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And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one (1 John 5:8).
Here’s John with the same grouping of three as we found in verse 6, the Spirit, the water, and the blood. This time He explains that these three make one, just like the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit make one. The three just mentioned are referred to as from heaven, while these three (the Spirit, the water, and the blood) are witnesses on earth. The Holy Spirit is amazing to consider. He covers the earth, yet He lives in individual hearts. He hovers over the lost, wooing them, and meets all the needs and the desires of believers’ hearts. He’s the one who creates “Rhema” out of the Word—the Word springing off the pages of the Bible and into the heart of the reader as revelation. He’s the one who washes the reader with the water of the Word. Yet He is also the one who is the Sword in the armor of God, and He does not withhold His sword from shedding blood. Just as much as the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, He will never force His way with your life; He is also a warrior and fights battles for you. Just speak the Word and these three—the Holy Spirit, the Word you have just spoken, and the blood of the Lamb of God who speaks over you from heaven—will act as one and fulfill the Word.
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For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one (1 John 5:7).
We are still learning at the knee of the Holy Spirit. Here he comes up with another threesome, the last being the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit, and now we have Father, Word, and Holy Spirit. In heaven, in that perfect place, we find the description of the Trinity, the three expressions of God, or three personalities. The Father speaks the Word, the Holy Spirit inspires the writing of the Word, and Jesus is the incarnation of the Word. So from heaven comes that handbook of spiritual reality, the Word of God. And to what do these three bear witness through their speaking, writing and being? The Truth. Interesting that Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” when Truth was standing right in front of him. I often have little squabbles with unbelievers who want to tell me how outdated, or wrong the Bible is. I like to ask them if they have read the Bible, because I know they haven’t. When they admit they have not I ask how they can judge a book they haven’t read? It’s amazing how my question always stymies them. They are only quoting what Satan had to say. We, however, have the only true witness: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6).
John becomes poetic, in my opinion. He is so thrilled with the Deity of Jesus that he sometimes leaves us behind in his vague euphemism of Christ, probably not wanting to overwhelm us. In this and the next two verses, John refers to three items: water, blood, Spirit. What is the water? It could mean his natural birth, his mother’s water. The Word of God is sometimes symbolized as water because it refers to the way the Word washes us. And finally, the water could take us back to the soldier who thrust a lance into the side of Jesus, already dead on the cross, yet water and blood shot out from his side. If you have watched Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of Christ,” he has the water and blood spraying over everyone around. Blood can be His pure and precious Blood that paid for our sins on the altar in heaven, or simply the blood He dripped on the ground from the torture He endured. But the question is, what does all this mean? I like to look at this Scripture as indicating the Holy Spirit as the witness to all truth, and He will reveal the significance of the water and of the blood, as we are ready to receive all the revelation that John obviously knows. We, however, are still learning at the knee of the Holy Spirit. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:5)?
Believing in something is not the same as thinking, concurring, being in agreement with, being persuaded, or giving assent to the idea that Jesus is the Son of God. I feel so sorry for the people who know so much about God, yet do not know Him personally. They think they’re on the right path, but that path does not lead them to the Throne Room of God. Believing in Jesus means He has stopped being an “idea” and has become someone more real, more genuine, more reliable than anyone or anything else in your life. Believing in Jesus takes you right into the Throne Room and makes you comfortable there. Believing in Jesus reveals your own position in the family of God: you, too, are His son or daughter. Jesus paid the price, extracted you from your place in slavery, and brought you Home. You know it, too. You know who you belong to. If you don’t know it, then you are not a believer. But if you are, act like it. Visit the Throne Room of God whenever you want, receive His counsel and advice, then go into the world and do what He said. In this way you will never fail. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith (1 John 5:4).
My goodness, all this talk about love and suddenly the word faith appears. Faith is probably the biggest concern of the Bible. Jesus asked if He would find faith when He came again. So let it be established that faith only works through love. Please don’t tell me you have faith if you don’t have love. It just cannot work that way. What is faith? It is absolute trust and confidence in God that He will do whatever He has said He will do. Faith is unshakeable, insurmountable, unmovable, it is the rock on which we stand, an unyielding position. First and foremost, it is total belief that Jesus bought us back from the enemy, and He conquered death, disease, and evil: basically, in a word—Satan. He accomplished everything we could ever need of Him, and He gave all His victory to us! Note that this verse talks about overcoming the world. Do you have things in your world that need to be overcome? I certainly do. No one lives a perfect life here on earth, no matter how pretentious they may be! So how do we get our faith to overcome our world? First love, then trust. In this state of being, no weapon formed against you will ever prosper. Through your love and faith you conquer your world! |
Marty
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