Each week throughout 2021, I will share a Bible study blog post taking us through the letter of 1 John. Only five chapters long, this brief book is worthy of our consideration. Whether you drop in for one post or many, I pray that you enjoy them. Access all posts here.
Last week, John told us of three outworkings of the gospel in our lives -- love, obedience and belief. Today, John will give us three witnesses to the gospel's truthfulness. Let's read:
6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.
In the paragraph, John mentions three that testify Jesus is the Son of God (7). The Spirit and the water and the blood all witness to the truthfulness of the gospel (8). They all proclaim Jesus as the Savior-Christ-Messiah who came to deliver humanity from their sins.
But to what did John refer? What is the water? The blood? And the Spirit? Over time a basic consensus has evolved.
Witness 1 & 2. The Water and the Blood
First, consider the water and blood (6). John said, this is He who came by water and blood -- Jesus Christ (6). Then he repeated the idea: not by water only but by the water and the blood (6).
It seems John meant that Jesus' baptism (the water) and cross (the blood) both testified about His nature and character. John felt compelled to make it clear that Jesus had come by both. This is why he said, not by water only (6). He wanted to make certain his audience knew Jesus came by the blood also (6).
John emphasized Jesus' blood because of the false doctrine floating around the churches and regions he served. Though those false teachers died off, we can glean hints about their teaching. It seems some of them thought the divine Christ-nature fell upon Jesus at His baptism but left Him before the cross. They taught a temporary Christ-ness was on Jesus, departing from Him before His death.
John, though, wants us to know Jesus was already the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ, at His baptism. When the Father said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," it was not a new concept (Matthew 3:17). Jesus is the eternal Son. He has never not been the beloved Son of the Father.
And John wants us to know Jesus did not cease to be the Son at the cross. His "Christ-ness" did not lift off of Him when He went to His death.
At its core, the denial Jesus came by water and blood is a denial of the incarnation. And to deny that Jesus is God who became flesh for us undermines the foundations of our faith.
If Jesus is not the Son of God, God the Son, then He was ill-equipped to reconcile us to God. Without the incarnation, there is no redemption, no propitiation, and no salvation for humanity.
Witness 3. The Spirit
But John goes on to tell us that the Spirit also testified of Jesus (6, 8). How does He do so?
One way was at the baptism of Christ. There, before the Father spoke, the Spirit descended upon Jesus (Matthew 3:16). And, from that point on, Jesus' ministry and miracles were fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit.
But the Spirit also bears witness about Jesus in the Word. He moved Jesus' men to write about Him in all of Scripture. He is, as John said, the truth (6).
Additionally, the Spirit bore witness about Jesus all through the events of the book of Acts and beyond. John was privy to that era. The Spirit gave gifts to individuals, and they used those gifts to testify of Christ. And He is still gifting and empowering today.
Finally, the Spirit testifies of Jesus because He is the one who produces the internal conviction every person needs in order to believe in Christ. He is the one who opens eyes. He is the one who convicts us of sin.
Jesus said:
"When He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:" (John 16:8)
John rejoiced that these three witnesses -- the Spirit and the water and the blood -- all agree together about Jesus (8).
But there is another witness John wished to call to the stand: God the Father.
Bonus Witness: The Father
9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning His Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son.
11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
The Testimony of the Father
In thinking of a court of law, John knows we will often receive the testimony of men (9). This is normal and good. But, John thinks, the testimony of God is greater (9). God is the one who has borne this testimony of the Spirit, water, and blood (9). So belief in Jesus is the acceptance of God's testimony (10). Rejection of Jesus makes God a liar because that person has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son (10). And John said: Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son does not have life (12). This eternal life is in (God's) Son whom He testified about (11).
But how did the Father testify of the Son?
Well, one way John might be thinking of is the voice of the Father at various stages throughout Jesus' ministry. The Father voiced His pleasure with His Son -- first at His baptism, then at the Mount of Transfiguration, and after the Triumphal Entry during the last week before the cross. At each moment, the Father spoke and confirmed His Son's identity.
But John might have also had in mind the cacophony of miraculous voices and supernatural events that surrounded Jesus. Angels appearing to shepherds. Wise men coming from the far east to see Him as a baby. Simeon and Anna, aged saints who spent time in the temple precincts, both prophesied about Jesus when they saw Mary and Joseph arrive with Him in their arms. And all that was testimony from the Father surrounding Jesus' birth.
All through His life though, the miraculous followed Him. He walked on water. He multiplied bread and fish in His hands. He turned water into wine. He healed countless people of their afflictions. He brought people back to life. Finally, He Himself rose from the grave.
And accompanying all this was the witness of the prophetic utterances of Scripture. The prophets of old told the time and place of the Messiah's birth, that He would be from Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth, and Jesus' early travels took Him to all three places. They talked of the virgin birth. They spoke of the way and time He would enter into Jerusalem riding on a colt. They foretold He would be rejected by the people. They predicted very specific details surrounding the events of His death, including His beatings, the dividing of His garments, the piercing of His side, the mocking of the people, and the method of crucifixion.
In all these ways and many more, the Father testifies of the truthfulness of the gospel. He declares the reality of Jesus. He witnesses to the person of Jesus.
Life From a Person
You see, believers are just that: believers. We do place our faith in Jesus, but it is a faith standing on the firm foundation of the testimony of God Himself. He has broken into our time and space and declared to us the way to be saved. He has done a wonderful job of saying to the world: believe in Jesus; He is My Son!
We are not adherents of a philosophy or devotees to a program. John said: this eternal life is in (God's) Son (11). We don't attempt to attain God or take steps to climb towards the divine. To be Christian does not mean we adopt a certain lifestyle in the hopes God will approve of us.
Instead, we become Christians by birth, and that birth occurs because of belief in a Person. It is belief in Jesus that makes us children of the living God. Regeneration occurs, He makes us new, and we are forever His, living with the new nature He has deposited into us.
And God has testified of His Son. This is one of the things I appreciate about Christmastime in our culture. No matter how hard people try to keep Jesus' message out, the gospel breaks through during this season. The songs of God coming for us are still being sung!
