1 john, my death, a brush with fame, and the castle
its been too long. so..
first, here’s basically what i did for a Bible study a little while ago:
Who is Christ? 5:1,5
Before we begin, please turn with me to 1 John chapter 5. Much of this book has been about tests: the doctrinal, moral, and relational tests of the genuineness of our profession of faith. [what we believe about Jesus Christ; whether we obey God’s Word and love and delight in it; and how we love one another in Christian friendship in the local church] Rather than focusing on the TEST of our faith, this passage gives testimony to the OBJECT of our faith.
Last week we learned that the believer’s victory lies in the confession of Jesus as the Son of God. John 5:1, 5 tell us that He is the Christ/Messiah and the Son of God. This is a specific confession about the REAL Jesus. This doctrine goes hand in hand with the faith that characterizes the Christian.
So, tonight we will be talking about:
The Testimony of God Concerning Jesus Christ: 3 Witnesses – v. 6-9
Our Response to this Testimony – v. 10
The Result of our Response – v. 11-12
This is John’s defense against the heretical claims of Gnosticism using God’s own testimony.
READ: verses 6-12
6. 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.
7. For there are three that bear witness:
8. the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
9. 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.
10. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given [testified] of His Son.
11. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Textual discrepancy: the parts of 7-8 I didn’t include there are not found in our oldest manuscripts, but were added later. They are not doctrinally incorrect, but they do not belong in the context of this passage. Ask me if you want to know the details, or look it up somewhere.
WHAT is one important word/theme in verses 6-12: ……WITNESS (RECORD/TESTIMONY) martyreo/martyria: to testify/a testimony (as in a court of law). The Greek word is used 9 times in the passage. IMPORTANT REPETITION!!
The Details of the Testimony of God – v. 6-9
Jesus ‘came by water and blood’. (Why does John say this? What does that mean?) ………………It is a reference to Jesus’ baptism and death. Some false teachers were teaching that Jesus of Nazareth received the Christ-spirit at His baptism and ceased to be the Christ just before His death. Others were saying that Jesus only appeared to be human, like a really good hologram. No. This is Jesus, the Christ. He was Christ at His baptism AND death. Apparently this congregation that John is writing to was confused by the false teaching.
Water:
ASK for confirmations: God spoke at His baptism, the Holy spirit came down to Him like a dove, and later John the Baptist proclaimed who Jesus was. (Mt. 3:16-17)
Why was Christ baptized?…………… John even tried to stop Him, since he knew Jesus didn’t need to be baptized! Baptism was an outward sign of repentance from sin, but He was publicly identifying Himself with the sinners He came to save. His perfect obedience never stopped Him from performing everything God commanded of His people (as with the temple tax). He claimed no exemption. As He came out of the water, the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and a voice from heaven spoke. (John 1:32-34; Matt 3:16-17) This is one testimony to who Jesus is.
Blood:
The soldier in Mt.27:54; complete darkness, earthquakes, broken tombs, raised dead, temple veil torn; thief and centurion in Lk.23:41, 54; not to mention the countless prophetic confirmations
If He was not both human and Christ at death, He would not have the power to overcome sin, and he would not have risen. (1 Cor. 15:14 ‘And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.’)
Spirit:
How does the Holy Spirit testify to Jesus as the Son of God?………. Jesus was conceived by, led by, empowered by, and filled with the Spirit. If He made all these claims while all this is true, then that means the Holy Spirit led Him to lie, which is against the nature of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit bears witness to this testimony because the Spirit is truth. John is no longer stressing apostolic authority. He appeals to the testimony of someone greater. There are 3 witnesses: the Spirit, the water, and the blood.
(1 John 1:2 – ‘we have seen it and bear witness’) Man’s witness is received in a court of law as evidence. If the witness/record of men is received as truth, we ought to believe the witness of God, because it is so much greater. Why do we listen to false teachers? This is the witness of God concerning His Son: he who does not believe in the Son of God calls Him a liar and is antichrist. (2:22)
Our Response to the Testimony of God – v. 10
If you believe this testimony, you have the ‘witness in [your]self’. 1 John 2:20-21, 27 tell us that we have the Holy Spirit and we don’t need some other ‘special knowledge’. When we read about His baptism and death, the Spirit testifies to us.
Rom 8:15-16 – the Holy Spirit tells us that we are children of God. If you do not believe, you are calling God a liar, which is blasphemy.
The Result of our Belief in God’s Testimony – v. 11-12
This is God’s testimony: (v. 11) “that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”
In John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that [you] may know [God], the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom [He has] sent.”
John presents no neutral position. No straddling the fence. Matt. 12:30 (to the Pharisees), “He who is not with Me is against Me.”
The Warning to those who reject it: “How will [you] escape if [you] neglect so great a salvation?” (Heb 2:3)
The Promise: “As many as received [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, even those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)
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I died! well.. in a movie anyway. it’s called ‘downstream’. it might be in theaters some time in the future, but if not, they’ll probly sell it to sci-fi channel or something. i played a resident of a ‘tent city’ where the main dude stopped on his journey. the day he leaves our village, the bad guy comes in and kills all of us. i was in front of my fellow tent city people when the shooting started, so i died first. so…. thats my first time dying on film. ive died on stage before, but this is a whole new thing for me! billy drago [http://imdb.com/name/nm0236711/], who played an antagonist character (and fellow tent city resident) told me that if you die [some 4-digit number.. i forgot] times on film, you actually die. so, hes strange. but a great actor. we shared a seat in the 12 passenger van we used that night as a heated breakroom. and i was his stand-in for a few scenes while he took a break. oh! im pretty sure he is the only person to ever kill sean connery on screen! (see ‘the untouchables’) i helped another main character up several times after he had to repeatedly fall on the ground cuz he died in that scene too. so, it was an interesting few days. and during the countless hours they had us there in our wardrobe and makeup stuff, but didnt have anything for us to do, i played some card games (mostly b.s.) with the other extras. ..i mean, ‘background talent’. it was great. we played cards in a castle dressed like medieval townspeople. yes, a castle. there is a castle in lancaster! its on a cattle ranch called.. can you guess?.. “Castle Ranch”. yep, those lancasterians are creative. i didnt have a spare second (literally) from like wed afternoon thru monday night. between work, film, meetings, and church, i was completely booked. ugh. lack of sleep.
so, maybe i’ll give more updates later. but i hope that satisfies the masses for now. oh! your name just got called. get outta here. oh, i hope you had a great april fools!
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