Jesus Is the Son of God: Three Witnesses, Come Forth! (1 John 5:6-8)

“[Jesus] Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses – the Spirit, the water, and the blood – and all three agree”

(1 John 5:6-8, NLT)

Not only we can “achieve victory through our faith” (1 John 5:4), but we can know for sure that our faith is correct and based on facts! The Apostle John has mentioned that we need to believe that Jesus “is the Son of God” (5:5), God became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14). But how can we know for sure that this is true? You know how important it is to have more than one witness when there has been an accident or a crime. This has been true in courts for many centuries. As in Deuteronomy 19:15, “…The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”. Well, John realizes that we would be surer about our faith if there was more than one witness to verify these faith-beliefs. So he mentions three key witnesses to our beliefs about Jesus:

Witness #1: The (Holy) Spirit. Again and again, in the New Testament, we read that “the Spirit” opens our eyes to the truth, that the Spirit will help us realize that Jesus is “God’s Son”. The Spirit is an inner witness to what we hear and see. For example, in John 15:26, Lord Jesus says that the Spirit “will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me”; the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” (see also John 16:13-14; Romans 8:14-16). In other words, we do not just come to the conclusion in our heads that Jesus is God’s Son; we also have an inner witness, a divine Person that helps us know that this is true.

Witness #2: The water. There is some disagreement over what John meant here. Since John says that Jesus came “not by water only,” some people, in fact I think that he is referring to the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (read Matthew 3:13-17). A voice came from heaven as Jesus was being baptized by water at the Jordan River and said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy” (Matthew 3:17). That experience certainly would have been a witness to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. Soon after this event Jesus began His ministry. Others suggest that the reference to “water” is really to Christians being baptized, which is also a witness to the work of Jesus in our lives. This again would be a witness that we make as we are baptized. Some others suggest that “water” refers to Jesus’ birth, but I doubt it.

Note: You could probably build a case for either position. But it seems to me that the first interpretation – that the baptism of Jesus was a witness to His being God’s Son – makes the most sense, for this was an outward, obvious witness to all who saw Jesus being baptized. They saw Him baptized; they saw the Spirit come in the form of a dove; and they heard God’s voice announcing that Jesus was truly “God’s Son.” This idea, in the context of this passage, makes the most sense to me.

Witness #3: The blood. This witness was the death of Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for our sins [In theological terms this is called substitutionary atonement]. Jesus not only told us that He loved us; He showed that He meant what He said by giving His very life for us (see His love actions in Matthew 27:50-54). A phony or liar would stop short of that action, saying, “Uhhh… I really love you, but dying is just too much…” No, Jesus went to His death, and later even came back to life – resurrection – so that we would know that what He had said and promised was really true!

We have these three witnesses:

The Spirit, the water, and the blood – and all three agree.

Agree about what? That Jesus is really the Son of God. Amen!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

When a Woman Who Had Been Married 5 Times and Now Living with a Man meets Jesus

There were many in Jesus’ day who found life hard, who had become disillusioned and dissatisfied and were looking for something better, more fulfilling. There are many like that in our society too, hunger for something more… could it be you?

Take for example, in John 4, a story of the Samaritan woman that Jesus met when he stopped by a well to rest on a journey. The fact that she had come alone to draw water in the middle of the day (v.6) suggests that all was not well. Gathering water was normally an early-morning, communal activity… there was something wrong here. When we read the story further, it becomes apparent that her problem was a moral one, involving men. But Jesus, with his keen perception, realized that her real problem was much deeper. So Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water [from the well] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water [Himself] that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14, ESV. In bracket mine).

Understandably, just like me, the woman initially didn’t really comprehend what Jesus meant. She thought Jesus was talking about actual water. In fact, Jesus was addressing himself to her real problem which was not a thirst for water, nor even a thirst for sex, but – a thirst for life. But before she could begin to drink the life-giving water, Jesus had to help her see what she was really like, and challenge her to change her ways. So, in his infinite wisdom, Jesus asked her to fetch her husband – and then the truth was out! She had been married to five men but the man with whom she was now living was not really her husband (read John 4:16-18).

For a while she struggled with Jesus’ offer of life-giving water and its implications for her, but slowly she was released and was able to receive that offer. As a result, even though we’re not told exactly what she was thinking after that, she was obviously transformed and immediately began to bring others to Jesus. The Jesus whom she and others now realized was “the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42). Questions: Are you looking for something better? Do you dissatisfied with your life now? Is religion burn you down? Do you thirst for more, more than mere water, sex, money and power? Do you thirst for life? Come to Jesus and he will give you the life-giving water so that you “will never thirsty again.” Satisfied guarantee! Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.