We will switch gears for a moment, and consider the verb “send.” Remember, in John 14:26, Jesus says that the Father would send the Parakletos in Christ’s name. Here, in John 15:26, Jesus says that He Himself would send the Parakletos. And if you look forward to John 16:7, Jesus again says that after He departs, He will send the Helper. Jesus sending Himself sounds odd enough that many just assume He is talking about a third being. This is why Christ summarized these chapters by saying, “This is figurative language. It is not plain.” In fact, Christ used this pattern of figurative language throughout the book of John.
The word translated “figurative” that we read in chapter 16 is only used in a couple of other places. One is in John 10, the Good Shepherd chapter. In John 10:6, it says, “Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.” The word translated “illustration” is the same word as “figurative” in John 16. In His illustration, Jesus identified Himself as both the door of the sheep, as well as the shepherd. He also said that the shepherd enters by the door. If we try to force the interpretation, it would mean that He entered the sheepfold by or through Himself. That sounds strange to our ears—perhaps even illogical. But when we grasp the essence of His teaching, we won’t stumble by trying to make something that is figurative match up precisely. We can allow Him to hold the positions of both door and shepherd at the same time, even though literally they are separate.
John 3 is another obviously figurative illustration. That is where Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again. Poor Nicodemus tried to apply that literally, and he was well and truly confused. He missed the meaning and stumbled on the wording. And there are numerous other examples throughout the book of John.
So, even though Jesus sending Himself (John 16:7) may sound odd, it does not negate the fact that He identifies Himself as the Helper, the Holy Spirit, and Paul and John say the same thing.
The word “send” can mean, “To cause to be conveyed or transmitted.” It can also mean, “To commission, authorize, or direct to act.” The fact that the Father also sends the Helper might stretch our minds a bit, because He is also sending Himself, since He is in Christ. But we can understand their sending of Themselves as an indication of their unified will that their people receive the divine indwelling to help them grow into the divine image. The Father and the Son both cause their spiritual essence to come into the minds of the elect, and they both make their home with us. The indwelling comes by their full authority—they both commissioned this indwelling.
Now, switching gears again, in addition to using figurative language, Jesus had another pattern of speech that is important to recognize, and that is His penchant for referring to Himself with a third-person title. That is, He frequently used the title “Son of Man.” For example, in Mark 8:38, Jesus says, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words . . . of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father . . . .”
If we only had that verse, it would sound like the Son of Man was separate from Christ. But we know from other places that the Son of Man is a reference to Himself in the third person. He just uses a title, or a description of a role. We might wonder why He didn’t use the word “I,” but He didn’t, and He had His reasons. In fact, He refers to Himself with that one title some 80 times. So, when He says He will send the Helper, yet He is the Helper, it is not so unusual after all. There is no need to invent another being to make it fit.
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