The Spirit dwells within us as the reality of the Son (John 14:18-20). The Spirit is the reality of Christ. When we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we receive the Spirit as the reality of Christ, and this Christ, the Son of God, is the embodiment of the Father (Col. 2:9). The Father is embodied in the Son, and the Son is fully realized as the Spirit. Colossians 2:9 says that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. Christ, then, is the embodiment of God fully realized as the Spirit of reality.
The Spirit has come into the believers to be the reality of the Son within them. The all-inclusive Christ, who is the embodiment of the processed Triune God, is fully realized as the Spirit who dwells within us. This indwelling Spirit is the reality, the very realization, of Christ.
The Spirit is called the Spirit of reality because whatever the Father in the Son is and whatever the Son is, is realized in the Spirit. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, reality had not yet entered man. This reality was present, for Christ Himself is reality (John 14:6). However, this reality was only among the disciples, not in them. Therefore, the Lord went away through death in order to have a change in form, a change from the form of the flesh to the form of the Spirit. After this change had been accomplished, Christ’s reality became the reality of the Spirit, and the Spirit became the Spirit of reality. Now this Spirit dwells in us as the reality of the Son. Because the Spirit of reality dwells in us, the reality of Christ now dwells in us.
After the Spirit has brought us to salvation and has regenerated us, He becomes in us the reality of the Son. Whatever the Son is, has, and has accomplished, obtained, and attained is being wrought into us through the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit becomes the realization of the Son, the reality of all that the Son is and has.
The Spirit indwells the believers to be another Comforter (Paraclete). In John 14:16 the Lord Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever.” The Greek word translated “Comforter” here is parakletos. Paraclete is the anglicized form of this Greek word. In Greek parakletos denotes someone along side who takes care of our case, our affairs. It is composed of two words: a preposition that means with and a form of the word for call. In ancient times a paraclete was a helper, an advocate, a counsel, an intercessor, someone who served a particular person by taking care of his needs. As one who is always present, a paraclete may be regarded as a waiter, a helper, and even an attorney. The Paraclete, the Comforter, signifies that the Spirit is the One called to our side to help us. Hence, the Paraclete is a Helper. The Spirit as the Paraclete is always available to help us. Furthermore, the Paraclete is an Advocate and a Counsel. He is also the One who consoles us. Hence, He is the Consoler, the Comforter, the Paraclete. The indwelling Spirit is our Helper, Counselor, and Comforter who takes care of our needs in our daily living.
John 14:16 refers to the Spirit as “another Comforter.” This indicates that the Son was already present as the first Comforter. The Son was a Comforter, but He asks the Father to give the believers another Comforter. John 14:16-20 reveals that the other Comforter to be given is the reality of the Comforter who was asking the Father. This other Comforter is the Spirit of reality. Verse 17 says, “Even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you.” The original Comforter was only abiding with the disciples; He was not in them. However, the other Comforter, the Spirit of reality, would not only be with the disciples but also in them. Today the Spirit as another Comforter dwells in us.
In John 14:26 the Lord Jesus goes on to say, “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all things which I said to you.” The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will be sent by the Father in the Son’s name. Thus, the Holy Spirit comes in the Son’s name to be the reality of the name. The name is the Son Himself; the Spirit is the person, the being of the Son. Hence, when we call on the name of the Son, we receive the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3), and this Spirit is the Paraclete.
In 14:26 we have the Three of the divine Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. According to this verse, the Father sends the Spirit in the name of the Son. Therefore, when the Spirit comes, the Father and the Son come with Him. Because the Son comes in the name of the Father (John 5:43), the Son is called the Father (Isa. 9:6). Because the Spirit is sent by the Father in the Son’s name, so the Spirit comes in the name of the Son with the Father. This means that when the Spirit comes, the Triune God comes.
Just as the Son does not come in His own name but comes in the name of the Father, so the Spirit does not come in His own name but comes in the name of the Son. This means that although the Spirit is here, He is not here in His own name, but in the Son’s name. Furthermore, the Son is here in the Father’s name, not in His own name. Therefore, when the Spirit is here, the Son is here, and when the Son is here, the Father is here. This means that when the Spirit comes, all Three of the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-come with the Spirit.
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