(n.) An advocate; one called to aid or support; hence, the Consoler, Comforter, or Intercessor; -- a term applied to the Holy Spirit.PARACLETE

par'-a-klet:

1. Where Used:

This word occurs 5 times in the New Testament, all in the writings of John. Four instances are in the Gospel and one in the First Epistle. In the Gospel the in the Epistle, 1 John 2:1. "Paraclete" is simply the Greek word transferred into English. The translation of the word in English Versions of the Bible is "Comforter" in the Gospel, and "Advocate" in the Epistle. The Greek word is parakletos, froth the verb parakaleo. The word for "Paraclete" is passive in form, and etymologically signifies "called to one's side." The active form of the word is parakletor, not found in the New Testament but found in Septuagint in Job 16:2 in the plural, and means "comforters," in the saying of Job regarding the "miserable comforters" who came to him in his distress.

2. General Meaning:

In general the word signifies:

(1) a legal advocate, or counsel for defense,

(2) an intercessor,

(3) a helper, generally.

The first, or technical, judicial meaning is that which predominates in classical usage, corresponding to our word "advocate," "counsel," or "attorney." The corresponding Latin word is advocatus, "advocate," the word applied to Christ in English Versions of the Bible in the translation of the Greek word parakletos, in 1 John 2:1. There is some question whether the translation "Comforter" in the passages of John's Gospel in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) is warranted by the meaning of the word. It is certain that the meaning "comforter" is not the primary signification, as we have seen. It is very probably, however, a secondary meaning of the word, and some of its cognates clearly convey the idea of comfort in certain connections, both in Septuagint and in the New Testament (Genesis 37:35 Zechariah 1:13 Matthew 5:4 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4). In the passage in 2 Corinthians the word in one form or another is used 5 times and in each means "comfort." In none of these instances, however, do we find the noun "Paraclete," which we are now considering.

3. In the Talmud and Targums:

Among Jewish writers the word "Paraclete" came to have a number of meanings. A good deed was called a paraclete or advocate, and a transgression was an accuser. Repentance and good works were called paracletes: "The works of benevolence and mercy done by the people of Israel in this world become agents of peace and intercessors (paracletes) between them and their Father in heaven." The sin offering is a paraclete; the paraclete created by each good deed is called an angel (Jewish Encyclopedia, IX, 514-15, article "Paraclete").

4. As Employed by Philo:

Philo employs the word in several instances. Usually he does not use it in the legal, technical sense. Joseph is represented as bestowing forgiveness on his brethren who had wronged him and declaring that they needed "no one else as paraclete," or intercessor (De Joseph c. 40). In his Life of Moses, iii.14, is a remarkable passage which indicates Philo's spiritualizing methods of interpreting Scripture as well as reflects his philosophic tendency. At the close of a somewhat elaborate account of the emblematic significance of the vestments of the high priest and their jeweled decorations, his words are: "The twelve stones arranged on the breast in four rows of three stones each, namely, the logeum, being also an emblem of that reason which holds together and regulates the universe. For it was indispensable (anagkaion) that the man who was consecrated to the Father of the world should have, as a paraclete, his son, the being most perfect in all virtue, to procure the forgiveness of sins, and a supply of unlimited blessings." This is rather a striking verbal or formal parallel to the statement in 1 John 2:1 where Christ is our Advocate with the Father, although of course Philo's conceptions of the Divine "reason" and "son" are by no means the Christian conceptions.

5. The Best Translation:

If now we raise the question what is the best translation of the term "Paraclete" in the New Testament, we have a choice of several words. Let us glance at them in order. The translation "Comforter" contains an element of the meaning of the word as employed in the Gospels, and harmonizes with the usage in connection with its cognates, but it is too narrow in meaning to be an adequate translation. Dr. J. Hastings in an otherwise excellent article on the Paraclete in HDB says the Paraclete was not sent to comfort the disciples, since prior to His actual coming and after Christ's promise the disciples' sorrow was turned into joy. Dr. Hastings thinks the Paraclete was sent to cure the unbelief or half-belief of the disciples. But this conceives the idea of comfort in too limited a way. No doubt in the mind of Jesus the comforting aspect, of the Spirit's work applied to all their future sorrows and trials, and not merely to comfort for their personal loss in the going of Christ to the Father. Nevertheless there was more in the work of the Paraclete than comfort in sorrow. "Intercessor" comes nearer the root idea of the term and contains an essential part of the meaning. "Advocate" is a closely related word, and is also suggestive of the work of the Spirit. Perhaps there is no English word broad enough to cover all the significance of the word "Paraclete" except the word "Helper." The Spirit helps the disciples in all the above-indicated ways. Of course the objection to this translation is that it is too indefinite. The specific Christian conception is lost in the comprehensiveness of the term. Our conclusion, therefore, is that the term "Paraclete" itself would perhaps be the best designation of the Spirit in the passage in John's Gospel. It would thus become a proper name for the Spirit and the various elements of meaning would come to be associated with the words which are found in the context of the Gospel.

Christianity introduced many new ideas into the world for which current terms were inadequate media of expression. In some cases it is best to adopt the Christian term itself, in our translations, and let the word slowly acquire its own proper significance in our thought and life. If, however, instead of translating we simply transfer the word "Paraclete" as a designation of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel passages, we would need then to translate it in the passage in the Epistle where it refers to Christ. But this would offer no serious difficulty. For fortunately in the Epistle the word may very clearly be translated "Advocate" or "Intercessor."

6. Christ's Use of the Word:

We look next at the contents of the word as employed by Jesus in reference to the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16 the Paraclete is promised as one who is to take the place of Jesus. It is declared elsewhere by Jesus that it is expedient that He go away, for unless He go away the Paraclete will not come (John 16:7). Is the Paraclete, then, the successor or the substitute for Christ as He is sometimes called? The answer is that He is both and neither. He is the successor of Christ historically, but not in the sense that Christ ceases to act in the church. He is the substitute for Christ's physical presence, but only in order that He may make vital and actual Christ's spiritual presence. As we have seen, the Paraclete moves only in the range of truths conveyed in and through Christ as the historical manifestation of God. A "Kingdom of the Spirit," therefore, is impossible in the Christian sense, save as the historical Jesus is made the basis of the Spirit's action in history. The promise of Jesus in 14:18, "I come unto," is parallel and equivalent in meaning with the preceding promise of the Paraclete. The following are given as the specific forms of activity of the Holy Spirit:

(1) to show them the things of Christ,

(2) to teach them things to come,

(3) to teach them all things,

(4) to quicken their memories for past teaching,

(5) to bear witness to Christ,

(6) to dwell in believers,

(7) other things shown in the context such as "greater works" than those of Christ (see John 14:16, 17),

(8) to convict of sin, of righteousness and judgment.

It is possible to range the shades of meaning outlined above under these various forms of the Spirit's activity. As Comforter His work would come under (1), (2), (3) and (6); as Advocate and Intercessor under (6), (7), (8); as Helper and Teacher under (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8).

The manner of the sending of the Paraclete is of interest. In John 14:16 the Paraclete comes in answer to Christ's prayer. The Father will give the Spirit whom the world cannot receive. In John 14:26 the Father will send the Spirit in Christ's name. Yet in 15:26 Christ says, "I will send (him) unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth," and in 16:7, "If I go, I will send him unto you."

SeeHOLY SPIRIT.

7. As Applied to Christ:

It remains to notice the passage in 1 John 2:1 where the term "Paraclete" is applied to Christ: "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous"; 2:2 reads: "and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." Here the meaning is quite clear and specific. Jesus Christ the righteous is represented as our Advocate or Intercessor with the Father. His righteousness is set over against our sin. Here the Paraclete, Christ, is He who, on the basis of His propitiatory offering for the sins of men, intercedes for them with God and thus averts from them the penal consequences of their transgressions. The sense in which Paraclete is here applied to Christ is found nowhere in the passages we have cited from the Gospel. The Holy Spirit as Paraclete is Intercessor or Advocate, but not in the sense here indicated. The Spirit as Paraclete convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment. Jesus Christ as Paraclete vindicates believers before God.

LITERATURE.

Grimm-Thayer, Gr-Eng. Lexicon of the New Testament; Cremer, Biblico-Theol. Lexicon; HDB, article "Paraclete"; DCG, article "Paraclete"; EB, article "Paraclete"; Jew Encyclopedia, article "Paraclete"; Hare, Mission of the Comforter; Pearson, On the Creed; Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers; various comms., Westcott, Godet and others.

Seelist of books appended to article on HOLY SPIRIT.

E. Y. Mulhns

3875. parakletos -- called to one's aid
... Noun, Masculine Transliteration: parakletos Phonetic Spelling: (par-ak'-lay-tos)
Short Definition: an advocate, comforter, helper, Paraclete Definition: (a) an ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3875.htm - 7k

Christ as Paraclete, as Propitiation, and as the Power of God.
... Book I. 38. Christ as Paraclete, as Propitiation, and as the Power of God.
But none of the names we have mentioned expresses His ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of john/38 christ as paraclete as.htm

Waiving Allusion to the Paraclete, Tertullian Comes to the ...
... Chapter IV."Waiving Allusion to the Paraclete, Tertullian Comes to the Consideration
of the Ancient Scriptures, and Their Testimony on the Subject in Hand. ...
/.../tertullian/on monogamy/chapter iv waiving allusion to the.htm

The Paraclete, or Holy Ghost He is Distinct from the Father and ...
... Chapter XXV."The Paraclete, or Holy Ghost He is Distinct from the Father and
the Son as to Their Personal Existence. One and Inseparable ...
/.../tertullian/against praxeas/chapter xxv the paraclete or holy.htm

Achamoth Purified from all Impurities of Her Passion by the ...
... Chapter XVI."Achamoth Purified from All Impurities of Her Passion by the Paraclete,
Acting Through Soter, Who Out of the Above-Mentioned Impurities Arranges ...
/.../tertullian/against the valentinians/chapter xvi achamoth purified from all.htm

Argument. --Again from the Gospel He Proves Christ to be God.
... If Christ was only man, how does He say that the Paraclete "shall take of His, those
things which He shall declare?" [5131] For neither does the Paraclete ...
/.../chapter xvi argument again from the.htm

Why Manich??us Called Himself an Apostle of Christ.
... 7. For I am at a loss to see why this epistle begins, "Manich??us, an apostle of
Jesus Christ," and not Paraclete, an apostle of Jesus Christ. ...
/.../chapter 6 name manichaeus called.htm

St. Ambrose Shows from the Scriptures that the Name of the Three ...
... the Name of the Three Divine Persons is one, and first the unity of the Name of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as each is called Paraclete and Truth. ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter xiii st ambrose shows.htm

Think that You Cannot Fail to Understand this Too...
... forsooth, did He make any tarrying, so that we should have to believe Him to have
waited so long, even to these days, before He actually sent the Paraclete? ...
/.../the acts of the disputation with the heresiarch manes/34 i think that you.htm

On the Holy Spirit.
... that we say a few words to the best of our ability regarding the Holy Spirit, whom
our Lord and Saviour in the Gospel according to John has named the Paraclete ...
/.../origen/origen de principiis/chapter vii on the holy spirit.htm

We May Give yet Another Illustration, if it Seems Good to You. ...
... and fails to produce any of the credentials which we have summarized in what we
have already said, and declares that he is the Paraclete whose mission was ...
/.../the acts of the disputation with the heresiarch manes/27 we may give yet.htm

Paraclete
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. PARACLETE. ... In the Gospel the in the Epistle, 1
John 2:1. "Paraclete" is simply the Greek word transferred into English. ...
/p/paraclete.htm - 17k

Comforter (14 Occurrences)
... of the word in the Gospel of John, it would probably be best to transfer the Greek
word into English in so far as it relates to the Holy Spirit (see PARACLETE...
/c/comforter.htm - 14k

Advocate (7 Occurrences)
... margins of the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard
Revised Version give as alternative readings Comforter, Helper, Greek Paraclete...
/a/advocate.htm - 11k

Parables (21 Occurrences)

/p/parables.htm - 12k

Parade (1 Occurrence)

/p/parade.htm - 7k

Authority (326 Occurrences)
... b) His Works (c) Forgiving and Judging (d) Life and Salvation (e) Derived from His
Sonship (f) In His Ascended State (g) Christ and the Paraclete (2) The ...
/a/authority.htm - 69k

Religion (23 Occurrences)
... b) His Works (c) Forgiving and Judging (d) Life and Salvation (e) Derived from His
Sonship (f) In His Ascended State (g) Christ and the Paraclete (2) The ...
/r/religion.htm - 101k

Almsgiving (3 Occurrences)
... According to Rabbi Assi, "Almsgiving is a powerful paraclete between the Israelites
and their Father in heaven, it brings the time of redemption nigh (Babha ...
/a/almsgiving.htm - 17k

Aenon (1 Occurrence)
... the most probable being the springs near Umm el-`Amdan, which exactly suit the position
indicated by Eusebius, Onomasticon.omforter, Helper, Greek Paraclete. ...
/a/aenon.htm - 8k

Alms (13 Occurrences)
... According to Rabbi Assi, "Almsgiving is a powerful paraclete between the Israelites
and their Father in heaven, it brings the time of redemption nigh (Babha ...
/a/alms.htm - 22k

What does it mean that the Holy Spirit is our Paraclete? | GotQuestions.org

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