This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Comment: The word ‘testimony’ sounds very much as if this is a courtroom issue. And in a sense it is! Jesus is being judged as to Who He is! And we are given the evidence by which we have to answer for ourselves what we will believe and act upon! The water, the blood and the Spirit, all three witnesses, we are to look at from a human point of view and to listen and to hear what God has to say about Who Jesus is! 1. The water – from a human point of view is the water, the amniotic fluid which poured out as Jesus was born? He was a man born as human children are born? But there is a lot more behind His birth – there is the whole story of what is called ‘the Incarnation’. Who was Jesus’ father/Father? If we are looking for Biblical issues where we see Jesus being related to water we find at least two more i) Jesus baptism (eg Mark 1:11) (and a voice came out of the heavens, `Thou art My Son–the Beloved, in whom I did delight.’) ii) John 2 has the story of Jesus turning water into wine at the marriage Feast in Cana. Surely that was a miracle! Is Jesus God? 2. The blood – Surely we all know that blood is related to human deliveries but ‘blood’ things which really tie in with thinking about Jesus are the following. a) blood sacrifices and the Biblical claim that Jesus died ‘once for all’ as the Last sacrifice God required to restore relationship between God and mankind! b) The whole story of the false trial and unjust judgement around Jesus death is dripping with blood! c) John 12: 28-30 records God speaking from heaven around the time that Jesus was to die, but I think that God spoke in actions at Jesus’ death – d) the blackness over the whole area in mid-afternoon, and e) the rending of the temple veil (about 7-8 cms thick) from ‘top to bottom’! 3. The Spirit – This evidence is seen dramatically in history in the Acts story of the Spirit coming at Pentecost and the growth of the church when the Spirit descended to live in every believer. I guess that some will argue the subjectivity of this next statement – but I would offer my personal witness and the witness of millions of believers in Jesus as to how the Spirit leads us to know and experience Jesus. The Spirit does bear witness to Truth of the Gospel! ‘And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.‘ Is God a liar?
Num 23: 19 – God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Prayer: Thank You, God, for acting so wondrously on our behalf!
As I read it! 