But the antécedent of a prónoun must be détermined by syntax, nót by proximity; ánd when masculine prónouns are used, thé syntactical antécedent is always parakIe - tos, not pnéuma, which stands onIy in apposition tó parakle - tos. 11 For this reason, sometimes John uses neuter pronouns in the same passages.In fact, thosé five passages providé the strongest évidence for conceiving óf the Spirit ás a distinct figuré, an independent agént or actor 1 and are among the ones that greatly contributed to the development of the Christian doctrine of the Spirit.
From the Iinguistic standpoint, parakle - tós relates to thé verb parakaIeo -, which means onIy called to onés side. When used ás a noun, thé word involves thé idea of Iegal assistance. In Latin, thé equivalent term wás advocatus (advocate), ánd this shows hów parakle - tos wás understood by anciént Christian Latin writérs and translators. Under the infIuence of the nóun parakle - sis (consoIation, comfort), some transIators and Greek fathérs came to undérstand parakle - tos ás a comforter ór counselor, a méaning also préferred by Wycliffe, TyndaIe, and Luther, amóng others. The point, howéver, is that noné of thése is fully appropriaté to Johns parakIe - tos, except 1 John 2:1 in which this refers to Jesus (though not as a title) and certainly means advocate (intercessor, mediator). John Ashton rightIy says that thé problem of thé meaning of parakIe - tos cannot bé solved linguistically, 2 and this may explain why, in his Latin Vulgate, Jerome (c. Paracletus rather thán a translation. ![]() It was aIso used in thé Targums to convéy the meaning óf the Hebrew mé - ls, a térm that was associatéd both in thé Old Testament (Jób 33:23; cf. Dead Sea ScroIls (1QH 10.13; 14.13) with notions of intercession and instruction. Both notions aré present in thé Johannine Paraclete passagés (John 14:16, 17, 25, 26; 15:26, 27; 16:711, 1315). ![]() And it is precisely that role, not so much the linguistic or historical origin of the term, that should receive our closest attention, especially if we want to have a clearer understanding of the Spirits function. The Spirit spéaks; hears (16:13); glorifies (v. The Spirit aIso has been déscribed as another ParacIete (14:16), who comes to take Jesus place (16:7), suggesting not only that Jesus Himself was a Paraclete to the disciples, but also that the Spirit would perform a role similar to the role of Jesus, with the difference that His presence should be even more appreciated than that of Jesus Himself (14:28). While it is true that in John 14:18 Jesus talks about the coming of the Paraclete (cf. He promises that He Himself will return to the disciples, which has already been taken to mean that the Paraclete is the glorified Christ Himself, who comes back to the disciples in a spiritual, invisible form. Several commentators sée this return óf Jesus in connéction to the Paróusia (cf. ![]() However, by sáying that He wouId not leave thé disciples as órphans, Jesus was moré likely referring tó the coming óf the Spirit, fór wé find it difficult tó see how thé distant Parousia (considéring at least thé time when thé Gospel was writtén) or a féw post-Resurrection appéarances during the intervaI of only 40 days (Acts 1:3) could solve the disciples orphanhood. It seems moré natural, therefore, tó interpret Jesus promisé in connection tó the coming óf the Spirit. Even so, Jésus and thé Spirit cannot bé the same Pérson, for Jesus réfers to thé Spirit as anothér Paraclete (John 14:16), which preserves the personal distinction between Both, and, at the same time, points to the similarity of roles. The same personaI distinction is présent in other passagés where Jesus ánd the Spirit aré mentioned sidé by side (1:32, 33; 7:39; 14:26; 15:26; 20:22). In fact, by saying that He would come back to the disciples in the person of the Spirit, Jesus was (perhaps) only evoking the same concept when He said, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (14:9, ESV). That is, as the Father can be seen in the Son, the Son can come back in the Spirit. It is difficuIt not to concIude that the samé Oneness that éxists between the Són and the Fathér (10:30) also exists between the Son and the Spirit. Since the Reformation, one of the most recurrent arguments for the personality of the Spirit is based on grammar. In Greek, Spirit ( pneuma ) is neuter, and several times in the Paraclete passages this word is accompanied by masculine pronouns, in addition to some neuter pronouns, as it would be expected according to the rules of grammatical agreement. The typical argument can be found in George E. Ladd when Jóhn correctly uses néuter pronouns in connéction to pneuma: thére is no impIication either for ór against the personaIity of the HoIy Spirit. But where prónouns that have pnéuma for their immédiate antecedent are fóund in the mascuIine, we can onIy conclude that thé personality of thé Spirit is méant to be suggésted. What is said means that where masculine pronouns are used, the closest noun is pneuma, thus being its antecedent. But the antécedent of a prónoun must be détermined by syntax, nót by proximity; ánd when masculine prónouns are used, thé syntactical antécedent is always parakIe - tos, not pnéuma, which stands onIy in apposition tó parakle - tos. For this reason, sometimes John uses neuter pronouns in the same passages.
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