Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life - Confident in the Advocate

Episode Date: May 1, 2026

In the old tales, if they were sending people out on a quest, they always gave them special gifts with special powers. That’s what Jesus is doing in John 14—he’s sending his disciples (us) out into the world.  The night before he dies, Jesus is giving mighty gifts with special powers to his disciples and to us. And of all the gifts that he gives, the greatest gift possible is this one: the Holy Spirit. Let’s see what we learn in this passage about 1) who the Spirit is, 2) what the Spirit does, and 3) why the Spirit can do it. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 5, 2017. Series: Jesus, Mission, and Glory: New Confidence. Scripture: John 14:16-26. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Welcome to Gospel and Life. What keeps your faith from unraveling when trouble comes your way? On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples to not let their hearts be afraid. Today, Tim Keller shows us how Jesus offers a new kind of confidence that is rooted in something far more secure than our circumstances. The reading for today is taken from the book of John chapter 14, verses 16 through 26. and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. Before long the world will not see. me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day, you will realize

that I am in my father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. Then Judas, not Judas Ascariot, said, But Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus replied, Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own. They belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you, but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

This is the Word of the Lord. Let me, by the way, just underscore Abe's request for you to come to that town hall. These town halls are going to be very important this year. And I can remember some turning points in the history of Redeemer. Very often happened when people came together. And in worship service, we're doing the main thing we do as a church. In town halls, we talk about the things we do in the church. And it'd be very important that you make it.

Please do. Besides that, there will not be any championship football next time. Sunday, I guarantee you. No distraction. Where Jesus Christ is equipping his disciples to go out into the world the night before he dies. It's John chapter 13 to 17. We're spending the entire year looking at this passage. But chapter 14 is kind of special in this way. whenever you in the old tales if they were going to send people out on a quest or a journey they always gave them special gifts with special powers so George MacDonald in the late 19th century wrote two

very well-known fairy tale books in the first one one's called the princess and the goblins and the other is called the princess and curdie and in the first one Irene gets a little magic ring that has an invisible thread attached to it that if you follow will always take you to safety and the second one curdie gets the ability to touch somebody's hands you know to hold a hand or shake a hand and immediately discern the person's true character and and plans and so these are ways in which our heroes get what they need in order to face the foes and to and to complete their request. And actually, that's what Jesus is doing in chapter 14. He's sending his disciples, and that's us, out into the world, and he's giving them mighty gifts, mighty gifts with special

powers. And of all the gifts that he gives, the greatest gift is this one, the one we just have been reading about. And I don't feel under any real pressure to tell you everything there is to know, because this will keep coming up. This subject will keep coming up. Here's the first time. we actually can address it, Jesus Christ gives his disciples and to us the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the greatest gift possible, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let's see what we learn even in this passage about who the Spirit is, what the Spirit does, and why the Spirit can do it. Who he is, what he does, and why he can do it. So first of all, who he is. I've already kind of let the cat of the bag as it were with the with the title of this heading the spirit of god according to the bible

we're going to hear we're going to learn two things number one the spirit is a person the spirit is not just a force not just an energy the spirit is a person uh you know the greek nouns are assigned to gender you know masculine feminine neuter uh the greek noun for spirit is neuter but that doesn't matter Jesus Christ deliberately breaks the conventions of grammar by continually referring to the spirit as he. You can see it five times in verse 17. He, see, the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him,

for he lives with you and will be in you. So the spirit's a person. And, you know, so that's as emphatic as possible. Jesus can make it, not just a kind of energy force or a force field, but another person, another like what? See, Jesus uses this word, we'll get back to it. He says, he will give you another. I'm going away and he will give you another. It means another like Jesus, which is an astonishing thing to say. In fact, here's what's really interesting. The whole point of this discourse is Jesus keeps saying, I'm going away, I'm going away, I'm going away.

And now he says in verse 17, but the spirit will come. The father will send him, the spirit. So I'm going away and he is coming. But then in verse 18, he says, I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. What? I'm going away. He will come.

Oh, but by the way, when he comes, I will be coming. the one who is not me is bringing me or another way to put it is and he says it right here he says the world will not see me but you will see me why because the holy spirit is the way that jesus christ is present with us in not a bodily form and therefore not in a visible form and so the holy spirit is a person the holy spirit is a divine person like jesus the holy spirit in some ways it certainly is not Jesus, but in other ways brings Jesus. In fact, let's press it a little further. Down in verse 23, Jesus actually goes so far as to say,

My father will love them and we will come to him and make our home with them. And so here's what we got. I'm taking you right to the precipice, right to the edge of the doctrine of the Trinity. But don't be afraid. I'm not going to push you over into it. in other words we're not going to go into the doctrine of the trinity here but you need to see this is the kind of material from which the biblical doctrine of the trinity comes and what is the biblical doctrine of the trinity it's unique of all the religions of the world Christianity teaches that we

don't have one god in one person who just takes different forms in different times nor do we have three gods in three persons we have one god in three persons father's son holy spirit who are all divine and who know and love each other. And for our purposes, there's so many implications, some wonderful things to talk about, but that's why I say I'm not pushing over the precipice into it. Instead, here's the thing you need to know, that when you get the Holy Spirit, you get God.

That's the reason why Jesus is able to say, because I live, you will also live. He will be in you, and therefore you get the very life of God in you. So that's who the Spirit is. And as implications, as we will see, for what the Spirit does. So what does the Spirit do? The Holy Spirit, what does the Spirit come doing?

In verse 26, all this I have spoken while still with you, but the advocate, the Holy Spirit, is whom the Father will send in my name. He comes, and this isn't the only thing he does, but the point is, among other things, the Holy Spirit is an advocate.

Now, many of you know that if you go to different passages, a different translation, so in fact, this translation is the 1984 edition of the New International Version, where you have here the current edition of the New International Version. In my Bible, it says,

the counselor, the Father will send the counselor, the Holy Spirit. In yours, it says the advocate. Sometimes it says the helper. Sometimes it says the comforter, right? Now, whenever you get to a word that every translation translates, differently, you know you've got a kind of richness of meaning that is impossible to get across

into one English word. And I would actually, frankly, I vote for the advocate. If I was going to choose one word, I would say that was my favorite for a lot of reasons. But we still have to reflect a little bit on it, at least because obviously it's a rich, it's got too much richness, not just to give you one word. So what is the Greek word behind the word advocate or counselor or a comforter? And it's a Greek word, pretty well pretty famous important greek word in the new testament paracaleo or paraclet and it's uh even there you can see you can hear right that there's two parts of that word and what's weird about it is they almost work against each other calayo means to call obviously calio but it means to summons or to declare it's kind of a confrontive word kind of like in your face it's very assertive okay but it starts

with the prefix para which means to come alongside, which you see in our English words like paramedic or para legal. So if Callaio is like in your face of it, you know, it's a confrontive word almost, but para is a supportive word. You know, it's a sympathetic word. So Paracaleo seems to be both confrontive and supportive. And you say, well, how in the world can you combine those two in one person? And the answer is there's two different ways that I think you can.

Two different ways. the one is there could be an advocate who confronts others for you a defense attorney as it were so the person is confront of but for you so the person is

arguing with other people for you making a case for you arguing to others for you that's a defense attorney but there's a second way you can combine the two not a defense attorney call him a sober companion, the friend of an addict. Because a sober companion and a friend of an addict argues with you for you, confronts you for you.

See, a defense attorney confronts other people who might harm you for you. But a sober companion confronts things inside you that can harm you for you. The sober companion argues with you for you. So one kind of advocate is a defense attorney, one kind of is a defense attorney, one kind of sober companion one kind is arguing against others for you they could harm you and the sober companion is arguing with things inside you that could harm you and i'm here with some really good news if you're a christian you believe in jesus christ you get both you get both kinds of advocates you get the first advocate and the second advocate and they are both divine it's an

astonishing claim and that's what and by the way not one i think that most christians think about. In fact, probably I'm already using a lot of terminology that you're not used to, even if you've been a Christian or in the church for a long time. And yet it's an incredible gift. It's a mighty gift for our quest. We get two advocates, both kinds of advocates. Now, the Holy Spirit is the second kind. Who's the first kind? I'll get there in a minute. That's my third point. But we're still in the second point. The second point is, what does the Holy Spirit do? The Holy Spirit is an advocate. That is, I'm going to say, according to the Bible, one of the things, not the only thing the Holy Spirit does, but the Holy Spirit he confronts you, he argues with you for you.

Or he argues with things and confronts the things inside you, but always for you. He's for you. How so? Well, let me give you one. Romans chapter 8, 15, 16. In Romans chapter 815, it says this, God has not given us a spirit of fear,

but he has given us the spirit of his son who comes into our hearts crying, Abba Father. Crying. I mean, there we go. Here's the Holy Spirit, you know, speaking, crying,

you know, yelling, maybe. But it says, instead of fears, God, you know, our hearts are subject to fears, but God gives us the Holy Spirit who comes in and cries, Abba Father.

What? What's that mean? Well, verse 16, I think, explains it. And in verse 16, it says, the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The spirit himself bears witness with our children that we are children of God. Amazing.

Paul, when he writes this, is evoking a picture. Because the word bears witness, and you can even tell in the English translation, which is good, that Paul is using a term that means expert testimony in a trial. in fact star witness expert testimony in a trial and so here in just a stroke or two paul's essentially evoking he's getting us to imagine a picture the picture is there's a trial and you're on trial you're accused and you're losing and where is this trial it's in your spirit see the spirit the spirit bears witness with your spirit in your spirit you're afraid you're feeling guilty you're feeling like a failure whatever

There's a trial going on. There's an accusation, and you're losing. And then in comes the spirit with expert testimony, that you are a child of God. You say, well, that's an interesting idea. Well, you know, there's another very famous place where that happened, as it were. At the baptism of Jesus Christ, the heavens were ripped open, and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. And it doesn't just ascend like a dove. And God was heard to say what?

This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. And so you see, that's the spirit's job. The spirit, you're sinking under doubts and under fears. It's in your spirit, as it were, you're in a trial, and you're losing, and you're thinking I'm a failure, I've done this, I've done that wrong. And in comes to Holy Spirit says, no, you are his child. You are loved. He is well pleased with you.

The job of the Holy Spirit is to come and argue with you. is to come in and confront you, especially as 1 John 320 says, when our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts. Well, how does God overcome the condemnation of our hearts? With the Holy Spirit. When our hearts condemn us,

the Holy Spirit is greater than our hearts. Look, we human beings don't like the idea of salvation by grace. We don't like the idea of salvation by grace. Every religion in the world rejects it and says you're saved by living a good life, And even Christianity, though it teaches we're saved by grace, Christians don't want to believe it. Our hearts don't want to believe it. Why? Partly pride, but partly calculation. Because you know, if God, if you've been good and you've tried your best and you said your prayers and you get to church,

surely God owes you something. And that way, that's the reason why even Christians deepen our hearts when we become Christians, even those of us who say, oh, I believe we're saved by grace, your heart doesn't believe that, doesn't want to believe it, and operates as if it's not true. And basically operates saying, well, because God is, you know, I've done this and I've done this and this, surely God owes me something. That's how you operate down deep. And then when you actually get out in life, you do fail. And bad things do happen.

And you mess up. And then you're in despair because deep in your heart you actually don't believe you could be a child of God. Deep in your heart, you don't believe that. And the Holy Spirit comes in and says, yes, you are. You know, you're loved. he comes crying God is your father

but by the way a good sober companion doesn't just tell a person a friend who feels he's worthless or she's worthless that you you're loved it's also sometimes you have to confront the person I mean in other words the Holy Spirit's job is

not just to confront our hearts when they accuse us Holy Spirit's also got to confront our hearts our hearts when they tempt us because see sometimes we go astray because we are underconfident in the love of god but sometimes we go astray because we get a kind of spiritual overconfidence when we say oh i can do this i can have this sin it's really not a sin or i kind of deserve it or i can always you know it won't harm me

that much or i can ask for forgiveness later you get a kind of spiritual overconfidence and when the holy Spirit sees our hearts being enticed by sex, money, or power or other things. What's he do? You know, there's an interesting place in James Chapter 4. There's some controversy about how to understand it, but in James chapter 4, James says, don't you realize that friendship with the world is enmity with God? And then he says, the next thing he says is, and that the spirit of God within you longs intensely.

It's not an easy word to understand, but I like the commentators who say, what it's saying is that when the Holy Spirit sees the world enticing you away, it longs to bring you back. He longs to bring you back. And he says, no, no, no, no, no. You can't go there. Jonah is one of the most widely known stories in the Bible. But it's so much more than a simple account of a prophet who runs from God

and gets swallowed by a great fish. In his book, Rediscovering Jonah, Tim Keller uncovers the deeper message of this familiar story, revealing how Jonah's resistance to God exposes our own reluctance to trust and obey him, and how Jonah's experience ultimately points us to Jesus and his saving work on the cross. During the month of May, we'll send you a copy of rediscovering Jonah as our thanks for your gift to help Gospel and Life share the transforming love of Christ with more people. So request your copy today at GospelandLife.com slash give. gospelonlife.com slash give. Now, here's Dr. Keller with the rest of today's teaching.

So you see, the Holy Spirit's job is to be your sober companion, is to say you're looking for love in all the wrong places, you're trying to earn your salvation, you don't believe you're really loved, you're not living as if you're loved, and stop it. You are loved. God says you are my beloved child, whom I'm well pleased. Now, so that's what the Holy Spirit does, and it's a powerful, powerful thing. Let me just ask you a question. Have you got that in your life? And if you say, well, I don't know how that actually works. How does that actually work? Well, actually, the hints are here.

He's a spirit of truth and he's a person. See, you know, when you hear the term filled with a spirit, But if you think of the spirit in personal terms, you can kind of think that that's a little bit like a gas tank being filled up with gas or a light bulb being filled with light. But if he's a person, how do you get filled with a person? And the answer is you get filled with a person by listening to the person, by spending time with a person, by talking with a person. And it says he's a spirit of truth, verse 17. And also, here's two verses for you. you know Hebrews chapter 412 says the Bible the scripture the word of God is alive and active like a two-eight sword that penetrates do you know in Ephesian 6 it says that the sword of the spirit is the

word of God now think about this if it's the job of the spirit to confront you to deal with your doubts and your fears and your guilt and your and your your underconfidence and your overconfidence if it's the job of the spirit for him to come in and shake you and say you're loved and you know he's he's against you for you. What is his ammunition? How does he speak to you? And the answer is the sword of the spirit is the word of God. The Bible. He brings the truths of the Bible home to the heart, so it melts the heart. And it gets rid of the coldness. And it gets rid of the fears. It gets rid of the doubts. Gets rid of the hubris. It gets rid of the hardness. So if you say, well, I'd love to have the work of the spirit in my life. I would love to have him as

the second advocate, well, you've got to know the Bible. Because the more of the Bible you know, the more ammunition you're giving your sober companion. And it's all the ammunition of love. The sword of the spirit is the word of God. But more specifically, now here's our, we looked at who he was and what he does. But more specifically, why is he able to do it? Why is he able to do this?

And the answer is, the work of the second advocate is, you know, the work of the second advocate is, is to apply the work of the first advocate to our hearts. It's not just that he applies the Bible in some kind of general way. Jesus says in verse 16, I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate, which means he's the first one. And then down in verse 26,

it says, the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. There it is. The work of the second advocate is to take the truth

of the first advocate, the gospel of the first advocate, his being, his person, his work, his teachings. And Jesus is the first advocate, and it's the work of the Holy Spirit to take the work of the first advocate applying to your heart, and that's how you get the power. And that's how you get filled with the Holy Spirit. Well, you say, well, what is the work of the first advocate? Well, this text doesn't tell us,

but we can't understand the power of this text unless we go to places where it does. Now here's the good news is that John himself, John wrote the book of John, the gospel of John, but he also wrote three letters in the Bible, first, second, third John. And in first John, he explains what he means by the word advocate here.

And in 1st John chapter 2, verse 1, very simple, he says, John says, don't sin, please avoid sin, but then he says, but if you do sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. we have an advocate with the father with the father jesus christ the righteous and in hebrew seven and uh romans eight uh it says that paul in the book the hebrews writer says that god that in a sense

god the father sits on the judgment seat of the universe and jesus christ the son intercedes for us he argues for us he makes his case for us he intercedes for us he intercedes for us So here's Jesus, here's John, here's Hebrews, the right of Hebrews, and here's Paul, all saying that the work of the first advocate is for Jesus Christ to stand as an advocate before the bar of God and the justice of the universe and be, as it were, our defense attorney. Now, let me just, let's unpack that for a second, but first let me just say this. We're talking here about something very mysteriously, something very deep that happens in the God, through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. How can a holy and just God

embrace unholy and flawed human beings? How can a holy and just God, don't you want a God who believes in justice? Well, then how can God give us things we don't deserve forever? How can he do that? Something has to happen on the inside of God to enable that to happen. For his justiness and his justice and his love to be reconciled,

that happens on the cross but what we're being told here is the best way for us to grasp the wonder of it and the power of it is to understand this metaphor the metaphor of Jesus Christ standing before the judgment seat of the universe interceding on our behalf that's the metaphor we're asked to ponder the Bible's asking us to ponder so let's ponder it there's two parts to it the first part is this idea that there is a judgment bar of the universe before which we all stand accountable. That's the first part of the metaphor. And that's not an easy sell today.

It's not an easy sell at all. We live in an era that says that's the way people used to believe. People used to believe that there was a judgment seat outside of us. Some standard that we're all obliged to obey. Some standard that we're all accountable to. It might be the law of God, judgment seat of the universe, it might be, you know, Plato's realm of ideas,

but we used to believe, it is said, that there was a kind of external moral set of moral absolutes that we're all, you know, accountable to, but we don't believe that anymore. We believe that all moral discrimination and intuition has come from inside. We feel these things, we do these things, we create these things. And so there's nothing outside that we're accountable to. It's inside. We decide what is right or wrong for us.

Therefore, guilt is nothing but psychological. It's only subjective. It's never objective. It's a subjective feeling you have, which you can get rid of if you just change your views. There's nothing out here that objectively makes us guilty. Now, you know, Friedrich Nietzsche said he thought the whole idea of guilt would go away

when people stopped believing in God. Freud knew better and his great book, and very gloomy book, civilization and it's discontents. Even though Freud himself was an atheist, he says it's kind of weird. But even when you deny guilt and even when you say it's all in my head and even when you try to say, well, there's no gods that there really isn't any kind of guilt other than psychological subjective guilt, he says all that seems to do is drive it in deeper and it still affects your

life but you don't have a word for it anymore and so you actually don't have any way to dealing with it. Freud was pretty smart about those things. And here's the fact. It's not gone away. mental health experts will tell you, even though there's few and fewer people believe in God, it doesn't go away, and it doesn't go away in people who don't believe in God either.

There is still a sense that we're not what we should be. And no matter how hard we try to change our psychology, we can't get rid of it. There still is a sense that what the Bible says is true, and that is there is a bar of justice, there is a bench of justice, there's a seat of justice,

before which we are all accountable and nobody, nobody on the final day will be able to stand before that bar of judgment and pass the test. That's the first part of the metaphor. The second part of the metaphor is this, that if you're a Christian, the minute you become a Christian, Jesus Christ stands as your representative,

as your defense attorney before that bar of justice. Now, I got to tell you when I first became a Christian, and I heard about this, I read about this, that Jesus Christ stands before the judgment seat of God and intercedes for us. But I really had no idea what that was. It was something kind of strange, frankly, and almost like there's something weird going on here, you know.

And I really didn't understand it. But I said, okay. And I think probably about five or six years into my being a Christian, I read a sermon, was more of an outline of a sermon by a man named Charles Hodge, who taught at Princeton Theological Seminary in the 1840s. I think it's one at the way he did it. And it was a little, it was a chapel talk on the intercession of Christ.

And it just, it just changed me. I'll show you why. First of all, he said, this idea that Jesus is an advocate or a defense attorney means at least two things. It means that he appears to the court, not you, if you're a Christian. And secondly, he's got an infallible person. case. The first is he appears in the court and he says imagine let's just say if you if you go to trial because you've been accused of something and you got a great defense attorney you're in good shape you know why

because there's a certain sense in which the court doesn't really see you the court sees your attorney if your attorney is eloquent you're eloquent if your attorney is savvy you're savvy if your attorney is stupid you're stupid if your attorney succeeds you succeed if your attorney is uh fails you fail And as Charles Hodge says, you're lost in your advocate. You're like in your advocate. You're not seen, you're not heard, you don't succeed, you don't fail. Your advocate does. And that means at least this.

See, this is, this means that all your flaws, if you're a Christian, all your flaws, all your sins, all your stains on your soul, they don't appear, as it were, before God. those perfect eyes of the judge of all the earth who see through everything and see everything you've ever done and see every thought you've ever had and they see everything when they see you in Jesus Christ they see nothing but a perfect beauty you're lost in your advocate that's the first thing that I learned from Charles I was the second thing I learned though was this that a good defense attorney is up there not just hoping and that the judge and the jury will somehow let his client off, but that the lawyer has a case. See, Charles Hodge says it's not the job of the attorney just to hope that somehow they'll let the

client off. The attorney has to come in and say, my client should be acquitted because of the law. According to the law, my client should go free. That's what an attorney does. And that Jesus Christ is not, Hodge said, up there begging for mercy, Jesus Christ is demanding justice. Now that was something that was an absolute game changer for me. Because I'd actually thought, some of you heard me say this before,

I always thought that Jesus Christ interceding for me meant that every day Jesus got up and went up to see the father and said, you know, about Tim Keller. You remember how he always is promising never to do that again? Well, he has done it again. and actually since he's become a Christian I'm guessing this is something like four dozen times now and but father says Jesus I represent Tim Keller here and because you know because of our relationship

because I'm your son you're my father would you please give him a break and just you know just overlook it one more time and I guess I thought the father was saying well all right okay one more time and you know even with Jesus even with the son and the father you wonder how long can that last. I mean, it doesn't, that doesn't, that didn't make me feel very confident that every day Jesus was trying to get me off the hook. That's what I thought. But then Charles Hodge came, wait to me, way, way, wait a minute. And think, listen, listen, everybody. Hebrews chapter 12 talks about the blood of Jesus Christ speaking. When God comes to Cain in Genesis 4, after Cain is killed Abel, what does God say to Cain? He says, the blood of your brother,

Abel cries out to me from the ground. In other words, the blood of Abel was crying for vengeance, for punishment, for retribution. But it says in actually, in chapter 12 of Hebrews, it says, we come to the blood of Jesus Christ, which speaks a better word, it says, than the blood of Abel, which means the blood of Jesus Christ is crying too, as it were. And what does that mean? What all these metaphor means? Here's what it means. Jesus Christ, is getting up in front of if you are a christian then jesus christ every day as it were metaphorically stands before the father and says my people have lied my people have cheated my people have failed again today my people have been selfish they have sinned again and father the wages of sin is death but i've paid

those wages they have incurred debts but i have paid their debts here's my blood and it would be unjust to have two payments for the same debt. And therefore, because I have died, I demand acquittal for my clients. I'm not begging for mercy. I'm demanding justice. It would be unjust for you not to receive them. That is an infallible case. And don't you see, the more you're able to understand the work of the first advocate,

the more powerful the work of the second advocate in your life. See, the second advocate, it says, what's the job of the second advocate? He will come and teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you and everything I've done. So what happened to me, when I was just reading this thing by Charles Hodge,

I suddenly realized, I doubled my appreciation for what it means, or Jesus Christ to be my advocate. When I saw what Jesus Christ has done for me, and the minute that happened, the Holy Spirit now had more ammunition. his sword was far sharper. And the Holy Spirit can come after us.

When you understand the work of the first advocate, Holy Spirit can come in and say, you are loved. You are, see how unconditionally you are loved. See how radically are accepted. Stop trying to save yourself. Stop trying to look for love in all the wrong places. Stop working yourself to death.

Stop staying in relationships that you really should get out of because you're so needy. Live loved. See who you are. You are my beloved child and who I'm well pleased. Look at what Jesus Christ has done for you. He's confronting you and confronting you and confronting you until you are filled with the light and glory. There was a, you know, I sometimes refer to it

because it's just too good. There was an 18th century preacher who, when he was still a teenager, had an weird experience. He wasn't a Christian. He had an experience where he saw an old woman who was, everybody was standing around her bed, and she was dying, and they thought she was unconscious.

She was about to die. And they were standing around her bed, didn't think she could hear them, and said, what a horrible life she'd had. You know, two husbands died on her. She was constantly sick, and she's dying without a penny. And just before she died, she opened her eyes. She had heard them.

and she said, how can you call me poor? I am rich, and today I will stand before him, bold as a lion. You see, if she'd had a few more, a little more breaths, she could have said this. I lost two husbands, but I have the one husband that can never die. I have no money, but I have the real wealth, the only wealth that nobody can take away from me. And I've been sick, but Jesus Christ long ago dealt with the only sickness, the only sickness, it's the only disease that can really kill me, which is my sin. And therefore, I will stand before him bold as a lion. See, I will stand before him bold as a lion.

The second advocate was telling her about the first advocate's work, and that's why she could say, I'm not afraid of dying. Now, let the give, believe in Jesus Christ. Ask God to accept you because of the work of the first advocate. Receive the Holy Spirit. And let the Holy Spirit talk to you about, the second advocate to talk about the work of the first advocate, give him ammunition, study the word of God, learn the gospel, so that you can live all your life bold as a lion.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for the wonder of this promise and the greatness of the gift of Holy Spirit. And this is just the beginning of all the things the Holy Spirit brings to us. Holy Spirit, have power in our lives, get glory in our lives, and show us the glory of the first advocate, Jesus Christ. His name we pray. Amen. Thanks for joining us here on the Gospel and Life podcast. If you were encouraged by today's teaching, you can help others discover this podcast by rating

and reviewing it and to find more great gospel-centered content by Tim Keller anytime. Visit gospelandlife.com. Today's sermon was recorded in 2017. The sermons and talks you hear on the Gospel and Life podcast were recorded between 1989 and 2017. Well, Dr. Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.