There are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood; and these three agree as one. 1 John 5:8
There are so many voices in the world that speak so many different things. How can we know what’s true?
Truth is exclusive. There can only be one truth to every subject. During a trial of a crime, the objective of the trial is to determine what truly happened. The lawyer presents his case and uses reason, evidence, and, most importantly, witnesses to determine truth. Another lawyer will cross examine each witness in order to try to expose any lies or to try to discredit the witness. In the end, the jury will come to a verdict and either let a man free, or condemn him to prison, or even death, not based off of what they saw with their own eyes, but based of the testimony of evidence and witnesses.
God, in his mercy, has not left us without evidence and witness of His truth. Despite all the voices, God’s truth shouts loud and clearly to all that will take the time to hear.
Evidence of God is everywhere around us. Nature in all its beauty is evidence enough of God. But besides this evidence, He has left us with three witnesses that testify of the specifics of His will for the human race. These witnesses are the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood.
The Spirit is the person of the Holy Spirit who testifies to us on a spiritual level. He convicts us of what is wrong, what is right, and the judgment that will come upon all men (John 16:8). When the truth is spoken, He takes that truth and, like with a sword, cuts down a man’s heart in order to impress that truth upon him (Acts 2:37).
The Water is the revelation of God’s word through His prophets and apostles (see Eph 5:26). This is actually many witnesses, but it is combined into one type of witness. Our bible is a collection of writings from many different men who have witnessed the truth of God in some way. Their testimonies agree and have stood the test of time. We have the testimony of Moses, who claimed to speak with God face to face. We have the testimony of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the other prophets who all claimed to see the glory of God and to hear His words. We have the testimony of Solomon, to whom God appeared to twice. We have the testimony of the apostle John, who walked with Jesus and witnessed his miracles. We have the testimony of Peter, who saw Jesus transformed on the holy mountian. We have the men who saw and spoke with Jesus after He had died, and had been risen from the dead. We have the testimony of Paul, who was thrown off His donkey by the risen Savior, and also caught up in the the heaven of heavens to see things that are to come for all who believe. What’s the difference between the Bible and other so-called holy books? The visions, revelations, and experiences of the bible are from many (of which all agree), whereas other books are either the so called ‘revelations’ of one man (i.e. the kuran), or simply the philosophical ideas of men (not revelations). The bible is cleary set apart as one of God’s witnesses.
The last witness is the blood, which means the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Whether you believe the account of Jesus’ death as the Savior or not, His death still speaks, and you would do well to listen to what it has to say.
The first thing that these witness testify of is your guilt before God. Most people disregard God and His salvation because they think themselves as good people. But are you a good person? When a person approaches this idea subjectively they will always make themsleves out as a angel of God who, yes, has done a few bad things in their lifetime, but, ‘hey, who hasn’t?’ Even in the viliest of prison cells you will find that most will conclude that they are, indeed, good people. As a matter of fact, many of you are immediately offended at me for suggesting that you might not be a good person. But I’m not suggesting that you are a just a bad person. I’m suggesting that you are a down right wicked and evil person who has set yourself up as an enemy of God Himself, unless of course, you have been cleansed from all your sin by Him.
Why do you think yourself a good person? What measuring rod are you using? What standard are you measuring yourself up to? The bible says that when you measure yourselves by yourselves, you are not wise. You need to measure yourself by God’s standards. He is the one Who will be judging you.
First look at yourself in the light of the Ten Commandments. You have broken every one of them. You have lied, you have stolen. Even if you have only lied about or stolen something very small, it is still a great evil because you think so little of God’s commands that you would break them even for something small and insignficant. How insulted God must be. You have all committed adultery. If you haven’t physically slept with another besides your spouse, you have all done it in your hearts. Jesus said that if you look after a woman to lust after her you have already committed adultery with her. This also applies to the unmarried who have effectively cheated on their spouses before they have even met them. All of you men have looked and lusted after pornography and most of you still do it now, even today. Are you a good person?
We could go through all the Ten Commandments and see how you have broken them, but what about the greatest of all commandments? Have you broken it? Love the Lord you God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength. Have you done this? Or is God even in your thoughts? Or is He only an after-thought and a last resort to call upon when all else has failed?
Have you loved your neighbor as yourself? This is the second greatest commandment. Sure, you love those who are nice to you and friendly to you, but what about those that are not so lovely? What about those that are uncivilized and not so pleasent? Are they not also your nieghbor? Have you loved them or have you dispised them? Have you secretly been happy when they move away, or die? I know that I have been guilty; you are guilty also. The Holy Spirit testifies this truth to your heart.
The Word of God also testifies of this truth when it says, “all the world is guilty before God.” Romans 3:19. And “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10. Jesus said, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, becuase I testify of its works, that they are evil.”
The blood of Jesus also testifies of this true, because we can judge thus: if one died for all, then all must have died. Jesus didn’t suffer the pains of torture and death because we are good people. He suffered because when are needy people. We need forgiveness from God and it only comes through Jesus.
The next thing that these three witnesses testify is of the Love of God for you.
Its unfathomable how great the love of God is for you, even such a person that you are. God feels deeply for you every day. Even as much as we insult Him, He still loves us. To the rebellious people of Isreal, God opened up His heart when He said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Jeremiah 31:3. By saying, “everlasting love” He shows us that this is a love that has had no beginning and will have no end. It shows us that it is a love that cannot be altered based on what we have done or not done. It is a love that is a continual stream that flows from the throne of God to all that will partake of it.
The Holy Spirit testifies of this love by warming your hearts with the love of God.
The Scripture bear witness in many places, most notably the famous John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…” “I have love you with an everlasting love” “What can seperate us from the love of Christ?”
The Blood of Jesus bears witness by taking that love from a thought and an emotion to a demostration. For no greater love has any man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus Christ laid down His life for us so that we can forever rest any doubt that God truly loves us. He most assuredly loves us.
The last thing that these witnesses testify of today is the readiness of God to freely forgive us and of the impending doom of those who refuse.
The Holy Spirit testifies of this by putting a holy urgency into your heart. He confirms to your spirit that a day of rekoning is coming. There is coming a day where all that you have done, that you thought was lost and forgotten, will be made manifest. Every sin, whether known or secret, will be there, unless, of course, you recieve His pardon and accept His terms.
The Scripture testifies of this also. The apostle Paul says the day is coming when “God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.” Romans 2:16. Jesus said that on this judgement day all people will give an account, even for “every careless word that they speak.” Matthew 12:36. John said that he saw a great throne, and Him who was seated on it. He saw all mankind, who had not been washed, standing before the throne. He saw the books opened. Every deed that every man had ever been done had been recorded and each man recieved judgement according to what he had done. PeterJude, John, as well as others all testify that this day is coming.
The blood of Jesus testifies as well. If Jesus died in our place, we can certainly understand that those who refuse His gracious offer will die their own death. They will die in their sin, even though One paid for it all. They will perish forever.
But lets examine the testimony of Jesus death. What was it for? Was it for judgement? Was it so God can condemn you as a evil person and sentence you to eternal torments? No. Jesus did not come to condemn the word, but to save it. Only those who disbelieve God’s witnesses condemn themselves. They refuse to see the obvious truth before them because of the pride of their hearts. It’s not that God’s truth isn’t plain, but it is that they love evil more than good. They love themselves more than God.
Is that you? Have you not recongized that it is your pride or your love of pleasure that keeps you from recieving God’s gift? In His love He has been more than gracious. He extends this offer of forgiveness to you if you will come to Him on His terms. That is, if you will forsake your former life, if you will renounce every evil thing, and come humbly to him like a little child. You can choose to refuse, but in doing so you only choose your own death. You choose the foolish path. You choose a way that is not permissible by God and ready yourself for His judgement. Breaking God’s law isn’t a lifestyle choice, it is an act of rebellion against God, against humanity, and against all that is good. By choosing your own way you make yourself out to be smarter than God. You are not smarter than God. Your own way will lead only to misery here on earth and later in Hell. God’s way is perfect and leads to perfect peace – here and in the age to come.
Hal Chaffee 