God's Advocate

This Sunday we were working through a passage when someone said, "Let me play devil's advocate here." We all know the phrase — you use it to poke holes in an idea and see if it holds up. But then someone asked a question I'd never thought about: if there's a devil's advocate, is there also a God's advocate, and what would it look like to be one?

The more we talked about it, the more it made sense. A devil's advocate argues against something and looks for what's wrong with it, while a God's advocate does the opposite, arguing for it and looking for what's good in it. The two are working from the same facts, so the only real difference is what they're looking for. And there's more to that than wordplay, because Scripture uses this exact language. The name Satan means accuser, and Revelation 12:10 calls him just that:

For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. — Revelation 12:10

Accusing is his work. So when we go looking for what's wrong with someone, we're picking up a habit that didn't start with us.

So here's a question worth asking: which one are you most of the time? When you talk about someone, or size up a situation you've walked into, where does your mind go first?

AN ADVOCATE STANDS WITH YOU

An advocate is simply someone who speaks for you. They're already on your side, so they're not there to decide whether you deserve it — they just stand up and speak for you. An advocate notices the good in you and says it out loud, especially when you're not around to say it yourself.

That word is already in the Bible, and it's how God describes Himself toward us. John writes it plainly:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. — 1 John 2:1

Jesus stands up and speaks for us when we have nothing to say for ourselves. Jesus then gives the Holy Spirit the very same role, calling Him the one who comes alongside us:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever. — John 14:16

That word "Helper" is the Greek paraklētos — the same word translated "advocate" in 1 John. It means one called alongside to speak on your behalf. And the work doesn't stop there. Hebrews puts it this way:

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. — Hebrews 7:25

That's just another way of saying He never stops speaking up on our behalf. So before we ever try to speak up for God, it helps to notice that He has been speaking up for us all along.

LOOKING FOR THE WRONG THING

The problem is that playing devil's advocate becomes a habit, and an easy one to keep. You start looking for what's wrong before anything else, whether it's a new idea someone shared or a person who just left the room. Zechariah saw a picture of this once. The high priest Joshua stood before God in filthy clothes, with Satan right beside him to accuse him:

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, O Satan!"... And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." — Zechariah 3:1-4

The Lord stepped in to rebuke the accuser and dress the man in clean clothes instead. Finding fault can even feel like wisdom, because it sounds smart and costs you nothing, but you can spend years pointing out what's wrong and never once stand up for what's right.

Being God's advocate works the other way. You still see the problems; you've just stopped hunting for them. Paul told the Philippians where to put their minds:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. — Philippians 4:8

That's the whole shift in plain terms. When you walk into a conversation, the first thing you look for is where God might already be working, and you lean toward the person who isn't there to defend themselves. The facts haven't changed at all, so you've only changed what you're looking for, and that changes what you walk away with.

KEEP YOUR HEAD ON

None of this means turning off your brain. Paul also says:

But test everything; hold fast what is good. — 1 Thessalonians 5:21

So you still ask hard questions and weigh what you hear. The Bible never tells us to stop thinking. The change is simpler than that, and it's about whose side you're on. When you walk into a room, who are you already pulling for before anyone says a word?

One more thing, because it matters: God doesn't need us to defend Him. He's not on trial, and He's not worried about how it turns out, so being His advocate isn't really about protecting Him at all. Paul puts it another way:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. — 2 Corinthians 5:20

An ambassador's whole job is to represent his country well to people who've never been there, and that's the work here too. Think of it like introducing a friend to someone who's never met Him, telling them what He's actually like. That's a much lighter job than it sounds.

SOMETHING YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO

A lot of faith talk stays abstract until you can actually do something with it, and this is something you can do. You don't need a big moment for it, because the next conversation will give you the chance. Paul told the Ephesians:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. — Ephesians 4:29

This is what that looks like up close. Someone's name comes up, and instead of the easy little dig, you mention something good about them. A situation looks like a mess, and you're the one who asks where God might be in it. You feel that old pull to argue against something, and this time you notice it and choose the other chair.

None of this asks you to lie or fake anything. It just asks you to remember who you're speaking for, and if you do it enough, you stop having to think about it and it simply becomes who you are. And really, that's a big part of what following Jesus is.

THIS WEEK

The next time you hear yourself say "let me play devil's advocate," stop for a second and flip it. Ask instead: what would God's advocate say here?

Then say it out loud to someone, and see what happens.

READY TO GO DEEPER?