The Testimony of The Son of God | 1 John 5:6-12
Notes
Transcript
[Scripture Reading]
6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. 7 So we have these three witnesses—8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
Tonight someone is standing trial. And we get to observe.
We’re going to be observing the trial of Thomas Moore. His offense? Every sin he’s ever committed. The judge is God Himself. There doesn’t even need to be a prosecutor because he’s a person, he’s definitely guilty. I think you know what happens if he’s guilty or not guilty, but I’ll tell you anyway. The path that lies ahead for Thomas if he’s not guilty is eternal life with God in heaven. But if Thomas is guilty, eternal separation from God in hell is where he’s going.
The measure he’s being measured by is the Law of God. Complete perfection in upholding this law is required for him to enter into heaven.
While he was on Earth, he was told about this guy named Jesus who offered to take the penalty of his sin. The life He called him to live wasn’t easy, but he chose to follow Him anyway. He put his faith in Jesus because he knew he couldn’t uphold God’s law himself and he knew what would be coming for him at the end of his earthly life.
And here he is, at the moment he has been waiting so long for, and Jesus is by his side. Jesus tells the Judge who He is and why He’s there. He says He is the Son of God and He is there not representing Thomas as his defendant. Remember, he’s definitely guilty so there’s no use in defending him. Instead, Jesus us there to replace Thomas.
Now if He really is the Son of God and He paid the penalty of Thomas’ sin, that means he gets to go into heaven. He has offered to take the penalty of Thomas’ sin. But the claim to be the Son of God requires evidence. The question is, can Jesus take the penalty of Thomas’ sin?
Jesus has called 5 witnesses to the stand to testify that He really is the Son of God. In verses 6 through 10 of our passage tonight, we’re gonna take a look at those 5 witnesses, then we’re gonna take a look at the verdict in verses 11 and 12.
1. The five witnesses of the Son of God (vv. 6-10)
1. The five witnesses of the Son of God (vv. 6-10)
1. The Water (Jesus’ Baptism)
1. The Water (Jesus’ Baptism)
1 John 5:6 (NLT)
6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood…
So we see here in verse 6 that this water, or Jesus’ baptism, is evidence that He is the Son of God. It says that Jesus was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism.
Now you might be wondering, “So Jesus was baptized. So were many others before Jesus in the ministry of John the Baptist and many after Jesus.” What’s so special about Jesus? Let’s read the baptism of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of John:
32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
Many of you have likely heard of the ministry of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was said by many to be a prophet in which he said he was called by God to begin baptizing people with a baptism of repentance by submerging them in water. The idea was whoever was being baptized was being washed of their sin.
This way of doing things was far off from the traditions before. In the old testament, it was commanded that you had to sacrifice animals to be forgiven of your sins. And through the shedding of the blood of the animal, your sins were forgiven.
But John was saying all you needed to do to be forgiven of your sins was to repent of your sin and be baptized with water.
But here John is describing the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth. John even confesses that he didn’t know Jesus was the Son of God until this moment. John said that God told him when he started his ministry that one would come to be baptized and the Spirit of the Lord would descend on Him.
And it happened with Jesus just as the Lord described it to him. John claims the Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove. And in verse 34 we see the witness of the baptism of Jesus.
34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
2. The Blood (The Crucifixion)
2. The Blood (The Crucifixion)
1 John 5:6 (NLT)
6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood…
As we talked about earlier, the shedding of blood for the atonement of sins was a common practice among the Jews in the time Jesus lived on Earth.
11 for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.
The blood represented life. And the result of sin is death.
Romans 6:23 (NLT)
23 For the wages of sin is death…
Even God said to Adam and Eve that the day they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the day they will surely die.
So if sin brings about death, the shedding of blood was required to bring about life according to Jewish law.
However if the Son of God Himself sheds His blood to atone for your sin, you’re good. You don’t need to keep making sacrifices.
And we see this described in Hebrews 9.
Hebrews 9:22–28 (NLT)
22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people…
So the writer of Hebrews here is saying that the sacrifices made in the old covenant were simply pointing to the true purification of sins through Jesus of Nazareth dying on a cross, shedding His blood to purify you for all time.
3. The Spirit
3. The Spirit
1 John 5:6–8 (NLT)
… And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony [that is, the water and the blood]. 7 So we have these three witnesses—8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree.
The Spirit referred to here is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came upon many people in the old testament to preform signs and wonders. The Spirit resided in prophets, some of the kings of Israel, and some others in the old testament as well. If you had the Spirit of the Lord, it usually meant you were a prophet.
And we saw in the witness of the baptism of Jesus that he did have the Holy Spirit because it descended on Him like a dove. Through this we see the Holy Spirit confirm the testimony of the water as it says in our passage tonight.
And the Spirit also confirms the testimony of the blood. Earlier in that passage we read in Hebrews it says this
Hebrews 9:14 (NLT)
14 … For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
So by the power of the Spirit, Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice.
So the Spirit entered Jesus at His baptism and guided Him all the way to the end of His ministry on Earth when He led Jesus to the cross.
4. The Father
4. The Father
9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son.
Even the Father testified that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus claims this in John 5.
31 “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. 32 But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. 33 In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. 34 Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. 35 John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. 36 But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, 38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.
Jesus claims here that the Father has testified about Him. This is also further evidence that the Spirit testified about the Son because Jesus says that His miracles are also a witness, which came from the Spirit.
Now there are two main instances in the gospels where we see the Father’s testimony about the Son. The first was again in Jesus’ baptism
16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
That’s the Father Himself saying that. And we also see the Father say almost the exact same thing at the transfiguration. Do y’all know what the transfiguration is?
This was when Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a high mountain and all of the sudden Jesus began to shine like the sun and Moses and Elijah appeared. Then this happened:
5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” 6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.
Imagine being in that moment… Like you’re just following your rabbi up a mountain then all the sudden He is shining like the sun, Moses and Elijah appear out of nowhere, and a huge bright cloud just starts talking from heaven. I think the disciples being terrified was 100% warranted.
But that’s aside the point. The point is we do have two instances in the gospels where the Father testified that Jesus is the Son of God.
5. The Believer (You)
5. The Believer (You)
10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
Have you been saved by the blood of Jesus? Has your life changed because of the realization that the God of the universe loves you enough to send His Son to die for your sins?
After you believed in Jesus, were you radically transformed over time by the power of the Holy Spirit to become more like Jesus? If that’s the case, you are a testimony that Jesus is the Son of God.
I know for our purposes tonight we’ve been using the term testimony as a court term, but let’s just take a moment and talk about your testimony in a biblical sense.
The word testimony is thrown around like crazy in Christianity nowadays, but this word basically just means your story. It’s your story of coming to know Christ.
And that story IS a witness to Jesus being the Son of God. Because what He did actually brought about radical change in your heart that couldn’t be manufactured. It has to be from God.
The question is, have you been radically changed? Do you have a testimony? Do you know what I’m talking about when I say the Holy Spirit brings about transformation in your heart? Those who believe in the Son of God understand that feeling and they can probably testify to it.
2. The Verdict (vv. 11-12)
2. The Verdict (vv. 11-12)
11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
The verdict is in. The Judge has declared that eternal life in heaven has been granted to Thomas through the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
The Judge then goes on to say that whoever comes into His court and has the Son of God can have eternal life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Looks like it worked out for Thomas. But how would this story play out if you were in Thomas’ shoes? Do you think you’d be allowed into eternal life in heaven? Do you have the Son of God?
If you don’t have Him, but you realize you need Him, what you do now is simple. You need to repent of your sins to God in prayer and put your faith in Jesus as the Savior of your sins.
And let me tell you why this is so important. If Thomas didn’t have Jesus in this story, he would have faced the rest of eternity in separation from God in hell. Thomas needed Jesus. You need Jesus.
If you already have the Son of God, are you gonna keep this eternal life to yourself? You know what plays out for those who don’t have Jesus. So are you going to try to keep Jesus to yourself or are you gonna tell everyone about Him?
The church is God’s plan to reach the world. And you are God’s church. You are how God is giving eternal life to the world.
God wants to use you to say not guilty. What are you gonna do with eternal life?