Thank you, Mark. It's good to
see everyone here. Good to see you back again, Winstonian
Institution. I call him that all the time,
so he's used to it. The title of today's message
is The Water and the Blood. The Water and the Blood. And
my interest in this topic was triggered by an old familiar
hymn, and one of my favorites, one you're probably familiar
with, written by Augustus Toplady, Rock of Ages. And the interest
there was piqued specifically by the first verse that reads,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. Let the
water and the blood from thy wounded side which flowed be
of sin the double cure. save from wrath and make me pure. With those lyrics in mind, I
could have just as easily titled this The Double Cure. And when
we think of the double cure, our minds should go to Isaiah
chapter 40, where God's talking to the prophet and he says, comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. You know, that's what
we should glean from the gospel when it's preached. We should
glean comfort. And he tells us why here when
he says, speaking comfortably to Jerusalem, to the church,
and crying to her, her warfare is accomplished. Her iniquity
is pardoned. For she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins. From the hymn, it would
seem that Toplady had in mind a double cure of sorts being
signified by the water and the blood which flowed from Christ's
side at the time of his death on the cross. And so that prompted
me to want to study this some more and primarily to understand
what the Apostle John was referring to in 1 John 5, the passage Mark
read, When he, you know, here's John, he had spent three years
with Jesus during his earthly ministry, and he was an eyewitness
to all that took place at the time of Christ's death on the
cross, and then later was inspired to write 1 John, and there in
verse five, he wrote about him coming by water and blood. So
I want to consider that topic this morning within the context
of 1 John 5, those verses Mark read, and we see there In that
passage, especially once you get to verse six and going forward,
this kind of you can take it to the bank, credible witness
by the triune Godhead, by God himself, the witness that Jesus
Christ is indeed the son of God. He's the God man. And that salvation
for anyone who are saved is to be found exclusively in the person
and based upon his finished work of obedience unto the death of
the cross. As I believe verse 11 there says,
this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life and
this life is in his son. And so I certainly hope to remain
consistent with the overall context of 1 John 5, but this morning
I'm not going to do a verse-by-verse exposition of that chapter, the
chapter which I say deals with the sure witness from heaven
and in the earth by God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and
that he is the Son of God. And brother, my focus is on what
is being witnessed there, that is who Christ is and what he
accomplished, And I want us to consider that specifically in
connection with the description of Christ as he who came by water
and blood. Now, if you do want to hear a
good exposition of those verses, there's a couple of them available
online that Bill has preached. And in fact, I use them in my
study. But today I want to consider
within that context what John wrote there in verse six when
he said, This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus
Christ. And then so as to emphasize both,
he added not by water only, but by water and blood. When studying
this, I came across several views of what may be intended here.
And honestly, I can't be dogmatic that I can say with a certainty
that any one of the views that I'll be sharing with you is precisely
what God the Holy Spirit intended. But I'm only going to share the
three interpretations which I believe to be consistent with, not a denial of the basic gospel
message of salvation as it's set forth in God's gospel. And
regardless of the difference in these interpretations, to
the extent, and only to the extent that they're consistent with
God's gospel, I'm confident that true believers can rejoice with
me in the certain assurance of salvation, that double comfort
by the person and work of Christ that results and should result
from our consideration of this description the Holy Spirit gives
us through John. I know this, that regardless
of exactly what is signified here by the water and blood,
that each of these credible viewpoints I've come across, they all point
to the same person. They point to the same work that
results in this double comfort or this double cure, if you would.
and that for all those who are given faith to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ for all their salvation. In studying the writings
of other gospel commentators that I have confidence in, I
found a broad consensus that Christ having come by blood refers
to the shedding of his blood in his sacrificial death on the
cross. And that much seems to be beyond debate. But there are
variations among the gospel commentators on what his coming by water might
be referring to. And so as I study this, and you'll
see this as I go forward, I tried to keep two things in mind. One
was the context there of 1 John 5. wherein we have the witness
that Christ is the very Son of God, and then secondly, that
this description involving water and blood is set forth by John
with these words, he that came, he came by water and blood. Well, first some think that the
water refers to the incarnation and birth of Christ, and that
would certainly fit with the language of how he came. Recall
in Matthew 1, we're told that the angel of the Lord appeared
unto Joseph and told him that the child Mary was carrying in
her womb had been conceived by God himself, God the Holy Ghost. And he says, and you shall call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
Not that he might, not that he makes salvation possible, but
he shall save them. That's what the name Jesus means,
Jehovah, God who saves. And as that passage continues
in Matthew 1.22, we read now, all this was done that it might
be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet. And
then Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah saying, behold, a virgin
shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall
call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with
us. So here at the time of his birth,
God's bearing witness to Joseph through the angel that this one
who would be born is indeed deity, the very son of God. At this
point in history, taking into union with his deity, a sinless
humanity, and this one that Joseph was to name Jesus. This was truly
both God and man in one person. We also see this witness that
he was the very son of God in his incarnation from Luke's account,
from Luke's gospel. When the angel, there you may
recall, appeared unto Mary. And in the latter part of Luke
135 we read, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born
of thee shall be called the son of God. In support of that view, that
coming by water refers to his baptism, some compare it to the
rain that descends from heaven, just as God the Son condescended
down from heaven at his birth to take into union with his deity,
this sinless humanity, whereby he could and did fulfill those
covenant obligations that Jim spoke about during the 10 o'clock
hour as the surety, as the substitute of all those whom God the Father
had chosen and given to Christ from eternity past so that Christ
could come in time, in the fullness of time, to pay the debt due
unto all their sins before the Father's justice. Water in scripture
is sometimes used as a symbol for the word of God. Well, Christ
as the very word of God himself proves his deity, that he did
indeed descend from heaven. John's language here of him coming
by water and blood can be compared to what he wrote in the Gospel
of John. You remember it begins in the first chapter there referring
to Christ as the word. It says, in the beginning was
the word and the word was with God and the word was God. And then down in verse 14, it
says, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And with
water used as a symbol for the word, we can see where that would
coincide with those who lean towards seeing his coming by
water as a reference to his incarnation or his birth. Second view. And one that I think is also
consistent with the language that says Christ came, he came
by water and blood. This view is that the water refers
to the baptism of Christ. Christ's baptism by John the
Baptist at around the age of 30 marked the beginning of his
public ministry. That was kind of a launch of
it. And in that sense, that's how
he came. He came on the scene, so to speak.
Look at that in Matthew 3.13. It reads, in cometh Jesus from
Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John
forbade him, or forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized
of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering, said unto
him, suffer it to be so now. For thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. And then he suffered him, or
proceeded with the baptism. Well, consistent with this being
how Jesus came by water, keep in mind what Christ said here
about fulfilling all righteousness at his baptism. You see, that
is what he came to do. As the prophet Daniel told us,
to bring in an everlasting righteousness. Now the ordinance of water baptism
symbolizes our union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. That's why we believe in baptism
by immersion. And his death and his burial
and resurrection were all necessary to establish and confirm the
righteousness whereby God justifies those he came to save. If we
continue there in Matthew, picking up in verse 16, it says, and
Jesus, when he was baptized, he went up straightway out of
the water, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, 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'm well pleased. So here again, we see this interpretation
of him coming by water being referenced to his baptism, is
consistent with the context of 1 John 5, that Christ is indeed
the son of God, as here the father declared him to be so in his
audible voice at his baptism. Okay, so I've described so far
how some believe that the description of Christ coming by water and
the blood refer to his birth and death. Others believe it
is more likely a reference to his baptism in death. And I hope I'm not confusing
things by presenting these alternate views, but honestly, there won't
be a quiz at the end because I wouldn't know how to grade
it. I'm not sure. But I think all of these give
us God-honoring views of what we have and the assurance we
have in our salvation. Some, a third view is this, some
believe that the water and the blood by which Christ came refers
to the water and blood that poured from his side as a spear was
thrust into his body on the cross. And so the suggestion is is that
this would signify sanctification as by water and justification
as by blood. And I suspect that's what the
hymn writer had in mind when he described the double cure,
saying, save from wrath and make me pure. And it's the truth,
God doesn't do one without the other. He came not by water only,
but by water and the blood. Those whom he justifies, he sanctifies
without fail. Now, some of the gospel writers,
this is full disclosure here, some of the gospel writers that
I studied, while all agreeing with the gospel truth that the
work of Christ on the cross is indeed the sanctification and
justification of all his people. They're in agreement on that.
But some of them think that this would not be the correct interpretation
of the first John 5-6 language. And they make that argument because
they say, well, it says that's how Christ came. He came by water
and blood. But as I study this and read
different ones, I had to acknowledge the possibility that what is
meant here by his coming is not necessarily how he came into
the world or how he came on the scene at his baptism. but rather
what he came to do and accomplish. And you know, we see that even
at his birth. Remember, the angel told Joseph
to make his name Jesus. He shall save his people from
their sins. That's what he came to do, to
justify them and give them both spiritual and eternal life. And
I believe, so as you can see, I believe a case can be made
for either of these interpretations. As I dug into this a little more,
there were some passages that kept popping up, and I'll be
sharing those with you, that suggested to me that the water
and blood that flowed from Christ sat on the cross, signifying
the sure blessings of sanctification and justification by the Spirit
in the new birth, that that could be an appropriate description
of how Christ came. And I say that because without
a doubt, That's what he accomplished by his coming, by his obedience
unto death on the cross. So no matter how you interpret,
which of these three interpretations you think seems more credible
in 1 John 5, 6 there, one thing I'm sure, and I find all the
gospel commentators in agreement on, and that's what it was accomplished.
by this blessed Savior who came by water and blood. Came not
by water only, but by water and blood. When we read John's account
of the crucifixion in John chapter 19, You'll see here, we'll look
at that. He was clearly impressed by the
significance of all that he saw and recorded at the death of
Christ on the cross. And John's gospel is the only
account where we have the description of the water and blood flowing
down from his side. If you recall, as Jesus suffered
on the cross, we're told he said he thirsts that the scripture
might be fulfilled, and it was fulfilled by their filling a
sponge with water, I mean with vinegar, excuse me, and then
using hyssop to put it in his mouth. And at that, we read when
Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished. Warfare is accomplished. bowed
his head, and he gave up the ghost. Well, the Jews, being
religious as they were, they didn't want those three bodies
hanging on the crosses to remain there as the Sabbath day approached. And this was not just any Sabbath
day. This is what they called a high day. This was the Passover.
So they asked Pilate to have all of their legs broken to hasten
their death. Apparently that was not atypical. And so they asked him to do that.
It even meant more agony for them, just so they could be sure
and keep the Sabbath law there. You know, it's amazing what men
will do in the name of religion, isn't it? And so they proceeded
to break the legs of the two thieves that hung on each side
of Christ. But as John records in John 19.33,
he says, 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 you can see in these next
verses how impressed John was with what he saw there. He says,
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. And then
he quotes an Old Testament prophecy. A bone of him shall not be broken.
And again, another scripture saith, they shall look on him
whom they pierced. So you can see here, John, he's
bearing record that all of this is true, much like the language
of 1 John 5. when he's bearing, the triune God is bearing witness
to us. But here we see God through the
prophets testifying that this was indeed the promised Messiah.
All these prophecies were being fulfilled in the way that he
died. The scripture tells us that his
crucifixion, the sky was darkened, the earthquake, numerous resurrections
took place, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom,
My point is that whether His coming by water refers to His
birth, His baptism, or the water which poured with the blood from
His side at the death of Christ, in all of these events, God the
Father and God the Spirit are intervening with Christ in miraculous
ways to bear testimony that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of
God, as 1 John 5 declares. We also see that in Mark's account
of the crucifixion. In Mark 15, we read in verse
37, and Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghosts,
and the veil of the temple was rent entwined from the top to
the bottom. And when the centurion, this
Roman soldier, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried
out and gave up the ghost, he said, truly this man was the
son of God. So what did Christ, who came
by water and blood, actually accomplish? I mentioned there
were several scriptures that kept coming to mind. that I think
give some credence to John's description here, maybe perhaps
being a reference to the water and blood that poured from Christ's
side when pierced by the sword. And also that in connection with
the double blessings upon God's elect of justification and sanctification
by Christ in his spirit in the new birth. We see that elsewhere
John used water in connection with sanctification. the setting
apart of believers by the Holy Spirit in the new birth, the
giving of spiritual life and the accompanying gift of faith
in their regeneration and conversion. Well, look with me at John's
gospel. This was one of those verses that kept coming to mind
or passages. John's writing about a Pharisee
named Nicodemus in chapter three, and we read, he says, he came
to Jesus and said, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him. And then in verse three, we read,
Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto
thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God. Nicodemus saith to him, how can a man be born when he's
old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and
be born? Jesus answered, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born, born of water and of
the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. So here we're
talking about being born of water. In studying what this might mean,
I went to an old writer that I often rely on, who commented
he didn't believe Jesus would have placed common water, such
as we drink, at a level with the work of God the Holy Spirit. So then, how are we to understand? Can a man be said to be born
of water? We know that it's not, as some
denominations insist, baptismal regeneration. Now that baptism
testifies of a union that all our hopes in Christ, it's not
in our baptism. So if you'll think back now,
we have John's record of what he witnessed at the death of
Christ. He clearly saw blood and water
streaming from his body. And then you combine that with
the witness from our text in 1 John 5, 6, it says, he came
by water and blood. This old writer said in light
of all that, he suggested that the water here in John 3 may
be referring to Christ himself. In other words, it's almost as
if he is saying a man is born of Christ and of the spirit which
he sins. You know, we typically, we think
of the The new birth is the work of God, the Holy Spirit, and
it certainly is, but there's a sense where this all comes
from Christ. Remember Romans 8.10 tells us,
and if Christ be in you and has he in us, he's in us by his spirit.
The body's dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because
of righteousness. In other words, the very righteousness
that Christ rendered in perfect satisfaction to the Father's
law and justice, that is the source of our being made spiritually
alive in him. When he died, all he represented
died. Listen, we weren't there personally,
but we died in our representative due to this union having been
made one with Christ. So we died in the eyes of God's
law and justice. You see, the just penalty had
been rendered for all our sins. When he arose, as the scripture
says, as the first fruits, all for whom he lived and died, all
for whom he worked out a perfect righteousness, they arose with
him in union with Christ, their representative, their substitute. And listen, they will in time,
without fail, experience a resurrection in their respective lifetimes
is they will be raised to walk in the newness of spiritual life. And on that same basis, the basis
of Christ's righteousness having been worked out for them. And
on that same basis, they will ultimately be raised to heaven's
eternal glory. He truly is the first fruits.
But when water is used in Scripture to allude to the work of the
Holy Spirit. We see it portrayed as like a
spring, but not a spring outside of us, like the work of justification
by his blood. You had absolutely nothing to
do with the justifying work that Christ rendered on the cross.
You weren't there. And yet, the work of the spirit
within us is something we certainly experience. Remember when Christ
was speaking to the woman at the well, and in reference to
the water she was drawing out of the well, he said this in
John 4.13, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in
him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Well,
that's clearly speaking of the sanctifying work of God the Holy
Spirit as we're set apart, made separate. by the new birth, by
God-given faith and belief of the gospel, and it's represented
here by water that is given by Jesus Christ through the regenerating
work of the Holy Spirit as each believer comes to faith and repentance. And then one other passage that
kept coming to mind in my studies found in the book of Titus, In
Titus 3, beginning in verse 4, we read, but after that the kindness
and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy,
he saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing
of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Savior, that being justified by his grace, we should
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Just as
John spoke of him who came by water and blood, notice here
at the new birth, this washing of regeneration is presented
as after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward
man appeared. In that sense, see, Christ does
come by the blood and by the water. Not by water only, but
by water and blood. See, just as by his blood he
redeemed his church, so by his spirit he regenerates her. The
Holy Spirit bearing witness to us, as the latter part of 1 John
5, 6 reads, as the spirit of truth. So by his blood we are
justified before God, declared not guilty. Blameless, sinners
like you and me, blameless in the sight of God. That's how
real imputation is. Having his very righteousness,
the merit of what Christ accomplished imputed to us long before we
existed, long before we even knew anything about it, and came,
were brought to faith in our lifetimes. So consider with me
these blessings we have in Christ, the double comfort, the double
cure, if you will. You know, when I quoted there
from Isaiah 40 about how God's people received double for all
her sins, it reminds me of Romans 5.20, where we read, but where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And all that's owing
to the person and finished work of this one who came by water
and blood. You know, think about all the
water that was administered in the various washings under the
old covenant law, that law that was a schoolmaster to point them
to Christ, typifying him. And then all the blood that was
shed by the numerous animal sacrifices, all of them, were summed up and
fulfilled in this one who came by water and blood, not by water
only, but by water and blood." When I think of that emphasis,
that he said he didn't stop it, he came by water and blood, he
said, not by water only, but by water and blood, I couldn't
help but think of the masses in false religion, and particularly
in false Christianity, who imagine, as I once did, that my salvation
was conditioned, at least in part, on me, what they think
is the work of the Holy Spirit in them, and their exercise of
what they call is faith. They think faith in Christ. Now,
here's a telltale sign that someone may be worshiping a Christ who
came by water only, but not the true and living God of the Bible,
not the one who came not by water only, but by water and blood. And here's what I mean by that.
A faith that does not see God's justice satisfied by his blood,
that doesn't see the sin debt completely paid for by the death
of Christ, by his shed blood, and that for each and every one
that he came to save, for whom he lived and died. Well, that
faith is a counterfeit. That's not faith in the Christ
of this Bible. That, in many cases, as it was
with me, is faith, often in faith, because men imagine that the
real difference between their being saved versus being lost
is if they made the right decision, if they accepted Him, something
they did. See, genuine God-given faith
sees His justice perfectly satisfied by their Savior. You see, apart
from that, God does not achieve his primary chief design in our
salvation. He's not glorified. We will fail
to see him as he is, as both a just God and a savior. It was
his obedience unto death, his righteousness, his blood that
gives us the water of true spiritual life that results in the washing
of regeneration. So obviously, if his blood is
presumed to have been shed for any who ultimately perish, that
wouldn't be the one of whom John wrote, not the one who came by
water and blood. See, your faith can't wash away
your sins. Only the precious blood of Christ
can do that, and that's what genuine faith points us to. He
came not by water only, but by water and blood. Well, what about
this double cure that Top Lady wrote about in that grand old
hymn? I'm gonna close with an illustration I've shared before,
but it came to my mind again as I was contemplating these
wonderful blessings we have in our Savior Jesus Christ, the
one from whose side the blood and water flowed. Consider this,
that the words of a truly sovereign king such as the kings perhaps
you read about in olden days. Their words were not subject
to debate. If the king said it, it was the
law of the land. That's the definition of the
sovereign. Sovereign does according to his own purpose and his own
will. So such a king could pardon a
guilty criminal and set him free from the penalty that perhaps
would have been extracted under the laws of his kingdom So he
may do so and he may do so unjustly, but that would have been the
prerogative of a sovereign. Oh, but in our sovereign savior, we have so much more. Sorry, Christian. True believers
have been pardoned. But that pardon is in perfect
keeping with God's perfect, unerring justice having been satisfied.
See, they are pardoned from all their sins. They're forgiven
of their sin debt by the redeeming blood of Christ. to whom their
sins were imputed or charged, but not only that, it's not just
that they get out of jail, so to speak, or that they're just
set free, but they've been adopted into the king of king's family
who will supply them with all the riches of eternal life. You
see, we're not only forgiven our sin debt having been remitted,
but we're made heirs of the king of an incorruptible inheritance. I'm speaking of those who have
an everlasting righteousness which Christ worked out for them,
the very righteousness of God, freely imputed or accounted unto
them by God's grace. So much so, this is how real
imputation is, they're washed in his blood, they're cleansed
of their sins. sinners in themselves before
God, unblameable, the scripture says, unreprovable in his sight,
as sinners saved by his grace, set apart in Christ by the sanctifying
work of God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. Well, if that describes you,
then rejoice with me in him whom to know is life eternal. And
Mark, if you would, come lead us in closing in that grand old
hymn.