1 John, Part 13: The Testimony Within Us

We are on the second-to-last sermon in our series on 1 John. Last week, we saw that if we believe in Jesus Christ and are born again, then we will love other Christians, and if we love them the way God loves, then we will obey God’s commands.

The logical conclusion of that is this: if we do not love others and we do not obey God’s commands, can we really think we are born again? If we look just like everybody else in the world, why would we think we have been born of God? Do we really have faith if we don’t have any proof?

In these next eight verses, John will explain how by loving God and others, we testify that our faith is real and that Jesus is the Son of God. So, let’s read this next section, and then we will go back through the verses one at a time.

1 John 5:5-12 (BSB) says:

5 Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 

6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, because the Spirit is the truth. 

7 For there are three that testify:

8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are in agreement.

9 Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son. 

10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son.

11 And this is that testimony: God has given 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.

As we saw last week, if we do not love the world, then God’s commands are not burdensome. He had stated in verses 3-4 that God’s commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world. Now, he jumps off that statement and really clarifies it. To emphasize this point, he asks, in verse 5, “Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Not everyone can overcome the world; only those of us who believe in Jesus can. Well, that is the first point in John’s “test,” isn’t it? In order for a person to be in fellowship with God and believers, they must first believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God. And this is vital, because as 1 John 2:23 states, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.”

We know this is what John is thinking about, because then he clarifies even further exactly who Jesus is. He says in verse 6, “This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, because the Spirit is the truth.”

So not only can John and the other disciples who were still alive testify about Jesus, but the Holy Spirit testifies to this truth about Jesus, too.

Then, in typical John fashion, he clarifies that statement too and says in verses 7-8, “For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are in agreement.”

There have been a lot of ideas written about what John might be speaking about here. Some scholars over the centuries have thought that when he says, “This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood,” he must be referring to baptism and communion. 

Let’s explore that possibility a little. Matthew 3:16-17 tells us: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!’” This is why some scholars think John is making the point that Jesus, being the Son of God, is why He “came by water and blood,” and “not by water alone.” Because unlike John the Baptist’s baptism, which was a baptism by water only, Jesus was baptized by the Holy Spirit, who descended on Him. And of course, Jesus’ blood was shed for us on the Cross. As Jesus said during the Last Supper in Luke 22:20, when He “…took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.’” Jesus was foreshadowing His death on the Cross, and how His blood would become the ultimate sacrifice and atonement for sin. So, maybe all of that was in John’s mind as he was writing this.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to make that correlation, but I think all we need to do to understand these verses about the water and blood is simply remember the point John has been making all throughout this letter. One of the reasons—if not the main reason—John was writing this letter was because there were people who were insisting that Jesus did not come in the flesh. So, maybe the point John’s making is that Jesus was fully human. When Jesus was nailed to the Cross, John was there. He saw the soldier pierce Jesus’ side, and he saw that water and blood came out. In John 19:34-35, he wrote: “One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.”

And so, when he says in verses 7-8, “For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are in agreement,” maybe he’s simply saying that all three testify that Jesus was and is the Son of God who truly came to earth in the flesh.

And I do think this is what he means, because then he says in verse 9, “Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son.”

John is saying, ‘But who should we ultimately believe? God or humans? God has given us testimony that Jesus is His Son.’ In other words, does it matter what humans say? We have God’s testimony about Jesus. That’s the only testimony that really matters.  

Interestingly, even unbelievers seem to grasp this truth, because I’ve noticed that people love to point out things that Jesus did or didn’t say. Just recently, a woman on a talk show thought she was making a big point by claiming (incorrectly, I might add) that Jesus never declared Himself to be God. What is interesting to me is that even she—a blatant unbeliever—was giving authority to Jesus’ word over human ideas. But of course, she was wrong—Jesus clearly states that He is God. In John 10:30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.”

Moreover, the Word of God testifies repeatedly that Jesus is the Son of God. But interestingly, John doesn’t use Scripture as proof of God testifying. He says in verse 10, “Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son.”

And what is the testimony? John tells us in verse 11, “And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

If we have been born again, the “life” inside of us testifies that Jesus is the Christ. For if we have been born again, we have passed from death to life. This is something that Jesus directly said too. In John 5:36-40, Jesus is speaking to the Jews who didn’t believe in Him and were trying to kill Him. He says to them: “But I have testimony more substantial than that of John [the Baptist]. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me that the Father has sent Me. And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form, nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent. You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.”

So, this is the testimony we who have been born again can give: we can testify that, because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we now have new life in Him. We can testify that because of Him, we have been brought from death to life and now we “possess eternal life.” We can testify that we have read the Scriptures, “heard His voice,” and so God’s Word abides in us because we believe the One He sent.

The life inside of us testifies that Jesus is the Son of God. You might remember, John begins his Gospel account by saying about Jesus, in John 1:4-5, that “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Then in the beginning of this letter, he writes in 1 John 1:2, “And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.”

Believing in Jesus gives us more than just eternal life to look forward to; He gives us life now—here on earth, too. Can you give that testimony? Can you testify that Jesus is the Son of God because of the life He has given you now?

If you came to faith in Jesus as an adult, then when you were born again, did your life change? Do you have a testimony of who you were before and after? Did you become a “new creation in Christ” as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says? It says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” Can you testify that this verse is true?

Or, if you’ve grown up your whole life believing in Jesus, can you testify about your faith? Do you notice how your life is markedly different from unbelievers? Can you testify about the things God has done in your life? Can you tell others how you have “heard His voice” and seen that God is real? Can you testify that, because of your faith in Jesus, you have life?

What’s sad is that there are a lot of Christians who might struggle to do this. They believe that Jesus is their savior, and they trust that when they die, they will ‘go to Heaven and be with Him,’ but their life here isn’t much of a testimony that what they believe is true.

To help explain what I’m talking about, look at this analogy that Alexander MacLaren came up with in his commentary on 1 John 2:7-8. He wrote: “Suppose, for instance, some great ship comes alongside a raft with ship-wrecked sailors upon it, and in the darkness of the night transfers them to the security of its deck. They know how safe they are, they know what has saved them, but what do they know compared with what they will know before the voyage ends of all the reservoirs of power and stores of supplies that are in her? Christ comes to us in the darkness and delivers us. We know Him for our Deliverer from the first moment, if we truly have grasped Him. But it will take summering and wintering with Him, through many a long day and year, before we can ever have a partially adequate apprehension of all that lies in Him.”

I’ve been thinking about that analogy. Using MacLaren’s metaphor of the ship, if someone gets rescued, but instead of leaving the deck, they merely lie down and expect to ride out their rescue on the edge of the boat, what happens when waves crash about, won’t they be in danger of slipping off? Isn’t it just like Jesus explained about hearing the Word of God, but the Word falls on the shallow, rocky soil and doesn’t take root and so when the heat beats down, the tiny plant withers away? Not only might people fall off the deck of the ship, but to MacLaren’s point, they are missing out on all that the ship has to offer.

How many Christians are missing out on all that Jesus has to offer us? Haven’t you met people who say they “tried Christianity” but it just wasn’t for them? Or met other people who say they used to believe, but they realized it wasn’t real? Did those people even give Jesus a chance? Maybe they never explored the rest of the ship. Or maybe, like the Jews Jesus was speaking to, maybe they just “presumed” they were saved because they read the Bible once.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are taken out of darkness and brought into the light. We are given life, and that life is not just eternal life. As Jesus says in John 10:9-10, “I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus gives us life today, here on this earth.

What keeps Christians from experiencing this fullness of life that Jesus offers us? It’s what John has been warning us about all along. It’s why he says this so many times: we must overcome the world. As he said in 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Back to the ship analogy, there are also people who look over the railing into the darkness and decide they like that better, and so they willingly jump back into the dark waters. Those are the people who love the world.

The world and all its false prophets want to steal and kill and destroy our faith in Jesus Christ. That’s why it works so hard at coming up with lies and deceptions, hoping to get us to abandon the teachings of God’s Word.

The world tells us that there are many paths to God the Father. But that is not true. God’s Word says, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well” (1 John 2:23).

The world tells us that sin doesn’t matter. But that is not true. God’s Word says, “No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you: the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous” (1 John 3:6-7).

The world tells us that the best way to love others is to celebrate others when they sin. But that’s not true. God’s Word says, “By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments” (1 John 5:2).

If we want to experience the life that Jesus offers us, we must be careful not to love the world or listen to its lies. 

Which leads us to the final verse for today, verse 12, which says, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” That means we must abide in Jesus in order to have life.

Remember last week, how I mentioned the pastor who preaches that following God’s commands is not sustainable? Well, the truth is actually the opposite of what he’s preaching. Sin is not sustainable. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If we continue practicing sin, it will lead only to death.

That’s why Jesus said in John 8:24, “unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” But there is that promise of hope, too! If we believe that Jesus is the Christ, then we can receive the gift of eternal life. But we must believe that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior from our sins. We must confess our sins, repent, and follow Him. As John said in this letter, in 1 John 1:6, “If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

All throughout this letter, John has been urging us to walk in the light as Jesus walked. That means we can’t walk in the darkness, making a practice of sin, if we want to abide in Jesus and have life. After we believe, we must obey Jesus’ commands, practicing righteousness. If we make a practice of sin, that is not sustainable with walking with Jesus. We must stop sinning, confess and repent, and allow the Spirit of God to cleanse us and change us. That is how we have this life Jesus offers us. We must leave the “edge of the ship” and live fully in the light. Then our lives will be a testimony to the life within us.

Take time today to evaluate where you are at. Are you hanging out on the edges of the ship? Are you peering over the railing, thinking that darkness looks inviting? Or have you moved into the center? Have you explored all that Jesus offers to us? Next week, as we wrap up John’s first letter, we will see even more benefits of the life Jesus offers us. In the meantime, let me encourage you to spend time in God’s Word, exploring all the great and precious promises the Lord has given to us.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your Son Jesus to die on the Cross for us, rescuing us from sin and death. Please help us to fully embrace the new life we have been given by our faith in Him. Please empower us by Your Holy Spirit to walk in the light and not in darkness. Help us to practice righteousness and love the people around us, so we can testify that not only is Jesus the Christ, but He has given us life. In His name we pray. Amen.