Lechem Panim #85 "The Water, The Blood, and The Spirit" (1 John 5:1-12) Pastor Cameron Ury

Greetings! Welcome to Lechem Panim. In today’s passage (1 John 5:1-12) we are going to be talking a lot about assurance; assurance of who Jesus is and assurance of who we are in Him.

If You Wake-- I recently read a story about [A life insurance agent {who} was speaking with a would-be client. After a long presentation of the risks of not buying the policy, the man was still a bit hesitant. “I feel that you’re trying to frighten me into a hasty decision. “Oh, no, I would never do such a thing!” the agent assured him. “I’ll tell you what — Sleep on it tonight. If you wake in the morning, give me a call then and let me know your decision.”] If you want assurance, an insurance agent is not always the best choice. However, when it comes to where we are going to spend eternity, the apostle John wants his readers to have absolute assurance.
One of the things that makes 1 John such a valuable epistle is that it’s aim is to give us personal assurance of our salvation. While in his Gospel, John writes in order that we might “have” eternal life (John 20:20-31), he wrote this epistle so that we might “know” we have eternal life (I John 5:13). He uses the word "know" 39 times in this epistle alone. John wants us to have the assurance and peace that comes from knowing where we stand with God. Do you know where you stand this morning in your relationship with God? Do you have complete assurance of your salvation. John says we can. We can test ourselves in order to know whether or not we are truly children of God. And John gives us three major tests.

Belief in Christ— In verse 1 is the first test: What we believe about Jesus. It says: 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God,

Both Divine and Human-- And as we said before, that involves our believing that Jesus was both fully God and fully man. And as fully God and fully man, He died on the cross for the atonement of our sins and was raised from the dead in order that we also might experience victory over sin and death. So belief in who Jesus claims to be and placing our faith and trust in Him for salvation is how we receive salvation. 

Love for God’s Children-- Now in the second part of verse 1 we are given the second test: and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. If we are truly saved, then we will truly love the Father. And if we love the Father the way we ought to, we will love and care about those He loves and cares about. Now John has made this point before. Remember he records in his Gospel Jesus saying in…

John 13:34-35 (ESV)— 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Obvious, but Not Easy--  Now we know that we are supposed to love each other; that’s obvious. But just because something is obvious doesn’t mean it’s easy. I think sometimes we forget how difficult this really is. How do we think about that sibling who has wounded us? That person at church who has wounded us? Those people who you run into in life who, when you are down, enjoy kicking you and making you feel small? What about that person at work who always makes your job harder by how they do theirs. In our thought life, how do we view them? Do we love them? Apart from God, that love becomes very difficult; actually impossible. We can never truly love our brother or sister or neighbor until we first love the Father in and through Jesus Christ. Our love for God can enable us to love them because we love them not for their own sakes, but for Christ’s sake. And John is very careful to connect the two. We love our brothers and sisters and neighbors by first loving God. If we truly love Him and maintain that relationship, He will perfect the love we have for others. He says in verse 2…

1 John 5:2-3a (ESV)-- 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.

Obeying God’s Commands-- And in that verse is contained the third test of genuine Christianity: loving God and obeying his commands. If we truly love God, then we will keep His commands. And more than that, we will want to keep His commands. They will be a joy. As the second part of verse 3 says: And his commandments are not burdensome. Now why are they not burdensome? Because His Law; His commands are not just regulations He comes up with, but are an expression of His very nature and character. And therefore if we truly love Him, we will love His nature and character and therefore as a result will also love His Law and practice His commands.

Overcome the World-- Now verses 4-5 mark what is perhaps one of the most encouraging passages in scripture. It says…

1 John 5:4-5 (ESV)-- 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Living in Light-- Through faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, we can have victory over sin and temptation because we can, as John says, abide by the commands that God has given us. We can live in His light and have victory over the darkness merely because of the fact that we are abiding in the Light of the World and He in us. And if we allow Him, He can expel all darkness in us and also much of the darkness around us as we bring the light of Christ to others. And once again if we truly love Christ, then we will want to do that.

Refuting Gnosticism-- Now during this time there was a false heresy that was developing that served as the foundation for what would later become Gnosticism. And this was a belief system that denied that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh (1Jn 4:1-3; cf. 2Jn 7). And one of the representatives of this belief system was a man named Cerinthus. And he taught that the divine Christ descended upon Jesus at the time of his baptism and then left him before he died on the cross. And so (they claim) that “Christ’ never experienced death. Now WE know that it was necessary that Jesus (as the Christ) die in order to atone (to pay for) the sins of the world. And you cannot be a true Christian without believing in that foundational truth. This is why John has been trying to emphasize throughout this epistle first that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2) and secondly, those who believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh are “of God” and have been “born of God” (1 John 4:2; 5:1a). And in defense of this John presents to us specific witnesses we have concerning the truth that Jesus is the Christ and that he has come in the flesh.

1 John 5:6a (ESV)– 6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. 

The Water-- Now the "water" refers to Jesus' baptism in the Jordan river, when the Father spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:13–17). And you will remember that after he came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon him as a dove. And this was one of the means by which the Father testified (audibly from heaven) concerning His Son; right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Talk about validation!!!

The Blood-- Now the second witness is “the blood”. And “the blood” refers to Jesus’ death on the cross and the testimony that was born of Jesus as He was hanging there. At the end of Jesus’ ministry [the Father gave further witness as the time drew near for Jesus to die. He spoke audibly to Jesus from heaven, and said, “I have both glorified it [My name], and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). Furthermore, the Father witnessed in miracle power when Jesus was on the cross: the supernatural darkness, the earthquake, and the rending of the temple veil (Matt. 27:45, 50–53). No wonder the centurion cried out, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (v. 54) Jesus did not receive “the Christ” at His baptism and lose it at the cross. On both occasions, the Father witnessed to the deity of His Son.]

The Spirit-- Now “the water and the blood” are not alone in their witness, but are joined by a third witness: The Holy Spirit. It says in…

1 John 5:6b-8 (ESV)– And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 
And so we see that the Holy Spirit is another key witness to the incarnate Christ. And He is certainly a strong witness, for He was heavily involved in every aspect of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. He was involved in Jesus’ conception (Mt 1:20), played an active role in His baptism (Mt 3:16), was with Jesus and led Him during His time of temptation in the wilderness (Lk 4:1), and was upon Him for all of His ministry (Lk 4:18). He also came upon the disciples, sanctifying them and bestowing on them spiritual gifts (Hebrews 2:3-4); and inspiring some of the disciples to author New Testament books and letters. And so the Spirit is a huge witness to who Christ is. And John points out how The Spirit, the water, and the blood, all agree with one another, meaning that they agree in their testimony that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Now here John continues…

1 John 5:9 (ESV)– 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.

The Greater Testimony-- And this simply means that since in a court of law we receive and accept the witness of men, how much more should we accept the testimony of God. Isn’t he greater? Of course. Now for those who have been “born of God”, it says…

1 John 5:10a (ESV)– 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. 

Confirmation in Our Spirit-- And what John (and Jesus) is saying is that when we set out hearts and minds on doing the will of God, we will know that the doctrine of Christ is really from God. We will receive confirmation in our spirit regarding who Jesus really is and who we are in Him as born again believers. Now there are those (obviously) who reject the testimony of God. And John says of them…

1 John 5:10b-12 (ESV)– Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

And what John is saying is that you cannot have life apart from Jesus. All these witnesses that John is talking about (witnesses to who Christ is) ought to lead us to place our faith in Him as the ONLY source of life there is; and to follow Him with a complete and total commitment of ALL of who we are to Him. When we truly place our faith in Jesus like that, there will be (like John says) that fruit; that evidence in our lives demonstrated in righteousness and love; and we can have assurance that we are indeed children of God. And if you want to experience that deeper relationship with Him today, open your heart to God in prayer and invite Him to begin that work in you. And as it says in…

Philippians 1:6b (ESV)-- …he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 

​Amen.