Carol Swenson
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 Our Advocate
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
In Matthew 26:31, Jesus recalled the words of the prophet Zechariah when he said that when the shepherd is smitten, the sheep will be scattered. Even as our Lord’s greatest hour of trial was quickly approaching, he was carefully warning his disciples of the great test of faith that would soon come upon them, and reassured them that, even though they were to stumble, they would still be his sheep. After Jesus had died and was resurrected, his primary goals during the forty days before his ascension were to re-establish their faith in his teachings, to solidify them as a body of brethren, and to give them the courage to live their consecrated lives strong in the confidence that he was still their shepherd. It is this role of comforter, sustainer, and advocate that Jesus promised would characterize his relationship with the New Creation throughout the Gospel age when he uttered some of his final words: “And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NIV).
The Advocate
One of the greatest blessings each member of the New Creation enjoys is that we have Jesus as our Advocate with the Father. In the first chapter of 1 John, the apostle exhorts us to “walk in the light,” avoiding the unconstrained inclinations of our sinful human nature. John says that God is light and, if we are to have fellowship with him, we must not walk in darkness. John goes on, however, to honestly admit that as sons of Adam, we all have inadequate control over sin in our lives, that if we deny this weakness, we are deceiving ourselves.
In the first verse of 1 John chapter 2, we are told that when we do stumble into sin we have Jesus as our advocate. The word advocate signifies one who pleads another’s cause, one who stands alongside. It is a beautiful description of the provision that we have in Jesus. We who have accepted Christ as our redeemer are described by the apostle Paul in Romans 5:1,2 as standing in grace and having peace with God. Isaiah 61:10 describes this same condition as being covered with a robe of righteousness. In this condition of justification, we need no mediator between ourselves and God but, because of our sinful human condition, we do still need an advocate. We still need one to plead our cause when unintentional sin enters our lives, when inherited human tendencies begin to soil our robe. And this is the role of advocate that Jesus plays in our lives.
In 1 John 2:1, the word advocate is translated from the Greek word parakletos, which means an intercessor or consoler. As our intercessor, we see Jesus in a role similar to that of an attorney, standing alongside his client before the bar of justice. In this role, the accused benefits greatly from the good relationship that the attorney has developed with the judge. And so it is with our Advocate. Our Lord’s work as Advocate for the church began when he made application of his precious blood on behalf of all those who come to the Father by him throughout the Gospel age. The apostle Paul describes this in Hebrews 9:24 where he says, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands [referring to the Tabernacle in the wilderness] which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
Jesus’ advocacy for us continues as he proceeds to apply on our behalf the sufficiency of his own merit to cover the unintentional blemishes and fleshly weaknesses that we all have as a result of our inheritance from Father Adam. Paul says that Jesus is now at the right hand of God and “indeed intercedes for us” [Romans 8:34, RSV]. In Hebrews 7:25, a text speaking about Jesus, we read, “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Thus the work of Jesus as our Advocate continues throughout the Gospel age.
Unintentional Sin
When John says, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,” it is evident that he is speaking about unintentional sin, sins that we fall into because of the weakness of our flesh, the inherited imperfection we have as humans. In 1 John 3:8,9, John makes this clear: “He who practices sin is of the enemy; for the enemy has been sinning from the beginning. . . . No one who has been begotten by God practices sin; because his seed abides in him and he cannot sin because he has been begotten by God” (Diaglott). The thought of practicing sin is that of making it an intentional part of our lives. From John’s words we can see that those who have been begotten of the holy spirit, those who have the seed of the new nature within their hearts, cannot practice sin.
John reinforces this thought when he says, “We know that everyone who has been begotten by God does not sin; but the one begotten by God guards himself, and the Evil One does not lay hold of him” (1 John 5:18, Diaglott). Thus all of us must guard ourselves to make sure our intentions are fully in harmony with the will of our heavenly Father and we are following his will to the best of our ability, knowing that for our unintentional sins we have the advocacy of Jesus Christ, the righteous.
When a man is accused of a crime and is called to appear to answer for his actions in court, one of the most foolish things he can do is attempt to hide information from his own attorney. Similarly, we must maintain an open and honest relationship with our advocate and not try to hide or ignore any of our sins and shortcomings. The apostle encourages this heartfelt openness when he says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). A full and honest confession in prayer of our weaknesses and sins is vital to a continued strong and growing relationship with God. These assurances of divine favor and willingness to forgive are designed to have upon our hearts a mellowing influence which will make us all the more careful to avoid sin and to maintain fellowship with the Lord. What a beautiful provision we have in Jesus as the one who intercedes on our behalf.
A Consoler
In addition to an intercessor, the word parakletos also contains the thought of a consoler, and Jesus is indeed our consoler. One of the ways Jesus is our consoler is through his words as recorded in the scriptures. While on this earth, Jesus spoke in a way no other man ever had. His words were full of admonition, instruction, and comfort. We can look to those words for comfort and consolation just as if our Master were speaking directly to us. The apostle Paul calls our attention to this when he says that, while facing trials and severe experiences in our lives, “we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
Another way in which Jesus is our consoler is by his own example. In Hebrews 12:1,2, the apostle Paul tells us that, when we become encumbered by the weighty issues of life and are constantly being beset by failures and sins, we can find comfort by looking to our example Jesus who, for the blessed opportunity that was set before him, endured the sacrifice of his own life. This blessed opportunity is also set before us. In 1 Peter 2:19-25, the apostle Peter tells us that, when Jesus was reviled, when he was evil spoken of, when he suffered at the hands of evildoers, he did not retaliate, but “committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.” What sublime comfort is found in Jesus’ example when we realize that we too need not respond to unjust persecution but can rest confidently in the understanding that God himself is our great shepherd and the bishop of our souls.
Another way in which Jesus is our consoler is by his own experience. In Hebrews 4:14,15, the apostle Paul tells us that when we come to a point in our lives when we are in danger of losing our grip on the profession of our faith, we should look to Jesus, our great high priest, and realize that he is touched with the feeling of our weakness, having been tested, having become familiar with, and having endured the trials and testings which accompany the sacrifice of a human life. There is a great comfort in knowing that he has gone before, has arrived safely, and is extending his helping hand to us.
Jesus also consoles us through our brethren. “A beloved brother” named Tychicus was sent by Paul to the brethren in Colossae (Colossians 4:7,8). Paul says that he sent Tychicus so that he might become intimately familiar with the struggles the brethren in Colossae were enduring and so that he might comfort their hearts. This is a beautiful example of how brethren are sent or used by our Lord to be a part of our lives, to be partners with us, to become familiar with our struggles, and to encourage our hearts as we struggle together to follow the leading of our Lord.
In addition to the Lord Jesus as our advocate, there is another source of comfort promised to us in the Scriptures. That other comfort is the holy spirit. Each time it is referred to as the “comforter,” it is translated from the same word parakletos. We first find this word in John 14:16 where Jesus says, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” Here we find the holy spirit coming to us from the Father as a result of Jesus’ request on our behalf. In John 14:26 the Father sends the comforter in Jesus’ name. These are beautiful promises that, during the Gospel age, the Lord God and his son Jesus are strengthening, guiding, and comforting the Christian church through the power of the holy spirit. In this way, Jesus is definitely with each of us even unto the end of the age.
The Example of Peter
Peter’s experience with Jesus beautifully foreshadows the role that Jesus would play during the rest of the Gospel age as the advocate for his church. In the upper room during Jesus’ last supper with his apostles, Jesus tenderly warns Peter that his faith would soon be tested by the adversary. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31-34). After warning Peter with these words, Jesus immediately offers the reassurance that he would intercede with the Father on Peter’s behalf. Jesus said, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” What a beautiful foretelling of Jesus’ role as our advocate, the one who is called alongside, our intercessor and consoler.
Jesus’ next words informed Peter that his faith would indeed fail, but that it would also return to him and that, after his faith had returned, he would then be in a position, because of his own experience with weakness, to strengthen his brethren. This is a beautiful lesson. The experiences that the Lord sees fit to allow in our lives do not belong entirely to us. They really belong to the entire body of Christ. After we come through them, however scarred we may feel, our responsibility and indeed our privilege is to use those lessons we have learned to “strengthen” the brethren around us.
Peter’s legendary boldness is displayed by his response in verse 33: “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death.” As we know, what followed for Peter was indeed a very trying experience, one where Peter would not only fail to go into prison with Jesus, but would end up actually denying him three separate times. That great torrent of courage in the garden that had driven him to instantly defend Jesus with only one sword against several well-armed soldiers had dissolved to a mere trickle at the fire where he was too fearful to admit even knowing Jesus when challenged by a defenseless young girl.
Peter had failed, and his bold heart was crushed. Verse 62 tells us that Peter “wept bitterly.” The entire weight of Peter’s failure was bearing down on a heart that had previously been accustomed to bold displays of strength. “If only I had been stronger, maybe the events of that night would have been different.” If Peter ever needed a consoler, it was now. But Jesus was dead. Lost without his Master, Peter retreated back to the comfort of what he knew: fishing.
When it was time for Peter to be consoled, Jesus found him in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Peter was not the first one to recognize Jesus but he was the first one to do something significant about it. He jumped into the sea and swam to Jesus. Peter’s strength was returning, but imagine the guilt and shame Peter carried in his heart as he walked dripping wet up the shore toward Jesus. But in Jesus’ response, there was no reprimand, there was no reproof, only comforting words and the reassurance that Peter could still be of service, a reassurance that was repeated three times. That would have given his heart the confidence that each denial was indeed forgiven.
Jesus’ words in this account provided not only the tenderest consolation for Peter, but also an eternal lesson for all those who, down through the Gospel age, would likewise become fishers of men, those who would learn to cast their nets on the opposite side of the boat, and those who would demonstrate their own love for their Master by feeding his sheep.
Timothy Alexander
http://www.heraldmag.org/2001/01so_6.htm
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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