1 John 5 vs 6-13

1 John Chapter 5 Verse 6

·    There are many ideas as to exactly what John is saying here however the why he is saying it is quite clear. The Gnostics of the time believed in a phantom Jesus, a spirit only Jesus, as we have discussed in the past and by making this statement John is being very clear that Jesus was not simply and only a spirit but He was also very man, flesh and blood. Now, what is John saying…?

·    Jesus coming by water can refer to His physical birth and/or His baptism. Jesus was born in the physical, and in doing so, essentially was stepping into His own creation and saying, “I am not just coming to be among you, I am stepping into being one of you.” When Jesus was baptized, He wasn’t doing that for His own sin, as He Himself had none. What He said to John when John protested Jesus coming to him to be baptized, we find in Matthew 3:13-15….

·    “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.” In Jesus’ baptism, which many agree John is talking about here in 1 John 5, Jesus essentially was fully arriving, “He who came by water,” because just as in His physical birth, in His baptism this was Jesus putting on display for the world that He is one of us… (To be qualified to die for the sins of all men, Jesus must Himself be a Man…)

·    And John says that the Spirit bears witness which at the baptism of Jesus we read in Matthew 3:16, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.” Testimony of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth…

·    That same Jesus, full revelation of who He is and what He came to do, also came by blood. There is no doubt this speaks of his death. When Jesus died, He didn’t do so because He had to (the wages of sin is death and death had no power over Him). He laid down His life willingly, why? To again, fully identify with sinful humanity AND to pay the debt of sin for all.

·    So, He was born of water at His birth, and submitted to water at His baptism to fully step into His qualification as fully Man, and He was then further proven as our representative, the qualified representative of all humanity, when He surrendered to death for the my sin and for yours. The Spirit bore witness then and He continues to do so today…

1 John Chapter 5 Verses 7 – 8

·    These verses are interesting. In what is said, not too much to exegete. John calls to witness the truth of heaven and the truth of earth to fortify the truth of the Savior Jesus Christ. Got it. We move one… Interestingly, these verses actually have their own name/title. These are known as the Johannine Comma. What’s that mean?

·    These verses, in virtually all of the ancient textus receptus manuscripts, simply are not there except for one 11th century and one 12th century manuscript in which they are actually added to the margin by a reader. They mysteriously also appear in the Latin Vulgate which was a Latin translation of the Greek manuscripts attributed to Jerome and completed around 200AD. We get our New Testament (King James translations) from Erasmus’ word for word ancient Greek transcription and he purposefully left out these verses because they show up in the Latin Vulgate but not the Greek manuscripts… So here we are… Honestly, take them or leave them. They (in my opinion) add nothing that is not already found clearly in many other places in scripture…

1 John Chapter 5 Verses 9 – 13

·    God the Father has testified, set a seal of authenticity, on Jesus Christ, God the Son. How? Well, first, explicitly. At the baptism of Jesus, we read in Matthew 3:16-17, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

·    Did you know that this is not the only time the Father speaks audibly from heaven with a crowd around testifying of Jesus Christ? Surrounded by people including His disciples in John 12 verses 20 – 30, “Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.”

·    There are proofs, a ton of other proofs, in the scriptures and in the history of the world, and in the history of many lives including my own that Jesus is Himself the Son of God. One of those is the myriad of impossible prophecies fulfilled in His birth, life, death and resurrection. Another is His works He did…, John 5:36, Jesus said, “But I have a greater witness than John’s, for the works which the Father has given Me to finish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me…”

·    So, we have the testimony of the scriptures, the testimony of others such as John the Baptist, the testimony of the Father, Jesus says the Spirit testifies of the Son, the works testify of the Son and ultimately, the kicker, the straw that breaks the camel’s back, the resurrection bears witness of Jesus Christ being the promised Messiah, the Son of God, having in Himself eternal life!

·    So, the testimony of God is that He has given us, granted us, restored unto us and redeemed us unto eternal life by His Son Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. If we choose not to believe, not to accept what God has provided but rather to reject Jesus, we commit the unpardonable sin. You cannot have eternal life, as testified by yes, the Christian Bible, but also by Jesus Himself, fulfilled prophecy, the historical miraculous works He delivered, and as testified by the only man to bring forth life out of death…, being resurrected, all of that lays out with unavoidable undeniable testimony that you cannot have eternal life apart from the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

·      Now, it should be strongly emphasized that eternal life is FAR more, much more than quantity or simply duration of time but it is also and it is first a quality of life. Paul said that he rejoices in hope, loves and enjoys his everyday life, because although the outward man is dying, the inward man is being renewed day by day…, every day of eternal life once you receive Jesus Christ is a day you are growing stronger! Impossible any other way…

·    Solomon had everything this world had to offer and then some. He said in Ecclesiastes 2:10, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor.” And at the end of getting more than any other single person has ever had, he stated for all of history in Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.””

·    Give him everything and he finds no life. And yet we have Paul and Silas in prison rejoicing with singing! We have everyone of the apostles embrace death rather than deny what Jesus had done for them and who He was. We have Paul himself who literally lost more than everything write an authoritative book on joy while in a Roman prison! (Philippians).

·    So, yea, chase whatever you’re chasing to make you whole, to satisfy your soul…, I guess Paul did it wrong…, in the midst of all your getting, get understanding, get Jesus and find and accept this eternal life that God has given through His Son!