Thursday, April 02, 2015

These three agree - 1 John 5:5-8

"Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement." (1 John 5:5-8)
Our salvation is more than just our ticket to heaven, it is the means by which we overcome the world to live godly and righteous lives here and now. It is a salvation for the present as well as a promise for the future. At the center of this salvation is our faith in Jesus Christ. What we believe about Jesus determines the salvation we receive from the Father. Most believe that He existed, some believe that He was a prophet or at least a good teacher, but do we believe that He was the Christ of God? Who was Jesus and what shall we believe about Him?

John draws thee symbols together to enlighten us as to who Jesus was: the blood, the water, and the Spirit. It's unfortunate that John just didn't spell out in detail what he was talking about, but this is what I understand from the symbolism he uses.

The blood speaks of His natural birth. Jesus was born a Man. He was not an apparition or some phantom appearing as man, He was fully human. To deny Jesus' humanity is to deny His association with us and His ability to save us. Only by becoming human, suffering along side of us, and dying in our place, could Jesus effect our salvation and restore us once again to the Father.

The water speaks of the water of baptism and reminds us of Jesus divinity. While Jesus did not require the waters of baptism, the symbol of the water reminds us that He was not just born human but that He was also divine. He was not just a man of this realm but He was God descendant from heaven. To deny Jesus' divinity is to deny is ability to pardon and to offer a sinless sacrifice. All men are born into sin, but Jesus, being also divine, was born without sin, lived without sin, and died as a sinless man. Therefore, His sacrifice was able to satisfy the righteous judgement of God in regards to our own sinful lives.

The Spirit speaks of His mission and His anointing. He was not just man and not just God, He was also Christ, the anointed one of God. Jesus came, not just to forgive us, but to rain down salvation upon every area of our lives: body, soul, and spirit. Jesus did not just come and go, but He remains with us and lives within us by His Spirit. The same Spirit that testified of Him when He walked this Earth and the same Spirit that still testifies to us of His reality and His power to save, heal, and aid our lives today.

The blood, the water, and the Spirit. Jesus became all things to us that He might minister to our entire being. We have no need of another; Jesus Himself is complete and sufficient. When you have Jesus, you have everything life needs.

David Robison.

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