1 John 5:6-9 - We Can Believe Without Understanding

Today, Monday September 13 We Can Believe Without Understanding 1 John 5:6-9 “This is He who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.” The greatest foundational truth of the Bible is that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh! He is the Son of God! Jesus Christ was all God and at the same time all human! You might say, “I don’t think I can understand that.” That’s ok! You don’t have to understand it but you can and must believe it. Over the years I’ve heard many people say that they can’t believe something they can’t understand especially when it comes to talking about God and Jesus. But the truth is we do believe in things we don’t understand. I don’t understand what electricity is and exactly how it works but I can still turn on a light switch and a light bulb in the ceiling comes on and floods the room with light and the darkness disappears. I don’t understand how a black and white cow eats green grass and then gives white milk but I sure do enjoy drinking milk. Yes my friend, we experience and enjoy a host of things we don’t always understand but when we simply believe and accept them we find that they are real! In the passage before us today we are told that we have the witness of God Himself that Jesus is real and that there are at least three witnesses to His deity. How do we know that Jesus Christ is God? Some of His contemporaries called Him a liar and a deceiver (Matt. 27:63). Others have suggested He was a religious fanatic, a madman, or perhaps a Jewish patriot who was sincere but sadly mistaken. The people to whom John was writing were exposed to a popular false teaching that Jesus was merely a man on whom "the Christ" had come when Jesus was baptized. On the cross, "the Christ" left Jesus ("My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?") and so He died like any other human being. John's epistle refutes this false teaching. It presents three infallible witnesses to prove that Jesus is God. First witness—the water. Jesus came "by water and blood." The water refers to His baptism in Jordan, when the Father spoke from heaven and said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:13-17). At the same time the Spirit descended like a dove and rested on Him. This was the Father's attestation of His Son at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Second witness—the blood. But the Father gave further witness as the time drew near for Jesus to die. He spoke audibly to Jesus from heaven, and said, "I have both glorified [My name], and will glorify it again" (John 12:28). Furthermore, the Father witnessed in miracle power when Jesus was on the cross: the supernatural darkness, the earthquake, and the rending of the temple veil (Matt. 27:45, 50-53). No wonder the centurion cried out, "Truly this was the Son of God!" (Matt. 27:54) Jesus did not receive "the Christ" at His baptism and lose it at the cross. On both occasions, the Father witnessed to the deity of His Son. It is my prayer that today you will believe and accept the reality of this great truth about Jesus and experience the assurance of salvation and eternal life! God bless!