1 John 5:6 declares, the Spirit bears witness because the Spirit is truth. The witness spoken of in this text is the testimony of Jesus, God’s Son. In 1 John 2:27, John says the anointing that abides in you is truth. The anointing is a reference to the Spirit we have received because of our faith in Jesus, and John’s mention of the anointing as truth is in context to our abiding in the Son and in the Father.

When Jesus informed his disciples that he would soon be departing from this world to be with the Father, he told them that he would send them another comforter, and referred the comforter as the Spirit of truth (John 14:17; 15:26).

And 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; 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. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. ~ John 14:16-18

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. ~ John 15:26-27

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. ~ John 16:7-15

The Bible clearly defines God as the Father, and Jesus Christ as God’s only begotten son with the same divine attributes as the Father. The Bible also speaks of the divine attributes of the Holy Spirit, but unfortunately many, even among those who embrace a trinitarian view of God, have a misplaced understanding of the Holy Spirit in relation to the Father and the Son.

For example, Paul speaks of the kingdom of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5:5) and in first John, the apostle John repeatedly mentions the Father and the Son. He refers to Jesus as the life that was with the Father and was manifested to us (1:2). Then in the very next verse he declares, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ ” (v.3).

Not mentioned here is the proper name of the Holy Spirit. John doesn’t say, our fellowship is with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Instead, he only mentions the Father and the Son by name. Yet if we take into account the entirety of the epistle we will find that the Spirit is understood in the text by the use of the word “fellowship”. It is through the Spirit, and the Spirit alone, that we can have fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12 speaks to this flow of thought.

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:3

Good doctrine regarding the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is essential in this day and age to keep the Christian from unsound and unwholesome doctrines of men which can so easily deceive. Many false teachers and false prophets boast of having the Spirit and speaking from the Spirit when they are actually communicating another spirit, and not the Holy Spirit to their followers. In 2 Corinthians 11:4 Paul speaks of another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel in his rebuke to the Corinthians for tolerating false apostles.

In order to have a proper understanding of the Holy Spirit we must be aligned with the revelation of the Son of God and the message of the gospel. There is no language anywhere in the New Testament which teaches us to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit independent of our fellowship with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Unfortunately many Christians have allowed a false dichotomy into their hearts and minds regarding the Spirit. Instead of the true ministry of the Spirit which leads to purity and righteousness, they have embraced an artificial gospel of mysticism and error. Yet the Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth that can only be found in Jesus Christ.