What Do I Really Know About the Holy Spirit Lesson One
John 14
COMFORTER—the designation of the Holy Ghost (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; R.V. marg., “or Advocate, or Helper; Gr. paracletos”).
The same Greek word thus rendered is translated “Advocate” in 1 John 2:1 as applicable to Christ. It means properly “one who is summoned to the side of another” to help him in a court of justice by defending him, “one who is summoned to plead a cause.” “Advocate” is the proper rendering of the word in every case where it occurs.
It is worthy of notice that although Paul nowhere uses the word paracletos, he yet presents the idea it embodies when he speaks of the “intercession” both of Christ and the Spirit
INTERCESSION, in-ter-seshʹun (פָּגַע, pāgha‛, “to make intercession”; originally “to strike upon,” or “against”; then in a good sense, “to assail anyone with petitions,” “to urge,” and when on behalf of another,
A similar idea is found in ἔντευξις, énteuxis, used as “petition,” and in the NT “intercession.” The Eng. word is derived from Lat intercedo, “to come between,” which strangely has the somewhat opposed meanings of “obstruct” and “to interpose on behalf of” a person, and finally “to intercede.” The growth of meaning in this word in the various languages is highly suggestive. In the Gr NT we find the word
Defining Intercession
(pages 38–39)
Ask fellow believers what intercession is and they’re likely to describe it as praying for others. Yet, this isn’t really correct. It’s important to know what is meant by the term “intercessor” before we can rightly apply it to the concept of intercessory prayer.
1. In your own words, write a definition for “intercession.”
The dictionary defines “intercede” as “to go or pass between; to act between parties with a view to reconcile those who differ or contend; to interpose; to mediate or make intercession; mediation.”1 In other words, intercession can be thought of as mediating—representing one party to another for any number of reasons. Though often thought of in a legal context, intercession is not limited to courtrooms. If you think of intercession as mediation, or representation, then you’ll see it occurs in many common situations: for example, when a mother bridges the gap between two arguing children or when a secretary gives the boss’s instructions to another department. Any work of representation, or mediation, is intercession.
Now that we have an accurate understanding of intercession, we can apply it to intercessory prayer. The work of mediation that Jesus did on behalf of all humanity is the reason why we can go to the Father to ask that His will be established in people’s lives
This is why we are told to ask in Jesus’ name. Jesus represented us to the Father and then gave us that ministry as well. Asking in His name is asking God to remember our Mediator, Jesus Christ, and the work He did, and so honor our request.
