Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Paraclete in John's Gospel

John is the only New Testament writer who uses the Greek word parakletos (paraclete) to designate the Holy Spirit.  The multiple uses of the term are found in Jesus' farewell address in chapters 14 -16 of the fourth gospel.  Below is a graphic that shows some of the ways paraclete has been translated into English from John's Greek text.  It also shows how John conceived the role of the Spirit in the life of the believer.


Robert Kysar, in his book John, The Maverick Gospel, points out the two-fold function of the Paraclete: 1) He communicates Christ to the believer and 2) he puts the world on trial. But what I would like to get a better handle on is how John's community understood this to happen in practice.

How did the Paraclete teach them all things about Jesus?
How did they experience revelations of the future?
How did the Spirit guide them into all truth?

Let me know what you have discovered in practice (not conceptually) about the Paraclete's workings?

4 comments:

Mohamed Ajmal said...

Jesus promises the coming of the “Parqaleeta” – who will come after him
Up to the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Israelites were still awaiting that prophet like unto Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:18. When John the Baptist came, they asked him if he was Christ and he said "no". Then they asked him if he was Elias and he said "no". Then in apparent reference to Deuteronomy 18:18, they asked him "Art thou that Prophet?" and he answered "no" (John 1:19-21).
In the Gospel, according to John (Chapters 14, 15, 16) Jesus spoke of the "‘Parqaleeta’" or comforter who will come after him, who will be sent by Father as another ‘Parqaleeta’, who will teach new things that the contemporaries of Jesus could not bear.
"If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever." John 14:15-16
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." John 15:26-27
"But now I go my way to Him that sent me and none of you asketh me 'Whither goest thou?' But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and approve righteousness and judgment." John 16:5-8
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and he shall shew it unto you." John 16:12-14
"A little while and ye shall not see me: and again a little while, ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." John 16:16

Mohamed Ajmal said...

Who is the “Parqaleeta” Comforter
Indeed history tells us that may early Christians understood the ‘Parqaleeta’ to be a man and not a spirit, This might explain the following who responded to someone who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus , to be the awaited "‘Parqaleeta’".
Jesus, peace be upon him, spoke the Gospel in his native language which is Aramaic. The earliest translations were in Greek. It is very interesting that the Greek word which was eventually translated into English as "Comforter" (Helper) is "‘Parqaleeta’.
While the ‘Parqaleeta’ is described as the spirit of truth, he is identified as the Holy Ghost, such a designation is however inconsistent with the profile of that ‘Parqaleeta’. In the words of the Dictionary of the Bible (Ed. J. Mackenzie) "Those items, it must be admitted do not give an entirely cohesive picture."
What is even more fascinating is the fact that the name Muhammad (peace be upon him) has exactly the same meaning as ‘Parqaleeta’ "one whom people praise exceedingly"!
Muslim theologians have said that "another Comforter" is Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Messenger of Allah; and him to "abide forever" means the perpetuity of his laws and way of life (Sharia') and the Book (Qur'an) which was revaled to him.
It was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was the ‘Parqaleeta’, Comforter, helper, admonisher, sent by God after Jesus (peace be upon him). He testified of Jesus (peace be upon him), taught new things that could not be borne at Jesus' time, he spoke what he heard (revelation), he dwells with the believers (through his well-preserved teachings).
Such teachings will remain forever because he was the last messenger of God, the only Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under God and on the path of PRESERVED truth. He told of many things to come which "came to pass" in the minutest detail meeting, the criterion given by Moses to distinguish between true and false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22). He did reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8-11).

Unknown said...

Indeed history tells us that may early Christians understood the ‘Parqaleeta’ to be a man and not a spirit, This might explain the following who responded to someone who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus , to be the awaited "‘Parqaleeta’".

What History? Because the bible teaches Parqaleeta (Holy Spirit) Dewells with in us.

1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
2 Corinthians 6:16
Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

Learn the bible before lying to people

Mohamed Ajmal said...

I think every discussion should be had in a right decorum, accusing or lying is never a right way.

The bible doesnt teach that the Parqaleeta is the HolySpirit, atleast that is how Jesus preached, the problem with current day christianity is that it follows less of Jesus and more of Paul

http://biblehub.com/greek/3875.htm

3875 paráklētos (from 3844 /pará, "from close-beside" and 2564 /kaléō, "make a call") – properly, a legal advocate who makes the right judgment-call because close enough to the situation. 3875 /paráklētos ("advocate, advisor-helper") is the regular term in NT times of an attorney (lawyer) – i.e. someone giving evidence that stands up in court.

Anyone can say that - Holy spirit doesnt even fit in the meaning of the word mentioned.

secondly Jesus - separated Parqaleeta from the Spirit of Truth

John 14:15-16 :-

"If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever."

(this word another comforter...who is it?...has any other being in this world fit to be Jesus's comforter?...it indeed speaks and fits only to Prophet Muhammad...who spread the same truth like Jesus about ONE God.

the word "abide forever" means the perpetuity of his laws and way of life and the Holy Quran, which still remains unaltered)

John 15:26-27 :-

"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, beacause ye have been with me from the beginning."

John 16:5-8 :-

"But now I go ny way to Him that sent me and none of you asketh me 'Wither goest thou?' But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and approve righteaousness and judgement."

John 16:12-14 :-

" I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall recieve of mine, and he shall shew it unto you."

The verses Body as a Temple has no relation to Parqaleeta - as they are of a different context altogether

http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/A-Believers-Body-As-A-Temple