Abstract
Pentecostals share an interest in the work and person of the Holy Spirit although not at the cost of a well-developed Christology. The term Paraclete (παράκλητος) appears four times in the Gospel according to John in reference to the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7), and once in 1 John 2:1 in reference to Jesus. The question the article asks is: What is meant by the notion of the Spirit as Paraclete from a primarily Pentecostal perspective? To answer the question it is necessary to ask where John’s Paraclete fits into the pneumatology of the early Christian Church before investigating the different contexts in the Johannine literature and what they suggest about the Spirit (and Jesus) as Paraclete. Lastly the meaning of the term in the Graeco-Roman world of the 1st century CE is observed before some suggestions are made for interpreting Paraclete, specifically in forensic terms.
Highlights
Pentecostal theologians and pastors emphasise the person and work of the Holy Spirit (Becker 2004:42). Pretorius and Jafta (1997:221) claim in terms of Pentecostal churches, ‘The Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is sometimes superseded by the Holy Spirit
The accusation leveled at them that they do it at the cost of a well-developed Christology is not necessarily well-founded (Clark & Lederle 1989:44; Möller 1997:140)
Christ forms the center of the Gospel, but what is critical for Pentecostals is the personal awareness and experiencing of encounters with the indwelling Spirit as the one who represents Jesus and his voice in the daily life of the believer (Jn 14:26) (Becker 2004:44; Kärkkäinen 1998:94)
Summary
Read online: Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online. Pentecostals share an interest in the work and person of the Holy Spirit not at the cost of a well-developed Christology. The term Paraclete (παράκλητος) appears four times in the Gospel according to John in reference to the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7), and once in 1 John 2:1 in reference to Jesus. The question the article asks is: What is meant by the notion of the Spirit as Paraclete from a primarily Pentecostal perspective? To answer the question it is necessary to ask where John’s Paraclete fits into the pneumatology of the early Christian Church before investigating the different contexts in the Johannine literature and what they suggest about the Spirit (and Jesus) as Paraclete. The meaning of the term in the GraecoRoman world of the 1st century CE is observed before some suggestions are made for interpreting Paraclete, in forensic terms
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
