If we put together all these verses concerning the Son, the Father, and the Spirit, we see that when Jesus Christ was on earth He was the Triune God. Not only was the Son there, but the Father and the Spirit were there as well. Hence, He is the embodiment of the Godhead (Col. 2:9). Therefore, we should abandon the thought that only the Son came to earth leaving the Father and the Spirit in the heavens. What we teach concerning the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is based on the pure word of the Bible, and the Bible cannot be defeated.
In John 14:8, Philip, our representative, said, “Lord, show us the Father and it suffices us.” Surprised by this request, the Lord replied, “Am I so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. How is it that you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words which I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; but the Father who abides in Me, He does His works” (vv. 9-10). Here the Lord seems to be saying, “Why do you ask Me to show you the Father? Do you not know that if you see Me, you see the Father? You see the Father when you see Me because I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me. Do not think that I am separate from the Father, or that the Father is far away from Me. This is a mistaken concept. Because I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, wherever I am, there the Father is also.”
Philip was silenced by the Lord’s answer. This gave Him the opportunity to speak further. In John 14:16-17 He went on to say, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever; 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.” When the Lord spoke these words, He was among the disciples, but He was not yet in them. He seemed to be telling them, “Now I am among you and with you. But the intention of the Triune God is in that He would enter into you. It is not adequate that I be with you—I need to be in you.” Therefore, He said that He would ask the Father to give them another Comforter, the Spirit of reality, who would be in them.
At this point some might say, “Have you not told us that since the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son, the Son and the Father cannot be regarded as separate? But in John 14:16 the Son says that He would ask the Father to give them another Comforter. Does this not indicate that the Son and the Father are separate?” No, this does not indicate that the Son and the Father are separate. We have already seen that the Lord Himself said that He is in the Father and that the Father is in Him. This is a matter of coinherence. Therefore, what we have in the Son’s asking of the Father is not separation but coinherence.
It is significant that in John 14:16 the Lord speaks of another Comforter. The word “another” indicates that the Lord, the One speaking, is a Comforter. If He were not a Comforter, then He would not have said that He would ask the Father to send another Comforter. If we read verses 16 through 20 carefully, we shall see that, eventually, the second Comforter is actually the first Comforter as the Spirit. In verse 17 the Lord says that the Spirit of reality will be in the disciples. But then in verse 18 He continues, “I will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you.” The “He” who is the Spirit of reality in verse 17 now becomes the “I,” the Lord Himself in verse 18. This indicates that after His resurrection the Lord became the Spirit of reality, as confirmed by 1 Corinthians 15:45b. Furthermore, the Lord speaks of another Comforter in verse 16 and then says in verse 20, “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” Here the Lord again reveals that He Himself would be in the disciples as the Spirit.
If some of us had been present when the Lord spoke these words, we might have argued with the Lord Jesus and said, “Lord, we do not know what you are talking about. You have just said that You would ask the Father to send another Comforter, the Spirit of reality, who would be in us. Why do You now say that You will be in us?” If anyone present had tried to argue with Him in this way, He might have said, “You must realize that the very Comforter whom I have called another Comforter is actually I Myself in resurrection. I have told you that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. It is the same with Me and the Spirit. The Spirit is in Me, and I am in the Spirit. When I come, the Father comes; and when the Spirit comes, I come.”