John 14 presents a powerful and Spirit-breathed revelation of Jesus’ identity and His promise to be present with His people even after His physical departure. In verses 16–17, Jesus states, “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…” This is often cited as evidence of a distinct third person in the Trinity. However, the very next verses dismantle that assumption if read with spiritual eyes and within the greater context of Jesus’ self-revelation. In verse 18, Jesus declares plainly: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” He equates the coming of the Comforter with His own return—not another divine person, but the same Jesus returning in another form: Spirit.
This aligns perfectly with John 14:17, where Jesus says the Comforter is 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.” The only One who was dwelling with them at that time was Jesus Himself. So when He says “He dwelleth with you,” He is clearly identifying Himself as that same Spirit who shall be in them after the resurrection and Pentecost. This is not an introduction to a new person of the Godhead but a prophetic promise of His own indwelling Spirit returning to them after Calvary.
Furthermore, in 2 Corinthians 3:17, Paul removes all ambiguity when he says, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Jesus is not merely sending a representative—He is returning in a new dimension, as the indwelling Spirit. That’s why Colossians 1:27 describes the believer’s hope as “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The Comforter is not a separate divine person beside Jesus, but Jesus Himself—the omnipresent Spirit form of the glorified Christ—coming back to His church.
Therefore, John 14 is not Trinitarian in structure; it is Oneness in revelation. It unveils the mystery of how Jesus, who was bodily among them, would soon be spiritually within them. He came as the Son in flesh, and He would return as the Holy Spirit in power. One God, not three persons—manifested, not divided. The Comforter, then, is not someone else—it is the risen, glorified Jesus coming to dwell in His people by His Spirit.