The Testimony

Now, as you know, we will have a special guest speaker from Dallas Theological Seminary on Friday during the worship night kickoff for the Small Church Missions Conference we will host Friday through Sunday.

I’m very excited for a number of reasons that Dr. Orr will be speaking that night, not the least of which is that I count the godly professors from that seminary among the greatest influences in my walk with Jesus.

My time at Dallas Seminary taught me many things, but perhaps the greatest things I learned there had to do with learning how to be more like Jesus.

There was, however, at least one unexpected result of my seminary education: My wife doesn’t ask me questions about the Bible as readily as she used to.

Or at least, I can see whenever she DOES ask such questions that she has first carefully weighed the consequences of doing so.

You see, even simple questions can open her up to a three-hour theological discourse that encompasses references to obscure events from the Old Testament, tying them together with prophetic oracles and then describing how they all point to Jesus, who fulfills and completes the prophecies.

And all she wanted to know was what Jesus’ name would have been in Hebrew.

When I told her last night that I’d be telling you all about this little eccentricity of mine, I asked her if I was right that this was a good description of how I am when it comes to Bible questions.

“You’re like that no matter what we ask you,” she said.

OK. Whatever. I know things, and I like to share what I know.

But what’s really neat to me is when the Lord points out something to me that I DIDN’T know — when He makes a connection for me that I’D never made before.

And as I was studying the passage from 1 John, chapter 5, that we’ll look at today, He made one of those connections for me. And so, as it is apparently my way, I want to share what I’ve learned with you today.

Now, we’ll be looking at verses 6 through 11 of chapter 5 today, and as we’ll see later, the Apostle John talks a lot about testimony in these verses.

There’s an obvious connection here to the Old Testament law regarding testimony in Deuteronomy 19:15:

Deuteronomy 19:15 NASB95

“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.

We’ll see how this verse connects to today’s passage in 1 John in a few minutes, but first, I want you to see how it connects to Mark’s account of the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin on the night before He was crucified.

Turn to Mark 14:55-64

Mark 14:55–64 NASB95

Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? “You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.

Now, the Jewish court, the priests and the Pharisees all wanted Jesus put to death.

What they hoped for was that Jesus would be brought before them; that they would obtain the testimony against Him that they sought; that He would be condemned by that court; that they could take that ruling to Pontius Pilate, Rome’s highest representative in Judea; and that Pilate would then affirm the ruling and have Jesus put to death.

But there’s a problem here. And the problem is that the false witnesses the priests and elders of Jerusalem had brought in to accuse Jesus couldn’t get their false stories straight about Him.

Under Jewish law, this should have been the end of the matter. Actually, if you read further into that chapter in Deuteronomy, what you’ll see is that, when it became clear the “witnesses” were maliciously making up their charges against Jesus, they themselves should have been arrested and sent to their deaths.

But the Hebrew religious and political leaders were not going to be deterred. And so, the high priest asked Jesus, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

In other words, are you the messiah, the one who has been promised to come and take away the sins of the world? Are you the one whom God promised would save Israel? Are you the one whom God proclaimed as His unique and eternal Son in the second Psalm?

And now, Jesus, who had been silent through all the false accusations against Him, spoke up, affirming the truth that finally had been spoken: “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

One interesting thing to me about this exchange is that the religious leaders who were so intent on silencing and killing Jesus had already received sufficient testimony that He was the Messiah, the Christ.

He had performed the miracles the Old Testament prophets had said would be accomplished by the Messiah. He had raised the dead, given sight to the blind, made the lame to walk, fed the hungry, healed the sick, and more. So, He had the testimony of the prophets backing up His claim.

But all the way back at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus had received the testimony of God Himself, and that should have borne some weight with these people who claimed to be men of God.

Look at Matt 3:16, where Jesus has just been baptized by John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:16–17 NASB95

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, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

So, we have the witness of the Old Testament prophets and the witness of God Himself. That should have been more than enough to cause these Jewish religious leaders to stop Jesus’ sham trial.

They had the truth of Scripture. They had the truth of God’s words, spoken from His own mouth. They had the Truth Himself standing right there in front of them.

But they weren’t interested in the truth.

And what I hadn’t noticed before that was revealed to me as I studied today’s passage from 1 John was the contrast between this scene of Jesus facing false testimony and the teaching of John.

Whereas the false witnesses accusing Jesus weren’t even consistent in the lies they told about Him, what we’ll see in this passage is the complete agreement among those whom John says testify to the truth about Jesus.

Let’s look at the passage now. We’re picking up in verse 6 of chapter 5.

1 John 5:6–8 NASB95

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. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

Now this is another long-debated passage. What does John mean by “the water and the blood” testifying to the truth of Jesus Christ?

There have been many theories as to the meaning of this phrase throughout church history, but I’m going to tell you the one that makes the most sense to me.

Remember that one of the reasons John wrote this letter was to counteract the false teaching of those who denied the deity of Jesus.

These false teachers believed that Jesus was simply a man upon whom the Holy Spirit descended at His baptism. And they believed that the Spirit left Him before He was crucified.

In other words, they believed Jesus was a man — even a man who was godly enough for the Spirit to dwell upon Him for a time. But they didn’t believe that He was Spirit-filled for His entire life, something that could only be true if He were God in the flesh.

And so, what I think John is doing here is saying that both the water of baptism and the blood of the cross testify to the true identity of Jesus.

At His baptism, the Spirit came upon Him as a dove, and God spoke to all present there, proclaiming Jesus as His Son.

And at the cross, as Jesus breathed His last breath and yielded up His spirit, the veil of the temple was torn in two, there was an earthquake, and many of the dead in Jerusalem’s cemetery were raised to life.

It was such a spectacle that even those who were at Calvary to guard Jesus while He was being crucified said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

Unlike them, though, the false teachers of John’s time were willing to admit that Jesus was divine in His life, but they were unwilling to admit that He was divine at His death.

They were willing to admit to the humanity of Jesus, and they even were willing to admit that He had God’s Spirit upon Him in His life of ministry.

But they were unwilling to admit that the man who died on the cross that day was God Himself in the person of His unique and eternal Son.

And that’s a dangerous teaching, because if Jesus is NOT God in the flesh, then He could not take upon Himself the sins of mankind at the cross. If He is not God in the flesh, then Jesus died simply as a martyr and not a savior.

And so, what John seems to be saying here is that both the waters of His baptism and the blood of His cross testify to the deity of Jesus and to His anointing as the one God sent to offer mankind salvation from the penalty for our sins.

Jesus, who knew no sin, said He was being baptized “to fulfill all righteousness.” He didn’t need baptism to be cleansed, but He did so to identify and witness to His true humanity.

And then, three and a half years later, He who knew no sin BECAME sin on the cross, so that we sinners could become righteous through faith in Him.

He didn’t deserve death at the cross, but He bore that punishment so that all who turn to Him in faith can be forgiven and saved. Only God could do such a thing.

And John says that the Holy Spirit, the third witness, affirms what the water and the blood revealed about Jesus.

But how does the Spirit affirm this testimony? Look at the next two verses.

1 John 5:9–10 NASB95

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. 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 people to whom John was writing had received his testimony about Jesus. They’d heard of the testimony of John the Baptist, who had declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

But the testimony of God is greater than that of men. God had testified about Jesus with words at His baptism and at the Mount of Transfiguration.

He had testified about Jesus with miracles at His death. Indeed, God had testified about Jesus when He raised Jesus from the dead.

All of these miracles demonstrated that God was pleased with Jesus’ ministry and His obedience. That He agreed with who Jesus said He is and with what Jesus said He will do.

But what John says here is that we who have turned to Jesus in faith have the very testimony of God within us. We have the Spirit of God testifying to us to help us be certain of who He is.

Indeed, it is the Holy Spirit who testifies whenever the gospel is preached. My words are just words. They don’t have any divine authority behind them except as they are based on God’s Word.

But when the gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit is present and active among both those who HAVE believed and among those who have NOT believed. He is there, testifying to the truth, convicting of sin, and drawing people to Jesus.

And rejecting the testimony of the Spirit is the same as rejecting the testimony of God. To reject the Spirit’s testimony is to call God a liar.

One commentator puts it this way: “There is no room for ignorance or misconception. To reject the witness is to deny the truthfulness of God. He has spoken and acted deliberately, and with absolute clearness. The testimony has been borne. The things were not done in a corner. The witness must therefore either be accepted or rejected. It cannot be ignored or explained away.” (Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, vol. 38, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 201, quoting Brooke.)

This is why my antennae always go up when someone says to me, “I believe in God.” I always press to learn exactly WHAT they believe ABOUT God.

And if they don’t start talking pretty quickly about Jesus, about sin, and about redemption through faith in Him and in His sacrificial death and supernatural resurrection, I’m usually pretty skeptical about their salvation.

If you don’t believe that Jesus, the unique and eternal Son of God, came and lived as a man, yet without sin; that He died on the cross, taking upon Himself the sins of mankind and their just punishment; that He was raised from the dead on the third day; and that only through faith in Him and His sacrifice in our place and on our behalf can we be saved — well, then, you don’t really believe in God, because that’s what God has said in His Word and in His words.

If you don’t believe these things about Jesus, then you’re calling the God who cannot lie a liar. And so, you don’t really believe in God. You simply believe there’s something greater out there than you. And THAT kind of belief will not save you.

God has given us testimony about His Son. And like the religious leaders at the sham trial of Jesus, we all have to choose whether we’re going to believe HIS testimony or the lie.

God’s testimony is this: Look at verse 11.

1 John 5:11 NASB95

And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

God hasn’t testified only that Jesus is the God-man sent to earth as the promised Messiah. His testimony is that Jesus is also the life-giver, the only one in whom there is eternal life — life the way it was always intended, in the presence of and in fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And He has given us this life as a gift. Indeed, it’s a gift that’s already been given. Note the past tense here in this verse.

The point is that this experience of fellowship with God that is the recurring theme of this letter is available to followers of Jesus HERE and NOW. It’s not something we have to wait until we’re in heaven to have.

In fact, this experience is the natural result of a life lived according to the characteristics John has described repeatedly throughout this letter: obedience to God’s commands, faith in Jesus, and love for one another.

As we adhere to these characteristics of one who truly loves God, we will experience the fullness of life in His presence, even here in this sin-broken world. We will have the abundant life that Jesus said He came to give.

But note that this life is “in His Son.” In other words, you can’t experience this fullness of life outside of Jesus. You can’t experience the abundant life for which you were made if you’re not IN Christ, if you don’t belong to Him through faith in Him.

Folks, I see so many people looking for ways to fill the emptiness inside. They turn to drugs or booze or parties. They’re always pursuing the next high, whether it’s from adrenaline or sex or whatever. They fill their lives with music or movies or television or vacations, always looking for what’s next.

I’m not saying that all of those things are bad. Some of them are not. But what I’m saying is that none of them are fulfilling. None of them last. None of them bring peace and contentment.

Only Jesus can do that.

Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Maybe you’re like I used to be. I followed bands all around the country, looking for the next great setlist, loving the music I heard last night, but hoping for something even better the following night.

And when the music wasn’t enough, I turned to drugs, hoping THEY could fill the emptiness inside. But none of that worked.

And maybe music and drugs aren’t your thing. Maybe you’ve been looking for fulfilment in your career or in school or in sports or in hobbies.

Again, none of those things are evil, in and of themselves. But you need to know that none of them will give you peace. None of them will bring contentment.

None of them will give you the true experience of abundant life. You can only have that in Jesus.

And that’s JUST what He came to give. LIFE. In ABUNDANCE.

You can receive that gift of life right here, today. It IS a gift, but I will tell you that it can be a hard one to accept.

And that’s because to accept it, you will have to admit that you are a sinner and that you deserve God’s punishment for your sins against Him.

You will have to admit that there is nothing you can do to earn God’s favor, to earn this gift He offers. Jesus has done the only work that could be done to give you life.

He asks only that you turn to Him in faith that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He said He will do.

And if you will repent from your sins and turn to Him in faith today, you can begin experiencing life the way it was always meant to be. You can have this gift of eternal life, right here and right now.

God loves you. But God will not allow you to call Him a liar and still have this experience of fellowship with Him, of abundant life in Christ.

He has testified the truth about His Son, Jesus. Will you believe His testimony today?

Now, today is Lord’s Supper Sunday. This observance is important to the fellowship of the church. This observance brings us together in a unique way and reminds us that we belong to one another in Christ Jesus.

It reminds us of the love that He has for us and the love we are called to have for one another.

Jesus commanded us to observe the Lord’s Supper as an act of obedience to Him, as a way of proclaiming that we who follow Him in faith belong to Him, and as a way of reminding us of what He did for us.

The Lord’s Supper reminds us that our hope for salvation rests entirely on the sacrifice that He made on our behalf at the cross. It reminds us that our life is in Him.

And the fact that we share bread from one loaf reminds us that we are, together, the one body of Christ. It reminds us that we are called to unity of faith, unity of purpose, and unity of love.

And it reminds us that just as He gave up the glory that He had in heaven, we who have followed Him in faith are called to give up any claims we might think we have to our own lives and follow Him.

It reminds us that, as we’ve been given the testimony of the Holy Spirit within us, we are to share OUR testimony of salvation by grace through faith.

If you are a baptized believer who is walking in obedience to Christ, I would like to invite you to join us today as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Now, this sacred meal dates all the way back to when Jesus shared it with His disciples at the Last Supper on the night before He was crucified.

The conditions during the Last Supper were different than the conditions we have here today, but the significance was the same as it is today.

Jesus told His disciples that the bread represented His body, which would be broken for our transgressions.

Let us pray.

Matthew 26:26 NASB95

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

As Jesus suffered and died on that cross, his blood poured out with His life. This was always God’s plan to reconcile mankind to Himself.

“In [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

Let us pray.

Matthew 26:27–28 NASB95

And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

Take and drink.

“Now, as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

Maranatha! Lord, come!

Here at Liberty Spring, we have a tradition following our commemoration of the Lord’s Supper.

Please gather around in a circle, and let us sing together “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.”