Advocate - Life Coach
One of the pressing demands in our society is a support system or someone who advocates for you. Sometimes, we refer to these individuals as our life coaches. This person, our life coach, is a professional who provides guidance, support, and accountability to help us succeed. Yet, this concept gained prominence in the 1980’s and 1990’s as people sought structured ways to improve their lives. According to paperbell.com, a life coach website, over 4.7 million coaches are on Linkedin, and 109K are certified as life coaches. However, Jesus implemented this life coach concept before His death, burial, and resurrection 2000+ years ago. While with His disciples, Jesus explained that they would have an advocate to replace His physical presence on Earth because He is returning to the Father.
Jesus initiated the Life Coach concept by stating the following:
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever... ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 14:15,17
Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the believers so that He (indicating a person, not a thing) may abide with them permanently and not temporarily, like in the Old Testament. Because of the Holy Spirit, believers will gain knowledge and share a union with God the Father and God the Son.
According to the Hypostatic Union, Jesus’ divinity and humanity are fully present in one nature. Likewise, this same transformation will occur within the believer when Jesus states that I am in My Father, you in Me, and I in you. It illustrates the ultimate love through which this transformation occurs. For this reason, Jesus reminds His disciples that if you love Me, keep My commandments. Then He states, "At that day." In other words, this profound revelation will emerge when the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, permanently abides with and in the believer. During this abiding period, the Holy Spirit will illuminate the believer's understanding of Jesus more compellingly than knowing Him as witnessed (face-to-face) by the twelve disciples. The Holy Spirit functions as a guide while providing instruction and residing within you to offer direction and enhance your comprehension, especially in the spiritual realm, in a manner that another human cannot achieve.
Therefore, the believer's union with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit represents an unparalleled transformation, offering divine knowledge and guidance that surpasses direct interaction with Jesus.
Food for thought: When did you last allow the Holy Spirit to serve as your life coach?