And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of man, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God that he hath testified of his Son.
I am sometimes overwhelmed with the immensity of God, His supremacy, wisdom, and power. I sink into insignificance and become hopeless that I can ever know anything meaningful about Him, because His ways and thoughts are so much higher than mine. The apostle John through the Spirit here in 1 John 5:8-9 gives us three witnesses of God that we have in earth, which are a testimony from God that we can grasp and understand. How evident it is that no man or anything less than everything the Bible says that God is could have created the universe and given us our life, yet what a mercy that we have a testimony in our mortal, earthen vessels direct from God.
I do not know for sure what the Spirit meant with these words, and even if what I understand is the truth, then it is only a narrow slice. But I believe that John is referring to three quite literal and objective things here.
The Spirit, which moves in our hearts, also moved men to write the scriptures, which we are blessed to still have in black and white. The record we have tells of the service of the law and the continual bloody sacrifices. Those sacrifices taught people the truth with something visible and tangible and living. The spirit moved in the apostles to bring minute details into memory and many things they would not have even known without the Spirit. Yet their testimonies agreed. They witness to us that which they heard, saw with their eyes, and handled with their hands was the Word of life (1 John 1:1). And the Spirit we feel within our very souls, from which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. That witness tells us about God in a colorful language we can understand. Through that Spirit we cry: Abba, Father, and with great desire do search for Him (Song 5). This is God, and He speaks a language we can understand and know that it is He.
Our bodies are made mostly out of water and we drink it every day. All nature needs water and is quickly invigorated after a rain. Jesus promises living water to those that believe on Him, speaking of the Holy Ghost. So is regeneration compared to a washing. Because I take showers to rid myself of filth and stink, I can understand this testimony.
Every second I depend upon blood to deliver the oxygen and nutrition that sustains my life. The blood also testifies that Jesus is the Christ. Yes, the Jews knew well that atonement required the blood of a lamb because they saw it year after year. So they knew exactly what it meant when John the Baptist said: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world". They knew it meant that blood would be spilled. There is nothing quite so urgent as stopping our bleeding, because we know it means our life. Oh that we had the same attitude about Christ, who is our life (Col 3:4). John makes it such a vital point that Jesus came not by water only, but by water and blood (1 John 5:6). So we should know that He not only appeared to us, but became flesh and blood and verily took human nature. He was not only God manifest, He was God, the Son of man. I can't fathom this mystery, but the blood and water pouring from his side on the cross screams it.
The church stands for the Truth and has been given by God everything she needs to testify of the Son of God. His Spirit attends the preaching of the gospel, (1 Peter 1:12), the singing of songs (Col 3:16), prayer (Rom 8:26) and inspired the writing and preservation of scripture (2 Peter 1:21); baptism illustrates the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; washing the saints' feet reminds us of the cleansing virtue of charity; and the bread and wine reminds us His body was broken and blood was shed for us. I have no use for symbols such as the display of crosses, fish, or paintings of Jesus; because they are from the imagination of men and are lifeless. God has given us ample living testimony that perfectly point the believer to Christ in truth. And John closes his first epistle: And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
I am sometimes overwhelmed with the immensity of God, His supremacy, wisdom, and power. I sink into insignificance and become hopeless that I can ever know anything meaningful about Him, because His ways and thoughts are so much higher than mine. The apostle John through the Spirit here in 1 John 5:8-9 gives us three witnesses of God that we have in earth, which are a testimony from God that we can grasp and understand. How evident it is that no man or anything less than everything the Bible says that God is could have created the universe and given us our life, yet what a mercy that we have a testimony in our mortal, earthen vessels direct from God.
I do not know for sure what the Spirit meant with these words, and even if what I understand is the truth, then it is only a narrow slice. But I believe that John is referring to three quite literal and objective things here.
The Spirit, which moves in our hearts, also moved men to write the scriptures, which we are blessed to still have in black and white. The record we have tells of the service of the law and the continual bloody sacrifices. Those sacrifices taught people the truth with something visible and tangible and living. The spirit moved in the apostles to bring minute details into memory and many things they would not have even known without the Spirit. Yet their testimonies agreed. They witness to us that which they heard, saw with their eyes, and handled with their hands was the Word of life (1 John 1:1). And the Spirit we feel within our very souls, from which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. That witness tells us about God in a colorful language we can understand. Through that Spirit we cry: Abba, Father, and with great desire do search for Him (Song 5). This is God, and He speaks a language we can understand and know that it is He.
Our bodies are made mostly out of water and we drink it every day. All nature needs water and is quickly invigorated after a rain. Jesus promises living water to those that believe on Him, speaking of the Holy Ghost. So is regeneration compared to a washing. Because I take showers to rid myself of filth and stink, I can understand this testimony.
Every second I depend upon blood to deliver the oxygen and nutrition that sustains my life. The blood also testifies that Jesus is the Christ. Yes, the Jews knew well that atonement required the blood of a lamb because they saw it year after year. So they knew exactly what it meant when John the Baptist said: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world". They knew it meant that blood would be spilled. There is nothing quite so urgent as stopping our bleeding, because we know it means our life. Oh that we had the same attitude about Christ, who is our life (Col 3:4). John makes it such a vital point that Jesus came not by water only, but by water and blood (1 John 5:6). So we should know that He not only appeared to us, but became flesh and blood and verily took human nature. He was not only God manifest, He was God, the Son of man. I can't fathom this mystery, but the blood and water pouring from his side on the cross screams it.
The church stands for the Truth and has been given by God everything she needs to testify of the Son of God. His Spirit attends the preaching of the gospel, (1 Peter 1:12), the singing of songs (Col 3:16), prayer (Rom 8:26) and inspired the writing and preservation of scripture (2 Peter 1:21); baptism illustrates the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; washing the saints' feet reminds us of the cleansing virtue of charity; and the bread and wine reminds us His body was broken and blood was shed for us. I have no use for symbols such as the display of crosses, fish, or paintings of Jesus; because they are from the imagination of men and are lifeless. God has given us ample living testimony that perfectly point the believer to Christ in truth. And John closes his first epistle: And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
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