Allos parakletos

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

John 14.16 KJV

The phrase translated another comforter in the verse above is allos parakletos. Allos is a Greek work which means "another" and parakletos means comforter. There is another Greek word that can also be translated "another." That word is heteros. It is telling that Jesus chose allos instead of heteros in describing the Holy Spirit as a comforter.

Heteros means “another of a different kind” while allos means “another of the same kind” By calling the Holy Spirit allos Jesus was saying that the Holy Spirit was exactly like him. Indeed, that was the reason why the disciples were comforted—they knew that even though their comforter, master, and friend Jesus was leaving, another one who was exactly like him was going to take his place to comfort, counsel, help, intercede for, advocate for, strengthen, and be a stand-by support for them.

The Amplified Bible translates John 14.16 as

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 seven-fold understanding of parakletos is in direct contrast with what the state of orphanhood which the Holy Spirit averts.

The Holy Spirit is a person

What does it mean to say the Holy Spirit is a person? 

To describe the Holy Spirit as a person is to say that he has personal attributes. For instance, Jesus refers to Him with the personal pronouns "he," "him," and "himself." The personal pronouns used for the Holy Spirit have been highlighted in the verses below.

I will pray the father and he will send you another comforter that he may abide with you always...

John 14.16 KJV

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'

John 16:13--15

Why is the Holy Spirit referred to with the impersonal pronouns "it" and "itself" in the Bible?

Since the personhood of the Holy Spirit is as valid as that of the Father and the Son, it is an error to refer to Him as "it." However, in spite of this fact, the King James Version of the Bible, for instance,
refers to Him with it in some portions. We highlight the impersonal pronouns in the following three verses.

The spirit itself beareth witness...

Romans 8:16 KJV

The spirit itself maketh intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered

Romans 8:26 KJV

This is due to the fact that the Greek word translated Spirit in these verses is pneuma. Pneuma is also the word used for wind, evil spirits, human spirits, and any spirit at all.¹ Hence, Romans 8:16 from the Greek is similar to

Even the pneuma agrees with our pneuma that we are God's children.

Hence, translating it as "The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God" may be reasonable, granting ignorance of the fact that the pneuma of God is actually a person.

Other personal attributes and characteristics of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit can be grieved

Grieve not the Holy Spirit...

Ephesians 4.30

The Holy Spirit has a will--He decides, determines, prevents, forbids, etc.

But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

1 Corinthians 12.11 KJV

It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

1 Corinthians 12.11 NLT

The Holy Spirit did not want Paul and his team to minister in the province of Asia so he forbade (KJV) them. The NLT says He prevented them.

Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.

Acts 16.6 NLT

The Holy Spirit speaks

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly

1 Timothy 4.1 NLT

The Holy Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and walk along beside the carriage."

Acts 8.29 NLT

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1 http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G4151&t=KJV^↩

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is probably the least known person of the Triune Godhead. This is due to the fact that, for a long time in the past, He and His manifestations were subdued and repressed due to a near universal misunderstanding of his person and work. The restoration of the recognition of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the church in modern times began in the early 1900s with a series of events, the most significant of which was the Azusa Street Revival. The inception of this revival ushered in renewed zeal for the work of God, accompanied by a spate of renewed interest in the scriptural teaching on the Holy Spirit and His gifts, and the appreciation of His ministry from the beginning of the church to now.

Some important things to note about the Holy Spirit is that
1. He is a person. That is, He has personal attributes and is referred to as a person. He also has a mind, a will and emotions.
2. He is God. He possesses the attributes of God.
3. He is like Jesus.

We discuss each of these points in other posts.

The tenets of The Church of Pentecost (Akuapem Twi)

Pentekost Asɔre no kyerɛ titiriw (tenets) anaasɛ asɔre no gyidi nnyinaso 

1. Kyerɛw Kronkron

Yɛgye di sɛ Kyerɛw Kronkron fi Nyame Home ne Ne Tumi mu, sɛ nea Kyerɛw no ka na ɛkyerɛ nyinaa ye, na ɛne tumi nyinaa ti (2 Tim. 3:16; Pet. 1:21).

2. Nokware Nyankopɔn Koro No

Yɛgye di sɛ Nokware Nyankopɔn Koro na Ɔwɔ hɔ: Elohim, nea ɔbɔɔ wiase nyinaa, na obi ntumi nhwehwɛ nhu ne mu nwie da; nanso ɔda Ne ho adi sɛ Onyame-Baasa-Koro--Onyame Agya, Onyame Ɔba ne Onyame Honhom Kronkron--Wɔyɛ baako wɔ su, nneyɛe ne tumi mu--Otumfoɔ, Onim-ade-nyinaa na Ɔwɔ mmaa nyinaa (Gɛn. 1:1; Mat. 3:16-17; 1 Yoh. 5:7).

3. Onipa sɛe a wasɛe

Yɛgye di sɛ “nnipa nyinaa ayɛ bɔne, na Onyankopɔn animuonyam abɔ wɔn” na wɔsɛ daa amanehunu, nti wohia ahonnu ne awofoforo (Gɛn. 3:1-19, Yes. 53:6; Asom. 2:38; 17:30).

4. Agyenkwa no

Yɛgye hia a onipa hia Agyenkwa a ɔne Kristo Yesu a Ne mu na nkwagye hyɛ ɛnam N'awo kronkron, N'asetra kronkro, Ne mpatuwu, Ne wusɔre ne Ne sorokɔ, Ne daa odima, Ne ba a ɛtɔ so abien ne Ne mfirinhyia apem wo ahyɛde so no di (Yoh. 8:46; Fil. 2:9-11; 1 Tes. 4:16-17; Adiy. 22:20).

5. Ahonnu, bembu ne ahotew 

Yɛgye di sɛ ɛsɛ sɛ nnipa nyinaa nu wɔn ho wɔn awosu bɔne ho, pae mu ka wɔn bɔne Onyankopɔn anim na wɔgye Kristo Yesu wu a Owu sii yɛn anan mu no di ansa na wɔabu wɔn bem Onyankopɔn anim. Yɛgye ahotew a gyidin nam Sunsum Kronkron dwumadi tumi so nya na ɛyɛ adwuma n'abrabom no, ne Onyankopɔn akyɛde a ɛne daa nkwa a ɔde ma agyidifo no di (Asom. 2:38; Luka 15:7; Rom. 5:16; 1 Kor. 1:30; 1 Tes. 4:3).

6. Nsum asubɔ ne Awurade adidi adommenade no 

Yɛgye nsu mu asubɔ di. Nsu mu asubɔ gyina onipa a wasakra n'adwene na wadi mfirinhyia 13 de rekɔ adansedi so. (Luka 3:21; Maako 16:16) (Yɛmmɔ mmɔfra asu na mmom yɛde wɔn hyɛ Awurade nsa Luka 2:22-24, 34; Maako 10:16). Yɛgye adommenade a ɛyɛ Awurade Adidi no di. Adidi a ɛsɛ sɛ asafomma a wodi mu nyinaa bom di no (Luka 22:19, 20; Mat. 26:21-29; Asom. 20:7).

7. Honhom Kronkron asubɔ, emu dom akyɛde ne n'aba 

Yɛgye Honhom Kronkron asubɔ a agyidifo nya ne nsɛnkyerɛne a edi akyi no di; dom akyɛde ahorow no ne wɔn dwumadi, ne Honhom Kronkron mu aba a ɛda adi ahotewfo abrabɔ mu no di (1 Kor. 12:18-31; Maako 16:17; Asom. 2:4; Gal.5:22).

8. Nyame mu ayaresa 

Yɛgye di sɛ Onyame asiesie ayaresa de ama ne nkurɔfo wɔ Yesu Kristo mpatuwu no mu. Nanso asɔre no nsiw obiara a ɔpɛ sɛ ɔkɔhwehwɛ oduruyɛfo (dɔkota) nkyɛn ayaresa ho kwan (Yes. 53:4,5; Mat. 8:7, 17; Maako 16:18; Yak. 5:14-16; Luka 13:1-16).

9. Ntotoso du du ne afɔrebɔ 

Kyerɛw Kronkron kyerɛ pefee sɛ wɔmfa nea wonya nyinaa so ntotoso du du mmerɛ Awurade. Bio nso, wɔmmɔ ɔpɛso afɔre mfa mmoa mma Onyame ahenni-trɛw nkɔ so. Onyankopɔn hyira obiara a ofiri ne koma mu de ma (Mal. 3:10; 2 Kor. 8:7; Heb. 7:14; Asom. 20:35).

10. Nkwa a ɛrebɛba no 

Yɛgye owusɔre di: wɔn a wɔanya nkwa ne wɔn a wonnyaa nkwa; wɔn a wɔanya nkwa no bɛkɔ nkwasɔre mu; na wɔn a wonnyaa nkwa no akɔ atemmusɔre mu (Yoh. 5:28-29; Dan. 12:2; Rom. 2:7; 6:23; 1 Yoh. 1:1,2).

Extra-biblical practices

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

John 21.25 NLT

John states that Jesus did so many things that if all of them were recorded there would not be enough books in the world to contain them. If there was so much more to be recorded but only a tiny fraction of it was recorded for our benefit, then it stands to reason that the disciples of Jesus who saw those other things he did that were not recorded may have practiced them. There would be no fear that they were practicing in error because they saw the master do them.

It is probable that the early church, which consisted of many disciples who followed Jesus abounded with these extra-biblical practices with the justification that they saw the master do it. It is this line of reasoning that the Roman Catholic church uses to justify its fixation on certain practices, claiming a heritage of practices, handed down from the early disciples via an unbroken chain of transmission.

The danger with this line of reasoning is that there is no stable or consistent means of checking error that may creep into the execution of these practices, permitting the undesirable and fatal deviation from the right course. It is undoubtedly the case that the majority and essence of the core teaching and practice of Jesus were recorded for our benefit without much left which cannot be derived form the bulk that has already been presented.

The concept of types

An unknown poet has characterised the relationship between the Old and New Testaments as follows.

The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.
The New is in the Old contained; the Old is in the New explained.
The New is in the Old enfolded; the Old is in the New unfolded.
The New is in the Old latent; the Old is in the New patent.

Anonymous¹

This characterisation serves as a natural lead into the discussion on how the Old Testament prefigures and anticipates the New and how the New Testament clarifies, fulfills and amplifies the Old. Type is from the Greek word tupon, which means a stamp or an imprint. By this understanding, it is easy to understand what an antitype is: it is the corresponding shape that fits the imprint or mould created by the stamp—the type. Typology, the study and application of types, begun was used by Jesus and the New Testament authors who sought to explain current and future events by likening them to events in the Old Testament. The following examples illustrate the concept better.

The days of Noah and the coming of the son of man

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the son of man be lifted up

Melchizedek made unto us like the son of man

We have an antitype of baptism

The Bible is awash with typology, with it being the main framework for understanding the New Testament and reconciling it with the Old Testament.

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1 W. Graham Scroggie (The unfolding drama of redemption, page 75, 1994 Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, USA)^↩

The Bible is all-sufficient in its provision and comprehensive in its sufficiency

To say the Bible is all sufficient in its provision and comprehensive in its sufficiency is to say that it does not need to be supplemented by any other material in its application. The Bible gives us the basis to tackle every issue in life. It is, without doubt, replete with many stories and much commentary on different aspects of life. However, it is not just a wide-ranging perspective on a multiplicity of issues: it is also enough as the only and final resource to be consulted on all matters of life and faith.