Testimony of God

Today is the 7th Sunday in the Easter season. We continue today to worship our risen Savior. Today is about the testimony about this risen savior. We will talk about what testimony is. What is human testimony and what is God’s testimony? And finally what is belief related to this testimony? Today’s passage is short and hits hard on a subject we must understand clearly. Today’s passage is 1 John 5:9-13. Before we go further, lets hear the word of God as found in 1 John 5:9-13

1 John 5:9–13 NRSV

9 If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. 10 Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: 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. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Testify and Testimony

First lets start with two of our main words today in our passage. The first on is in verse 6 which does come earlier but I think it is important for learning about testimony. In verse 6 it says “the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.” The word testify comes up in our Christian vocabulary and I have heard it used in times where someone is asked to testify about God’s goodness in their life or how God has rescued them. It all comes down to sharing with others. In the secular world, we hear that term used when a witness is called up in court to testify in a court case or hearing.

I looked up the word testify here in verse 6 to see what the original Greek term was and what it meant to make sure we get the right context and meaning for the word in our passage.

Stepbible.org says this about it.

μαρτυρέω (martureō) 'to testify' (G3140)

to testify, give testimony; commend, speak well of, vouch for

So here in our passage the Spirit is commending, speaking well of, vouching for Jesus Christ and what we have been told.

What we have been told about Jesus is the testimony. In our passage today the word testimony comes up quiet a few times - 8 times in fact and the translations don’t use the same word like the Greek in each case. Again lets go back to the original Greek to make sure we got the right context as testimony can have slightly different meanings.

Stepbible.org says this about it

μαρτυρία (marturia) 'testimony' (G3141)

testimony, evidence; (good) reputation

In the NRSV the word borne is used but still has the same root Greek word as testify. In essence the Spirit is testifying to the testimony of Jesus Christ. Or put another way, the Spirit is commending, speaking well of, vouching for the testimony or the evidence and good reputation of Jesus Christ.

This is what we gained in our belief is receiving this testimony from the Spirit about Jesus. This passage also focuses on different kinds of testimony. As we talked earlier about the court witness being called to testify or give testimony about the court case, does this mean the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is shared? While this sounds cynical, it is part of living in a sinful world, we hear those words and swear by those words, but we don’t truth the person saying those words completely.

Types of Testimony

What the author is also driving at in this passage is the two types of testimony we experience: human testimony and God’s testimony. When I tell you that the bible says something, I am supposedly sharing a truth that I have read and understood clearly in the bible. However, has it ever happened that I have been wrong? Don’t answer out loud. The point being human testimony is not perfect. Human testimony is what we have with our limited abilities and knowledge.

Godly testimony is not the same at all. John here in this passage is dealing with this wide chasm between human testimony and the Spirit’s testimony. What he is driving home about is be careful about what testimony you see as the truth. Human testimony is limited and is not on the same level as God. What he was specifically dealing with is people who believed in God but didn’t believe in Jesus Christ. From his perspective it was saying you are a Christian without really believing in Jesus Christ. It can’t be ok and is in fact a sign of something more seriously wrong in what testimony we have accepted.

Consider the source: We hear that phrase often when it comes to questioning something we hear or read. Well, that is a conservative publication or that is a liberal news channel or that person is skewed in their beliefs. Or put any other qualifier we use to dismiss or discredit the news or story being shared.

Have you heard people struggle with understanding Jesus and the cross? Absolutely! Have you also struggled too? No shame in admitting that! Instead of dismissing it like others saying it does not line up with what they know or understand is dismissing the whole gospel and saying I can know God without Jesus. This is impossible and essential to our growth. If we simply belief in God but dismiss the work of the cross, we miss the boat on God’s love demonstrated through Christ and the cross. If we try to dismiss that testimony that the Spirit is trying to share with us, then we ignore the essential testimony that our salvation and assurance is based on.

Yes, question human testimony. The Spirit’s testimony though is trustworthy and essential in your faith. This is where we move from belief to faith. This is where we find our assurance of our eternal salvation.

Belief and Faith

What we see and experience can lead us to believing in God. We can see and hear others testify about God and Jesus Christ. These things can certainly help us grow and can build that desire to know God and to fall in love with Jesus Christ. However, as mentioned earlier, when it comes to believing what other people tell us, we often need some type of assurance or proof. This is the rub isn’t it. We reach this point in our Christian life where we believe in God and to a certain degree believe the things we are told by others but there is still something deep inside that makes us question or have doubts. What if what this person said isn’t accurate or what if I am being misled and miss what this really means or is asking of me?

This is where the Spirit who dwells in us testifies to us the truth or as we broke it down earlier vouches for or commends the goodness of Jesus Christ. This is the assurance we desperately need. This is what we need to move from simply believing to having faith. This is what we need to be still and quietly listen for. We can’t grow from belief to faith without this. It is the Spirit who assures us of the goodness of Christ and that our believing in God and the testimony about Christ confirms our belief is in the right testimony of God.