There is an interesting
story that goes back to the days when missionaries were translating the New
Testament into the Karre language, which is spoken among several tribes in
Central Africa. Karre proved to be difficult for the translators of the New
Testament, especially when it came to the word Paraclete, which is often rendered “Helper” in our English Bibles.
The translators searched
for ways they could describe the Holy Spirit in the Karre language, but
struggled to find the right words. One day the translators came across a group
of men going off into the bush carrying bundles on their heads. They noticed
that in the line of men there was always one who didn't carry anything, and
they assumed he was the boss, there to make sure that the others did their
work. However, they discovered he wasn't the boss; he had a special job. He was
there should anyone fall over with exhaustion; he would come and pick up the
man’s load and carry it for him. In the Karre language the word for this man
was translated as “the one who falls down beside us.” The missionaries instantly
had their word picture for paraclete.
In Jesus’ Upper Room
discourse, He referred to the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete. “16 And I will ask
the Father, and he will give you another Helper [Paraclete], to be with you
forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will
be in you” (John 14:16-17).
The origin of the
paraclete has its roots in ancient Greek warfare. When Greek warriors went onto
the battle field, they went out in pairs, so when the enemy attacked they could
stand back-to-back, covering each other's blind side. The battle partner in
Greek was called a “paraclete”— he was there to watch his partner’s back and
pick him up if he was wounded.
Later in that same
teaching scene, Jesus explained to his disciples the various ministries of the
Holy Spirit—He would indwell them
with God’s presence (John 14:17); He would instruct
them in the truth (16:13); He would incriminate
the world of sin (16:8); He would intensify
the glory of the Son (16:14). In the epistles we also learn that the Holy Spirit
incorporates all believers into the
body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13); He insures
our salvation as a finished transaction (Eph. 1:13); He intercedes for us when we pray (Rom. 8:26-27); He impresses upon us the will of God (Acts
16:7) and He imparts to the church spiritual
gifts (1 Cor. 12:11).
I leave you with the
insights of Charles R. Swindoll, “Every believer in Christ should be intrigued
by the Holy Spirit. Like moths, we are attracted to the warmth and the light of
His flame. Our desire is to come closer . . . to draw nearer, to know Him more
fully and intimately, to enter into new and stimulating dimensions of His
workings. The Spirit is interested in transforming us from the inside out.
Flying closer to the flame sets that in motion. He is at work in dozens of
different ways, some of them supernatural. Flying closer to the flame makes us
acutely aware of that. The Spirit is the comforting Helper. He is the
Truth-Teacher, the will-of-the-Father Revealer, the Gift-Giver, the
Hurt-Healer. He is the inextinguishable flame of God, my friend. HE IS GOD. To
remain at a distance from Him is worse than wrong; it is downright tragic.
Flying closer to the flame, therefore, is better than good; it is absolutely
magnificent.”[1]
[1] Charles
R. Swindoll, Flying Closer to the Flame:
A Passion for the Holy Spirit (Dallas, TX: Word, 1993), 14-15, 21, 26-27.
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