One of the scriptures given relative to this is 1 John 2:1, which reads: "My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous." (World English) The assumption appears to be that Jesus is the Supreme Being, and thus, since it is assumed that Jesus is the Supreme Being, then one of the alleged "names" of the Supreme Being is Advocate. Of course, in reality, Jesus spoke of his God and Father as being the only true God, the only true Supreme Being, and by stating that the only true God had sent him, Jesus denied being the Supreme Being. (John 17:1,3) Thus, "Advocate" is not a "name" of the only true God.
Another scripture sometimes given is John 14:26, where the spirit of truth is referred as "Counselor", "Comforter", or "Advocate" (depending on which translation is used). Evidently, it is thought that God's Holy Spirit is a person of God, and wholly and fully God, and thus God is being referred to as "Advocate". Of course, trinitarians and some others believe that Jesus is Jehovah, and thus that Jehovah, the Son of Jehovah, is our advocate before Jehovah, the Father of Jehovah. The scriptures, however, reveal no such concept.
The Bible, however, never presents Jesus as being the God and Father of Abraham, the "one God" from whom are the all, nor is God's Holy Spirit ever presented as being a person of God, or as being "wholly and fully God [Supreme Being".
See our study: Jesus is Not Jehovah
The word "advocate" is not actually a name, at least not in the sense that we speak of "Jesus", "Joshua", "Elijah", etc., as being names. The word "advocate" is a "name" in a more general sense as we might say that the word "apple" designates the name of a certain fruit. This word, as applied to Jesus and God's Holy Spirit, could better be termed a "title" rather than "name".
The word "advocate" is not actually a name, at least not in the sense that we speak of "Jesus", "Joshua", "Elijah", etc., as being names. The word "advocate" is a "name" in a more general sense as we might say that the word "apple" designates the name of a certain fruit. This word, as applied to Jesus and God's Holy Spirit, could better be termed a "title" rather than "name".
However, the Bible reveals only one name as being God's "Holy Name". This Holy Name is often presented in English as "Jehovah" (based on Masoretic Hebrew) or "Yahweh" (based on a Greek rendering of the Holy Name).
The word "advocate" is often confused with the word "mediator"; they do not actually mean exactly the same thing. The word mediator signifies one who seeks to reconcile two parties who are not in harmony with each other. Before one becomes a child of God, one is estranged from God, and thus, in need the mediator by which to be reconciled to God. Thus, to become a child of God, one who receives Christ and has faith in the Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, becomes reconciled to God, and also becomes a new creation, separated from the old creation that remains under God's wrath. (John 3:36; Romans 5:10,12-19; 8:1,17-22; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:5,6) The new creature in Christ, being a child of God, is without sin, and thus no longer needs a mediator. In 1 John 4:1, John is not speaking to the world estranged from God, but rather he is speaking to sons of God, those who have already been united with God and who are thus no longer 'dead through their trespasses", but who have been 'made alive with Christ'. -- Ephesians 6:5.
The word "advocate" is often confused with the word "mediator"; they do not actually mean exactly the same thing. The word mediator signifies one who seeks to reconcile two parties who are not in harmony with each other. Before one becomes a child of God, one is estranged from God, and thus, in need the mediator by which to be reconciled to God. Thus, to become a child of God, one who receives Christ and has faith in the Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, becomes reconciled to God, and also becomes a new creation, separated from the old creation that remains under God's wrath. (John 3:36; Romans 5:10,12-19; 8:1,17-22; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:5,6) The new creature in Christ, being a child of God, is without sin, and thus no longer needs a mediator. In 1 John 4:1, John is not speaking to the world estranged from God, but rather he is speaking to sons of God, those who have already been united with God and who are thus no longer 'dead through their trespasses", but who have been 'made alive with Christ'. -- Ephesians 6:5.
An advocate is one who appears before a judge in their defense. Jesus is, in effect, the lawyer who serves as the counselor or advocate for the sons of God. Since the new creature still has to contend with the
sinful flesh, the new creature needs an advocate, someone who is like a
lawyer, to appear on his behalf before the only true God. Nevertheless, this
representation before God is still based on application of the blood of
Jesus, which has been offered in sacrifice for us all. (Hebrews 9:24-26)
In other words, for any sin attributed to the sinful flesh, Jesus does
not offer a new sacrifice for that sin, but as the advocate of the new
creature, he appears before God so that such a sin does not put the New
Creature at enmity with God.
Below needs to be edited:
The world has no advocate with the Father, but "we have."
The consecrated household of faith is represented in heaven itself by him who redeemed the whole world. This is in accordance with our topic of last Sunday, which many of you have doubtless followed through the public press. We there showed that after our Lord had finished his sacrifice at Calvary, been raised from the dead on the third day, spent forty days with the disciples, establishing them and preparing them for the work before them, he then ascended up on high, there to appear in the presence of God on our behalf, as today's text declares, "to be our advocate." (Heb. 9:24)
The figure is a peculiar one. An advocate, an attorney, appears to answer for his client, not to answer for others; and so, although our Lord paid the ransom price for the sins of the whole world, or, as today's text says, was a propitiation for the sins of the whole world, nevertheless he did not appear for the whole world. The world has not retained him as an advocate. Only believers have come into this relationship, and consequently only for these does he appear, only for these has he made satisfaction; only these, therefore, have been brought into covenant relationship with the Father.
The same Jesus, on the basis of the same sin offering finished at Calvary, will in the next age take up the cause of the world – not as an advocate, not as appearing before the Father for them and having them justified through faith, but as a go-between, a mediator between God and man. God stands for his own justice. Mankind in general, the world, are in more or less of a rebellious attitude, lovers of sin, blind to their true interests. The Mediator undertakes a work on their behalf, to bring in reconciliation between God and these his rebellious subjects, and to recover the latter by opening the eyes of their understanding, by giving them valuable lessons and experiences respecting the blessings of righteousness and the undesirableness of sin, and thus to bring back as many as possible to fellowship with the Father, and to restore them mentally, morally and physically to the original likeness of God.
By the end of that Millennial age the Mediator will be ready to introduce the perfect members of the race to the Father, blameless and irreprovable – all those rejecting his ministries of reconciliation will have been cut off in the Second Death. Thenceforth there will be no more sorrow, pain, sighing, crying, dying, because all the former things will have passed away, the Mediator will have effected his grand work of destroying sin and bringing in everlasting righteousness.
How precious the thought that, while the world is mentally, morally and physically poisoned by sin and blind to it own best interests, the time shall yet come when they will be blessed with the opening of the eyes of their understanding and with all the assistances necessary for their recovery. And how the Lord's words resound in our ears, "Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear." (Matt. 13:16)
We may well thank God that the light of the knowledge of his goodness has shined into our hearts, and that we no longer need to wait for the Mediator's work to reconcile us, but now in advance turn to the Lord promptly, as soon as we have heard of his grace in Christ. And how gracious is his provision in all respects for our adoption into his family, our begetting of the Spirit to a new nature, that we may become heirs of God and joint-heirs with his Son in the glorious Kingdom which is to bless the world.
How blessed, too, is this special privilege which we are considering today, namely, that although in our imperfection we must concede that we are trespassers of divine grace and fail to come up to the terms and conditions of our covenant, nevertheless God has provided for us an advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous, whose righteousness has been imputed to us, by whose stripes we are healed, our blemishes covered and not counted to us, but counted to him who died for us on Calvary. Let us rejoice in this loving favor, and [NS360] more and more zealously strive to keep ourselves unspotted from the world, and to keep close accounts with the Lord, so that our consciences will be sensitive, and even slight violations of the law of love will appeal to us as contrary to our covenant and send us to the blood again, which makes and keeps us whole.
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