The Testimony
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Introduction: testimony; witness (martyria) testify; bear witness (martyreo) base of martyr - someone dying for their witness. Acts 1:8 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses a witness tells the story of what he saw and experienced. This is God’s testimony to us through John.
5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
7 For there are three that testify:
8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
Transitional Sentence: We each have a testimony about Jesus the Son of God just as God had a testimony about His Son. We must learn to use it.
John’s testimony includes three witnesses. The three who testify agree:
Why does John have three witnesses agreeing that Jesus is the Christ; the Son of God? According to the law of Moses one person can not bring testimony against someone. The word of one individual is not creditable. There must be more than one:
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 who are the three witnesses? Verse eight tells us that it is the water, the blood and the Spirit.
And why would these be the three? John used these three to refute the teaching of a man he would have called an anti-christ.
This bit of information comes from the Bible Knowledge Commentary.
John’s insistence that He did not come by water only, but by water and blood, suggests that he was refuting a false notion of the type held by Cerinthus. Cerinthus taught that the divine Christ descended on the man Jesus at His baptism and left Him before His crucifixion. Thus he denied that one Person, Jesus Christ, came by both water and blood. Cerinthus was doubtless not alone in such views, which John regarded as utterly false and contrary to the true testimony of the Holy Spirit.
The water testifies because of what happened during Jesus’ baptism. This was the beginning of the earthly ministry of Jesus.
16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,
17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
The triune God is present at this time. The Son, The Spirit in the form of a dove and the Father - His voice coming down from heaven. That voice is a testimony of God about the Son. The truth of Jesus as the Son did not begin here with the Spirit coming upon Him. Jesus didn’t have to be baptized - He had no sins to repent from. That’s why John the Baptist was baptising people, for the forgiveness of sins. John the Baptist was preaching a gospel of repentance to prepare those who would come for the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Mat 3:15 says:
15 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.
John the Baptist knew that Jesus didn’t need to be baptized by him. But Jesus wanted to fulfill all righteousness. His baptism was the most right thing He could do at the time. Just like many other times He was providing an example for us, that we might do the most right thing.
The next witness John introduces is the blood.
The blood testifies about Jesus because of what happened at His crucifixion. After He had cried out and given up His Spirit His body was left behind. Since the Sabbath day was approaching His body and the bodies of the two thieves on either side of Him needed to be taken down off the crosses. So the soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves so they would die faster (ouch) but when they came to Jesus they found that He was already dead. So they simply made sure He was dead by driving a spear through His chest.
34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
And because His blood was spilled we are redeemed from sin and death; and our sins are forgiven.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
That is the testimony of the blood.
And the third witness that John calls is the Holy Spirit.
And the Spirit testifies because of who He is.
26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
Jesus told us what the Spirit would do - He would testify about Him. The Spirit would be the truth that who so ever believes in Him would know that Jesus is the Son of God.
The wonderful thing about this is that the Holy Spirit is the testimony of God dwelling in us.
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
In order for His Spirit to testify with our spirit His must be dwelling in us that we may hear His voice and know Him. John told us several times in this letter that the Holy Spirit is given to those who believe and will abide in us. And verse 10 tells us:
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
The testimony is in himself. It is the Holy Spirit living in the one who believes in the Son of God. That is the testimony. But it’s not only the Holy Spirit in us that is a testimony, it is the change in us when we are in-dwelled by the Holy Spirit which is a testimony. God’s testimony becomes our testimony, we become a part of God’s story when we become a part of His family. Each of us should know how we were changed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and should be able to be a witness and testify to others that Jesus is the Son of God.
This testimony is a wonderful thing but John goes on to tell us what the testimony really is; it is eternal life. Verse 11 says: “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” Eternal life. To know and live with God and Jesus forever. To dwell in their presence in the new heaven and the new earth. Nothing can be sweeter.
However in order to do this we must believe in the Son, Jesus the Christ.
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
This is pretty straightforward - believe in the Son and have eternal life, don’t believe and face the wrath of God. Which would you prefer? I like the idea of eternal life, I certainly don’t like the idea of the wrath of God. But 20 years ago - I didn’t even have an opinion - I knew nothing of the wrath of God. I don’t remember ever hearing anything about it when I was growing up. This is the way a lot of the people we interact with on a daily basis might be. No clue about what will happen when their time here in this place comes to an end.
Alright so I believe. How can I be sure about what John is saying? How can I be sure that I have eternal life?
Well Jesus has life in Himself and He is the only way to come to the Father. Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant in His blood. He is the go between for fallen man and our Heavenly Father. So, the testimony that Jesus made about Himself was:
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
So, believe in Him and have eternal life. This is the testimony of Jesus.
There is one more who testifies, that is the Father. Jesus said that we must believe Him who sent Me. That is the Father, the one who ultimately grants eternal life. The one who ultimately decides who will pass out of death and into life. I mentioned the direct testimony of the Father earlier:
17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
This was the first time the Father gave testimony about His Son. The second time was:
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
This second time was after Jesus was transfigured on the mountain top. God once again spoke from heaven to testify about His Son.
In this passage John uses the testimony of three witnesses to prove the credibility of Christ Jesus as the Son of God. The water testifies through baptism, the blood testifies through its work in our lives and the Holy Spirit testifies through His presence in those who believe.
However, these are not the only witnesses that prove the credibility of Christ Jesus as the Son of God. Christ Jesus Himself testified that He is “the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me”. His resurrection and ascension into heaven also testify to His claim that He is the Son of God.
The other witness is the Father. He too testifies that Christ Jesus is His Son. His testimony should carry more weight than any of the others; after all He is God.
The crazy thing is even though the testimonies from these five sources point to Jesus as the Son of God people don’t believe. But there is one more witness that can change everything for someone. You and me! We are witnesses that Christ Jesus is the Son of God. After all we have the testimony in ourselves, the Holy Spirit who changed us. I know what happened to me that night when I opened the door to my heart and let the Lord Jesus in. Everything changed, and the course of my life was eternally changed. No more wrath, no more death, only peace and the hope of eternal life.
Our testimony might mean the difference between someone having eternal life or suffering the wrath of God. Learn to be a witness - learn to testify. Let the power of the Holy Spirit come upon you so that you will be that witness who will help someone else believe and receive eternal life.
Pray!