In Complete Agreement

Benenz Hitchcock

Seeing Christ in 1 John • Sermon • Submitted 15 days ago • Presented 18 days ago

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The only true source of perfect agreement can only be found in the Triune Godhead. They all testify of the Sonship of Jesus Christ, the overarching theme of John's epistle.

Notes

Transcript

Introduction

I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to 1 John 5. This morning, we are going to read verses 6-9. The title of this sermon is “In Complete Agreement” which comes from verse 8. 1 John 5 starting in verse 6…

We move on from the ability to overcome as those who believe in Jesus Christ and dig further into the truths that back up that ability. Verses 6-9 are ultimately going to lead us into the central point of John’s epistle that we find in verses 12-13. In other words, we need to have the foundation first before we see the application. John builds his point to the eternality of Jesus Christ by establishing Him as the Son of God. What I hope that we will see this morning is that there is plenty of credible evidence that Jesus is the Son of God and that you and I have every reason to believe that these things are so.

My desire for us this morning is to see this text against this text in Matthew 7:25. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.” The complete agreement as we will see is the foundation for all that we believe concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

1. The Testimony of the Water, Blood, and Spirit (v.6)

The first of the testimony’s that we will consider is found in verse 6. That is the testimony of the water, blood, and Spirit. The beginning of verse 6 gives us a snapshot of the Son of God (as seen in verse 5), Who came by water and blood. At first glance, this text would seem to speak to the physical and literal body of the Lord Jesus Christ. You would not be mistaken if you were to attribute the water and blood in this way. But if you were to do this and forsake the spiritual implications of this text, you would be in error. Jesus speaks of Himself in Luke 24:44 saying, “all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms are fulfilled” (italics mine). This includes His coming to earth in bodily form. There are many texts that speak to the human embodiment of Jesus’ ministry (Matthew 11:3-5, Isaiah 35:4-6).

You and I are most likely more familiar with the death of our Lord when we think of the water and the blood. John 19:34, “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”

Verse 6 tells us that the water, blood, and the Spirit testify. I want to make an observation here. In our Scripture reading, we read that Jesus said, “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true” (John 5:31). I find this most interesting. Why? Well, it would seem as thought this kind of statement would be out of place for our Lord, since He knows all things and is all powerful. How could it be that His testimony is not true based on Himself alone? The humility of Christ is truly an amazing thing as is His example. See, Christ subjected Himself to the Father’s will and He referred to the testimony of the Father, and as we see in 1 John 5:6, the Holy Spirit as well. Is Christ’s testimony enough? Of course it is, He is God! Yet in all His divinity, He humbled Himself and “although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7).

Thus, with all this in mind we come to the testimony as we see it in verse 6. As I mentioned a few moments ago, there are spiritual implications to the water and the blood. We have seen before the significance of the water and blood in Old Testament times. For this morning, I would like to see it as applied to the role of the husband and the wife. Turn with me to Ephesians 5. I am going to read verses 25-27. I believe that we can clearly see the role of the blood and water here, although the word ‘blood’ is never mentioned. Ephesians 5:25-27… Where is the blood in these verses? The love that Christ has for the church is exemplified in His giving up of Himself. In other words, this speaks to the blood that Christ shed for His bride. We could say that the testimony of the blood as seen in 1 John 5 is a testimony of love. It is because of love that Christ gave Himself up according to Ephesians 5:25 and it is because of love that you and I have such a clear testimony of the offering up of the Son of God. The water is easier to see in verse 26. What is the purpose of the water? Two-fold. The water is part of the sanctifying work and cleansing work that is attributed to the word of God. The church is being washed off, cleansed, and renewed. This is what the living water of Christ does! It satisfies forever, and is a symbol of being cleansed in Christ (Titus 3:4-6). This is the testimony of the water and the blood. Turn back with me to 1 John 5.

Our text does not stop with the water and the blood. There is a special place here for the testimony of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit testifies of the water and the blood that is attributed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, He is not bound to only testify of the water and the blood, for there is much more that the Holy Spirit does and is involved in. Permit me to work backwards as we see His involvement. In verse 5, He testifies that the one who believes in that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is an overcomer. In verse 4, the Spirit testifies that the one who has faith overcomes the world. In verse 3, He testifies that the love of God is that you and I would keep His commandments. Furthermore, He testifies that God's commandments are not burdensome. In verse 2, He testifies that love for one another is fleshed out in observing God's commandments. And finally, in verse 1, the Spirit testifies that the one who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born again. However, in every instance, the Spirit testifies the work of God. And this should be an encouragement to you and me! He testifies the work that God is doing in your life and in mine. We saw in 1 John 4:2 that the Spirit testifies of our conversion. “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”

The Holy Spirit is not a lesser influence in our lives, He is not a third wheel to the Triune God, He is not the testimony in which we should trust the least. No! The Holy Spirit testifies of the truths of who God is! And He has been sent intentionally to testify of Jesus Christ to a lost and broken world so that man would be saved! Yet, He has also been sent for your edification and for mine. He has been sent to comfort us and to encourage us, and to remind of us of Who Christ is! He does this by testifying of the water and the blood. Listen, you and I can neverbe reminded enough of who Christ is! Why do I say all this? Look at the end of verse 6. What does the Spirit say about Himself? He says that He is “the truth.” The Spirit embodies His own credibility. This can all be said of the Spirit because He is absolute and complete truth. Do you believe that the Spirit is God? Then you must also believe that He is the truth. For it is the Spirit Who is the truth, and Who testifies about the Truth!

2. The Testimony in Complete Agreement (vv.7-8)

We consider our second point, the testimony in Complete Agreement. To tackle this, we will look at verses 7 and 8. We have already looked somewhat into the three testimonies of verse 6 and there will be One more in verse 9, but I want us to see how they all come together in complete agreement. Why is this important for us to think about? Is the reality of God questioned in our day? Yes. Is the Bible being attacked by naysayers? Yes. Let me ask you a few practical questions. Do we live in an age of agreement? No. Can we look around in our world and see people agree on things? No. Is there even a desire to agree? No! The testimony being in complete agreement is important for us to look at this morning because we live in a world where agreement does not exist! We have to look outside of our world to see agreement, and we find that, not to your surprise in the word of God, specifically in verses 7 and 8 of our text this morning. Listen, the Bible speaks to agreement in a world that does not. How radical and transforming is this book? You know.

In our world there are testimonies every day. We see this in politics especially. One politician testifying against another. Court cases pitting one person against one another. You will notice in this text that the three that agree in verse 7 are not out to get each other! They are not looking for the upper hand in a civil case, or what would benefit them even if it meant leaving the others in ruins.

If they are not testifying against one another, then what are they testifying? This takes us back to the context of what we have seen in 1 John 5. If I were to ask you what the main point of verses 1-9 are, what would you say? Maybe overcoming in Christ, having faith, believing in Him? Although these are included and true, these things are not the main point. The main point is this: the Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ! Or you could say He is the main point of verses 1-9. Not only is Jesus Christ the main content of verses 1-9, but He is the obvious over-arching theme of John’s epistle.

Verse 8 tells us explicitly that the water, blood, and the Spirit all agree. You could say that the three are consistent unlike the testimonies against Christ as recorded in Mark 14:56-59. You cannot get any clearer, the three agree. It is amazing how people will take a man’s word and believe it to the utmost, and yet, when the Bible is crystal clear on something, it is completely and utterly rejected! Another way of saying that these three agree is saying that they are one as the King James puts it. Again, this solidifies the Godness of Christ and of the Spirit. They are both God testifying about God. How much more proof do you need? God has testified about Himself. He has done so through the word. May I remind you of Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not unashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.” Friends, God has clearly revealed Himself and has testified about Himself. And He does so in complete agreement with Himself. For God cannot be divided against Himself (Luke 11:14-18).

May I emphasize that the testimony is not only about the historical evidence that Jesus Christ existed on earth. To have the testimony end here would be to miss the message of Scripture, for this is not the end result of the testimony. Then what is? Listen, the end result of the testimony is that Jesus Christ is the One whom you and I are to believe in and give our lives over to! This is what the water, the blood, and the Spirit testify of, and their testimony is consistent, and in complete agreement with one another.

3. The Father’s Testimony (v.9)

Lastly, but certainly not least, we come to the final testimony that we will consider this morning, and that is the Father’s Testimony. For that let us fix our eyes on verse 9. There is a contrast between the testimony of man and the testimony of God that opens this text up.

Should believers share the gospel? Verse 9 tells us, yes! If we receive the testimony of men. This is not questioning whether they did or not, but that they indeed did hear the testimony that came from the lips of men. Acts 5:30-32, when Peter and the apostles respond to the high priests and Sadducees, he gives them a summarization of the gospel. He tells them the bad news, that they had Christ put to death, and the good news that repentance and forgiveness of sins is available through the One they put to death. It was not just Peter who boldly proclaimed the gospel. One of the earliest instances the apostle Paul shared the gospel is recorded in Acts 17:30-31. The testimony of men, here of Paul was received by some. As Acts 17:32 says, “but others said, We shall hear you again concerning this.” The testimony of men, that is the gospel of Jesus Christ being shared continues throughout history. Do you and I receive the testimony of men today? Absolutely! We are “spoiled” with the amount of teaching that we have today. It is effortless to find solid teaching on any Christian subject you want.

Yet in all of this the divinity of Christ as the Son of God is just as important today as it was for those who proclaimed it back in the church’s infancy. The message does not change, the testimony does not change, for this message proclaimed by man as God gives him the ability is God’s message.

As wonderful as it is that we have such great teaching at our fingertips, verse 9 tells us that “the testimony of God is greater.” We need to always have this at the forefront of our minds. What is the testimony of God? Verse 9 says that the testimony of God is that concerning His Son. This is where we see the testimony of the Father. There is a clear reference to the Father testifying about the Son and that is found in John 8:17-19. Verse 18 reads, “I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” Pretty clear, isn’t it? Remember when Jesus had told the Pharisees that He and the Father are One (John 10:30, 14:6)? In so many words, Jesus is saying the same thing in John 8:18. This text in 1 John 5:9 is not an isolated text. It does not stand alone as the only claim of the personal relationship between the Father and the Son. This section of texts may not seem Trinitarian at first glance, but upon examination it is clear to see that they are. And this is for our benefit! Our God is not three separate entities, but One who carries out the will of God by illuminating men to have eyes that see the testimony regarding Jesus Christ.

Why is it that the testimony of God is greater? What makes it stand out? The simple answer is that the testimony originated with God and therefore, it is greater. This is true. I think we see the answer to that question in a fuller way. See, God is the only One who can perfectly testify about Himself. He perfectly testifies about Himself with no error, nothing is missed, everything that man needs to know God is summed up in the testimony of the Triune God. What did the Father say about the Son in Luke 3:22? “You are my beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” The relationship between Father and Son in Luke 3 is unmistakable. Further, if you were to go back to Isaiah 42:1, you would see this same proclamation. “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights.” In the same way as the water, the blood, and the Spirit’s testimonies are consistent and the same, so is the testimony of the Father throughout history. Unlike God, man is unable to fully understand God (Psalm 40:5, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Isaiah 55:8). This is why the testimony of God is greater because God fully understands Himself and everyone else (Psalm 94:11).

What you and I need to understand is that God’s testimony is greater than our testimony even if we do not comprehend it all. Our puny thoughts do not have any bearing on the knowability of God Himself. You and I do not have the right to discredit God because we do not understand what He is doing. May these words from Job 40 be a reminder of who you are and who God is. “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it” (Job 40:2). But what is Job’s response? Verse 4 says, “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?” Friends, our God’s testimony of His Son is far greater than any testimony you or I could come up. Yet, take courage, because it is in this same God in Whom we exist, and Who upholds us day by day!

Conclusion

What does the testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God have to do with me? We looked at this last week, so what more can this do to shape and mold my life? Here are a few things to consider as we apply this to our lives.

1. We have a testimony that is tried and true. The testimony that is given by the Spirit, the water, the blood, and the Father are tried. They have been for a little under 2000 years. And here we are, still discussing these things. Here we are, believing that this testimony is true. In our world, this testimony is still being tested. You and I can have confidence that the Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself of Whom has stood the test of time, will continue to stand. So, we can trust Him no matter what, we can run to Him no matter the issue. He has been able to handle it for over 2000 years, so what would stop Him now?

2. We have a plurality of witnesses.Brothers, we are not declaring these things to be true in this building alone. The more that we hear of churches folding, churches not preaching Christ and Him crucified, churches compromising, you and I can look to the plurality of witnesses that our Lord has given us. The witnesses here are divine, that is the Spirit and the Father. Yet, we are given the witness of John as he wrote this inspired by the Holy Spirit. We don’t need to compromise! We don’t need to stop preaching Christ! What we need is to come alongside the faithful witnesses who have gone before and are those who are continuing with us, to promote Christ and Him crucified.

3. We are equipped for the task.The Father and the Spirit have given a clear testimony of Jesus Christ and His divinity. We have the only message that the world needs. You and I do not need to use cunning words and cleverly devised stories. No! You and I have the written word of God! God has given us all that we need to share the gospel with a lost and dying world. This is our mission; this is our commandment from God Himself. Friends do not go out in fear, for you have been equipped with the Holy Spirit within, the word of God, and the blessing of the Father, so that you too may go and tell of our precious Lord Jesus, the Son of Almighty God!

Let’s pray.

Benediction

Psalm 29:11 “May the Lord grant strength to you, His people, and may you be blessed with strength from on High.” Amen.

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