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The Letters of John
BC Weekly Digest Monday, November 23 1998 In this issue: 1 John 5:8 1 John 5:7,8 1 John 5:7,8 1 John 5:11-15 1 John 5:9 1 John 5:10 1 John 5:11 1 John 5:8 1 John 5:8 (OPV) 8 For there are three who are testifying: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three [agree] as one. === 5:8 "There are three who are testifying" A multiplication of witnesses increases the force of testimony: "At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be established" (2 Cor 13:1 ASV). When the Jews accused Jesus, "Thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true," He replied, "Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye know not whence I come, or whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. Yea and if I judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. Yea and in your law it is written, that the witness of two men is true. I am he that beareth witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me" (John 8:13-18 ASV). 5:8 "The Spirit, and the water, and the blood" The testimony of the Spirit is reinforced by the testimony of the water and the blood. "And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt 3:16,17 ASV). We have reliable testimony that Jesus is the Son of God. As He came up from the water of baptism God declared: "This is My beloved Son." The Spirit reinforced this testimony by descending in the form of a dove. After Jesus submitted to the baptism of John, who as a prophet of God, he declared of Him: "Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29,36 ASV). The concept of the Lamb of God goes all the way back to the sacrifice of Abel and is a powerful testimonial that Jesus of Nazareth, who died on the cross and rose from the dead, is indeed the Savior God promised to the world. When Christ died on the cross "the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent" (Matt 27:51). "Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God" (Matt 27:54 ASV). Later "one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and straightway there came out blood and water" (John 19:34 ASV). John adds: "And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe. For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced" (John 19:35-37 ASV). Earlier, Jesus had told His Apostles that He would send the Spirit as a Witness and to reinforce their testimony. "And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4 ASV). Peter said this was the pouring forth of God's Spirit professed in Joel, "And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21 ASV). Before He ascended to the right hand of God, Jesus had told His disciples: "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt 28:19,20). When the hearers on the day of Pentecost asked, "What must we do," Peter replied: "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). The Spirit and the water and the blood are interwoven in the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, serving as a powerful testimony. "And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed" (Mark 16:20 ASV). "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away [from them]. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will" (Heb 2:1-4). "But when the kindness of God our Savior, and his love toward man, appeared, not by works [done] in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:4-6 ASV). "For there are three who are testifying: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three [agree] as one" (1 John 5:8 OPV). Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 5:7,8 1 John 5:7,8 The question has been asked: Is the trinity doctrine affected by the fact that part of 1 John 5:7,8 (in the KJV) is not found in the old Greek manuscripts? === The King James Translation of 1 John 5:7,8 has: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." The American Standard Version has: "For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one." The additional portion in the KJV is found in a large number of late manuscripts of the Latin translation of the New Testament. There is some disagreement as to whether Cyprian (200-258 AD) quotes from a Latin text containing this portion in an epistle (72:12) or whether he uses the same words "the three are one" by coincidence. Vigilius of Thapsus (end of the 5th century) and Fulgentius (about 520 AD) both definitely refer to "the three heavenly Witnesses." This all relates to evidence in Latin. The New Testament was written in Greek, however, and this text portion is found in only two extremely late Greek manuscripts, one from the fifteenth century and one from the sixteenth century. The shorter reading is found in the rest, including the Sinaiticus (4th century), Alexandrinus (5th century) and Vaticanus (4th century). To come back to the question asked, however, which is indeed the crucial point: No, New Testament teaching on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit does not depend on this fragment of text. It goes beyond the scope of this study to discuss this general topic except as it relates to specific verses, but for more information you can see my articles in The Old Paths Archive http://www.oldpaths.com 'The Truth about God,' 'The Holy Spirit' and 'The Deity of Christ'. Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 5:7,8 1 John 5:7,8 The question has been submitted: "Does the water represent the divine nature of Christ and is the blood equivalent to his humanity?" === It is difficult to see the use of 'the water and the blood' as references to either Christ's deity or humanity, since such an interpretation finds no support elsewhere in the Scriptures. We must consider the verse in its entirety and observe that it speaks of "the Spirit, and the water, and the blood." We see that the definite article is used in each of the three cases. It is not merely 'spirit and water and blood', but 'THE Spirit,' 'THE water' and 'THE blood,' thus indicating the uniqueness of each. 1. 'The Spirit' is unquestionably the Holy Spirit. Modern translations make this clear by capitalizing the word 'Spirit'. 2. 'The water' is the water of baptism. First-century Christians would have no difficulty whatsoever in recognizing 'the water' as an allusion to baptism, since in New Testament times every member of the Church was added by means of a personal confession of faith in Christ and baptism into Christ. They would know that, as taught in Romans 6: 3-5, when a believer is baptized, his baptism is both a declaration of faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and a witness to those facts. 3. 'The blood' is the blood of Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. The only blood so described in the New Testament Scriptures is His blood, which was shed to make salvation possible, in fulfilment of all the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The thrust of this chapter, from verse 1 to verse 12, is the assertion that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. To this fact the HOLY SPIRIT repeatedly testified by means of the miracles which Jesus performed during His ministry (Matt. 12:28). The FATHER Himself also bore witness when Jesus was baptized at the commencement of His ministry (Matt. 3:17), and, as already suggested, the baptism of every believer is itself a testimony to the fact that Jesus is the Christ of God. And the shedding of Christ's blood, followed by His resurrection from the dead, constituted a conclusive evidence as to His identity (Rom. 1:4). Taken together, this is 'the testimony that God has borne to His Son' (1 John 5:10). Frank Worgan ------------------------------ 1 John 5:11-15 1 John 5:11-15 1 John 5:11 "And the testimony is this, that God gives us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" (OPV). The "first witness" account is that God does indeed give each one of us eternal life. And, that eternal life is only available through His Son. Jesus said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44 KJV). As we have already discussed, God gave His Son, His one and only Son, as a sacrifice for the sins of all the world, for as many as will accept and obey Him. Unfortunately, not all will be willing to make that commitment to Him. In Matthew 7: 13-14, Jesus stated, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (KJV). Hence, we see that most of the people who have had access to God's deliverance through Jesus will not be willing to accept Him. It is because of this "defiance" of God and His plan that many will meet their doom in the eternal hell, "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Matthew 9:44,46,48 (KJV). If we can picture the scene immediately after the great ship Titanic hit the iceberg, where hundreds of precious souls were in immediate danger of drowning because there weren't enough lifeboats, than we can have some idea of the tragedy of that last day when the trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall ascend out of Heaven to receive those who have washed their garments white in His precious blood. Those who perished from the sinking of the Titanic did not have the means to be rescued, yet every man who is alive today or that has ever lived has been afforded the opportunity to save himself from an eternal hell. There will be no reason for being lost when time ends and eternity begins. We cannot blame a loving God who has sent His only Son as a ransom for all. 1 John 5:12 "He who has the Son, has life. He who does not have the Son of God, does not have life" (OPV). Each one of us who has accepted Christ as the Son of God and has done His will is to be saved. In contrast, those who have not turned from the way of the world and given their lives to Christ will be eternally lost. This is the stark reality of the message that God has given us; ... either follow Christ or be lost! This does not distract from the great and immeasurable love of God. He was willing to send His Son to make that terrible sacrifice for us. John had earlier recorded, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13 KJV). He made the greatest possible display of love for His creation by giving His Son. Because of this, we are duty-bound to accept His word. 1 John 5:13 "I have written these things to you so you may know that you have eternal life -- to the ones who believe in the name of the Son of God" (OPV). John tells us that the reason that he has reminded us of this is so that each one of us can have eternal life, that is to say, those of us who believe in the authority (name) of Jesus Christ. The Greek word 'onoma' which is translated 'name' here implies far more than just the appellation by which Jesus was called. It means "authority, interests, pleasure, command , excellences, deeds, etc." Therefore when John uses the term 'name' in this passage, he is referring to the total authority of Christ. By this line of reasoning, then, we must understand that we do not have the option to "pick and choose" those parts of God's Word that we want to accept. We must accept it all. 1 John 5:14 "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask something according to His will, He hears us" (OPV). The fact that we have accepted Christ and His authority is that which gives us confidence when we kneel to talk with Him through prayer. In John 9:31, the once blind man confessed, "Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth" (KJV). God does not hear the prayer of an unsaved person. Therefore only His children have an open communication with Him. There is one often overlooked stipulation in this verse, "...according to His will." Everything that we ask for must be according to His will. I am reminded of the fellow who prayed incessantly for a particular thing, yet never received it. He was talking with his best friend about the request and remarked, "I thought God would answer my request." to which his friend replied, "You got your answer, God said NO!" Sometimes we ask amiss and hear no answer. That is just God's way of saying "NO!" 1 John 5:15 "And if we know that He hears us when we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked of Him" (OPV). Christians who follow the Lord faithfully have no reason to doubt that the Lord hears them. Just because we do not see or understand God's answer is no indication that He does not hear us. Perhaps, as we mentioned above, We simply don't hear God. When my faith wavers and I reason that my sins are far too great to be forgiven. When I reason that because I have not witnessed the answer to my prayers, I am reminded of Jesus response to the twelve: "O ye of little faith". How true it is that we often reason so doubtingly when we should have great confidence that God loves us and He hears us, we just fail to hear His answer every time. Howard Justice ------------------------------ 1 John 5:9 1 John 5:9 (OPV) 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! === Most of what we know is based on the testimony of men. Our knowledge comes from our parents, from teachers, from books, from television, from hearsay. Someone who says, "I only believe what I see," is talking through his hat. Yet, we do not believe everything we read or hear. We know that some witnesses are more reliable than others. I read recently that television is popular because it is a masterful combination of truth and fiction! Will Rogers liked to say, "All I know is what I read in the papers!" The judicial system of every country is based on the principle that it is possible to establish truth on the basis of testimony and evidence. A good judicial system takes necessary precautions to ensure that testimony is reliable. No witness can be more reliable than the Creator of heaven and earth. The evidence for God and the testimony that Jesus is His Son, is conclusive. God's dealings with Israel, as recorded in the Old Testament, confirm His being and His glory. He told Israel: "Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no savior. I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed; and there was no strange [god] among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I am God" (Isaiah 43:10-12 ASV). "Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them declare. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any" (Isaiah 44:6-8 ASV). Notice that God has both declared and shown it. The evidence for God is both proclamation and demonstration, word and action. When someone has trouble understanding what we say, we show them what we mean. Of Israel we read: "And they forgot his doings, And his wondrous works that he had showed them" (Psalm 78:11 ASV). "He hath showed his people the power of his works, In giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of his hands are truth and justice; All his precepts are sure. They are established for ever and ever; They are done in truth and uprightness. He hath sent redemption unto his people; He hath commanded his covenant for ever: Holy and reverend is his name" (Psalm 111:6-9 ASV). Fulfilled predictions also demonstrate the power of God: "I have declared the former things from of old; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass" (Isaiah 48:3 ASV). Christ is the ultimate demonstration of God. He is Immanuel, God with us (Mat. 1:23). "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]" (John 1:18 ASV). After His resurrection, Jesus showed himself to His disciples: "And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet" (Luke 24:40 ASV); "And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side" (John 20:20 ASV); "To whom he also showed himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3 ASV). Before returning to the Father, Jesus told his Apostles: "But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8 ASV). "But God raised him from the dead: and he was seen for many days of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the people" (Acts 13:30,31 ASV). And God commanded that this testimony be proclaimed to all nations by means of prophetic Scripture: "according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith" (Romans 16:25,26 RSV). "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!" (1 John 5:9 OPV). Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 5:10 1 John 5:10 (OPV) 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. == 5:10 "The one believing in the Son of God has the testimony in himself" This means that he has made the testimony his own and has integrated it into his life. It was foretold that New Covenant faith would not be superficial: "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them: And I will be to them a God, And they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen, And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For all shall know me, From the least to the greatest of them" (Heb 8:10,11 ASV). "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Col 3:16 OPV). 5:10 "Believing God" Notice that this says 'believing God' not 'believing IN God'. Many who believe IN God, do not believe what He SAYS. On certain occasions in the presence of reliable witnesses, God has spoken directly from heaven: (1) in the hearing of all Israel (Ex 20:1-19); (2) after Jesus was baptized by John (Mat 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22); (3) when Jesus was transfigured (Mat 17:5; Mark 9:7; 2 Peter 1:17). He has also spoken through prophets and by His son: "God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in [his] Son" (Heb 1:1,2 ASV). This testimony has been transmitted to us reliable by the guidance of the Holy Spirit: "Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual [words]" (1 Cor 2:13 ASV). "And we have the word of prophecy [made] more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet 1:19-21 ASV). 5:10 "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" Most of us have been offended when someone refused to believe what we said. To disbelieve is to accuse one either of dishonesty or incompetence. God has spoken plainly. If you reject His testimony you are calling God a liar. That is not a wise thing to do. Let us believe God and have His testimony within. Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 5:11 1 John 5:11 (OPV) 11 And the testimony is this, that God gives us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. == 5:11 "God gives us eternal life" God is the source of all life. "Who knoweth not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this, In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?" (Job 12:9,10 ASV). "He himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17:25 ASV). "Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein" (Isaiah 42:5 ASV). What about life after death? Job asks: "If a man die, shall he live [again]?" (Job 14:14 ASV). Later he answers his own question: "But as for me I know that my Redeemer liveth, And at last he will stand up upon the earth: And after my skin, [even] this [body], is destroyed, Then without my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:25,26 ASV). 5:11 "This life is in His Son" God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life, has promised eternal life to those who accept His Son as Savior and Lord. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him" (John 3:16,17 ASV). Jesus promises eternal life to His followers. "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life" (John 4:14 ASV). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life" (John 5:24 ASV). "Work not for the food which perisheth, but for the food which abideth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him the Father, even God, hath sealed" (John 6:27 ASV). "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" (John 6:40 ASV). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth hath eternal life. I am the bread of life" (John 6:47,48 ASV). "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:54 ASV). "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:27,28 ASV). "And every one that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life" (Mat 19:29 ASV). This is good news. God has verified these promises of Christ by raising Him from the dead: "inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31 ASV). "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36 ASV). "And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life" (Mat 25:46 ASV). "For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:23 ASV). These promises are the source of our "hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal" (Titus 1:2 ASV). "For we also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior, and his love toward man, appeared, not by works [done] in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that, being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:3-7 ASV). "And the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was revealed to us" (1 John 1:2 OPV). "And the testimony is this, that God gives us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" (1 John 5:11 OPV). Roy Davison