First thoughts on John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

Jesus identifies the Holy Spirit as the Advocate, or Helper. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Son. It is the Spirit of truth, who testifies on behalf of Christ. So, the Spirit is the Advocate of the Son. Often, at least for me, I think of the Spirit of the Advocate for us. Actually, Jesus is our Advocate, because He prays for us. But the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ Advocate, speaking on His behalf. And we, His disciples are also to testify on behalf of Jesus. We are Jesus’ advocates.
Jesus is telling His disciples these things now because He is about to leave them, as we talked about last week. He is preparing them for His ascension and for what they will be called on to do after He leaves. The disciples, realizing that Jesus will leave them, are so sorrowful they cannot speak. Jesus needs to go so that the disciples can receive the Advocate, that is, Jesus’ Advocate. The Advocate will be of benefit for the disciples because it is the Advocate that proves the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is not all on the disciples to convince the world. This is what the role of the Holy Spirit is, to be the Advocate sent from the Father, by the Son, to convince the world. The Spirit, as an Advocate, will also further convince and guide the disciples into all truth. The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own, just as the Son does not speak on His own. The Spirit, the Son, the Father, they are of one mind and will. What the Spirit speaks is in agreement with the Father and the Son. When the Holy Spirit speaks, the Father and the Son speak. He glorifies the Son because He is an Advocate, or testifier on behalf of the Son. The Spirit testifies to the glory and power of the Son, to whom the Father has given all things.
Verses 12-13 are significant. Jesus was not able to share with the disciples everything they needed to know because they could not bear it all. The Holy Spirit continues to reveal the truth to the church over time. The book of Acts, especially Acts 15, shows how the Holy Spirit continues to guide the church into all truth. We believe that the Spirit continues even today to guide the church into all truth. Much of what is truth has been settled. The Spirit does not lead us into truth that contradicts what has been received. The mystery of God is endless and unknowable. Yet, the Spirit continues to guide us into what we once did not know. It is important to remember that the example of how the Spirit leads the church into truth is through conciliarity. It takes time, and it isn’t always smooth. But the main point is that we do not know everything there is to know about the mystery of God. The Spirit still speaks, still testifies, still guides the church into all truth. So while we defend what has been revealed, we remain open to deeper understanding.
When Jesus says the Spirit will tell the disciples what will happen, I wonder if this could mean that as we look at the past and find parallels to our own time, the Spirit helps us discern what will happen because we see the patterns. For example, we are going through a period that has a parallel to the time of the Great Reformation. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will guide us as we look to the past to find markers for where we may be heading in the future. Also, prophets speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Prophets are not fortune tellers, however. They don’t predict the future, except to the extent that this is what will happen if people don’t change, or that God will restore the righteous and destroy the wicked. With this first idea, that by looking back the Spirit can guide us into an understanding of what will happen, that this is an aspect of how the Spirit continues to guide us into all truth. This is of advantage to us, because if we can affirm previous patterns, then the future becomes less mysterious and frightening, and hopefully less bloody than previous times of transformation, such as the 15th and 16th centuries.
Tertullian makes the point that the disciples did not know everything about God. But they did know some things because the Spirit guided them in to what they did know. We hold to what the apostles taught, because it was revealed by the Spirit. But we also acknowledge that there is more to know, that the apostles did not know everything. Still, they knew something. And the something they knew we have received as Tradition.
Related to this, Cyprian points out some of the predictions that Jesus and Paul gave. Christians can expect persecution. This will happen. But those who suffer for Christ can expect a reward in heaven. This “prediction” is based on past experience. The Spirit is the revealer of what will be when we look back on what has happened, for we can anticipate patterns.
Augustine points out that the sending of the Holy Spirit not only comforted the disciples, enabling them to be bold witnesses of the truth, but the Spirit also convinced those who before had cried out for Christ to be crucified, leading them to repentance. The Holy Spirit gives the believer confidence to be a witness, and convicts and convinces those who before were enemies of Christ.