NAMES AND TITLES OF CHRIST
THE PARACLETE
COMMUNION SUNDAY
DR. JIM DIXON
1 JOHN 1:5-2:2
AUGUST 24, 1997
The Roman world was not a safe place for Christians. Christians were fed to lions and in Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Roman Coliseum. Christians were persecuted in the Circus Maximus and in hippodromes. Throughout the Roman Empire, Christians were rolled in tar and set on fire like human torches at night. Christians were wrapped in animal flesh and fed to packs of wild dogs. Christians were beaten. They were scourged. They were incarcerated. They were crucified. They were driven from their homes, banished from their communities, stripped of their jobs. Many fled to the catacombs. It was not a safe place for a Christian.
In those first three centuries, Christians desperately needed a friend in high places, a friend in the Roman government, but there were very few Roman authorities that embraced Christianity. There was, at least however, one. The early church historian whose name was Eusebius records in his ecclesiastical history a man named Vettias Epigothas. Vettias Epigothas was a high Roman official in the city of Rome, and he became a Christian. He became a Christian and he began to do wonderful things for Christians, providing for them, protecting them.
Eusebius tells us that the Greek-speaking Christian church began to give a title to Vettias Epigothas and that title was “the paraclete.” You see, the early church could not have bestowed a title more precious because this is a title of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, “The Paraclete.” This is also in holy scripture a title given to the Holy Spirit. He is called “The Paraclete.”
This word, the paraclete, is an English transliteration from the Greek word, or of the Greek word, “paracletos.” The Greek word paracletos literally means “to call to one’s side.” It was used of somebody who was called in to help. It was later used of somebody who was sent to help. But it always referred to a helper. In the ancient Greek world, the word was used in three different ways, and I want us to very briefly look at these three ways that we might understand more the role that Christ has in our lives.
First of all, the word paraclete was used to describe an advocate. That is why in many of your translations in 1 John, chapter 2, verse 1, it is written, “We have an advocate paraclete, an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. In the Latin Vulgate Bible which is simply a translation of the Greek Bible and the Hebrew Bible into Latin, this word paraclete is rendered by the Latin word “advocatus.” The Latin word advocatus referred to a defense attorney. When we say Jesus Christ is The Paraclete, when we say He is The Advocate, we are saying He is our defense attorney.
In the Holy Roman Empire, in their ecclesiastical courts, there was a person called the Advocatus Dei and there was a person called the Advocatus Diaboli. Advocatus Dei means “advocate of God.” Advocatus Diaboli means “advocate of the devil” or “the devil’s advocate.” This is where we get that expression today.
But, you see, in the Holy Roman Empire, in their ecclesiastical courts, it was the responsibility of the advocatus Dei to say good things about the accused. It was the responsibility of the advocatus diaboli to say bad things about the accused. The advocatus Dei was the defense attorney. When we say Jesus Christ is The Paraclete, we are saying He is our defense attorney. There’s never been a defense attorney like Jesus.
When you arrive before the Bema Seat of Christ, the judgement seat, as a Christian, and of course this is for you who believe. When you arrive at the Bema Seat, the judgement seat of Christ as a Christian, you will arrive as a sinner, a person who has sinned, but, you see, Jesus Christ will stand forth and He will simply say, “I died for him. I died for her.” He’ll say “I died for you. I paid the penalty. I died in substitutionary atonement and their debt is cancelled. Penalty already paid. I lived a righteous life for you and My righteousness is now imputed to you.”
Never been a defense attorney like that. Never been, so don’t think that by your good works, you will be able to defend yourself on that day. The world thinks like that. Don’t make that mistake. It’s only by His good works, it’s by His righteousness and by His sacrifice for us. He is our advocate with the Father. He is our defense attorney, and He will stand in our behalf on that day.
Now, there’s a second meaning and the second meaning is intercessor. When we say Jesus Christ is The Paraclete, we are saying He is our intercessor. The word paraclete in the Greek world was often used in this way. An intercessor was a person who communicated your needs to someone able to meet your needs. An intercessor was a person who took the needs of your life and communicated them to someone who had the power to meet your needs. If they were a great intercessor, they were able to influence that source of power.
I love the old but true story of the Union soldier during the Civil War. This is a fact of history. I’ve read the story many times. This Union soldier received news one day that his father had died in the Civil War. This Union soldier was devastated because he had already lost both of his brothers and now his father was gone as well. His mother was alive back home on the farm. He also had a little sister who was paralyzed in a wheelchair. He desperately wanted to leave the battlefield. He wanted to go to the farm, and he wanted to see his mom. He wanted to take care of her and his little sister. But he was a faithful man, and he was a soldier. He knew he could not leave the battlefield without permission.
He came to Washington, D.C. He was going to ask President Lincoln himself to release him for his wartime duties that he might go home. He went to the White House, and he was not allowed to see Abraham Lincoln. The officials at the White House said, “We’re sorry. You’re a soldier and you need to go to war. We’re sorry you lost your father. We really are. We’re sorry you lost your brothers. We really are. We’re sorry that your mom and your paralyzed sister are at home and need you. We really are, but this is a war and there’s a lot of people that have suffered much and you’re no different than many other soldiers. You’ve got to go back to the battlefield.”
Well, this man walked away from the White House, and he sat down on a bench not far away and he began to cry. He just felt alone and desperate. As he was crying there on this little bench not far from the White House, a little boy came up to him. A little boy came up and sat down next to him and said, “Mister, what’s wrong?” This Union soldier was just so hurting that he told the little boy everything. The little boy said, “Mister, I can get you in to see the President.” The Union soldier just thought that was crazy, but the little boy got up and started walking towards the White House and said, “Follow me.” The Union soldier followed him.
They came to a fence that enclosed the backside of the White House and there was a guard there. The little boy went right through the gate and the guard just smiled and the Union soldier followed. They came up to the back of the White House to a door there and again there were officers, there were guards, but they just smiled at the little boy. He opened the door, went into the White House and the Union soldier followed. He went up to the Oval Office. The little boy didn’t even knock at the door. He just opened the door, went right in, and the Union soldier heard President Lincoln say these words: “Son, what can I do for you? What’s the problem?” His son, Thomas Lincoln said, “Dad, there’s a man out here who’s really hurting, and he needs your help.”
It’s a fact of history that Abraham Lincoln allowed that Union soldier to return to his farm and take care of his mother and sister. You see, Thomas Lincoln served as an intercessor with his father. He interceded for this Union soldier. He took the need of the Union soldier. He took that need to the throne room.
Jesus Christ is not a little boy. He’s all grown up, but He is the Son of God, and He can take your needs to the throne room. I don’t know what you’re going through today. Don’t know what you’re going through. You may have physical problems, medical problems that really frighten you. You might have relational struggles. You may have financial problems. You may have spiritual problems and there may be some sin that you’re struggling with, and you really want to overcome it but don’t seem to have the strength. If you belong to Christ, He is your intercessor and He will take your need to the throne room, a room He shares with His Father for He Himself is enthroned.
This is an incredible title, Paraclete. He’s our Advocate, our Defense Attorney, and He’s our Intercessor with the Father. That’s why John says, 1 John 2:1, “If anyone sins, we have a Paraclete, Advocate, Intercessor, with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, He’s the expiation for our sins.”
There’s another meaning, a final meaning of this word. This meaning is actually more difficult. This title is given by John to Christ in 1 John, chapter 2. It’s also given by Christ to Himself and to the Holy Spirit in the gospel of John, chapters 14, 15, and 16. Jesus said, “I will send you another paraclete,” acknowledging that He Himself is The Paraclete, but speaking of the Holy Spirit as a Paraclete as well.
What does Jesus mean in those passages, John 14, 15, and 16? Most Bible scholars agree He’s not referring to the advocate role or even the intercessor role in those passages. We saw, at the beginning of this brief message, that the word paraclete literally means “to call to the side for help.” That might be an advocate. That might be an intercessor, but it also could refer to what some have called a comforter, someone who comes to your side to comfort you. That’s why most of your translations in John 14, 15 and 16 render the word paraclete in this way. “I will send you another comforter, even the spirit of truth.” Another comforter. And surely we all need comfort from time-to-time don’t we? Someone who will come to our side and comfort us.
I’m mindful of the story Booker T. Washington told. Booker T. Washington was a great man, an African American. One of the great leaders of 19th century America, the founder of Tuskegee Institute. Intelligent, educated, kind and a Christian. Booker T. Washington wrote a book called “Up from Slavery.” I think many of you have read that book. It was required reading at one time in schools. He tells how he was once a slave on a 19th century southern plantation. His older brother was a slave with him.
From time-to-time, the masters would give new shirts to the slaves, but they were not shirts like the masters wore. They were shirts made out of flax-like material and they were very abrasive, very coarse. In the first two weeks when you put on one of those new shirts, the slaves found that it literally rubbed their skin raw.
Booker T. Washington tells how his older brother, who always loved him and always cared for him, would take his shirts and wear them for the first two weeks just to smooth them out, rubbing his own skin raw that his younger brother might have comfort. Booker T. Washington said he always remembered his older brother in that way, a person who tried to comfort him physically, comfort him emotionally and comfort him even spiritually. We all need that. Someone to wear our clothes for a while in an emotional sense, in a physical sense, a spiritual sense, someone to comfort us. Jesus Christ is that.
He is The Paraclete, and He is the Comforter, but I would clarify this teaching in this way. The way paracletos, the word paraclete actually rarely means comfort in the sense that we use the word comfort today. We use the word comfort to mean “to console,” “to smooth things out.” That is not how the word comfort was originally used.
You see, our Bible translations in a sense go back to 1382 when a man named John Wickliffe, who was a British reformer and Oxford professor, translated the Bible to English and Wickliffe, when he translated the Bible into English, took the word paraclete and he rendered it by the English word comfort or comforter. Because he was so esteemed, subsequent English translations of the Bible have followed suit and rendered the word paraclete as comforter, but Wycliffe was using the word comfort in its original meaning when it meant to fortify. It meant to make strong.
The word comfort comes from the Latin word “fortress” which is the word from which we get “fort” or “fortress.” To comfort was to fortify or to make strong. When we think of Jesus Christ as The Paraclete, when we think of Him as the Comforter, we should not simply think of a consoling role but one who has come to our side to fortify us, one who has come to our side to strengthen us, one who has come to make us strong. When we think of the Holy Spirit as a comforter, we should not simply think of Him as someone who is there to bandage us up and smooth our problems over but somebody who has come to our sides to strengthen us, to fortify us, to make us a fortress. This is the meaning of paraclete.
So, as we come to the communion table this morning and we remember our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us and who has so many titles, we remember this title Paraclete. We remember that He is our advocate, our defense attorney at the eschaton, at the last day, at the final judgement. He delivers us by His own shed blood. He is our defense attorney, and He is today our intercessor, interceding for us with the Father in accordance with our every need and He is, as well, our comforter in the full sense or at least the original sense of the word where He has come to fortify us, to make us strong.
I promise you whatever you’re going through in life, whatever I’m going through, Christ wants to use it to make us strong, that we might stand in a fallen world, that we might be light in the darkness and salt on the earth. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.