Ezekiel 37:1-14; Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-16:15
On the
day of Pentecost our attention is drawn to the Holy Spirit. Of the three
Persons of the Holy Trinity, we seem to understand the Holy Spirit the least
and take Him for granted the most. Part of our reaction to the Holy Spirit
comes from His name. The Father and the Son have titles that we can relate to
based on our human relationships. But the name Holy Spirit doesn't provide that
same kind of connection. However, like the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit
has several names and titles in the Bible. Looking at these names gives us
better insight into the role of the Holy Spirit and a point of connection for
us that helps us relate to Him. This is especially true of the name that Jesus
uses for the Holy Spirit in today's Gospel lesson: Paraclete (the Greek word paraclatos).
Paraclatos is difficult to translate into
English. Our translations include Helper (ESV), Counselor (NIV), and Comforter
(KJV). No one of these words captures the sense of the word, which means
"one who comes alongside of another to provide help, strength, comfort,
and encouragement," but together they show us that the Holy Spirit is a
caring, intimate companion ready and able to strengthen, comfort and encourage
us. To do this, the Holy Spirit helps with guilt, truth, and glory.
By
convicting the world of guilt, the Spirit seeks to turn people away from death
and destruction to life and salvation. It is a work that He has already done
for us, so it is His help for the world not for us. The glory that the Holy
Spirit works to produce is not glory for us, but glory for Jesus. The Spirit
does not seek glory for Himself, just as we are not to live for our own glory
but for the glory of Christ. So what is the work that the Paraclete does to
help believers? Guiding us into all truth. That truth assures us that we are no
longer bound by guilt and it reveals the glory of Jesus Christ to us. The
Spirit guides us into truth so that we will find strength in God's Word as we
live in a fallen world, discover comfort in knowing the grace that God has
shown us, and be encouraged by His promises no matter what our circumstances
may be. Freed from guilt, guided by truth, and assured of glory, we rejoice in
the help that the Paraclete brings to us this Pentecost Day and always.
No comments:
Post a Comment