1 John 5:6-8
"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. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one."
When it comes to matters of faith, the witness of the one who confesses their belief tends to be of the utmost importance. For when the witness is credible, either through some manner of expertise, or from a personal relationship, their teachings are easily accepted. And likewise, when the witness has no basis for credibility, their teachings are at best suspect. Whe witness is key when it comes to matters of faith.
John writes of six witnesses of the truth of Jesus Christ—three on this earth and three of this same truth in heaven. And all of these agree as to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
First, there is the witness of the Father – from Yahweh comes prophecies proclaiming the coming Christ. If you are one to worship God, then believe his witness. Jesus is God in flesh, come for our salvation.
We see the witness of the Word – both God's written revelation of the coming Christ and the living revelation of Jesus, whose very life testified of the truth of the gospel through his miraculous birth, his teachings, miracles, sacrifice, and resurrection.
John points to the witness of the Spirit in heaven -- testifying of the honor which is Christ's alone. I really don't know how the Spirit testifies of Christ in heaven, but you can bet that one day every believer will know!
And then again, he points to the witness of the Spirit, but this time, on the earth – the same witness who calls our souls unto salvation and converts us to a new life through his presence.
There is the witness of the water – probably a dual reference, both to the physical birth of Christ and the physical and audible testimony he received from God at his baptism.
Finally, there is the witness of the blood – again a dual reference, both to the physical birth of Christ and the reality of the shed blood of Christ on the cross, making possible our salvation.
Whereas only two witnesses were needed to seal a person's fate in Christ's time before a court of law, here we find six. While the Spirit is mentioned twice, there's no reason to believe there are two Spirits, just two separate testimonies of the reality of Christ, one on the earth and one in heaven.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for sure and complete testimony which is given to us of your love and sacrifice for sinners. In particular, I'm thankful fo the Spirit which testifies of you in my life. Amen.
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