1 John 5:5-9 says,...
Today's verses are 1 John 5:5-9, which read,
"Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and 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. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son."
John starts with what he ended with last time. The person who overcomes is the person who believes that Jesus is the Christ, loves God and others, and obeys (guards) His commandments. What John does next is take the focus off of the one who has overcome to the One who made it possible that we could overcome the world, Jesus Christ.
Jesus "...came by water and blood,..." meaning that Jesus was commissioned by baptism of the water for the mission before Him but He also completed it by shedding His blood on the cross. John is pointing out that Jesus did both. Jesus wasn't "just" a good teacher by being commissioned to do some great teaching but this teacher shed blood on a cross for the sins those He was reaching out to. He was more than "just" a good teacher who came and went. What He started, He finished.
Jesus' very life is a testimony to who He is. Next comes the testimony of the Spirit who Jesus gave to His followers. The Spirit is deity along with God and Jesus. The Spirit is given all the language that is equal with the language given to God and Jesus.
The word for "testifies" means "someone who has personal and immediate knowledge of something." The Spirit is our personal testimony that what Jesus said and did is true and that is all in agreement. The Old Testament required the evidence of two or three witnesses to establish a truth in a trial. This is way the Sanhedrin was trying to get a couple of witnesses to collaborate their stores for the trial against Jesus. John is showing that God has given the "high" side of witnesses needed for our faith in who Jesus is and what He has done.
If we go back to the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit testified by coming upon Him(1), and God the Father testified of Him through His audible voice(2). We have two testimonies and then comes the death of Jesus which was a testimony by Himself that He died and rose again(3). The whole Trinity testifies of this.
John concludes with the statement that the testimony of God is greater than any testimony of man. How often do we take the testimony of man over the testimony of God? How often to we put more stock in some "new" evidence or finding given by the world rather than the truth given by God? Many times we run to the wisdom of man and the world and not run to the wisdom of God and it gets us into trouble and we will not overcome the world or whatever we are facing. For the genuine Christian a common question should be "What does the Bible (God) say about this?" The truth here is that God's testimony is greater than any man's testimony.
"Lord, how often I run to the wisdom of man or am affected by some new thought that man has come up with. You are the way and the truth and the life. Why am I searching outside of You? Make me dig deeper into You and Your word to answer that tough question the world has presented. Amen."
Pastor Adam
"Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and 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. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son."
John starts with what he ended with last time. The person who overcomes is the person who believes that Jesus is the Christ, loves God and others, and obeys (guards) His commandments. What John does next is take the focus off of the one who has overcome to the One who made it possible that we could overcome the world, Jesus Christ.
Jesus "...came by water and blood,..." meaning that Jesus was commissioned by baptism of the water for the mission before Him but He also completed it by shedding His blood on the cross. John is pointing out that Jesus did both. Jesus wasn't "just" a good teacher by being commissioned to do some great teaching but this teacher shed blood on a cross for the sins those He was reaching out to. He was more than "just" a good teacher who came and went. What He started, He finished.
Jesus' very life is a testimony to who He is. Next comes the testimony of the Spirit who Jesus gave to His followers. The Spirit is deity along with God and Jesus. The Spirit is given all the language that is equal with the language given to God and Jesus.
The word for "testifies" means "someone who has personal and immediate knowledge of something." The Spirit is our personal testimony that what Jesus said and did is true and that is all in agreement. The Old Testament required the evidence of two or three witnesses to establish a truth in a trial. This is way the Sanhedrin was trying to get a couple of witnesses to collaborate their stores for the trial against Jesus. John is showing that God has given the "high" side of witnesses needed for our faith in who Jesus is and what He has done.
If we go back to the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit testified by coming upon Him(1), and God the Father testified of Him through His audible voice(2). We have two testimonies and then comes the death of Jesus which was a testimony by Himself that He died and rose again(3). The whole Trinity testifies of this.
John concludes with the statement that the testimony of God is greater than any testimony of man. How often do we take the testimony of man over the testimony of God? How often to we put more stock in some "new" evidence or finding given by the world rather than the truth given by God? Many times we run to the wisdom of man and the world and not run to the wisdom of God and it gets us into trouble and we will not overcome the world or whatever we are facing. For the genuine Christian a common question should be "What does the Bible (God) say about this?" The truth here is that God's testimony is greater than any man's testimony.
"Lord, how often I run to the wisdom of man or am affected by some new thought that man has come up with. You are the way and the truth and the life. Why am I searching outside of You? Make me dig deeper into You and Your word to answer that tough question the world has presented. Amen."
Pastor Adam
Comments
Post a Comment