The Testimony of God

Transcript

GR 1103
3/20/1983

I John 5:6-12
Gil Rugh

I John in your bibles. All the way back to the end of your New Testament to the first epistle of John. We have looked through the opening verses of this last chapter where John drew together some of the evidences or tests of our relationship with God. Those things which mark off a believer in Jesus Christ as distinct from the world. That issue of his faith in Jesus Christ being foundational, but also his love for fellow believers and his obedience to the word of God. Those are the three areas that John has mentioned in a circular fashion as we have moved through the book. That you must have your faith directed toward the person of Christ and His finished work. That you must have a love produced by the Spirit for fellow believers. And you must be one who is obedient to the word of God. Those are evidences of a true relationship with God. Now the heart of this matter, of course, is the doctrinal issue of a person's faith in Jesus Christ. A person's attitude toward Jesus Christ is determinative toward everything. It is that which brings about the new relationship with God, the new birth. It is that which brings about the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God which results in the production of love in the life which is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit in our obedience to the word of God. So when we come to verse 6, John focuses in on that key issue. The person and work of Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him. You want to center on the person of Christ and then the testimony given regarding Christ because it is one thing to say you must believe in Christ, but what is the evidence to support that? Why should I believe in Christ rather than Buddah? What support is there that the historical Christ is indeed the Son of God? Now keep in mind the background for those of a Nostic persuasion who wanted to divorce the physical and divine Christ. And for Nostics, they would teach that Christ came upon the human Jesus at baptism and departed from Jesus sometime before His crucifixion, because they could not conceive of Christ, the Son of God, dying. So they made an unbiblical division between the humanity and deity of Christ. They did not see Jesus Christ as the deity and humanity wedded into one person. And so John is going to offer evidence for that in this section.

Verse 5 is the transition verse. "And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" Remember, we noted the overcomer is the one who has come to believe in Jesus Christ. That's the one who has overcome. The Book of Revelation offers promises to the overcomer in chapters 2 and 3, that last statement, "but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God". Now he goes on to develop then who this Jesus, the Son of God, is. The evidences that support the fact that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. And back in verse 1 of chapter 5> we started "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ", that the human Jesus is also the divine messiah, here elaborated more clearly, "Jesus is the Son of God". That is crucial. You must believe in the Jesus of the bible who was God's Son who became a man if you are to have salvation. So he picks up in verse 6 then to elaborate, "This is the one (this Jesus) who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth." So what he offers in verse 6 to 8 are three witnesses, and he states that in verse 8. "There are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement." Here are three things that testify to the person and character of Jesus Christ. Water, blood and the Spirit. "This is the one who came by water and the blood." And we are in a section that has some questions. This question about the water and the blood. One commentator noted he believed this was the most difficult expression to
interpret in this epistle, and well it might be. Some have tried to connect this with the sacraments of water and communion, which I think you have to really go out of your way to try to make sense out of. There is a statement in John chapter 19 in verse 3 when the soldier thrust his spear into the side of Christ and blood and
water flowed out, giving evidence of His real death. But I don't believe that’s the best connection here either because it's the one who came by water and by blood and the water and the blood are offered as separate and distinct testimonies. Because when you get to verse 8, he said "there are three that bear witness". So the water is viewed as one, blood is one, and the Spirit is one. Whereas the water and the blood mingled out of the side of Christ joined together to offer one statement in the reality of His physical death. I think it's in connection with the question, is the human Jesus also the Son of God? And the two occasions I think he's looking at here are the water, referring back to the baptism of Christ, and then the blood, the death of Christ. Because the point that he wants to make is the same one baptized is the same one who died. And that's where the Nostics made a break. They believed that the Christ came upon the human Jesus at His baptism, but left before His death. Whereas John wants to make the point that the same one who is baptized by John the Baptist is the one who dies on the cross. So that you have the human and the divine inseparably joined together.

Turn back to Matthew chapter 3 the baptism of Christ. And His baptism is a testimony. It is a witness to both His humanity and His deity. In His baptism, He is being joined with the faithful in Israel in identification with John the Baptist's message of a coming kingdom in preparation for Messiah. The account in verses 13 to 17 of Matthew 3» "Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" John recognized the superiority of Jesus Christ. "But Jesus answering said to him, 'Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he permitted Him. And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.'" So at His baptism, the event of His baptism is a testimony and a declaration regarding His person, both as man and as God. He is identified with the mass of humanity being baptized by John the Baptist. John acknowledges Him, the superior person, inspite of the fact that John is the greatest of the prophets. Also you have the voice from heaven giving the declaration, "This is My beloved Son". At the same time the Spirit of God descended on Him in the form of a dove. You might keep your finger there and jump back to Isaiah chapter 42. I take it the Spirit descending on Christ in the form of a dove is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 42 in verse 1. That’s why the Spirit would take visible form, the form of a dove, in coming upon Christ as a testimony to John and others. Verse 1 of Isaiah 42, "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights." That's a reference to Christ. "I have put My Spirit upon Him; and He will bring forth justice to the nations." "I will put My Spirit upon Him". It is significant the Spirit comes upon Christ at His baptism. That's when Jesus Christ is inaugurated into His messianic office. Question often comes, what was Christ doing for the first thirty years of His life? Well, he does not enter the office of Messiah until His baptism. So He is not functioning as the Messiah of Israel until His baptism. He is not offering the kingdom and Himself as the King until after His baptism. But here you have the inauguration into His office of Messiah and thus He begins to function and offer the kingdom. But the point here is that baptism, the water, is a testimony. And the events surrounding His baptism give testimony and declaration that He is both man and God. The same is true with the reference to His blood, the shedding of His blood. The events surrounding His death.

Turn over to chapter 12. As Jesus approaches the hour of his crucifixion. Verse 27 of John 12, "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 'Father, glorify Thy name.' There came therefore a voice out of heaven: 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.'" Verse 30 "Jesus answered and said, 'This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.'" Here again, in the context of His death, the shedding of His blood, and we are at that time chapter 13 of John is the Last Supper, the night before the crucifixion. Chapters 13 to 17 cover that last night. So here you have again that testimony from heaven. One other time during Jesus' earthly ministry besides the baptism and this at the time of His death, the Father speaks from heaven and that was at the transfiguration you remember with Peter, James and John. So here you have the testimony of the Father in connection with the death of Christ which obviously testifies to His humanity as He is crucified as a common criminal on a Roman cross. You have the declaration of the Father from heaven here in John 12. You have the miracles surrounding the death of Christ with the darkness that encompasses the land, the earthquake that impresses even the Roman soldier that he is in the presence of a divine being. "Truly this was the Son of God". So the events of His death, the shedding of His blood, give testimony and declaration to His deity as well as His humanity and they are inseparably linked together. Both at His baptism and at His crucifixion. That's the point that John is making over in I John 5» Come back to I John 5» So He came not with water only, but with water and with blood. The testimony is borne by both. And at the beginning of His messianic ministry and at the end of His earthly messianic ministry, that phase of it, testimony is given. So the messianic ministry of Christ is bracketed both at the beginning at His baptism and at His crucifixion, with His testimony and evidence that John offers that He is indeed Jesus the Son of God.

Verse 7and 8 we have textual differences. If you are using a King James bible, you'll have some different versing here. You'll have, in effect, an additional verse. The New American Standard has reversed, re-numbered the verses here because there is a section taken out. You have it in the margin of your New American Standard bible by the number 8, verse 8. A few late manuscripts read "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 ..." They're really not part of the text. I'll make a comment on that in just a moment. But look at verse 7, "And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth." "The Spirit bears witness". Now I take it He's got a third testimony here. We had the baptism, we had the death, and now you have the Spirit of God. Now I take it this aspect of the testimony is what we might call the subjective aspect of that testimony.
In other words, you can look at the historical fact in time of the baptism of Christ and the physical events surrounding it. You can do the same for the crucifixion of Christ. But the Spirit of God carries on an additional supernatural ministry in the heart and life of a believer that assures the believer and enables him to grasp and believe in the person of Jesus Christ. And that's what marks a believer off in the final sense as unique and different. You can have great scholars who can study the physical facts of the baptism and the crucifixion, but without that third testimony of the ministry of the Spirit, they remain unconvinced. "So it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth."

This ministry of the Spirit to us believers has been emphasized several times in this epistle. Look back in chapter 2, verse 20. Chapter 2, verse 20, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know." And that anointing is the Spirit of God who has been given to us who are believers so that we have the ability to know and to understand the things of God. Down in verse 27 of chapter 2, "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true" (and that's what John says over in chapter 5) "and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him." There the emphasis of the Spirit's teaching ministry was on our permanent abiding relationship with God. Here the stress is on the Spirit of God who is truth, bears witness to who Jesus Christ is. Now that's somewhat subjective. I cannot offer that in the same way I can the baptism and the crucifixion because the baptism and crucifixion are historical realities that can be examined as historical facts. The presence of the indwelling Spirit is a fact, don't misunderstand me, but it's not something you can measure in time and history. The Spirit of God end wells you, but no one sees it. Try to explain to an unbeliever, well the reason you don't understand the bible is you don't have the Spirit of God, and they don't grasp it what you are talking about. Now we read a passage on the deity of Jesus Christ and it comes alive and it makes complete sense and you have a brilliant unbeliever who doesn't have the Spirit of God read it, and he misses the point totally. So this aspect of the Spirit's ministry is subjective in that sense. It is carried on within the believer.

Over in chapter 3 of I John, verse 24, "The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us." In chapter 4, verse 13t "By this we know that we abide in Him and He is us, because He has given us of His Spirit." So it is the ministry of the Spirit in our lives that assures us of our relationship and testifies to us the reality of the person of Jesus Christ. Now we come to verse 8 and you have this additional statement. That ought not to unsettle you. There is really no question about whether that verse that's deleted in the New American Standard ought to be there or not. It doesn't appear in any early Greek transcripts. In fact, it's not until the l6th century that you have this addition in a Greek manuscript. Now the way that it got in at all — you may be interested in the story or you may not — I'm going to tell it anyway. Erasmus was a Greek scholar and he did an edition of the Greek text in the 15th century. And the Latin manuscripts had this section added to it. And the portion of the church that was using the Latin versions attacked Erasmus for not putting it in his edition of the Greek text. And Erasmus was taken back by that in a sense, and he made a rash statement to show their foolishness of it. He said, if you could show me one Greek manuscript that had that verse in it, I'd be happy to include it in mine. And lo and behold, someone showed him one. Now, he did it because he said he would, but he even put a note on that edition that he believed someone added it to the manuscript he had been shown, just so he would have to eat his words and do that. And you wonder why he did it, but at any rate, he did. That came into the textus receptus which was taken from Erasmus' edition. The textus receptus is the foundational manuscript family for the King James version. Even in the King James versions, if you're using a noted bible, you'll probably have a note that this is not part of the text. So I mention that. It's not like you are trying to delete the bible.
It's a section everyone recognizes didn't belong there and it was unfortunate that it was included in the first place. All right. So if you are using your King James, you'll have to pick up in your wording in the section as we move along.

Verse 8. "For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement." Now this is crucial. What he is doing here is, he is offering required proof for the court at the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every fact be established. Go back to Deuteronomy 19 to appreciate the logic of John's argument here. Deuteronomy 19 verse 15» "A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed." So, in effect, John says I am offering the required witnesses of scripture. Jesus used this same argument in the gospel of John chapter 5 incidentally in offering two or three witnesses in support of His testimony. So back in I John, here are the three witnesses — the water, the blood and the Spirit, or the baptism, the death and the Spirit of God. Second thing. You had to have two or three witnesses, but you had to have two or three witnesses that agreed obviously. What does John say? "The three are in agreement." They all testify to the same thing. What do we find out at the baptism? The testimony concerning the person of Christ is the same. He's both human and divine. What do we find out surrounding His crucifixion? The same testimony. He's both human and divine. What is the testimony of the Spirit to the heart of the believer? He is both human and divine. So these testimonies are in agreement. Now the reason they are in agreement is given and developed in verse 9« "It we receive the witness of men," (and this is a first-class condition. It assumes the reality we do in every area of our life. We accept the testimony of human beings. You know, you just have to do that. In every way you function, you accept the testimony. Our court system is based on a similar idea.) "The witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son." Men are witnesses and their witness is accepted. That happens in a court. Some of you are called to be witnesses in a court situation. Your testimony is accepted. What are they doing? Each side is trying to establish credibility and show the agreement among its witnesses. "Now the witness of God is greater” than the witness of men. If we will accept the testimony of men, if we have 3 individuals who witness an accident and they all say the same thing about the accident, we accept their testimony. Why don't we accept the testimony of God? That's the question. "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater." And this is the witness God has borne concerning His Son. This is God's testimony at the baptism. This is God's testimony at the crucifixion. This is God's testimony through the ministry of the Spirit of God. So if we are honest, we are compelled to accept the evidence as offered by these witnesses. "The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself." I take it this is the Spirit aspect of the witness. This is in us. The Spirit of God testifies in us. That's Romans chapter 8 verse 9» "IT any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." So we do have that witness in us.

Now look at the other side. "The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son." Now you see what's happened. God offers testimony, but He offers it in three areas or three ways. It's God offering testimony at the baptism. It's God offering testimony at the crucifixion. It's God offering testimony through the ministry of the Spirit. Now obviously, if God says something, that's it. He doesn't have to have multiple witnesses. But He does! So the person who denies the testimony of God is saying what? You're in a courtroom scene and you offer your testimony and the opposing side gets up and they try to show what? — that you're not telling the truth. You're a liar. Well, what are you saying? If you do not accept what God says about His Son that His Son is Jesus Christ who left heaven and became a man to pay the penalty for sin, what are you saying? You deny the reality of that. You're saying that God's a liar. People say, well, I don't want to go that far. Well, here's God's testimony. If you say it's not true, what are you saying? God is a liar. Look back in chapter 1 of I John. We saw this issue already. Verse 10 of I John 1. "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar." God says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I say I have not sinned. What am I saying? That God is a liar. God says My Son, Jesus Christ, is both human and divine. I say Jesus Christ is not deity. What am I saying? God is a liar. You know, we try to complicate the issue to make more blurred or fuzzy what we are really saying. People don't like to be in a position of saying God is a liar, so we try to blur the issue. But the issue is clear. Do you believe what God said or don't you believe what God said? One who does not believe what God said is saying God is a liar. There is no way to go around that and you begin to see how sinful man really is. That man would stand against God and declare God to be a liar, but that's what he does when he doesn’t believe.

Come back to chapter 5» You note here in the middle of verse 10. "The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar." So when you confront an unbeliever, you are confronting one who says that God is a liar. Note the connection. It's not what he says, it's what he does. Has he believed that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin? If he has not believed that, he is saying God is a liar. Regardless of what he mouths, that's not the issue. The issue is what he believes. And the unbeliever, by his unbelief, is making a declaration. He is declaring God to be a liar. Okay, let's move on. The end of verse 10, "because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son. And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." Now this is God's testimony. So you see how it blends together here. We've seen what God says about sin, what God says about Christ, what God says about a relationship with Him. And don't those issues cover it pretty well? You must understand about sin. You must understand about Christ. You must understand about a relationship with God because the result of recognizing your sin and recognizing Jesus Christ as the person whom the scripture says He is, is that you have believed and you are brought into a relationship of life. The witness is this. God has given us eternal life. And life in scripture, I take it, is a relationship, even as death is a lack of relationship. Death in scripture is separation. A lack of a relationship. The body without the Spirit is dead.

James 2:26 says there is a separation that occurs. When physical death occurs, the relationship between the body and the spirit is broken. The spirit leaves the body. As long as physical life is present, there is a relationship with the spirit and the body — the spirit indwells the body, the human spirit. In spiritual life and spiritual death, it's the same thing. A person who has spiritual life has a relationship with God. A person who is spiritually dead has no relationship with God. So eternal death and eternal life is the same thing. Eternal life is an eternal relationship with God. A union with God. Fellowship with God for eternity. That's eternal life. "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son". Now I take it that's foundational. It answers crucial questions. How can I have eternal life? How can I have a relationship with God? Very simply — believe in Jesus Christ because God has given us eternal life, but this eternal life is only found in His Son, Jesus Christ. It also answers the question, what about those who never hear the gospel? Can they have eternal life? What about the heathens who are never evangelized, never hear the name of Jesus Christ? Can they have eternal life? Where is eternal life found? In His Son. Can anyone have eternal life outside His Son? That is the question. The answer is NO. "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." No one can have life apart from Jesus Christ. Now you back up from there in dealing with questions about the heathen or those who never hear. But the question of eternity is settled. Eternal life is only found in the Son. No other place. That's the only place He's given it. Doesn't that make it simple? It's not found in the church. It's not found in baptism. It's not found in ordinances. It's not found in living a good life. It's found in a person — Jesus Christ. That's the testimony that God bears. Verse 11, "The witness is this". This is God's testimony. This is what God has to say . "I have given eternal life, and this life is found in My Son." Therefore, verse 12, "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." It's simple. Here's God's testimony. We've got multitudes of millions of people absorbed in all kinds of religious systems today. And if they would only believe what God testifies, God's witness, it would resolve all questions.

What about Mohammadans, the worshipers in Islam? What about the Hindus? What about the Buddahs? What about the Mormans? What about the voo-doos? What about who, whatever? "He who has the Son has life." "He who does not have the Son of God does not have life." Here’s God's testimony. 0 yes, but 0 boy, that’s awful hard. Well, do you believe God's testimony or don't you? That's the issue. That doesn't mean you understand it all. That doesn't mean you can rationalize it all. But has God made Himself clear? "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." What about that person off in this corner of the world who has never seen a bible? "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." That's why it's important that the gospel be proclaimed. If they could have life apart from hearing the gospel, better not to take it to them. They might not believe it when they hear it. But apart from the Son, there is no life. That's a simple statement. Any person who refuses to believe is making the declaration that God is a liar. So you can see, there is no neutral ground. In an audience like this, there would be people who have believed the message and there are people who would say God is a liar. You say wait a minute, I'm on the fence right now. Well, there is no fence to stand on. You have either believed or you have declared God to be a liar. And until you do believe, the declaration of your life by your lack of faith is that God is a liar.

Verse 13, a crucial verse that we have referred to several times. It is a pivotal verse. It ties together the preceding verses and it leads into the following verses. So we'll mention it now and we'll mention it again in our next study. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life." John wrote his gospel in order that we might believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we might have life in His name. In John chapter 20 verse 1. The purpose of writing the gospel, that people might believe in Jesus Christ. The purpose of writing this letter, the first epistle, is that those who believed might have the assurance. Might know that they have eternal life. And is there any doubt? Can I know I have eternal life? I see no reason for a Christian to be in confusion.
Am I saved or not? Am I one who has been born again or not? The evidence is clear. Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe that you are a sinner and that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died to pay the penalty? If you do, you're saved. If you have believed that, the Spirit of God will bear testimony to this in your life. If you have believed this, the Spirit of God will produce love in your life for other believers. The Spirit of God will bring about a transformation in your lifestyle as a believer. Amazing! It happens! It's real! So I know! That's not presumption. Now how many people have said when I've shared with them that I know I'm going to heaven, well now you're being presumptuous? That is real arrogance. That you would say that you know you are going to heaven! Who do you think you are?! Well, I'm a son of God — who are you? And all God's sons are going to be in heaven with Him. That's not presumption. That's submission. I believe what God said. It would be arrogance to do anything else, wouldn't it?

God says, Gil, I want you to know for sure that you have eternal life. I want you to live your life on earth with full confidence of your relationship with Me in anticipation of eternity in My presence. Not His intention for Christians to be vacillating around, wondering about their relationship with Him. That's spiritual ignorance. Any reason a Christian be in that is because they are ignorant of the word of God. God has written that we might know and have assurance. Do you have that assurance? Do you know for sure? If not, why not? Have you believed? If you have, then the Spirit bears testimony with our spirit that we indeed are the sons of God.

Let's pray together.