John 14

i will not leave you comfortlessLet’s look at the words of Jesus. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [Jesus said that His disciples knew the Spirit because He dwelt with them at that time, and would soon be in them. Who was dwelling with them?] (John 14:16-18)

Paul wrote, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) The hope of glory is that Christ is in you. Not someone else, but Christ Himself. He said He would come to us. Peter said, “Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” (Acts 3:26) After God raised up His Son from the dead, He sent Him into your hearts to turn you from your iniquity. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6) It is the Spirit of Jesus that is in us, not a third God, not one who is unfamiliar with the trials and temptations we go through.

Please notice a very interesting verse in regard to the Holy Spirit. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26) Why does the Bible refer to the Holy Spirit as “it”? If this were speaking of an actual third being it would be an insult. We wouldn’t even refer to our friends as “it” let alone the great God of the universe. Yet the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as “it.” Why? Paul wrote, “And grieve not (Ephesians 4:30) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. They are the same. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that (1 Corinthians 3:16) “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of(1 Corinthians 6:19)

It is interesting that when we think of the spirit of Lynnford, or the spirit of John, we never assume we are referring to a separate individual, but as soon as we speak of the Spirit of God we assume that it has reference to a separate individual. Suppose I were to tell you that I would like you to meet my mother. She is very pleasant to be around; she has an excellent spirit. If you would reply, “Well I know your mother is pleasant to be around, but I have never met her spirit” it would be evident that you had no idea what a spirit is. 1 Corinthians chapter two compares the spirit of man with the Spirit of God. Why would one suppose that the Spirit of God was a separate being, while the spirit of man is the internal person of a man.

Let me make something clear here. I am not saying “the Holy Spirit does not exist.” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, which can be abundantly proven from Scripture. The working of the Holy Spirit is crucial in our Christian experience, but let us not suppose that God’s Spirit must be a separate being to perform that work in us.

Fifteen out of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament start out with a greeting similar to this one. “Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” (2 John 3) Out of all these greetings, none of them mentions a third being. Just two are mentioned—the Father and His Son. Surely if there were a third being who is to be equally worshipped and adored, the writers of the New Testament would have included him in these greetings, but alas, there is not one to be found.

John explains to us with whom we are to have fellowship. He says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3) Surely if John were acquainted with a third God, he would want us to have fellowship with him as well, but there is no mention of another being. John further states, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 9) “Both” means two, and only two.

Reasoning with the Jews, Jesus said, “It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.” (John 8:17, 18) If an additional being could testify in His behalf, Jesus would not have hesitated to mention him here.

Paul declared, “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels.” (1 Timothy 5:21) Paul called the heavenly agencies to witness this charge given to Timothy. Notice whom Paul called as witnesses for him. God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are naturally the first Ones to be mentioned, but Paul did not stop here. He called all the angels of God to be his witnesses also. Certainly if Paul knew of a third being who is coequal with the Father and His Son, he would have mentioned him in this verse. Yet there is no hint of another being, which is plain evidence that Paul knew nothing about a third God.