(Written by Rudi Swanepoel)

As Believers, we have to know about the important ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  He is our Divine Partner and in this teaching we will look at a few aspects of His ministry in us.

Jesus said in John 14:16 AMP, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby) that He may remain with you forever.” This is an amazing statement of Jesus about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

First, Jesus established the importance of the Holy Spirit by naming Him “another” Comforter. Jesus was the disciples’ primary Comforter up until that point. He was their “all in all”, but He said that even though He was going to His Father, He would not leave them alone. In some sense Jesus was going to ask the Father to send a “replacement” Comforter to be with them forever. Think about it, who can really be a fitting replacement for Jesus? There is only One! The Holy Spirit! Jesus was saying that the Holy Spirit that would come after Him would be worthy to step into their lives to represent Him. The Holy Spirit has the same credentials, experience, attitude, love and power as Jesus! He is not a beneath Jesus in Divine stature. Everything Jesus can do, the Holy Spirit can do too! That was what Jesus was saying!

The Greek word for “Comforter” means “summoned or called to one’s side or aid” and was used to describe two powerful functions:

1.       For one who pleads your case before a judge. The Holy Spirit is your Divine Attorney. He is you legal counsel in the spiritual realm. The Bible describes the enemy of our souls as “the accuser of the brethren”. He would come before the Lord to bring accusations against the elect of God. What an amazing thought that in such cases we are not destitute and without representation. The Holy Spirit pleads our case on our behalf! In addition to that, Jesus, Who is at the right hand of the Father already, join the Holy Spirit and pleads on our behalf too because of the price He paid on the cross for our sins. Think of it this way: The Holy Spirit is on retainer to represent you before God. Hallelujah!  

2.       It is also used for someone who pleads another’s cause. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Intercessor. We already know that Jesus intercedes on behalf of the saints in heaven, but now Jesus also describes the Holy Spirit as an Intercessor. We read in Romans 8:26: “So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness: for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Holy Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groaning too deep for utterance.” The Holy Spirit “comes to our aid” which means “to lay hold along with, to strive to obtain with others, to take hold with another”. The Holy Spirit’s ministry in your life is to help you wrap your hands around what the Lord wants you to have. The Holy Spirit will help you take hold of the blessings and power of God! He helps you with things you are unable to carry or take hold of yourself.  Next He “bears up our weakness”. This phrase covers both physical and emotional sickness and weakness and literally means “lack of strength or understanding”. Remember that the Holy Spirit resides in you. That means you have a Divine Diagnostician and Healer in you. When you are sick, you pray for healing. You might mention a list of symptoms or names of sicknesses in your prayer, but the Holy Spirit has access to your body up to the atomic level! He can intercede for you on a level you would never be able to. He can say: “Cell number 2,537,567 in the right side of his chest needs healing because. . .” The Holy Spirit’s intercession brings a divine perspective to your life. When you have a lack of strength to understand, He comes to your aid. Or when you lack strength to do great things, He steps in and partners with you. When you are too weak to restrain from corrupt desires, the Holy Spirit provides aid to see you through to victory.