John 14:26 says, “But 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.” In this verse it is hard to say what the phrase “in My name” modifies. Does the Father in the Son’s name send the Spirit, or does the Father send the Spirit in the Son’s name? Is the sending One in the Son’s name or the sent One in the Son’s name? This is not only ambiguous in English, but also in the Greek text. “In the Son’s name” means “as the Son.” Did the Father as the Son send the Holy Spirit, or did the Father send the Holy Spirit as the Son? Which denotation should we take? If the Father in the Son’s name sent the Spirit, this means that the sending Father and the Son are one. If the Father sent the Spirit in the Son’s name, then this means that the Spirit and the Son are one.
The Father sending the Spirit in the Son’s name must be the first denotation. This means that the Spirit and the Son are one. Because the Spirit and the Son are one, the Spirit can be sent by the Father as the Son. This interpretation indicates strongly that the Spirit is the Son. The Father sending the Spirit in the Son’s name means that the Father sent the Spirit as the Son. This verse could also mean that when the Father was sending the Holy Spirit, He was doing the sending as the Son. In other words, the Father, in the Son’s name, sent the Spirit. This indicates that the Son and the Father are one, and this is the second denotation. This sentence is full of ambiguity. Despite this ambiguity, both interpretations are correct. This verse first denotes that the Father sent the Spirit as the Son. Second, it denotes that the Father as the Son sent the Spirit.
The Father sending the Spirit as the Son indicates that the Son is the Spirit. The Father as the Son sending the Spirit indicates that the Son is the Father. Therefore, the ambiguity of this verse denotes that the Son is both the Father and the Spirit. At least two verses in the Bible confirm this interpretation. Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” This verse shows us that the Son given to us is called the everlasting Father. Isaiah 9:6 shows us that the Son is the Father. Also, 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “And the Lord is the Spirit.” This verse denotes that the Son is the Spirit. The ambiguity of John 14:26 shows us that the Son is both the Father as the Sender and the Spirit as the Sent One. Hallelujah! The Son is both the Sender and the Sent One (Zech. 2:8-11), the Father and the Spirit.
John 14:26 shows us that the Son is both the Sender, the Father, and the Sent One, the Spirit. When the Lord Jesus spoke this word He uttered it in such a way to indicate that He was the Sender, the Father, and that He was also the Sent One, the Spirit. The Son is all-inclusive. He is the Son as the Father and as the Spirit. He is the Father as the Son, and He is the Spirit as the Son. The asking One is the Son, the Sender is the Son, and the Sent One is also the Son. The Asker, the Sender, and the Sent One are all one. This is wonderful! This One is the Son as the Father and as the Spirit. We all need to go back over these two portions of the Word: John 14:16-20 and verse 26. We need to eat these verses (Jer. 15:16) and make them our spiritual food (1 Cor. 10:3).
John 14:26 says, “But 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.” In this verse the Father is the Sender of the Spirit. John 15:26 says, “But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from with the Father, the Spirit of reality who proceeds from with the Father, He will testify concerning Me.” In this verse the Son sends the Spirit “from with” the Father. The Greek word which we have translated “from with” is para, which means “by the side of.” The sense here is from with. In 14:26, the Sender was the Father, but in 15:26, the Sender is the Son. Also, in 14:16 the Son was the Asker, and in 15:26 the Son is the Sender. These verses indicate that the Father and the Son are one. When the Father was the Sender, that was the Son’s sending. When the Son was the Sender, that was the Father’s sending.
In 15:26 the Son will send the Spirit from with the Father. This means that the Son will send the Spirit and the Father also. Therefore, the Sent One was not only the Spirit but also the Father because the Sent One will come from with the Father. The Son sent the Spirit not only from the Father, but also with the Father. Also in both 14:26 and 15:26 the Spirit as the Comforter was to be sent. In 14:26 the Spirit will be sent in the name of the Son, which means that the Spirit will be sent as the Son. In 15:26 the Spirit will come with the Father as the Sent One. The main point in these verses is this: the Spirit will be sent as the Son, and the Spirit will come with the Father. This is why the second section of the chart on God’s New Testament economy (see pages 12 and 13) shows the Spirit as the Son with the Father. When the Spirit comes, He comes as the Son with the Father. These two verses show us that the Sender is both the Father and the Son, and the Sent One is the Spirit as the Son with the Father. The Father and the Son are both the Sender and the Sent One. The Spirit is only the Sent One as the Son with the Father; thus, He is the consummation of the divine Trinity. When He comes, the Triune God comes. When the Triune God comes, He comes firstly as the Spirit, then as the Son, then with the Father. Thus, the Spirit comes to us as the Son with the Father, and this is the Triune God reaching us. When the Triune God reaches us, He reaches us as the Spirit. He comes as the Spirit, and this Spirit is as the Son with the Father.
In the first section of God’s New Testament economy, we saw the Son with the Father by the Spirit, who was the embodiment of the Triune God. This embodiment of the Triune God was in one Person, Jesus Christ. In the second section of God’s New Testament economy, we see the Spirit. The Spirit is as the Son with the Father to be the consummation of the Triune God in the church. The embodiment of the Triune God was in Jesus Christ. The consummation of the Triune God is now in the church. This indicates that now the Triune God does not only reach us, but He is also in us, in the church. The One who is in the church is the wonderful Spirit as the Son with the Father to be the consummation of the Triune God. The Father is in the Son (John 14:10) who is the Spirit in us (2 Cor. 3:17; John 14:17; 2 Tim. 4:22). After the Son’s resurrection, He became the Spirit as the Son with the Father to be the consummation of the processed Triune God to live in the church in the divine oneness.