Sermon Tone Analysis
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Here John illustrates the three witnesses that God provides to show that Jesus is the Christ: water, blood, and Spirit.
By believing God’s testimony, we can have eternal life through his Son.
Three Witnesses to Jesus’ Identity (5:6–8)
There are three that testify to who Jesus is—fully God and fully man: water, blood, and Spirit.
The phrase “He who came” refers to the historic fact.
John 1:15
“Water” here likely refers to Jesus’ baptism.
Jesus also came by blood, which likely refers to his crucifixion.
Cerinthus who lived and taught Gnostic heresy during this time which was around 50-100 AD/CE, taught that the divine Christ descended on the man Jesus at His baptism and left Him before His crucifixion.
Thus he denied that one Person, Jesus Christ, came by both water and blood.
Cerinthus was doubtless not alone in such views, which John regarded as utterly false and contrary to the true testimony of the Holy Spirit.
Indeed, there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
The Spirit’s witness may be thought of as coming through the prophets (including John the Baptist).
The Spirit’s witness, then, was augmented by the historical realities involved in “the water” and “the blood.”
Both the baptism and the crucifixion of Jesus are strongly attested historical facts (cf.
John 1:32–34; 19:33–37).
All three witnesses (“water” and “blood” are personified) “are in agreement” that a single divine Person, Jesus Christ, was involved in these events.
Born of flesh yet divine in nature.
The Testimony of God (YHWH): Eternal Life (5:9-13)
If human testimony is accepted on the basis of three witnesses, how much more should God’s testimony be accepted.
John of course is referring to Deut.
19:15
Two points are made before specifying God’s testimony in verses 11–12.
First, divine testimony should be accepted because it is greater than human testimony, which everyone accepts.
Second, willful unbelief is sin.
If we trust people to be true to their word, why would we not trust God, who is more trustworthy than humans?
So what is being testified to?
That eternal life comes from God through his Son Jesus and through no other way.
This statement is very likely directed at the antichrists who charged that the readers did not really have eternal life through Christ.
Scripture makes it clear that we do have eternal life through Jesus.
To deny this is to deny God’s testimony and to call God a liar.
John clearly stated his purpose for writing the Gospel of John: (John 20:31)
The Gospel of John was written to non-Christians to lead them to become Christians.
In a parallel way, toward the end of his first epistle, John stated his purpose for writing it:
First John is written to those who are Christians to give them assurance that they are saved.
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