Alba 9-29-2024
THE THREE SURE WITNESSES
I John 5:6-12
Donald Trump has often spoken of what he calls, “fake news” when describing what he considers biased reporting. And it is true that most reporting about Trump is negative, while his opponents receive more favorable treatment. But did you know that the phrase “fake news” was first coined by Hillary Clinton? Trump used the phrase “fake news” in a tweet for the first time on Dec. 10, 2016, two days after Clinton's use of the term at a retirement ceremony for Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), and one day after “Fox & Friends” highlighted it.
Well since then, both sides feel that what the other says is fake. So depending on which news outlet is your favorite, you will question what is being reported that conflicts with what you heard. Sadly, the current situation leaves us wondering about the truth of what is said. Some things are obvious lies, others are questionable. Is there some way we can know for sure what is fake and what is true? As far as politics is concerned, I'm not sure we can.
So are there things we can know for sure? Well, if our car won't start, we know that for sure. If we have pain, we know that for sure. And if we love someone, I think most of us know that for sure. But I want to tell you of something else, something very important, something you can know for sure.
And what is it that we can know for sure? I John 5:5 proclaims that “Jesus is the Son of God.” And the reason we can know this for sure is that there are multiple witnesses that point to the same fact. And they are in agreement with each other. That makes the testimony all the more sure.
I John 5:6-8 gives us three sure witnesses to provide us with confidence concerning our faith in Jesus. Here is what it says, “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. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” (NKJV).
By the way, you may notice that verse seven, referring to the Father, the Word and the Spirit, is excluded in newer versions of scripture. The reason is because that section is not in the oldest most reliable manuscripts. And because we want a sure witness to our faith, we will depend on what we know to be the original text of what the apostle John wrote. So its okay that part is not in the newer versions (even though the premise of that section is supported in a number of other places in scripture).
The emphasis here is on the Spirit, the water, and the blood.
These three witnesses assure us that our faith in Jesus, as the very Son of God who came to this world, lived a perfect life, died on the cross and rose from the grave, is true! In verse thirteen the apostle 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.”
Our very salvation depends on whether or not we accept that the testimony about Jesus is true. John, by giving us three witnesses, reminds us of a standard that goes way back to an Old Testament rule that still makes sense today.
In Deuteronomy 19:15 it says, “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (NIV). What John presents is not one, not two, but three reliable witnesses to be sure of the reason we believe that Jesus is the Son of God. So let's examine...
The Witness of the Water
This is an obvious reference to Jesus' baptism. The fact that He was baptized showed that He had in fact entered on His work as Redeemer. Matthew 3:13-15 says this: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? But Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him.”
It was at Jesus’ baptism that the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven was heard saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
John was the forerunner of the Messiah. In order to point to the Messiah, John had to be sure of who He was. So God told John that He would give him a sign. John the apostle records what John the baptist saw and came to believe. It is in John 1:32-34 which says: And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
John could only use the descriptive words "like a dove" to try to communicate what took place when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus. By the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and by the voice that addressed Him from heaven, confirmation was then furnished to John of the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all testify that the voice of God called Jesus “His Son.” Matthew 3:17 says, “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'” And Mark 1:11 records, “Then a voice came from heaven, 'You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'” And Luke 3:22 tells us, “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, 'You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.'”
God the Father acknowledged His Son by sending the Holy Spirit, speaking with an audible voice and overshadowing Jesus as He was baptized by John. Jesus said it was to fulfill all righteousness. When we are baptized it shows the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and our death, burial and resurrection with Him.
Romans 6:3-5 asks, “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
When we are baptized, we connect with the Son of God who made our salvation possible, specifically in His death, burial and resurrection. Those are the very things that make our salvation sure.
We have examined the witness of the water that tells us for sure that Jesus is the Son of God. Next let's examine...
The Witness of the Blood
Verse six says, “Not by water only, but by water and blood.”
John the Baptist came by water only. That is, he came to baptize the people and to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. The ministry of Jesus was different from John by the fact that Jesus shed His blood for the remission of our sins. The blood tells us of how great the sacrifice of Jesus was as He bled and died upon the cross.
Many in John’s day were skeptical of Jesus, but His crucifixion bears irrefutable evidence of His genuinely being the Christ. Had He been an impostor, He could have denied He was the Son of God and been released. We know He could have escaped the cross if He had desired, but He chose to die for our sins. He could’ve called legions of angels to free Him, but He chose the suffering for our salvation.
The blood that Jesus shed on the cross is a testimony of His divinity. The false teachers of John’s day believed that “a Divine Spirit” of the Christ came upon Jesus at His baptism, and left before Jesus died on the cross. They placed no value at all in Jesus' death. Saying that Christ shed His blood, John is contradicting that messed up teaching about Jesus. And when Christ shed His blood, all heaven must have wept that the sinless Son of God had to pay such a great price for our sins.
If Jesus had been only a man and not God, His sacrificial death would not have satisfied divine justice. We are cleansed by His blood. Only the Son of God could do this. Only the Son of God could die for our sin. Why? Because only God is perfect; and He can only accept perfection. He could only accept a spotless, pure sacrifice. That is the whole reason why Jesus had to come to the earth. A sinful man, no matter how righteous, wouldn’t do.
Only the Son of God could do what Jesus did when He died for our sins. On that cross He took our judgment and suffered the punishment for us. And through His death we are able to stand before God being free of sin. Jesus fulfilled what Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (NLT). It is the blood that gives us freedom from sin, power to live for God, and that separates us from the world.
The point is that His blood; His death upon the cross declares Him to be the Son of God. This is what witness after witness in scripture declares: Romans 5:9 says, “We have now been justified by his blood.” And Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood.”
Jesus death on the cross convinced even the Roman centurion who was carrying out the crucifixion. Matthew 27:54 says, “So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'”
The witness of the blood and the witness of the water tells us for sure that Jesus is the Son of God. Next let's examine...
The Witness of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit bears witness to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. As we have already seen, He did it at Jesus' baptism, visibly making His presence known when the voice from heaven announced, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I a well pleased.”
Also Isaiah predicted that the ministry of Jesus would be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus quoted the words from Isaiah 61:1 in Luke 4:18 as He read the words before the people in the synagogue saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
And after Jesus' ascension, according to His promise, the Holy Spirit bore witness to Jesus' Messiahship by descending on His apostles, and by accompanying the message which they delivered with saving power to thousands in Jerusalem. It is all recorded in Acts chapter two.
The Spirit still bears the same testimony in the conversion of every individual who becomes a Christian, convincing them that Jesus is the Son of God. In John chapter sixteen Jesus said that when the Spirit of truth would come, the Spirit would testify about and glorify Him.
The Spirit continues to do that in the hearts of all true Christians. For I Corinthians 12:3 says “no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him (in Jesus) you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our salvation.
So we have examined the three witnesses. Now, can we be sure? When a person is called as a witness in a court case, they are first asked if they are going to tell the truth, “So help me God”. Now some might take that oath and still lie through their teeth. But what if it is God Himself who is giving the testimony?
Again and again, scripture makes it clear that God cannot lie. If He did, He would not be God. Verse nine says, “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.” And verse eleven adds, “this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”
And if that is not enough, we have eyewitness accounts. People who lived with Jesus, talked with Jesus, spent three plus years with Jesus have added their testimony to give us surety that Jesus is the Divine Son of God.
The water of baptism says of Jesus: He is God’s Son in whom God the Father is pleased. The blood says of Jesus: He is the lamb of God who gave His life’s blood for the sins of the whole world. The Spirit says of Jesus: He is God’s Son. His baptism, His ministry, His miracles all testify to His deity. And the Holy Spirit is the author of all scripture which points to Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God.
God’s testimony is strong and clear: the Spirit, the water and the blood agree about Jesus. But there is a warning in verse twelve. It says, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
That is why we must put, and keep, our faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son, as our Savior and Lord.
CLOSE:
In his book "Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life", Charles Swindoll tells a story about the 19th Century agnostic Thomas Huxley (some of you might know that it was Huxley who promoted Darwinism and Humanism in his attacks on Christianity).
Huxley was in Dublin and was rushing to catch a train. He climbed aboard one of Dublin's famous horse drawn taxis and said to the driver -"Hurry, I'm almost late ... drive fast". Off they went at a furious pace and Huxley sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.
After a while Huxley opened his eyes and glanced out the window to notice that they were going in the wrong direction. Realizing that he hadn't told the driver where to take him he called out “Do you know where you're going?” The driver replied “No, your honour, but I am driving very fast”.
Let me just say, if you don't know for sure where you are going, that is a big problem. But you can know for sure that Jesus is the Son of God. And when you, by obedient faith in Jesus, put your trust in Him, you will be on your way to heaven.
