The Holy Spirit is not capitalized.
He's a little s. Well, that's utter blasphemy.
Because the Holy Spirit is God. So they deny the witness that
God has given of himself in the scriptures. Look at verse 7 in
this chapter. This is marvelous. And we see
that this is a direct reference to the Trinity, beloved. Three
in one, three distinct personalities, yet one in power, one in purpose,
and one in decree. For there are three that bear
record in heaven. Three. The Father, Jehovah. The Word,
or the Son, Jehovah. And the Holy Ghost, Jehovah. Right? And these three are one.
And notice it doesn't say one in faith, because our faith is
in them. They don't have to have faith,
they're God. You see how people just twist the Scriptures a little
bit, beloved? Oh my. But they make God a liar
in denying what the Scriptures say. It says here very distinctly
that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost are three in one. Three in one. Last week we saw
that the strength of the Church, the born-again believer, lies
in He alone who who is our Savior. We only find the victory over
the world in Christ. He is the great object of our
faith, beloved. He's the great object of our
faith. Let's read verses four and five again. Look at this,
1 John 5. For whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh
the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? The Father of Christ is born
again of the Holy Spirit of God. And when the Holy Spirit regenerates
us, we see ourselves as a needy, lost, and helpless sinner before
God. We see our natural state for
the first time when the Holy Spirit regenerates us. And then we continue to see that
state all through our walk through this world. But we find all fullness
and all suitableness of our salvation in Christ and Him alone. And the regenerated sinner, the
born-again sinner discovers that they have been drawn to Christ
by the will of the Father, by the Holy Spirit of God. And they
are brought to the only one who can save us from our sins. The
Lord Jesus Christ. And each born-again believer
believes, by God-given faith, the witness that God has given
in the Scriptures of His Son. of his son. They find in Christ,
again, all their wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
And they find in him the only one who can overcome the world,
the only one who has overcome the world. In joy and in sorrow, the believer
in Christ, the born again, blood-washed believer, has a peace that passes
all understanding. Folks don't understand how we
can be so calm in this world. Well, it's because we know who's
in control. Now, do we get agitated? Do we get worked up? Absolutely.
But we end up getting our eyes on Christ again instead of the
world, and we calm back down again, don't we? But as Brother
Tim said, oh, what a burden we have for our loved ones. What
a burden we have for them who do not know Christ. And continue
to pray for them, beloved, until they breathe their last breath.
Continue to lift them up to Christ. Oh my, we don't know who God's
people are. He knows, but we don't, so therefore
we pray for our family, our friends. Oh my, people we just come in
contact with. You ever find yourself just praying
for someone that you just met? Lord, please save them. You might
not see them again, and you might not think of them again, but
you ask the Lord. Lord, please just save them if it's your will.
My. Now let's read verses. Let's
read verses 1 to 10 of 1 John chapter 5 for tonight's study.
We'll be looking at verses 6 to 8 tonight, but let's read the
context of these verses that we're going to study tonight.
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."
Note there the statement, Jesus is the Christ, is born of God
and everyone that loveth Him, that begot, loveth Him also that
is begotten of Him. So God's people love those who
are born again by God the Holy Spirit. By this we know that
we love the children of God. When we love God and keep His
commandments, we love His Word. We didn't used to love His Word,
now we do. Now we love His Word. For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not
grievous. The Word of God is not grievous to the believer
in Christ. No, it guides us, it directs
us, it tells us about our Savior. It tells us about who God is.
As the Holy Spirit illuminates the Scriptures for us, we learn
and grow in the grace and knowledge and truth of Christ. And we see
again ourselves before God, even more, as sinners. But oh, what
a great Savior we see. What a Savior. What a Savior. And the book is not gravious.
The words of this Bible are not gravious to God's people. For
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh
the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Now there's a statement right there that we're gonna latch
onto tonight. Jesus, or look at that, but he
that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. We're going to
look at the witness that's put forth in scriptures. That Jesus
is the Son of God. 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. Now note there, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost. The Word there, we're gonna see
later on, became flesh and dwelt among us. And there are three that bear
record, that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water,
and the blood, and these three agree in one. Now see there where
it says, for there are three that bear record in heaven? Record
there is witness. There are three that bear witness
in heaven. In the Greek, that word's witness. The Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost. And then the next verse says,
and there are three that bear witness in the earth, the spirit, the
water, and the blood. And these three agree in one.
If we receive the witness of man, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God
which he had testified of his son. He that believeth on the
Son hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar. Because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son. So those Watchtower folks who
say that Jesus isn't God, that he was a God, which is utter
blasphemy, you have to do Greek gymnastics. What they do is they
say 1 John 1 which says in the beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God and the Word was God. The God there is logos
at the end of that verse. And you have to do Greek gymnastics
in order to put a God in there. It's not in the, it's not in
the, it's not in the Greek at all, at all. And they make God
a liar by, by saying that the Lord Jesus Christ is not God.
That's what the scriptures bring it forth there in verse 10. We're
going to look at that more in depth next week though. But look at
that. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in
himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave
of his Son. What's the record that God gave of his Son? This
is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased. The Son of God. We'll see later on, the Word
of God incarnates. The one who said in verse seven
is one with the Father and one with the Holy Spirit. The three-in-one,
beloved. The three-in-one. As we saw last week, the Apostle
Paul made it very clear in his writing, which again is inspired
by the Holy Spirit of God. Never forget these words are
inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. That he who overcomes the world
He brings forth before us a clear explanation of this victorious
faith in verse five. Look at this. He who is he that
overcometh the world, but he that believe it, that Jesus is
the son of God. See our victories in Christ.
So who is the one who overcomes the world? He who believes that
Jesus Christ, that Jesus is the son of God, that he is who he
says he is, that he is who he says he is. He's already told
us in verse four that those who are born of God overcome the
world by faith. And again, that faith is only
in Christ. And we have the victory in these
truths, and they can only be understood by the grace of God,
that all our victory, all our overcome in this world comes
to us in Christ, in Him alone. He gets all the glory, beloved.
If we could say that we get victorious in ourselves, then we'd be glorying
in ourselves, wouldn't we? But it don't work that way. Christ
gets all the glory. He won't share His glory with
anyone else. And we don't want Him to. We don't want Him to. Oh, He's the only one who could
redeem us. He's the great Savior. He's the
great Savior. Look at verses 4 and 5 again.
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this
is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Again,
our faith is centered in Christ. He's the object of our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world? But he that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of God. So God-given faith believes that
Jesus is the Son of God. Very plainly bought forth, isn't
it? Now we see the next three verses
in our text, verses six to eight, have to do with the true witness
that Jesus is the Son of God. Verse five of this chapter brings
forth that the ones who overcome the world, the ones who are born
again by the Holy Spirit of God, are the ones who believe that
Jesus is the Son of God. And we believe this by God-given
faith, don't we? We believe this by revelation
of the Holy Spirit of God. Because we can all look back
at a time when we didn't believe this. I don't care how religious
a person was. Until we're born again, we don't
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We don't love
him before we're saved, before we're regenerated, do we? No. No. We may not have said, I hate
him, but in our actions we did, and in our sin, We did that. But look at this,
it's marvelous. The question is, do you believe
that Jesus is the Son of God? Because if you do, if you're
born again by the Holy Spirit of God, the scripture plainly
brings forth here that you believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That salvation's only in Him
and nowhere else. You believe the witness that
the Father and that the Holy Spirit has given us in the Scriptures. We believe the witness of God.
Remember we looked at that earlier in our study? The true believer
in Christ believes what God says in His Word. We don't argue with
it. Now we don't understand it all.
I like what Norm Wells says, Brother Norm Wells, he says,
when I come to a passage that I don't understand, I just go
over that, because I haven't been given any light on it yet. But God may in time be pleased
to give me light on that verse. I like that. Because we certainly,
we're just scratching the surface at what we know, beloved. But
we marvel at what God reveals to us, don't we? We marvel in
it. We marvel in it. Look at verses
5 to 8. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
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 the earth, the spirit, and the water,
and the blood, and these three agree in one. Now, note the words
in verse five at the end, because they tie right into the next
verses. Jesus is the Son of God. Turn to chapter four, if you
will, in this book. Chapter four, and let's read
verse 15, in light of what's brought forth here. Jesus is
the Son of God. Look at this, 1 John 4, 15. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God. Look at that. If we believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God, how can we be sure that he's the Son of
God? Who bears witness to the fact that he is the Son of God?
Who did we get our faith from? And that faith believes that
He's the Son of God, who overcomes the world, that He overcomes
the world for us, that He's done it. But we'll see that John in
the next two studies brings forth before us who bears witness,
who bears witness that Jesus is the Son of God, and it's God
the Father, God the Holy Spirit, beloved, who does this? And we know that our Lord's own
works bear witness of who He was. They gave witness that He was
the Son of God, that He was God incarnate in the flesh. But we
see that there are three that bear record, which is witnessed
in the Greek, again, in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost, and these three are one. One in purpose, always remember
this, one in purpose, one in decree, one in power, one in
executing that which the Father has purposed and planned. They're
one. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the
three are one. Three distinct personalities, yet one. Oh my. See, natural, finite, man, we
try to understand the infinite. And that's why you get all these
twisted doctrines. We can't understand the Infinite
God, just what He reveals to us in Scripture, and then we
just stand there with our mouth open, don't we? And our eyes
wide at who He really is. Look at verse 6, this is He,
being Christ, that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ,
not by water only, but by blood. by water and blood, and it is
the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. Now notice that John brings forth
here before us the incarnation of the Word of God, the incarnation
of Christ, with the words, This is He that came. The Lord Jesus
Christ came to this earth. No matter if people deny it,
He came. He was here. John saw him. John
heard him. John laid his head upon his breast.
He's a witness. He's an earwitness, an eyewitness
of who Christ is. And this is who's writing this
book. And the Lord Jesus Christ was God incarnate in the flesh. fully man and yet fully God and
at the appointed time of the father when the fullness of time
was come God sent his son the Lord Jesus Christ the Word of
God the Word of God the second person of the Trinity the Word
of God made of a woman made under the law and he came into this
world not a second late and not a second early But He came into
this world at the exact appointed time of our great God, what He
had set and purposed in eternity. And God prepared a body for the
world, didn't He? Yeah. Christ was born the sinless,
spotless Lamb of God. Marvel at these words. This is
He that came. He came into this world. Marvel
at those words. I was reading about the incarnation
today, and great is the mystery of godliness. God was in the flesh. The Word
of God. My. The sinless, spotless Lamb of
God. Emmanuel, He's called. God with
us. the King of Kings and the Lord
of Lords, fully God and yet fully man, totally sinless, perfect. Blessed is the King of Israel
that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hallelujah. And His name
is the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Israel. And He cometh in the name of
the Lord, sent by the Father. at the exact appointed time to
redeem His people from their sins. And the words there, this is
He that comes, has direct reference to the incarnation of Christ.
It's a definite historic event. I was reading a Greek scholar
today and he was bringing that out, that the wording in the
Greek is a definite historic event. Think of the pre-existent
Son of God came into this world. The Word, the one who's one with
the Father and the Spirit, came into this world. God was manifest in the flesh,
and He was sent by the Father to do the Father's will, beloved.
And what was the Father's will? that Christ would save His people
from their sins. And each believer can say, it
was the Father's will that Christ was sent to save me from my sins. And He would shed His blood for
me on Calvary's cross. And never forget, beloved, all
our sins were future at Calvary's cross. Same watchtower folks
I was talking to, I said, all my sins are forgiven. All of
them. Because every sin of mine was
future at Calvary's cross. And Christ paid it all. Hallelujah. What a Savior. What a God. That the Word of God would become
flesh, dwell among us, and save me from all my sins. Let's turn to John chapter 1.
John chapter 1. John who wrote this epistle that
we're studying. Let's go to the gospel that bears
his name in chapter 1. Look at this verse here. The
law was given by Moses, but you know grace and truth came by
Jesus Christ. Grace and truth only came to
us by Jesus Christ. Look at this, John 1, verse 17,
look at this. For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Now note the contrast
here before us between law and grace in this verse. The law,
moral and levitical, was given to Moses, or to men through Moses. It's not his own, it comes from
God. But note the contrast here. Grace and truth were not given
to Christ. They're His already. They're part of His essential
perfections, beloved. And they came to us by Him. Moses received from God the Law,
which manifested that God is righteous and He demands men
to be perfect. to be sinless in order to stand
before Him. It tells man what we ought to
do, but it tells us something we could never do. Now the law we know is holy and
just and good, and it demands obedience, doesn't it? It demands
obedience. And the only alternative to not
being obedient is death. is dead. It's inflexible in its claims and it remits no
part of its penalty. The soul that sinneth it must
die. And we know that such a law,
the holy law of God, could never justify nor show mercy to a sinner. It was to be a schoolmaster of
the Lord, to bring us to Christ. And think of this, the terror
that Israel displayed at the giving of the law is the terror
felt by every sinner who truly understands the law and understands
that we can never fulfill it. Not one law. Not one law. It reveals to us condemnation
and death, doesn't it? For the sinner, it does not reveal
the love and grace of God, no, it's stern. Justice must be satisfied. It reveals the justice of God,
and it does not make mercy known. And the law testified to God's
righteousness and God's holiness, but it did not exhibit His grace,
because by the law is the knowledge of sin. Now contrast that with the grace
of God, and the mercy of God, and the truth of God, which this
verse tells us came by Jesus Christ. We only find in the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ the grace and mercy of God to sinners. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ tells us of He who is full of grace. He who is the way, the truth,
and the life. And His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. And it
is He that has come. It's He that's spoken of in 1
John 5, 6. Let's go back there again. Now, who bears witness
that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is the Christ? Let's
read verse 6 again of 1 John 5. 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 the truth. Now we know the Holy
Spirit is the spirit of truth. We know that he guides us in
all truth. He won't speak of himself, but he'll direct us
right to Christ. We know that from the scriptures.
He's the spirit of truth. So we see here he bears witness
that Jesus is the Christ, that he's the son of God. John brings
forth before us the answer of who bears witness that Jesus
is the son of God. that he is the Christ. John gives
us the answer. And we can have full confidence,
beloved, in our blessed Savior, who is the substance of all the
shadows and types of the Old Testament. He's the substance. He's the substance. All those
sacrifices in the Old Testament, but shadows and types, beloved.
But here's the substance. The Lord Jesus Christ. The one
who the Holy Spirit of God gives witness to. All those shadows
and types in the Old Testament were typified in the ceremonial
law appointed to Christ. In the Levitical law we see that
water and blood being bought forth by pure water, all filth
was washed away so that man might come before God pure and clean.
And by blood expiation was made, that man might come before God,
reconciled and justified. Turn, if you would, to Ezekiel
chapter 36. Ezekiel chapter 36, and then put your finger in Leviticus
chapter 17. Ezekiel chapter 36 and Leviticus
chapter 17. Let's read verses 24 to 27 in
Ezekiel chapter 36. And then we'll go over to Leviticus
chapter 17, where we read verses 10 and 11. Ezekiel 36, 24 to
27. For I will take you from among
the heathen. That's what He's done with us,
isn't He? Oh beloved, we're an ekklesia, in the Greek, a called
out assembly. He's taken us out from the heathen,
beloved. We were running around with them all, didn't have a
care in the world. Look at that. For I'll take you out. I'll take
you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries.
And this speaks of a select and bring you into your own land.
Oh, my. Then will I sprinkle clean water
upon you and you shall be clean from all your filthiness and
from all your idols. Will I cleanse you a new heart?
Also, will I give you in a new spirit born again of the Holy
Spirit, God having a heart now that hungers and thirsts after
righteousness, which is Christ. and I will put within you, and
I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh. Notice who's
doing all the work. It's God. And I will give you
a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you, and
cause you to walk in my statutes, that you keep my judgments and
do them. Oh my God. Now turn, if you would, over
to Leviticus chapter 17. Look at verses 10 and 11. 10
and 11. And whatsoever man there be of
the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among
you, that eateth any manner of blood, I will even set my face
against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from
among his people. Look at this. For the life of
the flesh is in the blood. What was shed at Calvary's cross
for our sins? The blood of Christ. He gave
his life for us, beloved. And I have given it to you upon
the altar to make, what? An atonement for your souls.
For it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul. Christ,
the sinless, spotless sacrifice, in life and in death, all gives
himself, sheds his precious blood for our sins, beloved, for our
sins. Our sins were imputed to him.
And he paid everything that God demanded. Everything. And hence
the beautiful words that'll ring in the saints' ears. It is finished. Finished, beloved. The law is
satisfied. The law of God is satisfied.
The justice of God is satisfied against all those for whom Christ
died for on Calvary's cross. What a Savior. What a Savior. So the whole perfection of sanctification
and justification is fulfilled in God, or in Christ, and only
in Christ. So we see the substance of what
the ancient baptisms were types as our sanctification is only
in Him. And we see that all those sacrifices
just pointed to the one who would make atonement for the sins of
God's people, the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, all those ancient
sacrifices were types and shadows, and they find in Christ the substance,
the substance, beloved. Hence why Paul penned by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God, that Christ is for the believer, all
our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. That's why he
penned those words, beloved, because Christ is everything
to us, everything that we may only glory in God alone. Let's
go back to our text. And then put your finger in Matthew,
chapter three, we'll be going over there, Matthew, chapter
three. Look at this. This is He that
came, the Word of God. The second person of the Trinity
came to this earth 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. We know that
Spirit who gives witness is the Holy Spirit of God. And Christ,
He came by water and blood, beloved. He was baptized. And it was there
that the Holy Spirit descended, and the Father, witness to who
Christ is. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
3. Matthew 3, verses 13 to 17. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. And remember, every time
we read that, it's by the appointment and decree of God. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbade him,
saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Suffer it to be so now,
for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Remember,
he's living the perfect life as a substitute of our people,
of his people, of God's people. So he says, suffer it. Suffer
it to be so. to fulfill all righteousness.
Then he suffered. Look at this. And Jesus, when
he was baptized, went up straightaway out of the water. And, lo, the
heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and lighting upon him. And, lo, a voice from heaven
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. You see the witness there? The
Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father's voice booms
from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well
pleased. That can only be said of Christ.
And we'll see later, that can only be said of the Word of God.
The Word of God. Let's go back to our text there.
First John, chapter 5, verse 6. We see that Christ came by
water and blood. This is He that came. He entered
into this world at the exact time appointed by the Father.
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. And here we see, beloved,
that the Holy Spirit of God gives testimony of who Christ is. Through
the Gospel. It's the Holy Spirit of God,
again, who teaches God's people of the finished, complete, perfect,
atoning work of Christ. And Christ accomplished that
perfect, complete, atoning work on Calvary's cross, beloved,
by Himself. And by His death, the shedding
of His precious blood, because the life of the flesh is in the
blood, He accompanies us at Calvary's cross. And the witness that the
Spirit gives of Christ is truth, because that witness is of Him,
who we see here as the Spirit of truth. What does the Holy Spirit give
witness to of Jesus Christ? Well, we saw in Matthew 3, Three,
that the Father bears witness to him of these words, this is
my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And the Holy Spirit
only leads us to Christ, beloved. He only leads us to Christ. He
leads us to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life.
He will not speak of himself. He bears witness of Christ through
the preaching of the gospel, beloved. The thing that the Father and
the Holy Spirit bear witness to, again, is that Jesus is the
Son of God. And we see in verse 6 that whether
this witness is from heaven or from earth, the source is the
same, the Spirit of God. Look at verse 6 again. This is
He that cometh by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water
only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that bears
witness, because the Spirit is truth. Who regenerates us? The
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. The Spirit of Truth, Beloved.
Who gives us faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
The Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit of God. Who guides
us into all truth, Beloved? The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of
Truth. And the Holy Spirit of God has
given us witness that Jesus is the Son of God. Now let's read verse 7. We could
spend whole messages on this verse. We may, Lord, well and
revisit this verse as we finish up this wonderful book. Look
at this. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And again, the word record there
in verse 7 is witness. For there are three that bear
witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
and these three are one. We see that heaven bears witness
that Jesus is the Son of God. Three in heaven bear witness
that Jesus is the Son of God. the Father, the Word, who is
the Son of God, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one.
They're in agreement, beloved. They're in agreement. We saw
in Matthew 3, verse 17, that the Father bears witness of who
Christ is with the words, this is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. Turn, if you would, to John 5.
John 5. And we've just seen that the
Holy Spirit of God bears witness that Christ is the Son of God
in verse six of this chapter. And we just read that the Father,
Son, and the Holy Spirit agree. So if the Holy Spirit bears witness
that Jesus is the Son of God and the Father bears witness
that Jesus is the Son of God, the Word bears witness that He's
the Son of God, right? Because the three are one. The
three are one. Look at this in John chapter
5 verses 36 and 37. Listen to these scriptures from
the lips of our Master. Look at this. But I have a greater witness
than that of John. For the works which a father hath given me
to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me that
the Father has sent me. Just as very works, beloved,
bear witness that he is the Son of God, that he is God incarnate
in the flesh. And the father himself, look
at verse 37 I mean, and the father himself which has sent me hath
borne witness of me. He says then to them, ye have
neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape. Oh my,
he's just revealed to them who he is. Now they still don't understand
because they're blind, just like we were when we were dead in
trespasses and sins. But now we believe that Jesus
is the son of God, don't we? Now go over to chapter 8. Chapter
8. Chapter 8. Then I'll have you
go to chapter 1 after this. We're going to stay in John a
little bit tonight. Listen to the words of our Master over
here in John chapter 8 verses 12 to 19. And take note again
of whom Christ proclaims bears witness of who He is. Now we
saw over there in John 5 verse 37 that the Father bears witness
of them, and we heard that in Matthew chapter 3. Now listen
to these words over here in John chapter 8 verses 12 to 19. Then spake Jesus again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. What a statement. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees
therefore said unto him, thou barest record of thyself, thy
record is not true. They're saying, you bear witness
of yourself? Well, your witness is not true. Oh my, they don't know who they're
talking to. Look at this. Jesus answered and said unto
them, though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true.
He is who he says he is. They don't believe it, but he
is who he says he is. For I know whence I came and whither I go,
but ye cannot tell whence I come and whither I go. Ye judge after
the flesh. I judge no man. And yet if I
judge, my judgment is true. Look at that. So when all stand
before Christ at the great white judgment, his judgment is true. People get what they deserve.
See, we don't get what we deserve. Will you receive mercy, beloved?
Look at that, though. What a statement there. And yet
if I judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I and
the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law
that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness
of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
Then said they unto him, Where is thy father? Jesus answered,
Ye neither know me nor my father. If ye had known me, ye should
have known my father also. So we saw there in 1 John 5,
6 that the Holy Spirit bears witness of Christ, the Father
bears witness of Christ, and Christ himself bears witness
of who he is. Because the three are one, they
agree, beloved. One in purpose, one in power,
one in execution of the decree of God and the will of God. And we see over there in 1 John
5, 7, look at this. For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. Now
let's go to 1 John 1. The Word of God in heaven bears witness
of who He is. He's the Word of God, beloved.
And we'll see that He, the Word of God, became incarnate and
dwelt among us. And His name is Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. Look at this. Now again, this
first verse is where the Watchtower people do Greek gymnastics. They say instead of was God,
they say was a God. You can't get that out of the
Greek. It's just not there. It's not there. But look at this. People try
to twist the fact to try to say that Christ was not God, but
here are some of the best verses to bring people to right here
in scriptures. Look at this. John chapter one,
verse one to three. In the beginning was the Word.
Now remember our text, for there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, same capital W, and the Holy
Ghost, and these three are one. Now look at this. In the beginning was the Word,
the same Word that was spoken of over there in 1 John. And
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was God. He is God. Now this is speaking
of the pre-incarnate Christ. He's the Word of God in glory. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him, oh my, and without Him
was not anything made that was made. See, this is a great place
to take people, because look at verse 14 of the same chapter. Look what it says here. Look
at this. We know from verse one, the word
was with God and is God. Look at this, beloved. We'll
read verses 14 and 15. And the word. Remember over in
our text, this is he that came. This is He that came, came into
this world, and this is going to speak about it right here.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory. The glory is of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. John, bear witness
of Him, cried, saying, This is He of whom I speak. He that cometh
after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. And
that is none other beloved than the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word
of God incarnates. The Word of God incarnates. So we see in our text, let's
go back to 1 John 5, 7. In light of these wonderful truths
there of John chapter 1. Oh, look at this. For there are
three that bear record in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost. And these three are one. My. And the Word is the one who
died for you and me if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't
that incredible? My! It's incredible. It's just incredible. Jesus Christ
is the subject and the substance of the written Word of God. He's
the substance of the written Word of God. It's all about Him. This is a book about redemption
story. And it all talks about Christ,
beloved. It all talks about Christ. And God, the Father, God the
Word, and God the Holy Spirit all bear witness of who Christ
is. So that means that God the Father,
God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit all bear
witness of who Christ is. He's the Son of God. He's very
God of God. He's the one true God, the Ancient
of Days made flesh to come to save his people from their sins.
My, now let's read verse eight, verse eight here. And there are
three that bear witness in earth, the spirit and the water and
the blood. And these three agree in one. Our Lord Jesus Christ
came to this world, beloved. The world was made by him and
the world received him not. And we see here that that there
are three that bear record in the earth. The Holy Spirit of
God bears witness to Christ. The Holy Spirit bears witness
to the truth. He bears witness to man's sinfulness, and He bears
witness that Christ is the Son of God. How? Through the preaching
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, beloved. On earth, the
Spirit, through the gospel, bears witness with our spirit, we who
are born again, that we are the sons of God, one with Christ,
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, beloved. Oh, my turn, if you would, to
John chapter 19, and this will be the last portion we'll be
looking at. And we see made mention of the water and the blood when
Jesus side is pierced. Beloved, look at this. John 19
verses 31 to 37. We see that water and blood came
from our Savior's side. And remember, it's all by the
purpose of God, beloved. It's all by the purpose of God,
and the Holy Spirit bears witness that through the Word of God,
the blood of Christ, and not only some part of our salvation
is found in Christ, but all our salvation is found in Christ,
beloved. All of it. He's the Alpha and
He's the Omega, the beginning and the end. beginning and look
at this in John 19 verses 31 to 37 the Jews therefore because
it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the
cross from the Sabbath day for that Sabbath day was an high
day besought Pilate that the legs might be broken and that
they might be taken away then came the soldiers and break the
legs of the first and of the other the two thieves which was
crucified with him but when they came to Jesus and saw that he
was dead already They break not his legs, but one of the soldiers
with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out
blood and water. And he that saw it bare record,
and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that
ye might believe. For these things were done, that
the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken.
And again, another scripture would say, they shall look upon
him whom they pierced. The heavenly witnesses, beloved,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit are one in witness
to the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And God's
people believe this. By God-given faith, we believe
this. And we testify that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only
Savior of sinners. Just like the Scriptures declare,
beloved. Just like the Scriptures declare. The Father, the Word,
and the Holy Spirit, they agree. And they testify of Christ. They
testify of Christ. The scriptures testify of Christ,
the only Redeemer of sinners. And God's people testify that
we can only overcome the world in Christ, in Christ alone. That
He alone is our salvation. We have no hope outside of Christ. But praise be to God, we who
are in Christ are safe, like Noah and his family, we're safe
in the ark from the wrath and judgment of God, because it already
fell upon our Savior. Just like that rain beat upon
the ark, beloved, All the justice and all the wrath of God for
us was poured out on Christ, beloved. Hallelujah! What a Savior
is Jesus Christ, our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Heavenly Father, we thank you
again for allowing us to be here together, allowing us to look
in thy Word, and oh Lord, We know there was a time when we
didn't believe the witness that was in your scripture, that's
in your scripture. But all now, we who are your people, we who
are born again by the Holy Spirit of God, we rejoice in these wonderful
words that are bought forth in the scriptures. Oh, by God given
faith, we believe the record. We believe the witness that the
scriptures give us of the Lord Jesus Christ, who he is, what
he came here to do and where he is now. Glory to your name,
Lord, in Jesus name. Amen.