Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Monday, 29 July 2024 09:52

The Three Witnesses
by Sarah Wootten Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

Two weeks ago, we discussed how Jesus is the promised Messiah from the Old Testament. He fulfills every Old Testament prophecy required of the Savior. Many people from the first century were eyewitnesses to this, and their accounts are written down in the New Testament. However, John tells us in 1 John 5:6-12 that God has given us three other witnesses to testify to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. These witnesses are the water, the blood, and the Spirit.
The water. In Matthew 3, the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is recorded. When Jesus came up out of the water, God the Father with a voice out of heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” (Matthew 3:17, ESV). At this water baptism, God declared that Jesus was His Son. Also, the fact that Jesus was baptized at all testifies that He is the promised Savior. Jesus didn’t need the baptism that John was giving, that is a baptism that symbolized repentance from sins. Jesus never sinned. But He was baptized to show that He was taking the sins of mankind that others were repenting of upon Himself and bearing the punishment that people deserve in His death.

The blood. Jesus’ death accomplished many things: forgiveness of sins, eternal redemption, reconciliation, access to God for all believers, and more. But when it comes to His death as a testament that He is the Son of God, the simplest thing to do may be to consider His resurrection. Paul tells us in Romans 1:4 that Jesus’ resurrection declared that He is the Son of God. Jesus as a man truly died. It wasn’t an optical illusion or a deep sleep. But in His divinity, Jesus could not stay dead because it’s impossible for God to die. He had to resurrect. Jesus’ resurrection was unique compared to the other nine or so resurrections listed in the Bible. When those guys came back to life, they eventually died again. They didn’t have any divine power to conquer death. However, Jesus’ death was different. Jesus never experienced physical death again, showing that He had power over both life and death and that He is indeed God.

The Spirit. Lastly, pointing to Jesus is one of the Spirit’s primary jobs. Jesus said that the Spirit would also testify about Him (see John 15:26). The Spirit also glorifies the Son and guides people in truth (John 16:13-15). On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit emboldened Christ’s followers in Jerusalem to share the good news concerning Christ in many languages (Acts 2). God sent the Spirit to teach us the truth concerning Christ.

There is a common thread in each of these witnesses, and that is the fact that the source of each of these witnesses is God Himself. God is testifying through these witnesses that He “gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life,” (1 John 5:11-12, ESV). John goes so far as to say that if you don’t believe what God has said concerning His Son, then you are calling God a liar (see 5:10). Those are harsh words. Too often, we treat God’s command to repent and believe in the Son as an optional invitation that carries little weight. We act as if it’s of no consequence if someone says “no thanks” to the command of believing the truth. That’s not the way God views the rejection of His Son. The one who rejects the truth is offensive to God.

Yet, we are in a time of grace where God is patiently holding back His wrath on sinners while the truth of His Son is being proclaimed in the whole world, giving the opportunity to repent. God sent witnesses to the truth – the water, the blood, the Spirit, the apostles, the Scriptures. The truth is clear, but the question remains. Will you continue to call God a liar by rejecting His Son as the Savior, or will you humbly accept the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and find eternal life in Him?