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. 7: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8: And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

Introduction

It is a sad truth that there are people today who think that it really does not matter what you believe just as long as you are sincere. But that is like saying, “it doesn’t matter what you eat as long as you sincerely believe what you’re eating is good for you.” If you eat steak with poison sprinkled on it, it matters not how sincerely you thank God for it, and how sincerely you chew it and shallow it, sincerity will not remove the poison from your steak. Sincerity will not eliminate its poisonous effect. What is true in the physical realm is also true in the spiritual realm. Sincerity is not enough; it must be according to knowledge and truth. Understand, faith is only as good as the object of your faith. If you were to put your faith into something false, then that faith is empty and meaningless. We must believe the right Jesus if we are to be saved! This is what the apostle John throughout this epistle has been persistently declaring—a correct view of the Lord Jesus Christ is vitally important to salvation.

The “faith’ which saves and the “faith” which gives victory and overcomes the world has for its object Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Isn’t that what we read in 1 John 5:5, “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” This is one of the messages that John comes back again and again in this epistle—the message that Jesus Christ is the very Son of God.

Let me show you what I mean:

1 John 1:3 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.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23: Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. 24: Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10: Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11: And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

1 John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

1 John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 5:9 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. 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. 11: And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12: He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

It does not matter how sincere a person may be and how strong his faith may be, it is meaningless and empty if its object is not the Jesus of the Bible. And according to John under the inspiration of the God, the Jesus of the Bible is the very Son of God. There are many sons of God but there is only one Son of God. Now, what is the significance of this title? What does this title “Son of God” mean? This is a title which shows the divinity of Christ. In other words, Jesus Christ is God Himself. 

Remember the night of our Lord’s trial before the Jewish leaders recorded in Matthew 26:63-66? The High Priest questioned Jesus and demanded an answer, “I adjure thee [I demand You] by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” Our Lord responded, “Thou hast said.” To put it in our modern language our Lord says, “You have said it yourself.” Here, Jesus Christ boldly proclaims His identity as the Son of God. Then He goes on to answer, “I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven”. He proclaims His own resurrection, exaltation, and return to rule and reign on the earth. The High Priest responded in anger and rent his clothes, saying, “He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.” They accused Jesus of blasphemy. Then during His trial before Pilate, the Jews insisted, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Now, why would His claiming to be the Son of God be considered blasphemy and be worthy of a death sentence? Because the Jewish leaders understood that Jesus Christ is claiming Deity, that He is claiming to be God Himself, therefore, they demanded that Jesus be put to death. Because He claims to be the Son of God, and if He is not, He ought to die.

Now why should we believe John’s testimony of Christ. Why should we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? How do we know that Jesus Christ is God? There are some in John’s day, false teachers, called the Gnostics. The Gnostics that John is responding to in this letter, did not believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. They believed and taught that Jesus was just a man and that the divine part of Him, that is Christ, came upon or descended on Him at His baptism and then left Him at the crucifixion. This is why John emphasized in verse 6, “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood.” John here is asserting that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, as we shall see later. So, why should we accept Jesus Christ’s claim rather than what the Gnostics claim?

In this section, the apostle John gives us reasons to believe that Jesus, who came by water and blood, is the Son of God. He calls three witnesses that bear record that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Why three witnesses? Because we are told in the Old Testament law that everything is to be established by two or three witnesses.

Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

That’s what John is doing here in this chapter. He is laying out his list of witnesses to prove that Jesus is the very Son of God. The witnesses he calls are the heavenly witnesses and the earthly witnesses. In verse 7, John asserts that the Godhead bears record, or bears witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Although the Godhead consist of three separate persons possessing three separate personalities which make up the Godhead, we must understand they all agree in one because they are one. Understand that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, though each person occupies a different place in the Godhead, yet they are coequal, coeternal, and coexisting. These three are one. They are all equal and they all testify to the same things concerning Jesus Christ. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit agree because they are one.

Reading on...

1 John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

Here John gives us three earthly witnesses, which I want to focus on this morning. These earthly witnesses show that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

I - The Witness of the Water

1 John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

The first witness that John brings is the water. Commentators differ in what they think water refers to in this verse. But I believe the water here refers to the baptism of Jesus Christ. How does water baptism testify of the deity of Christ? What is Christ’s baptism have to do with Him being declared as the Son of God? Why does John bring Christ’s baptism to prove that He is the Son of God?

Let’s go and visit the recorded account of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the river Jordan. We read in Matthew 3:13, Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. When John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ coming to him to be baptized, he cried, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). John the Baptist knew the identity of Jesus Christ, that He is the spotless, sinless Lamb of God. He knew that Jesus Christ is the Messiah sent by God to redeem mankind. He realized that Jesus Christ had no sin to repent of and therefore no need to be baptized. John the Baptist is aware that he is the one who is a sinner and Jesus is the sinless John was surprised that Jesus Christ would come to him for baptism. Therefore, John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” (Mt. 3:14). Then our Lord responded saying, “Suffer [permit] it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). In other words, Christ is saying that this baptism is proper to do to fulfill all righteousness. The Bible is clear that Christ is without sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Although Jesus Christ was without sin, it was still necessary for Jesus to be baptized, for by doing so, He is showing by His baptism how true righteousness should be established—by His death, burial, and resurrection. He is showing by His baptism, that He is publicly identifying with sinners. And then John understood, so he baptized Him. But now it says in Matthew 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Here the Father Himself, testifies at the baptism that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Now, there are many people who have been baptized, but that doesn’t make anyone the Saviour of mankind. There are many people who have been baptized but doesn’t make anyone the Messiah, and it doesn’t make anyone the Son of God. There is only One who was declared to be the Son of God at his baptism and that’s none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He was declared to be the Son of God when He was immersed in His baptism.

II - The Witness of the Blood

1 John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

The second witness that John brings is the blood. This time most commentators agree with what the blood refers to. The blood here refers to the crucifixion or the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. How does crucifixion testify of the deity of Christ?

Again, let’s go to the recorded account of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on the cross, although the Father did not literally speak, He testified of His Son in a number of miraculous events. These miracles during the crucifixion gave clear testimony that Jesus was the Son of God. First, there was the supernatural darkness. In the middle of the day darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour (Matt 27:45). Then there was the earthquake. The earth quaked and the rocks were split apart. It says in Matthew 27:52, “the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many”. Another miracle is when Christ gave up the Ghost the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51a). That veil, which separates the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place, was far too high for any man to reach and too thick for any man to tear. This rending of the veil was not cause by some earthquake nor by man, this is an act of the Father to testify of His Son.

Yet another amazing miracle is in Matthew 27:54, where an unbelieving Roman soldier witnessed the crucifixion and the death of Christ. As someone wrote, “This centurion has seen many a man die and when a man dies by crucifixion, I guarantee you his last breath is not a cry of victory. It’s one of weakness. It’s one of defeat. But that’s not how Christ died. It says, “And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out.” As it says in verse 37, “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.” You read in the other Gospel you find what He cried. There was a voice that cried out, “It is finished!” and then He died and gave up the ghost. And the centurion when he heard that he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” Here is a hardened Roman soldier coming to faith in Christ, acknowledging and testifying that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. God’s miraculous testimony to Jesus was so powerful and convincing that that a hardened Roman soldier who witnessed it cried out, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 

Keep in mind, that there were many people have been crucified and have shed their blood, but it doesn’t make them the Saviour of mankind. The two men crucified on the cross, shed their blood and died but their blood has no power to save. But the blood of Jesus has eternal power, and it will never lose its power. The blood, the crucifixion of Christ testifies that Jesus Christ is the very Son of God.

Now, let’s look at the third witness:

III - The Witness of the Spirit

1 John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

The third witness that John brings is the Holy Spirit. We can believe that Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood, is the Son of God, not only because of the witness of the water and witness of the blood, but also because of the witness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit bears witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The apostle John’s believing and declaring that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is not the result of the figment of his imagination. How did John come to know and believe this truth? John says, “it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 Jn 5:6).

We can trust the Spirit’s witness because “the Spirit is truth.” In John’s Gospel our Lord constantly tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of truth.” (Jn 14:17). Later in John 15:26, our Lord declares, “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.” The Spirit was given to bear witness of Christ and what is the Spirit bearing witness of Christ? He is bearing witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

The Spirit of truth testified of Jesus at His baptism. When our Lord was baptized, John the Baptist “saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him” (Matt 3:16). When the Spirt rested on Christ like a dove, He began to reveal to John and to the people that Jesus is the Son of God. In John 1:32-34, we read, “John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” Here John the Baptist was told that whoever the Spirit descends and remains on Him, that is the Son of God.

The Spirit of truth also testified of Jesus at His crucifixion. He confirmed that witness through the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:4, “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Then the apostle Peter also writes in 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit”.

Now, none of us were there when Jesus Christ was baptized. None of us were there when Jesus Christ was crucified. None of us saw these witnesses and these miracles. We may not be present at the baptism of Christ nor at His death, but the Holy Spirit was there present. The Holy Spirit is the only Person active on earth today who was present when Christ was ministering here. And so, the Holy Spirit was sent to testify of Him even today. It is the Spirit’s ministry to testify of Jesus Christ. It is His role to reveal Jesus Christ to us today. And everything the Spirit says is truth, because He is the Spirit of truth.

Today, how does the Spirit bear witness? How does the Holy Spirit testify of the deity of Christ? Today, the Spirit bear witness through His inspired Word. Peter declares in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The Holy Spirit takes the inspired Word of God and apply it to our heart. He bears record through the written Word of God that the incarnate Word of God is the Son of God.

Closing Thoughts

In closing let’s go back to our Lord’s trial before the Jewish leaders. The High Priest questioned Jesus and demanded an answer, “I adjure [charge] thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God (Matt 26:63). Our Lord responded, “Thou hast said.” “You have said it yourself.” Here, Jesus Christ boldly proclaims His identity as the Son of God. I like what one preacher writes about this event, “Imagine the scene. Here stands a man covered in blood. He is weary from being up all night. He looks totally helpless. Yet, He talks about being on a throne! He talks about His Own glory. He identifies Himself as the Son of God and claims that there is coming a day when He will rule the world! Those claims must have sounded ridiculous to those who heard them, and yet they were 100% true! Friend, don’t be mistaken! The claims of Jesus to be the only way to God may sound foolish to modern ears, John 14:6, but it does not change the fact that He is Who He says He is and He is the only way anyone in this room, or in the world for that matter, will ever see God.”

John opened this chapter by reminding that only the one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God (1 Jn 5:1). Earlier he said, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 Jn 4:15). John emphasizes the importance of believing that Jesus is the Son of God. Do you believe Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God? The Spirit, the water, and the flesh bear witness of Christ that you and I might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and that by believing you and I might have life. These three testify that you might come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Do you believe their testimony? If you have not, may be brought to the saving knowledge of Christ today. If you have, then testify to the world that you are a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ. May God bless you as you do!  AMEN!