Tag Archives: the Advocate

JOHN’S GOSPEL…THE ADVOCATE FOR THEM – 23a

December 1, 2025Bible Studyconvict, of sin righteousness judgment, the AdvocateLuella Campbell

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬-‭11 ‭NIV‬‬

Why did Jesus call the Holy Spirit “the Advocate”? Of all His titles and functions, Jesus chose this title, at this moment, for a reason.

“The Holy Spirit is called our advocate because he is sent to be a divine helper and defender, much like a lawyer in a court of law. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, or Paraclete, to come alongside believers to intercede for them, guide them, teach them, and comfort them in times of struggle or accusation. He acts as an advocate by defending believers against spiritual accusers, helping them understand God’s will, and reminding them of Jesus’s teachings.” (Source: Google)

Imagine what Jesus’ words of reassurance must have meant to His disciples at that moment! He kept speaking about leaving them. “Why now, Lord?” Just when things were hotting up…the Pharisees were at breaking point, so enraged by this man and His teaching, His miracles, and His exposure of their wicked hearts that their only hope of restoring their image was to get rid of Him…for good.

The disciples were well aware of the tension between the religious leaders and their Master. They needed Him more than ever at that moment. He was always so…well…in command of every situation. What would they do without Him?

Even if they didn’t understand what He meant at that moment, what He promised them was exactly what they needed…

First, they had a task to perform that was beyond them to achieve. How could they convince a rotten, corrupted world of people who hated God, did as they pleased, and loved their sin, to surrender themselves to Jesus as Lord? Jesus’ solution…the Holy Spirit! He would argue the case for Jesus internally…in the conscience of the unbeliever.

“When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin…”

Second, they needed an advocate to defend them. Get this! They were going to be left in a very hostile world, without Jesus! Every kind of abuse and accusation would be hurled at them, leaving them emotionally battered and bruised. They would not have the confidence and assurance of Jesus to take on their opponents with the Word, as Jesus did. The Advocate within them would constantly reassure them that, no matter what people may say about them, and even if they fell into sin, in Christ they were righteous.

“And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Although not clear in Jesus’ promise, there are three categories which Jesus addresses…the world of sin, the believer of righteousness, and the devil of judgment.

Why does the believer need to be convinced of righteousness? It is not the work of the Holy Spirit to accuse believers. The conscience is activated by God’s grace. Where once the conscience was dulled by sin, grace now operates to keep the believer in touch with God’s truth.

The believer does not need to have his nose rubbed in the dirt. He needs a greater motivation to live righteously, the righteousness of Jesus imputed to him by grace. It is the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit to keep our hearts aware of who we are in Christ.

Third, in the war against sin…the struggle against sin in the old nature and the sin the holds unbelievers captive, the disciples needed to know that they fought from victory, not for victory. The devil had already been judged snd now awaits his eternal sentence.

“And when he comes, he will convict…(the devil)…of the coming judgment.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How significant that Jesus took care of the entire enterprise of the kingdom in the person and presence of the Holy Spirit in His disciples! They were not the cause of its success but the conduits through whom the Holy Spirit would administer the kingdom’s rule.

What Jesus taught them at that moment would give them the assurance and the impetus to be faithful because, under the Spirit’s guidance and control, they could not fail.

JOHN’S GOSPEL…THE FAMILY BUSINESS – 21

November 28, 2025Bible Studyif you love me, keep my commandments, the AdvocateLuella Campbell

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Imagine the CEO of a large company, on the eve of a long trip overseas on business, gathering his entire staff around him, including janitors and cleaners, to give them instructions on running his enterprise while he is away.

How will he ensure that his company will continue to flourish during his absence? Will he install CCTV cameras throughout the building to monitor their behaviour? Will he employ security guards to watch their every move and report on their actions?

Jesus is the CEO of God’s great eternal business enterprise, His kingdom on earth. He has a representative to whom He has delegated the task of administering the kingdom until He returns, His own “other self”, the one just like Him…the Holy Sprit.

What was Jesus’ method of ensuring that His ministry would continue exactly as He had initiated it?

None of the above, according to the world’s way even if it were possible! Jesus required one condition that would ensure the continuation of His business during His “absence”…our love for Him. He promised to give us one overseer to keep His business on track until His return…His Spirit in us.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How unlike the ways of the world! No CEO requires his staff to love him as the guarantee of their faithfulness. No CEO promises another person, with the same goals and modus operandi exactly like his own, to help them run his business efficiently during his absence because they love Him!

Jesus promised His people that relationship…the love-bond between Himself and us and our response of love to Him…is all that is needed to keep us in union with His “business plan”, extending God’s rule in the hearts of His people everywhere. More than that, He promised never to leave us to carry out the task alone. He would replace His own physical presence with His counterpart, the Holy Spirit.

For Jesus, God’s kingdom is much more than the Father’s business in which we are His “employees”. The kingdom of God is a family business in which we all have a share.

“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our faithful involvement in spreading the good news of the kingdom and ensuring that its citizens adhere to its constitution, also guarantees God’s provision for us, His co-workers.

“But seek his kingdom, and these things (our everyday needs) will be given to you as well.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This “family business” of the kingdom means that we are all in it together. There’s no place for private interpretation of the constitution, personal ambition, conflicts, or differences of opinion. We are one, we have one CEO, Jesus, one Administrator, the Holy Spirit, and we are all subject to one authority.

When we keep these facts in mind, our role in the spread of God’s rule in people’s hearts and in our faithful living and teaching the principles of God’s rule, Jesus said that we would no longer be orphans, homeless waifs. We are sons…those who, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, are intimately and personally involved in the family business of the kingdom.

To be continued…

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 5a

May 25, 2024PrayerGroaning, the Advocate, weaknessLuella Campbell

THE ADVOCATE WITHIN

‭John 14:26 NLT‬
[26] “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

‭Romans 8:26-27 NLT‬
[26] “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. [27] And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”

Before we examine some of the examples of praying God’s way in the New Testament, we must complete our pursuit of the role each member of the Trinity plays in our partnership in the administration of God’s kingdom.

Not only do we have an Advocate who represents us to the Father, Jesus, but we also have an Advocate within us, the Holy Spirit, who represents Jesus, our Advocate to us and who represents our faulty prayers to the Father. Can anything be more watertight than this!

Think of it, we come to the Father at His invitation because He has held out the golden sceptre to us. We approach Him through His appointed mediator, Jesus the Son, who offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sin according to the Father’s will, AND we have the Holy Spirit in us who understands our weakness and our groans and, who filters, refines, and presents our prayers to the Father in harmony with His will.

What could be more secure than that!

If the three persons of the Trinity are so intimately involved in our praying, then God must regard prayer as a most significant part of our lives here on earth.

He did not intend prayer to be the low purpose for which we often use prayer, a safety valve for our stresses or a means to get what we want or need. God intends prayer to be His way of including us in His reign on earth.

He created humans to manage the earth with Him, to rule over nature and its creatures.

‭Genesis 1:26 NLT‬
[26]”Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

Despite human rebellion, He has never indicated in His Word that He has revoked this purpose. Not only were we created to manage the earth, but He has also included in His plan our participation with Jesus in the administration of His kingdom.

‭Daniel 7:13-14, 27 NLT‬
[13] “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. [14] He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed….
[27] Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”

‭Revelation 20:6 NLT‬
[6] “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.”

What this reign means for us in eternity, we have yet to discover. However, the Bible makes clear that reigning with Jesus in this life means subduing and putting to death our unruly old nature by His grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.

‭Romans 5:17 NIV‬
[17] “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”

‭Romans 8:12-14 NLT‬
[12]” Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. [13] For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Since God requires us to share in His holiness, it seems clear, then, that our rule over unruly hearts is the first preparation for sharing with Jesus in His reign over His kingdom.

To be continued…

HE WILL CONVINCE

October 13, 2021Bible Studysin and righteousness and judgmen, the Advocate, when He comesLuella Campbell

HE WILL CONVINCE

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment; about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment because the prince of this world is judged.'” John 16:7-11.

“…Good that I am going away?” How could it be good for the disciples that Jesus was leaving them? When someone dear and close leaves through relocation or death, there is a sense of loss and abandonment that no other person can fill. The passage of time may ease the pain but the emptiness the person leaves does not go away.

What was Jesus talking about? An Advocate, a Helper, another person just like Him who was being sent to fill the gap He was leaving? How could that be? Could anyone replace Him in their lives and in their affection?

At that moment, a plan, put in place before the foundation of the world, was being played out in history, which involved all three persons of the Trinity. In perfect unity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit had their part to play in the unfolding drama of redemption. It was the Father’s role to set up the intricate details of the plan, the Son’s to carry it out and the Holy Spirit’s to administer the benefits of redemption in the lives of those who believe.

If Jesus did not leave and make way for the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, His work on the cross would remain theory and there would be no one to release the power for it to become reality in anyone. Therefore, Jesus had to say, ‘It is good that I am going away…’ After the cross, there was nothing more for Him to do on earth. He had other roles to fulfil from the realm of heaven. He would return to the Father to take up His role as Mediator at the right hand of God (1 Timothy 2:5). He must reign until He had put all His enemies under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:25).

From the moment of His advent on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would be in the world and live in the believer. Jesus took the opportunity, in the final hours before His death, to explain the place the Holy Spirit would have in their lives and in the world after He had gone.

The Holy Spirit has an important task in the unbelieving world – to convince the world of sin and to point people to the only one who has removed sin and opened the way for reconciliation with the Father. It is never the Holy Spirit’s nature or task to accuse. Conviction is not about accusation – it is about revelation – opening up the mind and conscience of the unbeliever to his state before God and convincing him that Jesus Christ is God’s solution to the alienation sin has brought about between man and God.

2. To the believer, the Holy Spirit is the Paracletos – the one called alongside to lift the tottering child of God when he is weighed down by burdens or smarting from the devil’s accusations. Once again, it is not the Holy Spirit’s nature to accuse. He convinces the mind and heart of God’s people that we are righteous, not sinners, so that we can become what we already are. There is no motivation to change in accusation or condemnation.

“…There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because, through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” Romans 8:1.

In God’s eyes, we have no past – all our sin has been forgiven, past, present and future, and we are free to become what we already are – beloved sons and daughters of the Father.

3. The Holy Spirit has only one word for “the prince of this world,” judgment! It is the only word he ever hears and the only word he can pass on to us – hence he is the accuser, but his accusation only reflects back on him, not on us because we are the righteousness of God in Christ.

How important that we identify the internal voices we hear and respond in the appropriate way; we resist the accuser by submitting to God (James 4:7); we respond to the Holy Spirit by submitting to Him. He is urging you on to become what we are, righteous, beloved children of God.

Acknowledgement

THE TESTIMONY WITHIN

October 11, 2021Bible StudyHe will testify, the Advocate, the Spirit of TruthLuella Campbell

THE TESTIMONY WITHIN

“‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will sent to you from the Father — the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father — He will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.'” John 15:26-27 NIV.

The Holy Spirit, beautiful, gentle, powerful, mysterious, third Person of the Trinity, how was Jesus to explain Him to His disciples?

He, the Holy Spirit, would gently lead them into a new realm that they could only know and understand by experience. Although the Holy Spirit has many titles and functions, Jesus chose to call Him the Spirit of truth because truth is what sums up everything that He is and does.

He is not the Spirit of spiritual “goose bumps” or the Spirit of spiritual gifts or even the Spirit of out-of-this-world experiences like being “slain in the Spirit” or being sprinkled with gold dust or travelling “in the Spirit” to other realms. He is the Spirit of truth.

Truth, above everything else, characterises the three-in-one God who calls human beings to worship Him “in spirit and in truth”. Pilate asked Jesus, ‘What is truth?’ not because he wanted to know but because he cynically dismissed truth as too mysterious and elusive to know. The Bible gives us the answer — God is truth. Everything He is, says and does is the truth and truth is the essence of who He is in His three-in-one being.

Jesus often began an important teaching with the declaration, ‘I tell you the truth…!’ Not because everything else He said was not true but because of the importance of the truth He was about to communicate.

The Holy Spirit’s primary role and the one for which He was sent to indwell believers is to reveal Jesus to the inner being so that His followers can be true witnesses to who He is. It was impossible, at that stage, for the disciples to know everything there was to know about their Messiah. Their minds were still closed to many things, their understanding darkened by prejudice, religion and often stubborn resistance to the truth.

It would take a new birth and the powerful witness of the Holy Spirit within them to awaken a new perception of their Messiah and a broader perspective of the life they were called to live “in Him”. All the other functions of the Holy Spirit have to fall into place within the scope of truth.

What is the truth that should govern the outflow of our lives as disciples of Jesus? The Apostle Paul called the Holy Spirit the one who “brought about your adoption to sonship” (Romans 8:15b NIV). Until we deal with the issues in our personal lives that block our understanding and experience of God as our true Father, our unfinished business with our earthly fathers, we will never enter into the fullness of Jesus’ life as sons and daughters of God.

Jesus came to reveal the Father and to reconcile us to the Father so that we might receive the life that permits us to be sons and daughters in fellowship with the Father, just like He was. His final audible plea to the Father before He left them was that the Father and His disciples, present and future, would be one just as He and the Father were one.

“”My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me…I in you and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.” John 17:20-21; 23 NIV.

It is not tongues, or gifts, or goose bumps that unites us but the power of the Holy Spirit, the truth He reveals about our Messiah and the faith we have in Him that binds our hearts into one.

“Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 5:11-13 NIV.

In that unity, created by the Holy Spirit who reveals the truth, that we are to treasure and guard because through our unity in Christ, we testify to the truth about Jesus to the world as the Holy Spirit testifies to the truth about Jesus in us.