, and its use implies uncertainty as to realization.”51 The use of the

demonstrative pronoun, that one, may be used in John’s gospel for the sake of emphasis. The

phrase “Spirit of truth” is in apposition to “that one.”52 The promise is made here that the

disciples will be guided in “all truth.” There is a textual question as to whether the text should

read, as stands in the U.B.S. text, e)n or ei)j (the preposition e)n has better textual support and

retains a “B” reading).53 If there is to be any distinction between in or into, the phrase into all

truth might hint “at truth the disciples have not yet” discerned, while the phrase in all truth might

hint at “an exploration of truth already principally disclosed.”54 Just as Jesus did not act or speak

after his will (John 3:32; 8:26, 28, 40; 14:10; 15:15), so the Spirit will not speak and teach that

which is not in harmony with the Father (even though the Father is not mentioned here, I believe

the idea is implied).55

In verses 14-15, Jesus’ closing remarks in this fifth passage states that the Spirit will

bring glory to the Father just as he brought glory to him during his earthly ministry (John 7:18;

17:4). Jesus again uses the demonstrative masculine pronoun “that one” in reference to the Holy

Spirit. The harmony of the Trinity is spoken of in this passage in that what the Father tells the

Spirit is likewise the same thing that the Son tells the Spirit. What belongs to the Father belongs

51Ibid, 281. 52Robertson, 708.

53The Greek New Testament, 385.

54Carson, 539.

55Ridderbos, 535. The Bible does teach progressive or further Revelation (Hebrews 1:1-2), but this does not leave open the “possibility of continued ‘revelation’” down to this day. The divine revelation Jesus has in mind ceased with end of the apostles and inspired writers of the New Testament. See Carson, 542.

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to the Son; the Father’s will is the Son’s will. One can state that the Holy Spirit continues the

ministry of Jesus through his disciples to this very day through the inspired word of God.56

Conclusion

In examining the term para/klhtoj as used by John in the fourth gospel in reference to

the Holy Spirit (John chapters14-16) and in his first epistle in reference to Jesus (1 John 2:1), the

word ‘Helper’ is an appropriate term for the second and third persons within the divine Trinity.

The term which I believe best fits both the contexts and their roles is that of Helper (as opposed

to comforter and advocate). There is one sense where the Spirit acts as an advocate (or one who

convicts the world of sin) and shows us the way or righteousness (John 16:7-11). Jesus helps us

with our sin problem even after we become Christians. There is no one strike and you are out

with the blood of Christ.

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit fits well into the overall theology of the fourth gospel and

first epistle of John. There are eight signs given by John to show that Jesus is the “Christ, the

Son of God” (John 20:30-31). The water turned to wine (2:1-11), the healing of the nobleman’s

son (4:46-54), the healing of the crippled man (chapter 5), the feeding of the five thousand (6:1-

14), Jesus walking on the water (6:15-25), the healing of the man blind from birth (chapter 9),

the raising of Lazarus after being dead four days (chapter 11), and the resurrection of Jesus

(chapter 20). There are the numerous “I Am” claims (the light of the world, the bread of life, the

good shepherd) tell us that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person in the Trinity. Nothing

Jesus does is apart from the Spirit. Following his baptism and receiving of the Spirit (1:33-34),

56Carson, 541.

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he begins his ministry with some of his early disciples during the early Galilean ministry (1:35-

51). His first miracle at Cana of Galilee (2:1-12), the first cleansing of the temple (2:13-25), and

his first theological discussion with Nicodemus about the new birth (chapter 3) all occur after he

receives the miraculous outpouring of the Spirit. Only Jesus receives the Spirit without measure

(3:34). Even John the Baptist’s ministry is marked by a prophetic proclamation (fulfillment of

Isaiah 40:3) of one whose voice cries out in the wilderness (1:23).

The Spirit as the Helper guided the inspired writers of scripture (2 Peter 1:21) and the

God-breathed word still helps us know how to live today (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Thus Jesus’

promise that the Spirit would remain forever is fulfilled through God’s written word and through

the Spirit who dwells within every believer (Acts 2:38; 5:32; Ephesians 1:13-14). The doctrine

of the Spirit (Helper) is vital in our understanding of his work and role in the fourth gospel and

our overall knowledge of his work throughout the whole New Testament.

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