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The Letters of John
BC Weekly Digest Monday, November 9 1998 In this issue: 1 John 5:6 1 John 5:8-10 1 John 5:7-11 1 John 5:6-11 1 John 5:7 1 John 5:6 1 John 5:6 (OPV) 6 He is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood. === This passage has occasioned much discussion. One error commentators sometimes make is to restrict the scope of what John says in some way. John is accustomed to using simple words to open up wide-sweeping vistas of thought. 5:6 "He is the one who came ... Jesus Christ" Jesus has "come in the flesh" (1 John 4:2). Later in verse 20 of this chapter, John says: "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding that we might know the True One." The "coming" of Christ as Savior of the world is a prominent theme in the New Testament, and one which John particularly emphasizes. In his Gospel he writes: "There was the true light, [even the light] which lighteth every man, coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not" (John 1:9-11 ASV). The Samaritan woman at the well said: "I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things" (John 4:25 ASV). After Jesus fed the multitude, the people said: "This is of a truth the prophet that cometh into the world" (John 6:14 ASV). The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem fulfilled the prophesy: "Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass" (Mat 21:5 ASV). The multitudes cried out: "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest" (Mat 21:9 ASV). "Hosanna; Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed [is] the kingdom that cometh, [the kingdom] of our father David: Hosanna in the highest" (Mark 11:9,10 ASV). Thus, when John says here "He is the one who came," he refers to the coming of the promised Prophet, Savior and King. But what does John mean by saying that the Christ came in water and in blood? 5:6 "He is the one who came by water and blood, ... not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood" Water and blood have meaning in Old Testament worship. A healed leper was cleansed with the blood of bird that was killed over running (living) water (Lev 14:2-8, 52). Water was associated with blood in the cleansing of the people: "Wherefore even the first [covenant] hath not been dedicated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward. Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood. And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission (Heb 9:18-22 ASV). This was a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ (Heb 12:24; 13:12). The Levites were cleansed with the water of expiation (Num 8:7). When Jesus came up from the waters of His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on him as a dove (Mat 3:16). Jesus began His ministry by coming forth from the waters of baptism. When the soldier pierced the side of Jesus, blood and water flowed from the wound (John 19:34). The priest of the Old Covenant sacrificed the blood of animals for the sins of the people. Christ sacrificed His own blood (Acts 20:28; Heb 9:12; 13:12). Having shed His blood, Jesus rose from the grave to offer cleansing and salvation to all peoples who believe the gospel and who are baptised into the death of Christ (Mark 16:15,16; Rom 6:1-8). Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 5:8-10 1 John 5:8-10 5:8 "For there are three who are testifying: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three [agree] as one" (OPV). There are three entities that testify to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. They are the Holy Spirit, the water and the blood. The Holy Spirit testifies through the written word that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. It is the resurrection of Jesus from the grave that bears witness (testifies) that we are also the sons of God. In Romans 8:16, the apostle Paul relates that entire scheme of the Spirit's testimony: "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified with [him]" (ASV). The immersion in water (baptism) is the tool which God has chosen to bring us into harmony with the will of Christ through faith, repentance, confession and finally, baptism. In the Galatian letter, Paul further explains this when he says in chapter 3, verses 26 and 27: "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."(KJV) It is the act of baptism in which we are cleansed of our sins (Acts 22:16). This was the same procedure that was required of every New Testament convert. And finally, it required the blood of a spotless sacrifice to provide this complete washing away of our sins. It was blood that was required for the sins of the people (Hebrews 9:7) under the Mosaic Law and it was the blood of a spotless sacrifice that has washed our sins away through baptism under the Law of Christ. Hebrews 9:11,12 tells us, "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]" (KJV). It is this grand sacrifice which enables baptism to wash away our sins. Without it, baptism would be nothing more than a washing of the "filth of the flesh" (1 Peter 3:21). 5:9 "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is God's testimony, that He has testified concerning His Son!" (OPV). Surely, we are to believe the sworn testimony of the court witnesses. That is just common sense! Men are freed, men are punished with fines and prison time, and men are even put to death on the sworn testimony of witnesses. This is the reason that telling the truth is so important. It is unfortunate that the world does not look at it the same way. Satan rules the world and he constantly tells men that it is okay to lie. God will punish all liars: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all LIARS, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8 KJV). It is most reasonable that the testimony of our Creator is of far greater worth and certainly is far more reliable than the testimony of any man. It is for this reason that we need to always heed what God says and not what some person tells us. If God forbids something and man says that we can indulge in it without sin, we had better believe that God's word is sure and that the man is a liar! If man says that adultery or homosexuality is permissible and God says that it is a sin, what God says is true and man is a liar. To follow after a man is not in accord with the will of God. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me"(KJV). 5:10 "The one believing in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. The one not believing God, has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning His Son" (OPV). It is that simple. Under conditions where the testimony of God and man disagree, if we believe God, then man is deemed a liar and if we believe man, then we make God the liar. What we often fail to see is that God is the author of truth. As we have just read in John 14:6, Jesus is the truth. Jesus stated that He came not to do His own will but the will of God (John 6:38-40 KJV). "For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (ASV). To which I say Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!! Howard B. Justice ------------------------------ 1 John 5:7-11 What do the words "testify" and "testimony" mean as used in 1 John 5:7-11? The word testimony comes from the two Latin words "testificari" and "testimonium". These words mean "witness" and "evidence". The literal meaning is: "that which can be determined as the truth by a witness or witnesses." It simply means corroborated or established statements that are given and are accepted in a court of law as absolute truth. Hence, we see the testimony of the Holy Spirit as that which has been established as the absolute truth. How was it established? It was made a part of the written record by the fact that God gave His only begotten Son to save us from sin. In John 20:30,31 the scripture says, "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name"(KJV). This passage is more than a reminder that God's Son was able to work miracles as proof of His identity. It says that God's promise, that was given in the words of the prophets many centuries before this time, had been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ. He was able to establish His identity through the working of miracles, even the raising up of the dead which others were not able to do unless they were of Him. Peter, Paul and the other apostles were of Him and they were able to give testimony through the working of miracles that they were of Christ. Those who claim to work "modern day" miracles are not able to raise the dead. Therefore, they are not of Him. In addition to testimony being corroborated evidence, it can only be entered into evidence in a court of law by a true witness; one who has either experienced or seen the evidence first-hand. For this reason, we cannot be "witnesses" today as some have suggested. All that we can do is to accept the corroborated and established evidence found in the New Testament. Everything else is "hearsay" and is not admissible in any court of law. If it requires a modern-day revelation from God to accept it, then how could this evidence be true? How can man in his finiteness refute what our infinite God has given us or promised to us? We are cautioned not to add to or to take from the things written in God's word (Revelation 22:18-19) Howard B. Justice ------------------------------ 1 John 5:6-11 What do the words testify and testimony refer to in this passage? Understanding the questions about the validity of portions of verse 7, the testimony is that of God in the ways He has validated Jesus as his son. ------------------------------ 1 John 5:7 1 John 5:7 (OPV) 7 And it is the Spirit who is testifying, because the Spirit is the truth. === 5:7 "It is the Spirit who is testifying" The Spirit testifies to us through the Holy Scriptures. In Hebrews 10:15, an Old Testament quotation is introduced with the words: "And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us" (ASV). Notice that this is in the present tense as it also is in 1 John 5:7. The Spirit continues to testify to every generation through the Scriptures. Peter explained that the Old Testament prophets themselves did not fully understand the testimony of the Spirit that they were making known: "Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that [should come] unto you: searching what [time] or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angels desire to look into" (1 Pet 1:10-12 ASV). Jesus promised His Apostles that He would send the Spirit to testify to them about Him: "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 bear witness of me: and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning" (John 15:26,27 ASV). The validity of testimony depends on the reliability of the witness. No witness can be found more reliable than the Spirit of God! What a great privilege that this testimony has been given to us through the prophets and Apostles, and has been preserved for us in the Scriptures! This privilege also carries with it a great responsibility to "keep the testimony of Jesus" that has been given to us by the Spirit of God "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev 19:10 ASV). 5:7 "The Spirit is the truth" Jesus promised His followers the help of the Spirit of truth for ever: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, [even] the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16,17 ASV). As mentioned above, the truth of the Spirit comes to use via the Apostles to whom Jesus said: "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, [these] shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come" (John 16:13 ASV). The Spirit testifying, is the Spirit of "the God of truth" (Ps 31:5). Roy Davison