THE SON REALIZED AS THE SPIRIT
ABIDING IN THE BELIEVERS
In John 14:10-11 the Lord revealed that He was one with the Father—the Father was in Him and He was in the Father. When people saw Him, they saw the Father (v. 9). In John 14:16-20 the Lord went on further to reveal that He and the Spirit also are one. After He revealed that He and the Father are one, He told the disciples in verse 16 that He would ask the Father and that the Father would give the disciples another Comforter that He might be with them forever. This Comforter is "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" (v. 17). We know the Spirit of reality because He abides in us. Day by day He speaks within us, corrects us, and leads us. In verse 18 the Lord goes on to say, "I will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you." The very "He" who is the Spirit of reality in verse 17 becomes the very "I" who is the Lord Himself in verse 18. This means that after His resurrection the Lord became the Spirit of reality. First Corinthians 15:45b confirms this.
"Orphans" refers to the children of a father. This shows that Jesus considered Himself as the Father. As the Son, how could He say to the disciples that He would not leave them orphans? Since He said this, He must be the Father. Is He the Son or the Father? The best way to answer this question is to say that He is the Son in the name of the Father. Because He is the Son in the name of the Father, He is qualified to tell the disciples that He will not leave them orphans. The Lord’s coming to the disciples was fulfilled on the day of His resurrection in John 20:19-22. After His resurrection, the Lord came back to His disciples to be with them forever, not leaving them orphans.
John 14:19 and 20 say, "Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer, but you behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." In verse 19 the Lord’s death and resurrection are implied. When He said, "Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer," this implied His death. He died and was buried, so the worldly people could not see Him. When He said, "Because I live, you shall live also," this implied His resurrection. After His resurrection the Lord lives in His disciples and they live by Him (Gal. 2:20). In the day of resurrection, the disciples would know that the Lord was in His Father, that they were in Him, and that He was in them.
(The Divine Economy, Chapter 9, by Witness Lee)
