Then, still further, the other designation here of this strong
Succourer and Friend is 'the Spirit of truth,' by which is
designated, not so much His characteristic attribute, as rather the
weapon which He wields, or the material with which He works. The
'truth' is His instrument; that is to say, the Spirit of God sent by
Jesus Christ is the Strengthener, the Encourager, the Comforter, the
Fighter for us and with us, because He wields that great body of
truth, the perfect revelation of God, and man, and duty, and
salvation, which is embodied in the incarnation and work of Jesus
Christ our Lord. The truth is His weapon, and it is by it that He
makes us strong.

Then, still further, there is a twofold description here of the
mission of this divine Champion, as 'sent' by Christ, and 'proceeding
from the Father.'

In regard to the former, I need only remind you that, in a previous
part of this wonderful discourse, our Lord speaks of that divine
Spirit as being sent by the Father in His name and in answer to His
prayer. The representation here is by no means antagonistic to, or
diverse from, that other representation, but rather the fact that the
Father and the Son, according to the deep teaching of Scripture, are
in so far one as that 'whatsoever the Son seeth the Father do that
also the Son doeth likewise,' makes it possible to attribute to Him
the work which, in another place, is ascribed to the Father. In
speaking of the _Persons_ of the Deity, let us never forget that that
word is only partially applicable to that ineffable Being, and that
whilst with us it implies absolute separation of individuals, it does
not mean such separation in the case of its imperfect transference to
the mysteries of the divine nature; but rather, the Son doeth what