THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE SPIRIT

The role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers changed significantly with the physical departure of Jesus from this world. Jesus promised His disciples that the Father "will give" (δωσει) the disciples a friend to come alongside them when He is gone (14:16). This friend is called the "Spirit of Truth" (14:17) and the "Holy Spirit" (14:26). He is a friend who provides a depth of intimacy we could never have enjoyed prior to the departure of Jesus.

Jesus told His disciples that they currently knew this friend "because He abides with you and will be in you" (14:17).  The external textual support is strong for either a present tense or a future tense, but the context requires a future tense. There would be no reason for Jesus to request another "friend" if the friend was already there in the same way as He will be there later.  The future tense of "will give" (δωσει) in verse 16, and the undisputed future tenses in verse 26 require us to understand the coming of the Spirit as future to that day. We enjoy a more intimate work of the Holy Spirit than believers in the Old Testament experienced.

Three prepositions teach us about the changing role of the Spirit. In verse 16, Jesus says that the friend "may be with you forever" (μετα). In verse 17, the Spirit "is abiding with" them (παρα). A change is coming and the Spirit "will be in" them (εν). We cannot make ironclad distinctions between prepositions, but, when used in a context like this, we can draw out some nuances of meaning in the contrasting phrases.

The base meaning of the preposition μετα is "in the midst of" or with someone in the sense of a union or association (Robertson, p.609). The fellowship of the Spirit is with us in our Christian lives (2 Cor. 13:14). The simplest meaning of the second preposition παρα means beside or alongside of someone. It emphasizes His personal presence with us. Jesus has already been with them in this sense along with the Holy Spirit (14:25), and Jesus promises to continue to be with them in the future (14:23). The idea is that both are with us in the sense of at our homes (Robertson, p.614).

The third preposition εν introduces the new role of the Spirit. The emphasis of εν in this context is that our friend will not just be near us but inside of us. This is the basic meaning (Robertson, p. 586), and Jesus implies this very distinction here regarding the changing role of the Spirit. The Spirit had formerly been alongside them but now will be inside them. This will be the new role of the Spirit unknown and not experienced before this time.

The third preposition εν is the most intimate of the three. This preposition is a favorite word used by Jesus to explain our new intimacy with God in this chapter, so we should understand it in its full force. Jesus has just told them in verse 9 that He has been with them (μετα), so they should have known the Father because Jesus is in (εν) the Father and the Father is in (εν) Jesus (14:11). He tells us to ask our requests in (εν) His name (14:13-14). Jesus culminates the lesson in intimacy in verse 20 by saying, "I am in (εν) the Father, and you are in (εν) Me, and I am in (εν) you" (14:20).

The trinity is our foundation for intimacy. We can enjoy a deeper intimacy with God because our friend, the Holy Spirit, lives inside us.  We enjoy the intimacy of our friend named Jesus who lives in perfect intimacy with the Father. We are wrapped in an intimate embrace with the godhead because our hearts are joined as one with all three persons of the godhead. It is a friendship deeper than any words and stronger than the strongest bonds.