Spirit, Water and Blood: Testimony in I John 5 (Part 1)

I chose the name of this blog from 1 John 5, because after decades, not until my late 50s, I saw in it something new (that is, new for me) and beautiful and powerful.  The Bible is full of things that the world cannot see, and that even many professing church members do not appreciate.  It is not because of intellectual limitation, and not because direct inspiration or further divine revelation is required. It is rather because one cannot see beyond his own horizons.  One must progress farther to see farther. 

[I stop to emphasize that I am not claiming some special insight or privilege.  It is true for all Christians who struggle honestly with the word, that some things come to be crystal clear - so clear that you marvel how you failed to see them previously.  So I feel about this issue.  Because of long-held assumptions, I was sadly blind to much of the power and comfort of this chapter.]

John is grounding his readers in assurance regarding a truth so profound it transcends their own intellect or performance.  That which is true, that which is according to his will, is the ground of all their confidence.  The "evil one" is all around them; the whole world is captivated by him.   Men cannot, of themselves, overcome the world, for they are already up to their ears in the quicksand.  Sin warps and blinds and weakens them.  They can't see straight.  Yet even when they cannot determine all that is true with certainty, they can know HIM who is true - his son Jesus Christ!  Their hope and confidence is in Him.  That accounts for the declaration at the end of the chapter, "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ."

John is saying that we are surer of Jesus Christ and his redemption than we are of our own power, intellect, or performance.  We are surer of him than we are of our own judgment and our own understanding about every detail of right doctrine - surer of Him, I say, than our own traditions or interpretations of Scripture.  This means, therefore, that we are surer of Him than our own accounting of our failings and sins.  Thus we are thrown back to dependence on "him that is true".

The Scriptures are truth, but they exist to reveal Jesus Christ and His cross and resurrection.  Our only hope is in his cleansing blood, as we confess our sinfulness, walking in his light.  So we humbly yield to him, surrender to him in faith.  And with regard to our own shortcomings, "this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us..."

Consider John's own statement as to why he has written these verses.  In v. 13, "These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God."   So that you may know that you have (already) eternal life.  We at first recoil at the statement and qualify it, quick to point out that it will come later - after the second coming.  But His point is different. When he speaks of eternal life - as in most of his writing - he is talking about spiritual life here and now. To be sure, it extends to eternity, transcending physical death, but his point is that we have it now.  God has given us this spiritual life, and he has given it to us in his Son!  (v. 11-12).

With this perspective on why John writes this, we can better understand the earlier "spirit, water, blood" statement, beginning from v.1.

In v.1-3, those believing in Jesus as the Christ are born anew - new spiritual life deriving from the majestic and Holy Father. If we live this new spiritual life, we love all those who are sharers in such life from him, and we order our lives after his commandments. This righteous living shows our love for him and for his people. This is what the love of God is - the keeping of his commandments. [Not the legalistic adherence to a code, but rather the humble submission to his guidance].

In v. 4-5, this new spiritual life overcomes the world; that is, it transcends the material realm.  We are in the world but not of the world.  We walk in touch with air and water, rocks and dirt, wood and metal, paper and plastic, plants and animals, money and credit, power and politics. But they are the things of this world.  If we would outlast them, we have to overcome them!

And who is the one who overcomes them?  The one who believes in Jesus Christ as the  Son of God - the one who comes to us revealing this spiritual realm.  No, more than that, he is the king of that realm, and He is the author and finisher of our faith in that realm! (Heb.12:2)  Faith in Christ is what conquers; it is the surrender of our wills based on conviction regarding unseen, invisible things in the spiritual realm. 

(continued in Part 2)