Tag: The Son

Trinity (11) The Spirit

old bible

When you think of the Jesus with His disciples in the upper room, what do you think of?

  • Communion?
  • Or, maybe the announcement of coming betrayal?
  • While that is true, I want to inject another thought into your upper room thoughts…….
  • A trinitarian thought.

When you think of the upper room, think of….. the Trinity and specifically the Spirit.

The Spirit?  Yes, the Spirit!

It is in that upper room Christ gives us a promise that we would do well to consider.

John 14:16  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever…

I want us to consider 2 words from John 14:16 today.

1.)  Another

2.)  Helper

Let’s tackle the “Helper” first and then we will come back around to the word “another”.

Re-read John 14:16.  Did you catch the promise Jesus just made to His disciples.  That promise is not only for His first disciples, it is for ALL disciples of Jesus Christ!

Jesus is telling those 1st disciples that He is going to be leaving them.  Imagine the despair in the disciples hearts!  Imagine the fear, the hopelessness, and defeat these men felt at that moment.  Jesus, seeks to comfort them at that moment with these words –

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16).

Jesus is saying – I am leaving guys, but don’t despair.

  • I (THE SON) will ask the FATHER to send another HELPER (The Spirit)

Did you catch it?  The Trinity is at work seeking to bring comfort to His disciples!

Helper = Parakletos

In the original language the word Comforter here (or Helper depending on your translation) is Parakletos.  A parakletos was someone who advocated or stood alongside of another.

R.C. Sproul describes parakletos like this:

Some translations use the word “Comforter” instead of “Helper.” The Greek word that is translated as “Helper” or “Comforter” is parakletos; it is the source of the English word paraclete. This word includes a prefix, para-, that means “alongside,” and a root that is a form of the verb kletos, which means “to call.” So, a parakletos was someone who was called to stand alongside another. It usually was applied to an attorney, but not just any attorney. Technically, the parakletos was the family attorney who was on a permanent retainer. Any time a problem arose in the family…

Sproul, R.C. (2012-11-01). Who Is the Holy Spirit?: 13 (Crucial Questions Series) (Kindle Locations 290-297). Reformation Trust Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Jesus is saying to His disciples – yes, I am leaving you, but I will send ANOTHER Helper.  (Parakletos)  What incredible news for despairing disciples!  You are not alone!  I am sending you the Holy Spirit!

Another

Why does Jesus say:  Another Helper?

The first Helper is Jesus Christ.  He was our Helper by coming to us and taking on human flesh (John 1:14 “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…) God, in the flesh, walking among us!  wow!  Immanuel, God with us!  And, if that is not amazing enough…..  He then died for our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father AND THEN He sent His Spirit to be ANOTHER Helper.

This Helper would not dwell among us, this Helper would dwell IN US!  Are you kidding me??  If this is not gloriously amazing, you need to check your spiritual pulse!!

The first Helper (Jesus) atoned for our sin

The second Helper (the Holy Spirit) empowers us to live our lives for Christ.

Thank God today for your 1st and 2nd Comforters!

 

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Trinity (8): The Son – By Alex Bowman

celtic cross

 

 

The doctrine of the Trinity can too often be categorized as a mystery, but yet pages of Holy Scripture reveals so much about the Trinity that can lead us to awestruck wonder and passionate worship often leaving us undone.

 

The next two posts will be on the second person of the Trinity- Jesus the Son of God.  This post will focus on the sending of Jesus and His death for sin.  The next post will focus on His resurrection and ascension.

 

In the Godhead, each member is fully God, eternally God and equally God.  Jesus is not one third God and two thirds other.  Each member of the Trinity is equal in essence and nature.  Though the three persons are one in so many ways, they are also distinct in several ways.  For instance, they are distinct in roles, functions and they differ in how they relate to one another.

When we look at the creation account:

  • we see that God the Father spoke the world into being
  • God the Son carried out these creative words (John 1:3, Col. 1:16, Heb. 1:2)
  • and God the Holy Spirit was moving over the face of the waters manifesting God’s presence in His creation (Gen. 1:2).

In salvation history:

  • God the Father planned redemption (Eph. 1:4)
  • and sent God the Son who accomplished redemption for us (John 3:16, Gal. 4:4, John 6:38, Heb 10: 5-7).
  • God the Father and God the Son sent God the Holy Spirit to apply redemption to us (John 14:26, 16:7).

 

What blows away how we think about the categories of authority and submission is that though the Father and the Son are both fully God, Jesus submitted Himself to the Father’s will and obeyed Him perfectly; not counting equality a thing to be grasped (Phil 2:6).  Wow!  What display of profound love for His Father!

At the appointed time in redemptive history, God sent His Son to redeem us, so that we might receive adoption as sons and daughters.  Because we are now sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of His Son to bear witness with our spirit to give us assurance that we are indeed members of God’s family, and if members then we are no longer slaves- we are now heirs through God (Gal. 4:4- 7).  Amazing!

But this gift of membership to God’s family and becoming heirs through God came at a great cost.  Because without the shedding of blood there is no forgives (Heb. 9:22),  our redemption came at the cost of Christ’s precious blood. 

Jesus the sinless One was horrifically beaten as He took on our sin on the cross.  He suffered the wrath that was reserved for us.  The Father turned His face away and for the very first time in the history of eternity, Jesus experienced separation from His Father’s love.  In eternity past, Jesus experienced perfect harmony and fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now he was spurned- for us.  As a father, one of the things that hurts me most is seeing one of my sons getting hurt and their blood shed on their clothes or on the ground, can you relate?  Jesus ransomed us not with gold and silver but with His precious blood (1 Peter 1:18 – 19).  Oh depths of the Father’s love for us!

When the Father imputed our sin to Jesus, Jesus became our substitute.  But He didn’t just leave us sinless or morally neutral, He imputed Jesus’ righteousness to us (2 Cor 5:21).  Now we who believe in Him are declared righteous!  We have been justified, and we have been brought near.

 

Come now and worship Jesus Christ with me!