Which Testimony Will You Believe?
1 John 5:6-12
And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses— the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
I imagine we’ve all heard stories so unbelievable that we’ve had to check with someone else that they’re true. Even then, some things can still be hard for us to grasp!
The truth of who Jesus is can be like that for some people. He is God’s Son, sent to earth to live as a man, to die a sacrificial and atoning death on the cross, raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit and reigning forever over all things, soon to return in glory and remake the earth to be as it was always intended to be. He has always existed, and He holds all things together. These are massive statements which for many would be unbelievable, so helpfully God has provided witnesses.
John tells us that Jesus’ baptism in water was a confirmation of his identity. We can confirm that by reading John’s account in his gospel of that event, where he records that John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus and he knew then that Jesus was the Messiah.
We also read that Jesus’ death on the cross is confirmation of his identity. Nobody but God Himself could die a sacrificial death which would be sufficient to cover one person’s sins, let alone all the sins of mankind. Jesus accomplished this.
Finally, the Spirit Himself confirms Jesus’ identity with His own testimony. Again, we see this at Jesus’ baptism when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus. We see it in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. We see it in Jesus’ immense power to perform miracles and command the forces of nature. We see it in the gentle presence of the Holy Spirit in each believer, confirming that Jesus is exactly who He says He is.
These witnesses are trustworthy and reliable. John is bringing home his central message here. False teachers have tried to claim that Jesus was not God. John has argued his case clearly and persuasively throughout the letter, and now in closing he appeals to the church to believe the testimony of God Himself over and above human testimonies.
After all, who knows about God better than God Himself?
