Johns 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 1
II. Context 2
III. Provisional Translation .. 3
IV. Meaning of Parakletos 4
V. Exegesis 7
A. First Paraclete Passage (Jn. 14:15-17) .. 7
B. Second Paraclete Passage (Jn. 14:25-26) . 10
C. Third Paraclete Passage (Jn. 15:26-27) 12
D. Fourth Paraclete Passage (Jn. 16:7-11) 13
E. Fifth Paraclete Passage (Jn. 16:12-15) . 16
VI. Conclusion .. 18
VII. Bibliography 20


ii


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


























1




Johns 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 Spirits 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. Johns 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 Gods
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).


2



Context
The greatest focus of our Lords 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

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

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

3
Ibid., 480-81. The two discourses can further be subdivided as follows: First Discourse: (1) Jesus Predicts
Peters 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.
3



works outside of Judaism.
4
Then this paper will examine the passages under consideration from
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:
15
If you love me, (then) you will keep my commandments.
16
And I myself will
ask the Father and he will give you another Helper, in order that he might be with you forever,
17
the 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:
25
These things I have spoken to you while remaining beside you;
26
but 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:
26
Whenever 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.


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



John 16:7-11:
7
I 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.
8
And that one coming he will convict the world concerning sin and concerning
righteousness and concerning judgment.
9
Concerning sin (on the one hand), because they are not
believing in me;
10
concerning righteousness (on the other had), because I go to the Father and
you no long behold me;
11
and concerning judgment, because the one who rules this world has
been judged.

John 16:12-15:
12
Yet I have much to say to you, but you are not able to bear (it) now;
13
but
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.
14
That one will glorify me, because he will receive out of (from) me and he will report
to you.
15
All 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 ones 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

5
Barbara 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.
5



Comforter. In the passive sense, the word originally meant asked or called, one who is
called to someones 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
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 Johns usage of this word with the
Hebrew/Aramaic equivalent (a loan word), +I:uo:H or )|+i:uo:H, as evidence for a
Jewish idea of legal counsel or advocate (one like Moses) in the mind of Jewish rabbis

6
William F. Ardnt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament and Other
Early Christian Literature 2
nd
Ed. Revised and Augmented by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker from
Walter Bauers Fifth Ed, 1958. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979), s.v. para/klhtoj, 618. The verb
parakale/w means: (1) to call to ones 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.

7
Edwin 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 Origens 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.
6



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 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

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

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

10
T.D.N.T., Vol. V, 803-06. Ridderbos, 500-04. R. Grayson, B. Fischer, H.I. Frede, and H.F.D., Biblia
Cacra Vulgata, 5
th
Ed. www.academic-bible.com, Accessed July 3, 2012.

11
Ridderbos, 501. Ridderbos points out that we must turn to the concepts and figures that stand behind
the New Testament and Johns writings.
7




The First of the Paraclete Passaages
John 14:15-17:
15
If you love me, (then) you will keep my commandments.
16
And I
myself will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper, in order that he might be
with you forever,
17
the 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 Gods 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

12
The Greek New Testament, 380.

13
J. Gresham Machen, New Testament Greek For Beginners (Toronto: The Macmillian Company, 1923,
1951), 132-33. A.G.D., 814-15.
14
Daniel 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.

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

16
Wallace, 313-14.

8



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
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 Lords 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

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

18
Ibid. 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.

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

20
Ibid, 39-40.

21
F. 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.
22
Ridderbos, 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).

9



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

23
George Arthur Buttrick, Ed. The Interpreters 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.

24
Carson, 500.

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

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

10



they cannot behold or see him and they nor do they know him. The idea 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:
25
These things I have spoken to you while remaining beside you;
26
but 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

27
Ridderbos, 44.

28
The Greek New Testament, 381.
29
H.E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manuel Grammar of the Greek New Testament (Toronto: The
Macmillian Company, 1957), 192.

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

11



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 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:
26
Whenever 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

31
Wallace, 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.

32
Floyd, 20.

33
Carson, 505.

12



concerning me. And you yourselves also bear witness (testify), because you are with me
from the beginning.
34

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

34
The Greek New Testament, 384.

35
Wallace, 169.

36
A.G.D., 239.
37
Wallace, 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.

13



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.
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:
7
I 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.
8
And that one coming he will convict the world concerning
sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment.
9
Concerning sin (on the one
hand), because they are not believing in me;
10
concerning righteousness (on the other had),
because I go to the Father and you no long behold me;
11
and 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

38
Brooks and Winbery, 84-85.

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

14



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
(based upon Gods 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 Spirits 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 ones 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

41
Ridderbos, 531.

42
A.G.D., 249.

43
For a much fuller treatment on the idea of the Spirits 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.
44
Ridderbos, 532-33.

45
A.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



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 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:
12
Yet I have much to say to you, but you are not able to bear (it)
now;
13
but 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.
14
That one will glorify me, because he will receive out of (from)
me and he will report to you.
15
All 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

46
Robertson, 962-964. Wallace, 299. See also Blass and DeBrunner, 238-39.
47
The Greek New Testament, 384-85.

48
Carson, 539.

16



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

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 Johns 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

49
Robertson, 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.

50
Dana and Mantey, 280.

51
Ibid, 281.
52
Robertson, 708.

53
The Greek New Testament, 385.

54
Carson, 539.

17



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
to the Son; the Fathers will is the Sons 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.

55
Ridderbos, 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.

56
Carson, 541.
18



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 noblemans
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),
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 Baptists 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 Gods 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.

19

















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