The Testimony of Jesus Christ

1 John 5:6-8 “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.”

성경전서 개역개정판 (5장)

이는 물과 피로 임하신 이시니 곧 예수 그리스도시라 물로만 아니요 물과 피로 임하셨고 증언하는 이는 성령이시니 성령은 진리니라

7 증언하는 이가 셋이니

8 성령과 물과 피라 또한 이 셋은 합하여 하나이니라

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. Jesus came by water and the blood (1 John 5:6)

i. Verse 6 picks up from the context of verse 5. John had mentioned that the one who overcomes the world is the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. John further elaborates what he means by who Jesus is the Son of God.

ii. John wants to make it absolutely sure that his readers understand why people who believe in Christ overcome the world. Who is this Christ? If Christ is the means in which those who believe Him overcome the world, there must not be any confusion regarding who this Christ is. This is what John sets forth to make clear in this section. The question is Who is Jesus Christ?

iii. John states that Jesus is the Son of God in verse 5, then switches Jesus’s title to Jesus Christ. John is making it absolutely clear that Jesus isn’t simply the son of God. He is the chosen one of God. He is the Messiah.

iv. What does it mean that He is the Messiah? He was the chosen of God, who was long expected through the Old Testament that would come as a way of salvation for all mankind. It is through this man, Jesus, who was fully man, fully God that man would receive the forgiveness of sins if they would put their hope and trust in Him.

v. We might think that this is easily understood but it’s important why John is explaining this doctrine. 1 John 1:1-4 tells us that people didn’t believe that Jesus truly was God. They were teaching that Jesus was merely a man and when the Holy Spirit came upon Him, He became the Messiah and when He died, He was merely a man. You see, these Gnostics taught that Jesus was merely a man, and when the Spirit came upon Him, when He was baptized, that is when He became the Messiah. Upon His death, when the Spirit left Him, He died a mere man.

vi. Why is this important? Because Satan has attacked the church and continues to attack the church regarding the person of Christ. We might say that it’s crazy that people believe in this stuff. To us, it’s just common sense that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is the God man. But let’s see how society has brought back this teaching of Christ to today.

vii. More recently, in 2006, a movie was made concerning the Gnostic Gospels. Da Vinci Code, the movie made in 2006 was a mystery thriller based off a book written by Dan Brown. So what was this movie about? The story assumes that Jesus was not resurrected and did not claim to be God, but rather married Mary Magdalene. It concludes that the Catholic Church was hiding about the real relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, that Leonardo offers the key to the secret of Mary Magdalene and her relationship to Jesus in his masterpiece in Milan, the Last Supper.

viii. I don’t want to talk much about the movie, but the point I want to make is there is much confusion and a lot of attacks against who Jesus Christ is. Movies like Da Vinci Code confuse people who this Christ is. They conclude that Jesus was merely a man and loved Mary and instead of being the Messiah, wanted to really be married to her and had a daughter. Another documentary called the Gospel of Jesus’s wife in 2012 by Karen King, professor of divinity at Harvard. In this documentary, it suggests that there was some writing in Egyptian Coptic that was found where Jesus was speaking to some people and He says, “My wife.” What is the purpose of these movies? Simply one thing. They are to prove that Jesus was not the Christ. He was just Jesus. They know that if they can prove that, then the whole church would crumble. This is the very thing that John defends. Jesus isn’t simply Jesus. He is Jesus Christ.

ix. So when we think about some of these attacks on the person of Christ, these are common attacks that the church has constantly been bombarded with. If these attacks are common to us, we can be sure it was no different back then. This is why John was making it clear that there can be no confusion regarding the person of Christ.

x. So John writes that He came by water and blood. But not only this, the focus is on the fact that Jesus came. What is the focus of His coming? It is to show that He came with a purpose. John is making it clear that God planned the salvation of mankind through Jesus Christ. This was His clear mission.

xi. All throughout the Gospel of John, John records the signs he did which caused others to say that Jesus was “the prophet who is coming into the world (John 6:14). Martha confesses faith in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of God, the one who comes into the world (John 11:27). On Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered the city, the people proclaimed Psalm 118:26 by reciting “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord (Matt 21:9). So clearly, we see that Jesus was the one who was supposed to come. This is why the Spirit testifies of this Christ.

Matthew 21:9 (NASB95)

호산나 다윗의 자손이여 찬송하리로다 주의 이름으로 오시는 이여 가장 높은 곳에서 호산나 하더라

Then John writes that the Spirit is testifying and that He is truth. We want to first go over what John means by the Spirit is the one who testifies because the Spirit is the truth. John writes in John 3:5 that one must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God. Clearly through this passage, John is making it clear one must be born of the Spirit.

John 3:5 “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

예수께서 대답하시되 진실로 진실로 네게 이르노니 사람이 물과 성령으로 나지 아니하면 하나님의 나라에 들어갈 수 없느니라

ii. John then closes verse 6 by stating the Holy Spirit testifies. Then in John 1:33 tells us the one who the Spirit descends upon is the Son of God. The Holy Spirit also affirms that Jesus is the Messiah and that He is truly God. John is making it clear again that Christ truly is the Messiah.

John 1:33 ““I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’”

나도 그를 알지 못하였으나 나를 보내어 물로 1)세례를 베풀라 하신 그이가 나에게 말씀하시되 성령이 내려서 누구 위에든지 머무는 것을 보거든 그가 곧 성령으로 세례를 베푸는 이인 줄 알라 하셨기에

b. The three confirm the testimony regarding the Son (1 John 5:7-8)

i. John continues this point by stating that there are three that testify. John tells us that the three are the Spirit, the water and the blood. What are they testifying? They are testifying that the Christ is the long-waited Messiah that would come to identify with His people and ultimately die for the sins of man.

ii. Now we go back to, He came by water and blood. This is the same thing that he referred to in verse 6. What is the significance of this statement that Jesus came by water and blood? He is claiming that Jesus Christ truly was baptized and truly died on the cross. John uses those terms here to signify Jesus’s baptism and His death. The water speaks of His baptism in John 3:5 where Jesus says unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. This baptism is what allows Jesus to identify with sinners.

What does this mean? Well for believers, Baptism is the means we identify ourselves as members in the family of God. When we are plunged into the water, we are dead to our sins and when we rise from the water, we are alive in Christ. But this would have no meaning if Christ was not baptised. Therefore, when Jesus was baptized, through His baptism, we identified with Him as we were joined to Him. It was through His baptism that we were entered into the family of God.

But John doesn’t stop there. John says that He came not only by water, but with blood. John is making the point that Jesus didn’t just merely identify Himself with our sins. He went further by dying on the cross to show us how He covered our sins. John is making the point regarding the person and work of Christ.

iv. Next, we see that Christ is the Messiah by baptism. Matthew 3:17 tells us as God speaks from above, that this is my son with whom I am well pleased. Lastly, we see the blood in agreement. How does the blood speak to the fact that Jesus is truly the Messiah? The blood tells us that ultimately through His death, He has won us our salvation. It was through His death that sinful men could become children of God. But through His blood, it proves the most important fact about Jesus, that He is the Savior.

v. Why is the blood important? Because the blood shows us what Christ endured for our behalf. It reminds us that our freedom was not free but purchased with a price. It is a constant reminder of how we as Christians enjoy freedom in Christ because He purchased it with His blood. Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” reminds us that there is no forgiveness without blood. It was so that He would spill His blood as He constantly spoke about in the Gospels, that the Christ would be handed to the hands of men and be killed and raise from the grave. Jesus repeats this in Mark 9:31, then again in 10:33 to make the point that He came to die. That was His purpose and mission.

Hebrews 9:22

율법을 따라 거의 모든 물건이 피로써 정결하게 되나니 피흘림이 없은즉 사함이 없느니라

v. What does this mean to us? How has your life changed since you started to believe? Has it changed? When someone looks at us, do they see a difference in our lives? We can’t simply read our Bibles without witnessing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If God has saved you, you will change. John reminds us that this is what Christ has done for the world, but we must respond in faith. This is what the three testify and agree, that Jesus is truly the Messiah and that He must suffer. But suffer for who? Suffer for me, for you for all that would put their trust in Him. If He had not died, I would not be forgiven. Although we spoke about His blood, the amazing thing is that the story doesn’t end with His death. It culminates in His resurrection that tells us that we too will be alive with Him after we die. What an amazing story. May we look to Jesus as our only hope in life and death.

3. CONCLUSION