A STUDY OF 1 JOHN (29)

 

The Witnesses of the Son of God

1 John 5:6-10

Victor M. Eskew

 

          Jesus Christ has been a major element of 1 John.  In the salvation process, Jesus plays a vital role therein.  It was He who left heaven, came to earth in the form of a man, died for the sins of all men on Calvary, rose from the dead the third day, and ascended back to the right hand of God.  To become a Christian, one must believe that Jesus is He, that is, the Son of God.  “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins:  for if ye believe not that I am he, he shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).  This belief must be held firmly in one’s heart.  Too, it must be confessed publicly with the mouth.  “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10).  The Ethiopian eunuch provides us an example of the confession that one must make prior to becoming a child of God.  “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.  And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water:  and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.  And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  And he commanded the chariot to stand still:  and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him” (Acts 8:35-38).

          The Gnostics had perverted the truth about Jesus Christ as the Son of God.  Thus, John confronted it forthrightly in this letter.  In 1 John 5:5, John affirmed that those who overcome the world were those who believe “that Jesus is the Son of God.”  This thought caused him to write a brief section, 1 John 5:6-10, regarding “The Witnesses of the Son of God.”  He begins by simply setting forth THREE FACTS ABOUT THE SON OF GOD (1 John 5:6).  “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood.  And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.”  The three facts involve blood, water, and the Spirit.  When Jesus was crucified on the cross, He died much quicker than was expected.  The Romans soldiers did not have to break His legs in order to hasten His death (John 19:33).  “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34).  John was the only apostle at the cross that day who could have witnessed the event.  It is interesting that John is the only gospel writer to record this incident.  The combination of blood and water is important.  It would remain important throughout the Christian dispensation.  John let’s his readers know that this report was not just his testimony.  “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness.”  When the Holy Spirit had John record these words the truth was established “because the Spirit is truth.”

          These three facts transpired on the earth.  Before returning to them, John’s mind entered into the heavenly realm.  He asserts that “there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:  and these three are one” (1 John 5:7).  We have entitled this section:  “THREE HEAVENLY WITNESSES.”  The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost form the Godhead.  They are three distinct personalities who all possess the divine nature of God.  They are “three in one.”  Each one of these beings have attested to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. 

          In verse 8, John returned to the fact he mentioned in verse 6.  He declares that these three things are witnesses also.  “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood:  and these three agree in one.”  These three things are needed by all men on earth today.  It is the blood that cleans men from sin (Rev. 1:5).  It is the Spirit that reveals how men can be saved through the pages of the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).  The Word plainly teaches that faith culminates in the act of baptism in water wherein men are forgiven of their sins by the blood of Jesus (Acts 8:35-39; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21).  These three, John says, agree in one.  Man may argue against the need for one to be baptized, but John ties the water together with the blood of Jesus and the Spirit of God. 

          In verse 9, John teaches that there is ONE SUPERIOR WITNESS.  “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater:  for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.”  In courts of law, the witness of men is accepted as testimony all of the time.  No one doubts the usefulness of reliable witnesses among men.  In the case of the Son of God, John’s readers were not receiving the witness of men.  They were receiving the witness of God.  John proclaims that “the witness of God is greater.”  It is higher, nobler, and free from any error whatsoever.  The testimony of God boldly affirms that Jesus is the Son of God.

          In the final verse of this section, John notes that there are TWO OPTIONS FROM WHICH MEN MAY CHOOSE (1 John 5:10).  “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself:  he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”  Men can either choose to believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God or refuse to believe that affirmation.  Those who believe not make God a liar.  God has given testimony that Jesus is the Son of God.  Those who refuse to believe that fact must believe that God is not telling the truth.  If He is not telling the truth, He is a liar.  God, however, cannot lie (Tit. 1:2).  The unbeliever is the one who is in error.  This was a powerful denunciation of all those who held to the Gnostic teachings of John’s day.  We will soon learn that those who believed not cannot possess eternal life.