1 John 5:6-12
6 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. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 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. 10 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. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I love the idea that I can make God a liar. St John uses this same line a couple different times in his epistle. We make God a liar, by denying what God has said or not believing what God has said. St John is not giving you some great power to turn God into the devil (the chief of all liars), but is illustrating how our actions testify to our lack of faith, understanding, and connection with the Truth.
In this modern culture "truth" seems to be a very subjective or relative term. But long ago God taught us how to determine whether a testimony was true. You needed two or three witnesses, if these witnesses agreed then it was true. Now granted if you put up three witnesses that testify that I am a chicken, and I put up three witnesses testifying that I am a cow. I think the truth would still remain that I am a human male. But nevertheless St John is talking about the testimony concerning who Jesus is.
The chief priests said that Jesus was possibly a prophet or teacher of the people who claimed to be much more. Jesus was crucified for claiming to be King of the Jews. St Thomas declares Jesus to be "my LORD and my God." But St John does not use these testimonies, rather he uses what the people still have.
The Water that testifies that God has washed you clean and adopted you to be his child. The Blood of Christ which is the blood of the sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins. This blood which cleanses you. The Spirit which is the truth as Jesus is the truth with the Father. But even more so the Spirit that calls gathers and enlightens us in the truth of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins.
These three testify together concerning Jesus Christ and what he has done for you. Therefore, you may testify differently, and try to claim that God is a liar, or even the TRUTH is a liar. But it won't make it any less true. So St John concludes that it must be true that: Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
In this modern culture "truth" seems to be a very subjective or relative term. But long ago God taught us how to determine whether a testimony was true. You needed two or three witnesses, if these witnesses agreed then it was true. Now granted if you put up three witnesses that testify that I am a chicken, and I put up three witnesses testifying that I am a cow. I think the truth would still remain that I am a human male. But nevertheless St John is talking about the testimony concerning who Jesus is.
The chief priests said that Jesus was possibly a prophet or teacher of the people who claimed to be much more. Jesus was crucified for claiming to be King of the Jews. St Thomas declares Jesus to be "my LORD and my God." But St John does not use these testimonies, rather he uses what the people still have.
The Water that testifies that God has washed you clean and adopted you to be his child. The Blood of Christ which is the blood of the sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins. This blood which cleanses you. The Spirit which is the truth as Jesus is the truth with the Father. But even more so the Spirit that calls gathers and enlightens us in the truth of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins.
These three testify together concerning Jesus Christ and what he has done for you. Therefore, you may testify differently, and try to claim that God is a liar, or even the TRUTH is a liar. But it won't make it any less true. So St John concludes that it must be true that: Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
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