The Spirit is the reality of the Son abiding in us (John 14:18-20). The Spirit is the reality of Christ to make Christ real in those who believe into Him as their life and life supply. Colossians 2:9 says that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. Hence, Christ as the embodiment of God is fully realized in the Spirit of reality.
The Spirit is called the Spirit of reality because whatever the Father is and whatever the Son is are realized in the Spirit. When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, the reality had not yet entered into man. The reality was present because Christ Himself is the reality (John 14:6). However, the reality was only among the disciples, not in them. Therefore, the Lord went away through death to change in form, that is, to change from the form of the flesh to the form of the Spirit. After this change, the reality of Christ became the reality of the Spirit, and the Spirit became the Spirit of reality. Now the Spirit is the reality of the Son dwelling in us. Whatever the Son is, has, attained, and obtained have been wrought into us through the Spirit. Hence, the Spirit is the realization of the Son; that is, the Spirit is the reality of all that the Son is and has.
The Spirit dwells in the believers as another Comforter—the Advocate. In John 14:16 the Lord Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever.” The Greek word for Comforter is parakletos, meaning “an advocate, one who is alongside to take care of our cause, our affairs.” This word is composed of two parts: one part is the preposition with, and the other part is to summon. In ancient times an advocate was a helper, an advocate, a lawyer, an intercessor, one who took care of someone’s need and served him. An advocate, a comforter, signifies that the Spirit is the One summoned to be alongside us to help us. Hence, an advocate is a helper. The Spirit as the Advocate is always available to help us. Not only so, an advocate is an attorney, a lawyer, and also one who consoles. Therefore, he is a consoler, a comforter, and an advocate. The indwelling Spirit is our Helper, Advocate, and Comforter; He takes care of our needs in our daily life.
John 14:16 speaks of the Spirit as “another Comforter.” This indicates that the Son was the first Comforter. The Son was a Comforter, but He asked the Father to give the believers another Comforter. John 14:16-20 reveals that the Comforter to be given would be the reality of the Comforter who was petitioning the Father. This other Comforter is the Spirit of reality. Verse 17 says, “The Spirit of reality...He abides with you and shall be in you.” The first Comforter was only with the disciples; He was not in them. However, the other Comforter, that is, the Spirit of reality, was not only with the disciples but also in them. Today the Spirit is the other Comforter abiding in us.
In verse 26 the Lord Jesus continued, “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and remind you of all the things which I have said to you.” The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, is sent by the Father in the Son’s name. So the Holy Spirit comes in the Son’s name to be the reality of His name. This name is the Son Himself, and the Spirit is the person, the being, of the Son. Therefore, when we call on the Son’s name, we receive the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3), who is the Advocate, the other Comforter.
John 16:13-15 says, “When He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality; for He will not speak from Himself, but what He hears He will speak; and He will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify Me, for He will receive of Mine and will declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine; for this reason I have said that He receives of Mine and will declare it to you.” This portion of the Scriptures reveals that the believers have a share in the dispensing of the Divine Trinity. All that the Father has, He gives to the Son; and all that the Son has, the Spirit receives and declares to the believers. As the Father gives all that He has to the Son, the Son becomes His embodiment. Now all that the Son has is delivered to the Spirit; hence, the Spirit is the transfiguration of the Son. By this we see that the Son is the embodiment of the Father and that the Spirit is the transfiguration of the Son. This indicates that when we have the Spirit, we have the Son, and when we have the Son, we have the Father. We have all three: the Father is the source, the Son is the embodiment of the Father, and the Spirit is the transfiguration of the Son.