1Jn 5:6-8 “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”
In the fifth verse of this chapter John has declared “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” He now continues to bear witness that Jesus is the Son of God by declaring that this Jesus came by water and blood. This was the manner in which He was identified as being the only begotten Son of God.
There are a number of different ideas about the meaning of verse six. Some believe that it refers to His virgin birth which fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. Many scholars think it refers to Him being baptized by John the Baptist and later His death on the cross. It was at His baptism in Jordan that the voice of God was first heard to declare “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (Mat 3:17).” There were many evidences at His crucifixion (the sun being darkened, the veil being torn from top to bottom, etc.) that bore testimony that this was the very Son of God.
The definitions of the Greek words translated as “water” and “blood” may also give us a witness of the truth of both the divinity and the humanity of Jesus. The word translated as water means (according to Strong’s) “water (as if rainy) literally or figuratively.” This description of water (rainy) calls to mind that which comes down from above. Jesus, as God’s anointed came down from above. He left the glory He had with the Father and came to this earth. However, He didn’t just come to earth but He came here as a flesh and blood man. The definition of the word translated as blood means “blood, literally (of men or animals), figuratively (the juice of grapes) or specifically (the atoning blood of Christ); by implication bloodshed, also kindred.”
He came not by water only but by water and blood. He was verily God and came down from above. He was verily man and made us His kindred. The Holy Spirit bears witness in our hearts of this blessed truth; Jesus is divine and Jesus is human. He understands all the things of God because He is God. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities because He is man. The Father, the Word (the Divine Expression), and the Holy Ghost bear record in heaven, and they are one.
Notice that the witness here is in earth and not on earth. The witness of the truth that Jesus is the Son of God is in us. This is why the order of the three that bear witness in earth starts with the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit of God that reveals in us the blessed truth that He came down from heaven (water) and lived and died here as a man (blood). In this we are assured that He has the power and authority to free us from the law of sin and death; He brought with Him the law of the Spirit of life (Rom 8:2)! The three that bear witness in earth agree in one. What a great peace we have when there is agreement.
May we rejoice today in the unity of the witness, both in heaven and in earth, that Jesus is the Son of God!
