Spirit, Water and Blood: Testimony in I John 5 (Part 2)

Coming to v. 6, John points out that Jesus came by water and blood. This seems likely to be addressing those Gnostics who saw Jesus as an ordinary man, but endowed with the Holy Spirit at his baptism; they argued that the Spirit left him as he came to the cross, and that he died just a man.  [This had to do with their idea that "spirit" could not undergo suffering and death, or be "tainted" by any such fleshly defeat.]  In other words, they held that the Son of God was born of water (at his baptism) but "escaped" the horror of the crucifixion.  John says no, "not by the water only, but the water AND the blood."

We are not immune to this error. We do not see Jesus' suffering as we should. We see it as a necessary evil, as a historic cruelty that He had to endure.  But the Bible tells us that He was "made perfect" through suffering, that he "learned obedience by the things he suffered".  And so must we.  More on that another time.

So John brings us to see that the water and the blood testified to Jesus as the Son of God. At his baptism, the voice from heaven said, "this is my beloved Son".  Just before his death, on the transfiguration mount, again "this is my beloved Son".  At the foot of the cross, the centurion said, "truly, he was the Son of God".  And as if to underscore the testimony, at his death darkness fell, the earth shook, the rocks were split, dead men were raised, and the vail of the temple was rent.  There all the universe is hinged and there all history turns.

So the water and blood testified in the days of his flesh, but there is another witness who continues to testify.  He is the Spirit of God who testifies to us of spiritual realities, because the Spirit IS reality - note what John says, He IS the truth!  Not that he speaks truth or writes truth, but he IS truth!  [No doubt the Spirit uses the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, to testify to us.  But that same word tells us there is more to it than that.]

Note that John has told us elsewhere that Jesus spoke the same way - "I AM the truth".  And earlier, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free".   He also told his apostles that He would go away, so he could send "another comforter" - it would be better for them if he went away.  He would be with them in a better way. Not the way of flesh and blood, but present with them spiritually - by means of God's Holy Spirit.  And it was not just for the apostles [though they did have special roles in revealing the word]. When Thomas asks, "How is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world", Jesus' reply was, "If any man loves me, my Father and I will come to him, and make our abode with him...".

Now John says, "The Spirit IS the truth". Paul says, "NOW The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of The Lord is, there is liberty".

When we are born again into God's family, Christ and The Father dwell in us. They dwell in us spiritually.  They dwell in us by the Spirit.  This is evidence to us, testimony to us, that Jesus is the Son of God. He is bearing witness, along with the water and the blood, of the reality of the spiritual realm.  John repeatedly says, "this is how we know", and his evidences are demonstrations of the life given up for Christ and his people - that is, the life filled with, and led by, the Spirit of God.  Certainly this includes reverence for and obedience to his word. But the word is our objective written guide and standard.  It must LIVE in us, and if it makes us alive spiritually, we are made alive not by the written letter, but by the living Spirit of Christ in us.

This is not to imply that our free will is lost, that some external force takes over, that we are directly inspired or have special revelations, that we work miracles, that we are infallible in our interpretations, or even that we are specially gifted in our Bible studies.  But it does mean that we belong to Him, that HIS will has become our will, that we surrender to Him whatever talents and opportunities we might have, rich or poor. 

It means that we treasure and honor the testimony we have been given: of the water, uniting with him in his death, burial and resurrection in baptism; of the blood, being crucified with Him, and remembering his death in the faithful observance of His supper; and of the Spirit, giving ourselves to let Christ live in us, and filling up what is lacking in His afflictions for His body's sake, which is the church (Col.1:24f).

In the Spirit, the water and the blood we have the witness of God borne TO us about His Son.   But note that John also says “he that believes in the Son of God has the witness IN HIMSELF.  This is God's witness: that He has given us His Son, and that He is the ONLY source of spiritual life - the true life!