The Second Self of God

The Second Self

Let us now turn from the comparative method to the analytical method. For an example, let us use John’s record concerning the sending of the Holy Spirit. In reading chapters 14 and 16, we find the promise of the Lord Jesus. Is there anything special in this promise? Consider chapter 14:16-20, And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive, for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you. Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also. In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

What fact do we here discover? In the first part of this passage, we find the word "he" or "him" is used, but in the second part the pronoun is changed to "I" or "me." There is a shift from "him" to "me."

Having noticed that fact and memorized all these verses, we should now proceed to analyze them. The Lord mentions another Comforter. "Another" implies that this is a second one. For instance, "I will give you another cup," simply means, "I will give you a second cup." "I will ask another one to help you," invariably refers to a second helper. The Father will send you another Comforter, that is, the second Comforter. Since there will be the second Comforter, there must previously have been the first Comforter, just as another helper implies the presence of the first helper, and another cup a first one.

The fact has thus been established that there are two Comforters. What does the Lord say about the second Comforter? "He may be with you for ever." Who is He? We do not seem to know Him, and yet the Lord says, "Whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him." Why? "For he abideth with you." Had I been one of the twelve disciples on that day, I would certainly ask: "O Lord! You say the Comforter abides with me, but I neither see Him when I am asleep nor when I am awake. I do not see Him when eating or when walking. In fact, I have never known Him. How can you say that I know Him?"

But notice: immediately following the word, "For he abideth with you and shall be in you," he continues with, "I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you." In analysis, we discover the "he" has changed to "I." In other words, "I" am "he." While the Lord Jesus is on the earth, He is the Comforter; that is, the Holy Spirit in Him is the Comforter. This is seeing light. On earth, the Lord and the Holy Spirit are one, for the latter abides in Him. He is seen and known by the disciples, because He abides with them.

But now, another Comforter is given. The Lord is to die, to be resurrected and to come again. How will He come? He will come in the Holy Spirit so that He may not leave His disciples desolate. "Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also." For a little while you do not see Me, yet after a while you shall see Me again and I will live in you. In verse 17, "he shall be in you," but now in verse 20, "I in you." The "he" above is therefore the "I" of the following verses. The first time it is the Holy Spirit in Christ, the latter time it is Christ in the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the second self of the Lord Jesus. As the Son is the Father’s second self, so the Holy Spirit is the second self of the Son. The form alone is changed.

It is therefore evident that the basic principle in studying the Bible is to find facts. It really does not depend on how many chapters one has read or how much he has memorized. If he cannot find facts, he will receive no light from God. For a worker, the ability to find facts in the Bible is a foundational requirement. Paul was one who had great ability in finding facts. Listen to what he says in the third chapter of Galatians. When he read Genesis, he found in God’s promise to Abraham, "in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 22:18), that seed there is singular, not plural, and therefore points to Christ. Paul had discovered a fact in the Bible. Now there are tens of thousands of facts like the one just mentioned. Whether or not one is rich in God’s Word depends largely on his ability to find out facts.

This has been a sample of the analytical method compared to the comparative method.