1 John chapter 5 and verse 6. And we're speaking about the
Lord Jesus Christ. John is writing and he says,
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. If we receive the witness
of men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness
of God which he hath testified of his Son. 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. And this is the record that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Amen, may God bless to us this
reading from his word. Believing that Jesus of Nazareth
is the Son of God is the essence of true faith. That is what John
has been telling us and that is what we have been reading
together in recent weeks as we have been considering these lovely
passages and this beautiful little epistle of 1 John. And we've
been thinking about the way in which John's writing here has
been a spur and an encouragement to our Christian assurance, how
it speaks to the hearts of those who are challenged with doubt
and uncertainty and who feel very often the pressures of wondering
and the questions that come against us by the temptations and the
wiles of the devil. But John is telling us in very
stark terms that the evidence of grace, that the litmus test,
if you like, of salvation, the question as to how do I even
know that I am saved, is to be found in properly understanding
the true identity of the Lord Jesus Christ, that Jesus of Nazareth
is the Son of God. And so he tells us this in 1
John 4, in verse 2, he says, Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God. You will know the Spirit of God.
Now we know that carnal men and women, fleshy men and women cannot
know spiritual things. So this is a testimony of those
who are spiritual. We will know the Spirit of God. How will we know? Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 1 John 4, verse 15. And again, in chapter 5, verse
1, getting close to the passage that we're thinking about today.
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And in verse five, who is he
that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. Now this is the testimony that
John has been giving us. This is the pattern of his teaching. This is what he has repeated
to us time and time again. And I know that some of us will
say, that's too easy. That's too generous, what John's
saying here. It's too broad. It must be more
specific than that. It must be more defined than
that. It must be more targeted than
that. Anybody can say that. Indeed,
there's not a church member who hasn't said that because every
denomination has that in their statement of faith. that Jesus
is the Christ. Every Christian denomination
testifies to that. Every liturgy holds that. Every hymn singer sings that. Anyone who prays, prays that. Christmastime, who doesn't believe
that Jesus is the Son of God at Christmastime? Does that mean
that God dwells in everyone who says that? Does that mean that
all of these people are born of God? As I was thinking about this
and thinking about how I might explain it, I remembered about
Moses and Aaron. This is taking us right back
to the very beginning of the scriptures again. Remember Moses
and Aaron went to Pharaoh and they had been charged by God,
Moses and his brother Aaron with him, charged by God to go into
the presence of Pharaoh and to ask for the release of the people.
And God gave Moses a sign that he could give to Pharaoh. Aaron
was to cast his rod down before Pharaoh and it would turn into
a snake. What do we read about that occasion
when Moses and Aaron went into the presence of Pharaoh and Aaron
cast down his rod and it became a snake? Well here's what we're
told. Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner
with their enchantments, for they cast down every man his
rod, and they became serpents. I wonder what Moses thought at
that precise moment. I wonder what he thought when
he saw all those snakes wriggling around on the ground. Did that mean that his calling
was invalid? That his charge, that his responsibility
was somehow undermined because some illusionists had performed
a trick and copied the same thing that had been given to Moses
as a sign? Listen, It isn't the expression
of the phrase, but it is our confidence in the person of Christ
that makes the difference. Here's a $20 bill. You know, a counterfeit 20 might
look and sound the same as the real thing. but a counterfeit
is worthless. And very often Satan uses the
fact that we are surrounded by counterfeits, that we are surrounded
by illusionists and enchanters, people who say one thing but
do another in order to tempt and provoke doubt in the people
of God, those who struggle with their own personal assurance. The devil says, look at all these
other people. He says, you don't believe that
these people are saved, do you? You don't believe that these
people are going to heaven, do you? So what makes you think
that you are? What makes you think that you're
right and they're wrong? What is so good about you that
you're going to heaven and they're not? They say the same things,
they sing the same songs, they pray the same prayers, they confess
the same confessions. And then he aggravates it because
he says, and you know what? They actually appear to be enjoying
their Christian life. They actually appear to be having
successful Christian lives. They seem to be the very overcomers
that John was speaking about. But remember this, that the devil
is a liar and a deceiver. And don't you compare your faith
to a forgery. There is a real gospel and there
is another gospel. There is true faith and there
is religious fantasy. There are true gospel ministers
and there are gospel magicians. Don't confuse the two. Recently we've been thinking
about Christian assurance And we have come perhaps in these
verses that are before us today to the finest portion in the
Bible for confirmation and reassurance
of the divine work of salvation. And I have chosen my words, I
have thought about this, perhaps the finest portion in the whole
of Scripture for confirmation and reassurance of the divine
work of salvation. Because in these few verses,
John brings the triune God both to witness and to bear record
of the great salvation that has been sacrificially gained and
freely granted by the Lord Jesus Christ to poor lost sinners like
us. And I think that this is a quite
extraordinary passage. And once again, I repeat myself,
I draw your attention to the sweet simplicity of the language
and the beauty and the profundity of the theology that it contains. Look at verse six here of 1 John
chapter five. John the Apostle writes, 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. All who are born of God, because
remember that's what John has been talking about. Those who
have been born of God. All who overcome the world. All who believe that Jesus is
the Christ. All who are the Lord's people
are so by water and blood. They are able to testify that
Jesus is the Christ because of water and blood. What is John
saying to us here? Well, he is speaking about regenerating
grace. That is the picture of water. We remember that from John chapter
3 in the Gospel of John where the Lord Jesus Christ speaks
to Nicodemus about being born again. And that is regenerating
grace and atoning blood. So we have been born again and
enabled to testify that Jesus is the Christ by regeneration,
regenerating grace and atoning blood. Our acceptance with God,
our peace with God is an act of divine mercy. It is the bestowing
of the free, sovereign grace of God upon a sinful soul. And so here in this verse six,
we are reminded that salvation is a divine act. We cannot atone
for sin. It requires the blood of Christ. We cannot quicken ourselves. We cannot make ourselves alive.
It requires the regenerating grace of God and the application
of that grace and that blood by God the Holy Spirit. So that
even our faith and our enabling and our ability to testify that
Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God comes to us by divine
power. It is part of the wholeness of
the blessing of God and the gift of God to our souls. Our atonement, our being made
one with God, our reconciliation with God is because of Jesus Christ's
death. and the application of the benefits
of that death to us at God's instigation and initiative. Our quickening, our being made
alive, our regeneration, if you like. These are all words that
are used to describe this sovereign work of God the Holy Spirit to
give to whomsoever God wills the free gift of grace. Conversion and all that comes
to us in our conversion is by the grace of God. And the Holy
Spirit, whom John says, is truth in verse 6. He it is that ministers
those truths, the water and the blood, to our hearts, to our
understanding. as the Gospel is preached to
us and as we are brought to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus
of Nazareth, the Son of God. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse
22 speaks about that assurance that we have and drawing near
to God with assurance. This is what the writer to the
Hebrews says, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance. That's what we're talking about,
full assurance. We're in Does a believer get this full assurance?
Wherein is his doubts dealt with? Where are the temptations challenged? Where can we have this full assurance
of faith? Having, says the writer to the
Hebrews, our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our
bodies washed with pure water. That's the water and the blood
that John is talking about. And it's that water and blood
that leads us into an understanding of what God has done for us in
Christ and gives us that assurance that many of us struggle with
throughout our Christian pilgrim walk. Full assurance is enjoyed
when we come believing that Jesus is the Christ by water and blood,
by that regenerating grace and the application of the blood
of Christ upon our souls and our consciences. That is when
we understand our faith is not the cause of our salvation but
the result of our salvation. That it is the blessed effect
of the Father's love towards us in covenant purpose. that the cleansing blood of Christ's
atoning death has been given to us and that the effectual
call of God the Holy Spirit has been granted to us. Faith is
the fruit of the divine purpose and it is the achievement of
God's will in our lives as he applies his grace to us. So let me repeat myself and restate
John's earlier assertion also. In 1 John 5, verse 1, he says,
And let me turn that over to you today. Do you believe that
Jesus is the Christ? Will you answer me that question? Do you believe that Jesus is
the Christ? Then I tell you on the authority
of the word of God, you are born of God. Do you understand that
that belief that Jesus is the Christ is possible only because
of Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit's quickening power? You
are born of God and that is a biblical fact. It's not a matter of maybe. It's not to be undermined by
our continuing sin and our sense of guilt. It's not founded on
those guilt-fuelled feelings that we have. It's not up for
discussion or debate. Your salvation, your new birth,
your blood atonement is certain and sure because the Holy Spirit
having acted upon you inspires that conversion and that confession
because the Spirit is truth. Do you remember King Solomon,
wise King Solomon? He said, a three-fold cord is
not quickly broken. And John here in verse seven
of our passage takes the old king literally, and he brings
us two three-fold cords in quick succession in the following two
verses. one cord that he draws from heaven,
and one cord that he finds upon earth, and he calls both of these
testimonies to witness and record this incontrovertible and irrefutable
truth, that if we confess that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ,
then we are born of God and possessors of God's truth and God's grace
and God's life. 1 John 5, verse 7 says, Now this
is a great Trinitarian verse. And once again, we are indebted
to join under God the Holy Spirit for this beautiful, simple, glorious
statement. There are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. I say again, it is a beautiful
proof text of the Trinity. One God in three persons. God the Father, God the Word
or the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But let us remember that
John's purpose in giving us this proof text for the Trinity was not to prove the Trinity. but to assure the Lord's people
of their heavenly birthright and the eternal salvation in
Christ, which is being spoken of in this passage. Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Verse one. There is a threefold testimony
in heavenly witnesses, says John, to this fact, that whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. The one true
God in his three persons witnesses from heaven to this truth, that
whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Jesus of Nazareth is the Son
of God. Jesus of Nazareth is the God-Man,
who alone is able to stand between God and man, mediating peace
offering, as it were, upon the altar of God's justice, his own
precious blood, interceding for all that come to God through
him as the great satisfier of divine justice. And the Father,
God the Father, testifies to his acceptance of that because
he says, this is my beloved son. Who? Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus
of Nazareth is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And
the Father bears witness, bears record, and testifies to the
fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. The Word testifies. And I think it's perhaps interesting
to note that the nomenclature, the title, the name, word, the
word, which is another name of Christ the Son, is used here. rather than the Son because it
is the Son that is being authenticated and attested to. So it is the
Word, the eternal Word that speaks here in heaven as John brings
this testimony to bear on his argument. And the Word testifies,
I and my Father are one. John chapter 10 verse 30. So the Father testifies, this
is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The Word says,
I and my Father are one. And the Spirit testifies as he
did as he descended from heaven at the baptism of the Lord Jesus
Christ as a dove alighted upon the Saviour. And we're told that
the Holy Spirit gave that sign to John the Baptist by which
he knew and bear record that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son
of God. John chapter one, verse 33 and
34. And so all three persons, being
united in their essence as the one true God, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, unite in their heavenly witness to what? to Jesus Christ's sonship and
saving purpose, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. And
John tells us that the three in one bear record, so that like
a witness in court, their testimony is on record. And it has been sworn to be faithful
and true. Let me ask you that question
that I asked a little earlier. Do you believe that Jesus is
the Christ? Then you believe the Father's
testimony, you believe the Word's testimony, and you believe the
Spirit's testimony as only sons of God can. God has sworn this
to be true. Because he could swear by no
greater, he swear by himself. The triune God bears record. If you believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, you shall be saved. And says John,
going on to verse eight, there are three that bear witness in
earth, the spirit and the water and the blood. and these three
agree in one. So here's John's second threefold
chord that is not quickly broken. Bearing record on earth to the
true identity of the Lord Jesus Christ and witnessing to his
effectual work of salvation. Attesting. recording that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God in whom we have, by faith, eternal life. So we've thought about the three
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Spirit, and now we are being told that there is another threefold
cord. There is the Spirit, the water,
and the blood that bear testimony on earth, the Spirit of power,
Now this is again the Holy Spirit and he is that dual aspect bearing
record in heaven and bearing record on earth because it is
the Holy Spirit on earth that applies the work of God's sovereign
grace to the hearts of men and women, revealing the gospel of
grace to the hearts of men and women. So the Spirit of power
testifies on earth. the water of grace, the grace
of God that quickens dead sinners and brings that new life that
the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Nicodemus about. So that the
Apostle Paul in Romans 8 verse 16 could say, the spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
So that the spirit and the water of grace both attest to the fact
that we are the children of God. and the blood, this third strand,
this third part of the threefold cord, by the sprinkling of that
blood, again by the Holy Spirit, purges our conscience, shows
us where our salvation is to be found, what undergirds it,
what enables it, what has been offered by Christ and accepted
by God, and whereby our reconciliation is secured. Herein is our peace
with God. Herein is our freedom from guilt. As the triune God bears record
from heaven, so these three bear record on earth, all agreeing
together that Jesus is the Christ to the saving of our souls. The spirit of power That's what
John calls him here in verse eight. The spirit of power reminds
us that the gospel is a spiritual message that requires that empowering. It's not going to be received
by men and women and it's not going to be understood by men
and women except the Holy Spirit opens deaf ears and blind eyes. To re-echo Jesus Christ, you
must be born again. And that new birth is an effectual
work of grace by God's powerful Spirit upon our dead spirits,
quickening and making alive. The water is the regenerating
grace of God, applied to the heart of a sinner in conversion,
bringing us to an experiential knowledge of God's holiness,
not our holiness, our sin, but God's holiness, our guilt, God's
righteousness, our need of mercy, God's gracious supply. And thereby he deals with our
longings for peace and reconciliation with him. And the blood is the
application of Christ's precious blood for the remission of our
sins, the purging of our conscience, our redemption, the setting free
of the captive. Hebrews 13 verse 20 talks about
peace by the blood of the everlasting covenant. So here are three more
witnesses bearing record of salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father, the Word and the Spirit, the Spirit of power upon earth,
the grace of God in regeneration and the blood of Jesus Christ
that purges our conscience from sin, all uniting to declare the
true identity of Jesus of Nazareth, that he is God's Son, the Messiah. that by him a complete salvation
to needy sinners like us has been obtained. Romans 3, verse
26 says, to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness,
that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. Brothers and sisters, this is
the witness of God. This is the record of heaven.
This is the testimony of the Spirit upon earth by the preaching
of free grace in the gospel. This is truth. Who amongst us today will not
receive it? Who makes God a liar when he
declares this to be true? Believing that Jesus of Nazareth
is the Son of God is in itself a witness of grace. because the natural man receiveth
it not, and spiritual things are foolishness unto him. Brothers and sisters, this is
the record of God. He has given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. Life through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, only to those who believe. 1 John chapter 5 verse
12 says, He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not
the Son of God hath not life. There isn't a third way. There's
no middle ground in this matter. We either have Christ or not. We have faith or not. We believe
that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God or not. Let me ask
you as pointedly as I can. What is it with you? What is
it with you? Do not tell me about your sinful
deeds or your sinful thoughts or your sinful feelings. I know
all about that already. Do not speak about your doubts. It's not unusual. They are sent
to try our faith. Do not listen to Satan, the father
of lies. What has the liar got to add
to this matter of the testimony of the triune God in heaven? Pharaoh's enchanters, they only
confirmed that old fool's deception when their staffs turned to snakes
on the ground. Just answer me this. Do you believe
that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God? The Father says he
is. The Word says he is. The Spirit
says he is. The Gospel says he is. The new
birth says he is. The shed blood of Jesus Christ
says he is. It is the testimony of heaven
and earth that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and the only
way of salvation. What do you say? May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us. Amen.