The Trustworthy Testimony

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Intro

When I was in high school, I remember a time where I was hanging out with my best friend....
Trust Fall Video Story
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Reason to Listen

If you are not sure that your trust in the right place spiritually, you will fall flat on your face.
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Preaching Point

The Text
Today we will be looking at , beginning at verse 6 and stopping at verse 12
Last Week Nathan Yovichin spoke on the first five verses of this chapter, and he reminded us of the victory that we can experience by placing our faith in Christ.
The last verse he spoke on was verse 5, “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
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The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
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There was a lot of false teaching in that time about who Jesus was
Last weeks Liar, Lunatic, Lord
Verse 5 doesn’t matter unless you know who Christ is
This leads us into our passage today.

6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one 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 these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

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Now, there’s a lot in this passage to unpack.
In this passage we see a call to believe the testimony of God and to take it seriously
This is life and death, there is no in between (verse 12)
Trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life.
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But where do we start?
I want to begin by saying that in order to begin to trust Jesus deeply, you need to...

Point #1- Understand the Biblical Jesus

Like I said before we read the passage, one of the reasons that John emphasized the testimony about Jesus is because there was so much false teaching in the church in his time.
Throughout the whole book, we see John writing instructions on how to identify false teachers.

6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

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4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

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John speaks harshly of those who left the apostles true teaching to follow another false Gospel.

18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

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John is clearly concerned with the presence of false teachers in the church
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There were a couple major false teachings that the church was facing, and they all have something to do with Jesus Christ.
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Firstly, there was a group that denied the humanity of Christ while affirming his deity. They would say that Jesus merely “seemed” or “appeared” to be human
This isn’t biblical.
Jesus served as our substitution, he had to be fully man as well as fully God.
Philippians 2:7-8

taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

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This is clearly untrue, but without a knowledge of the scripture or sound doctrinal teaching it could be easy to fall into this false ideology.
The second main group of false teachers denied the deity of Christ before his baptism or at the crucifixion.
They thought that the “Christ” (deity) was only present for part of Jesus’s life.
This too isn’t biblical, and John addresses it in our passage.

6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood.

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When John writes about the water and the blood, he is referring to the baptism of Jesus and the crucifixion
This was specified to show that Jesus Christ was both fully human and fully God at all times, those two parts of Jesus are inseparable
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Why does this matter?
You may think that we don’t have to worry about false teachers today.
But that is exactly what the enemy wants.
Across the nation, churches, as well as Christian Universities and organizations are slowly veering from what the Bible says.
I go to Moody Bible Institute, and the amount of pressure that we face to bend our doctrine and compromise our beliefs.
Our beliefs are being challenged all across the board, from the Inerrancy of Scripture to our position on homosexuality.
It has gotten so intense that a group of Moody professors collaborated on a book called Standing Firm, which affirmed that Moody would continue to uphold the biblical principles that it has kept for years.
Many other colleges and churches are not so vigilant under pressure, they slide down the slippery slope of false doctrine
Many preachers promote a prosperity Gospel, or Universalism, or Compatibilism
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It is more critical than ever to stand firm in what we believe.
This begins with deepening your knowledge of the Bible.
While it essential to be part of a church body and be fed in your weekend services, we are called to explore the word regularly for ourselves in order to grow
It is a gift from God
If we want to know the truth about Jesus, we must find it in our own Bibles as well as hearing it taught
I encourage you to follow the example of the Berean believers in ,
When Paul and Silas traveled there to preach the Gospel it says that the Bereans

were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Imitate the Bereans. When you are being taught, do not passively let the words enter your ears.
Instead, work actively to examine the text as you are hearing it being preached. Especially when you are hearing people that you haven’t heard before. Look for it yourself!
Even now, as I am preaching this passage to you, listen actively and examine the words carefully.
Get in the word on your own.
We see all across the Bible that a personal knowledge of God’s word is a powerful tool against false teaching and temptation.
Just as the word of God is living and active, you need to be active in seeking the truth contained in it.
Think back to the temptation of Jesus in
Three times, the devil tries to tempt Jesus, even twisting Scripture against Jesus
“It is written that the angels will bear you up”
Each time he is tempted and attacked by the misuse of Scripture, Jesus defends himself with God’s word, using it properly and resisting the enemy.
The devil wants to twist your view of Jesus, and you need to intentionally “expand your arsenal” of Bible verses to fight back against false teaching.
You should be building a biblical view of Jesus both in the corporate church setting and in your own personal time with the Lord.
You need to understand who Jesus is biblically, but you can’t just intellectually understand who he is.
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If you leave it at that, if you only know Christ and do nothing with it, then there is no point in knowing about Jesus at all.
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You need to submit to the testimony of the Spirit.
Once you
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Point #2- Submit to the Testimony of the Spirit

Let’s look back at our passage, beginning in the second half of verse 6.
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And the Spirit is the one 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 these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

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It is not only important to have a biblical view of who Jesus is, but it is important to have a biblical view of the Holy Spirit as well.
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This is because the Holy Spirit testifies to Jesus and dwells in us.
In fact the primary purpose of the truth that the Spirit brings to us is the glory of Christ.
We see in verse 11 what the testimony that this passage refers to is

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

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When this passage says that it is the Spirit who testifies, along with the water and blood, he is testifying to the glorious eternal life of Christ.
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To better understand the Holy Spirit’s testimony in our lives, turn with me to .
Jesus is in the middle of a speech that he is giving his disciples.
This takes place on the day of the Passover feast, very soon before Jesus’s death
Beginning in verse 15, Jesus says,
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15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

We saw that same command echoed last week, Verse 16

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

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Jesus is comforting the disciples. Because he knows that he is about to leave, he gives them hope by telling them about the Holy Spirit.
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Jesus says that the Spirit of truth will dwell in them, and this is an incredible statement.
We can also notice that, if you are
This promise applies to us. If you are a Christian, if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ and repented of your sin, you have the Spirit of the living God living in you at this very moment.
Jesus even says that it is better for him to leave so that the disciples can have the Spirit. But why? (This is a big deal)
What does that mean?
Verse 26

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

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Once again, we see that the Holy Spirit’s truth is given to point us to the glory of Christ.
Other Roles of the Spirit
But you have to submit!
Convict Us
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26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Convict Us
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And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

Reminds Us of our own salvation

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

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It is vital to submit to the Spirit through our prayer and our disciplines
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Submitting through Prayer
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Submitting through Bible intake (personal and corporate)
Submitting through worship
Prompting of the Spirit
If we embrace the truth about Jesus Christ and have the Spirit of truth inside of us, then we need to...

Point #3- Confidently Testify about Eternal Life in Christ

Verse 12 is the final verse

12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life

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John is serious about the Gospel, and he makes it clear that there is no in between
There is a weight to the truth that we have inside us
We have the evidence!

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

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We have a clear responsibility to Christ to preach the Gospel
The great commission
Firstly, let your life reflect Jesus (serve as evidence)

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The Holy Spirit helps us in this
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Second, do not be fearful, but speak boldly
Paul’s Example
The Spirit gives us words

11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

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Thirdly, do not be discouraged if you don’t see results
Camp Story
God calls us to obey, it is not our responsibility to change people’s hearts
So as we summarize
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But as we talk about confidently testifying to the life in Christ, I want to remind you to remember to core of it all.

Conclusion

You need to trust in Jesus Christ for Eternal Life.
We covered three ways in the text to do this.
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First, Know the biblical Jesus
Second, submit to the testimony of the Spirit
Thirdly, Confidently testify about eternal life in Christ
Lastly, I want to leave you with one final verse found in

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

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Let’s Pray
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