The Power of The Testimony

1st John Sermon Series

GETTING BACK TO THE BASICS

Part 15

THE POWER OF THE TESTIMONY

Scripture: 1 John 5:6-12

Happy Thanksgiving to you. I hope that you are like my family, we have a lot to be thankful for this year. I hope that you and your family spend time around the table remember what you are truly thankful for.

Prayer

If you have your Bibles with you and I hope that you. I invite you to join me in opening your Bible to the New Testament book of 1st John, 1st John chapter 5. Again, you can find 1st John by going to the back of the Bible and working your way forward five books, Revelation, Jude, 3-2, and 1st John.

We will finish 1st John next week and just in time for our Christmas series Emmanuel God with us.

Well we have been preaching from the book of 1st John for the past couple months. It has been powerful as John speaks from his heart to the church community about when tough times in life happen, when false teachers attack you, when you get the wrong end of the stick of life, stick with the basics of the faith in Jesus Christ.

The basics of faith is considered to be the Gospel and what the Apostles were teaching at that time; for us today, it is the same. We have our foundation of faith built on the Rock. It is a sure foundation that withstands the onslaught of the worst enemy out there, and that is the devil himself. Our foundation is built on the blood sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian Church in 1st Corinthians chapter 3 verse 11 that "no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Let me also point out that the overwhelming theme of the 1st John is LOVE especially when he said that God is love and He loved us so much that he paved the road for us to return to Him, and if we love Him, we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As we discussed last Sunday, our faith is a faith of victory. We can live a victorious life when we live a life of love, when live in obedience to the Word and Works of God and when we live as conquers – because our faith is all about conquering the world.

Well in our text today, John adds to those words with a powerful testimony. In fact our title this morning is The Power of a Testimony.

Now, remember at the beginning of this letter, John opened with his own testimony of how he had met and experienced a relationship with Jesus Christ in verses 1-3. He then teaches the church who Jesus is and what a relationship with Jesus looks like. From his eyewitness testimony to his God-inspired teaching, John moves on to the most authoritative testimony of all creation, and that is the testimony from God Himself.

If you are there in 1st John chapter 5, read with me from the 6th verse, THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD and it begins like this:

"This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."

After all that we have studied, why would John add this to the end of His letter?

It is pretty simple; he wants his readers and the hearers to know where their salivation comes from without a shadow of a doubt. In the days of the early church, there were a lot of voices within it saying a lot of different things when it came to Jesus and salvation. Some are saying Jesus is this, and others are saying Jesus is that. These believers were experiencing contradictory testimony about who Jesus Christ is. Because there were so many voices, it was hard to discern who was speaking from God. So, it is safe to say that many of them were confused and unsure.

As we read the scriptures, we find that the life that happened some 2000 years ago is not that far from where we are today. In today's world, there are a lot of voices saying Jesus is this and Jesus is that. Many world religions denounce Christ as the Savior, that He is the Son of God, even more so saying the Bible is wrong about Jesus and He was just a prophet. So even today, we see that there are a lot of voices carrying on with false statements and false doctrines of Christ, which are confusing within the church community.

John is dealing with one such group: the Gnostics – Remember that he wrote that many have gone out from the church and began teaching. He titled them false teachers and even antichrists. They believed that physical matter was evil and the spirit is good, therefor, there was no way that Jesus came in the flesh.

So, John wants to remind us that our faith is in a real God, who came to earth as a real man, as the Son of God, and that He brought eternal life to us and that if we believe in Him as our Savior, we possess this priceless gift of eternal life. He does so with the testimony from heaven and earth of God’s Son.

This brings us to our Take Home Truth today:

THIS WEEKS TAKE HOME TRUTH IS:

GOD'S TESTIMONY IS THE ASSURANCE OF OUR FAITH.

Now a testimony testifies about something or someone. In a court of law, when you are on the witness stand, you give a testimony of what you have either heard, seen, or done.

In the Church, a testimony is a statement of how your life has changed through Christ, or through being obedient to the Word or even through His Church.

I have a testimony that testifies how I overcame the obstacles of life to become a born-again believer and eventually a preacher and teacher of God's Word. I have several witnesses, but the most credible witness is my wife because she is an eyewitness of what God has done in my life. She has witnessed the transformation. You also have a testimony.

What John is referring to comes from the book of Deuteronomy where Moses gives the statement and the law that there must be 2 or 3 witnesses to give testimony against someone.

Even Jesus said in John 8:17, "Even in your law it is written that the witness of two men is valid."

So Old Testament Jewish law required the testimony of two or three to establish the truth in any matter.

Here John speaks of the testimony in heaven and on earth that there are three in each that testify that Jesus is the Son of God.

John speaks to the very identity of Jesus. From the false teachers and antichrists, we can see that it seems that the very personhood of Jesus is on trial. Much like today-

The other day, I saw a picture of antichrists marching in protest to God and with a sign that said if Jesus were alive today, they would kill him again.

Here is what we need to know, when we unsure of our faith, of who Jesus is and what His purpose is for the world, we are putting Him on trial ourselves. And the truth is; we compromise Christ when we are not sure of our faith.

That might be what is happening here with the church community. Their faith may be wavered because of all the voices out there. That happens to us today as well.

So, John gives us two facts of how we can be assured of our faith in Jesus:

FIRST, WE CAN BE ASSURED OF OUR FAITH BECAUSE OF THE TESTIMONY OF GOD.

Look back at verses 6-8 with me:

“This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”

Notice that word "CAME" Jesus came to the world because God sent Him with a purpose. Jesus said Himself in Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost."

The Father sent the Son of God for a mission of love and mercy.

John goes on to say there are three entities in heaven that testify to that; God, the Word and the Spirit, who are one.

He also speaks of three earthly witnesses testifying to this fact, and they still testify to us today. And all three of these witnesses are in one accord with one another in proclaiming to the truth of who Jesus is.

So what John is saying is crucial that there are three things on this earth that are witness of Jesus: water, blood, and spirit from verse 6.

The first of these is the water – The water testifies to the truth that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but He came to save the world.

We know that Jesus' ministry began with water at the baptism and ended at his death and resurrection, which was the spilling of His blood. The beginning and the end of the ministry.

The water also testifies to His deity.

Listen how Matthew describes Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:16- remember Matthew was there.

“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

So, you have Jesus, the man born of a woman, fully human, we know this because Mary gave birth to Him. Of course, we have the snippets of Him as a child- we also have the Spirit of God descending on Jesus- then we have the voice of God (I could only imagine what that might have sounded like; can you?) the voice of God making a declaration "THIS IS MY SON." The baptism shows us the confirmation of Jesus as the Son of God coming in the flesh- fully man- Fully deity, with the Holy Spirit.

My friends that was the trinity of God- The Father- The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Just as John speaks of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in verse 7.

Let's stop for a moment because I have to say this- John the Baptist, baptized people for the repentance of sin- and that the baptism refers to the cleansing of a person on the outside, which left the inside a mess and still unclean- now we know that Jesus had no sin.

The Bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians 5:21, "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

Yet Jesus decided to become baptized. So, the question that has been asked is, why did the Son of God become baptized?

I believe that it was three-fold:

First, to identify Jesus as the Son of God.

Second, to identify with those who He came to save. Jesus wanted to identify with those who He came to save so that he would fulfill all righteousness as He said to John the Baptist in Matthew 3:15, “for this is fitting to fulfill all righteousness,” speaking of His baptism.

Third, to receive the Holy Spirit as He began His ministry.

The water signifies the baptism of Jesus, which reveals His deity (being God) and his mission to save the lost.

The second that testifies Jesus as the Son of God is the Blood- John means the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The blood-stained cross.

I cannot stress enough the importance of the crucifixion- John makes the point that Jesus is revealed as the Son of God through His blood sacrifice.

That blood sacrifice is the pivotal part of our faith! This is the crux of our faith! For all those in John's day and throughout history even today, when people deny that Jesus died on the cross and was risen from the dead, they deny the essential element of salvation. People who call themselves believers yet minimize what Jesus has done through His sacrifice is a travesty.

The crucifixion was the substitutionary death of Christ, where He endured the wrath of God in our place, which satisfied the just requirement of God for sin to be paid for by blood and death, thus atoning for our sins by shedding His blood.

The Bible also says that the penalty of sin is death- therefore, Jesus took on sin and death for His followers to be found innocent before God.

The Bible tell us in the Old Testament that "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5 KJV)

Folks, listen to me, the blood is the atoning work of God, and without the atoning work of God, no one has salvation.

By Jesus sacrificing Himself, He proved He was the Son of God by putting an end to the sacrificial system of atonement that had been practiced for thousands of years. His work through the cross bridges the gap that sin created between man and the Holy God.

At the cross, Jesus' purpose was again revealed with one of the men going to paradise with Jesus.

The blood is the acknowledgment of who Jesus is and what His purpose is.

The water signifies the baptism of Jesus.

The blood signifies the death of Christ.

Then the third to testify is the Spirit.

Note what John says in verse 6 "The Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth."

The Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and this witness is our internal witness. He testifies with the water and the blood. Jesus, Himself said that when the Holy Spirit came, he would testify of Christ (John 15:26).

The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity – The Father- the Son and the Holy Spirit- they are all God – they are all one- they are of one accord.

This is John's 4th time in this letter speaking about the Holy Spirit. In chapter 4, verse 13, He states that the Holy Spirit assures us of our salvation.

The Holy Spirit was with Jesus throughout His ministry, death, the pouring of His blood, and the resurrection.

It was God the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:11, "And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you."

Jesus talked a lot about the Spirit that would come after His death- Specifically that the Holy Spirit would take up residence in us when we come to faith through Christ in John 14:16-17, Jesus said:

"I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

Notice that the world cannot accept the Spirit nor knows the Spirit because the world is without Christ, but when the Gospel is spoken to the hearts of people, the Holy Spirit convicts those of their unrighteousness, and they begin to know Christ through faith.

Jesus taught that the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to point people to Jesus as the Savior. Jesus also taught that the testimony of Christ comes through the Holy Spirit- often when we sin as children of God, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our wrongdoing as well. Therefore, the Holy Spirit continues to testify who Christ is and His purpose for our lives.

First, we can be assured of our faith because of the testimony of God's in heaven and on earth.

The water through baptism. The blood through the death and the Spirit through Jesus' baptism, life, death, and now living in each believer. We can be assured of our faith through the external proves to the enteral prove.

That is something to be thankful for this thanksgiving.

And if we need more assurance of our faith, John gives us the second fact.

THE SECOND FACT OF HOW WE CAN BE ASSURED OF OUR FAITH IS THE TESTIMONY OF OUR CHANGED LIFE.

Look back at verses 9-11 with me:

“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life;”

We live in a day that we will take the testimony of another person's word and run with it. We live in a day of confusion, and often we don't know what is authentic or fake.

In the face of the church, it could be a rumor that has been started, and it can lead to a devastating division in the church. In the face of politics, it can be an accusation without evidence, and it could ruin a person's reputation and life. We are living in a "he said she said kind of world."

Often, we will listen to a stranger's word or testimony and act upon it without worrying about the repercussions. On John's day, this was running out of control in the church. People were giving false testimony of Christ Jesus, and others believed it.

So, John addresses this with the testimony from God and that our lives should be changed because of it.

Let me give you two statements that support our changed lives.

First, God's testimony transforms us.

Look at verse 9-10. “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself;”

The testimony of God is necessary to bring life change. God has, is, and will continue to transform lives through people turning from sin and trusting Jesus alone. He has done it countless times in this church and other churches.

I love how John handles the situation because He makes the argument; if you will take the word of a stranger and act on it, why can't you take the Word of God and act upon especially when it comes in the form of testimony from the heavens, earth and an eyewitness.

The Bible says that we are transformed to a newness when we come to faith. The old is gone and new has come.

It is only through the testimony of God of Jesus and our faith in Him that brings a change in our lives.

The second statement John makes concerning a changed life is that God's testimony becomes ours.

Verses 10-12 “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life;”

If you want to know if God's testimony has changed you, look at your life.

What does your life say that you believe?

Verse 10 explains to us that the one who believes in the Son of God has this testimony with Him. God's testimony is evident in the changed life. This is the result of our faith in Christ Jesus. Verse 11 God has given us eternal life, verse 12 for He who has the Son has life.

To believe is to put your faith in and to commit oneself to the Son of God.

Lastly, look with me to the verse 13 John says, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."

Assurance of our faith in challenging times of life can often be hard. Yet through the testimony and witnesses of God we can see that our faith comes from Jesus and is alive within us.

God’s testimony is greater than human testimony. John tells his readers that in order for someone to have eternal life, they must accept God’s testimony about his Son.

As we enter in this holiday of thanksgiving let us not forget that not only has God given us salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, but He also assures us of that salvation through heaven and earth.

Isn't that something to be thankful for?

From the words of Charles Spurgeon comes my prayer for each of you today:

“Come, beloved, listen for a moment to this! You have the milk of faith, but God wills that you should have this cream of assurance!”

GOD’S TESTIMONY IS THE ASSURANCE OF OUR FAITH.

First, through the testimonies of heaven and earth.

Second, through the testimony of our changed lives.

Invitation