The Testimony of the Three Witnesses

by Kenny Chumbley
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 3, September 1994

"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... there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one" (I John 5:6-8).

I John 5.6-8 is commonly labeled the most perplexing passage in the epistle. The object of the text is clearly Jesus. But what is meant by the prepositional phrases that relate Jesus to water and blood, and how does the Spirit fit into the picture?

Let us first examine water and blood.

• Luther and Calvin saw in them a reference to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. There is Scriptural precedent to think “water" might refer to baptism (cf. John 3:5; Titus 3:5), but to make “blood” a symbol for the Lord's Supper is unprecedented. Blood is not a sign in the Supper, but is one of the things signified.
• Augustine linked these nouns to the effusion of blood and water from Jesus side when pierced by the Roman spear (John 19:34-35). The difficulty with this view is two-fold. First, the action of the verbs does not agree. I John 5.6 states that Jesus came by (i.e., through) water and blood, but in John 19:34, blood and water came out of Jesus. Second, in the Gospel, John bears witness to the blood and water, whereas in the Epistle, water and blood bear witness to Jesus (I John 5:8).

In interpreting the phrase water and blood, we should look for historical events “through’ which Jesus passed (I John 5:6) that in some way testify (I John 5:8) that He is the Son of God (I John 5:5). Two incidents meet these criteria. At Jesus’ baptism (water), both the Father and Spirit attested to His divine nature (see Matthew 3:17; John 1:32-34). And at His death (blood) supernatural phenomena declared His death to be supernatural (see Matthew 27:50-54; John 12:28). It seems best, therefore, to understand water and blood as referring to the baptism and death of Jesus—identifying with sinners in His baptism, taking away sin by His death (I John 1:7). (Note that John's use of Christ’s baptism and death was a direct challenge to the heretics who denied the incarnation |cf. John 4:2]. If Jesus did not take upon Himself the nature of sinners and then take upon Himself our sins in His death, the foundation of Christianity is undermined, and we are robbed of our salvation in Christ.)

Not only was Jesus’divine identity׳ testified to in His baptism and death, but “the Spirit beareth witness.” Surely this means that the Holy Spirit also testified to Christ's nature. But how did the Spirit do this? Most likely, John is referring to the Spirit's work through Christ's apostles (cf. John 16:13-14). Thus, Christ’s baptism, death, and the Holy Spirit are three witnesses that corroborate Christ’s claim to be the Son of God.

"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" (I John 5:9).

The three witnesses constitute a single divine testimony of Jesus, the aim of which is to lead men to believe that Jesus is God's Son. If we believe Jesus is the Son of God, God's testimony is within us—“in our heart״ (NIV). If we do not believe, we reject God’s testimony and label God a liar. “Unbelief is not a misfortune to be pitied: it is a sin to be deplored" (Stott). Unbelief contradicts the truth God has revealed about Jesus.

"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" (I John 5:11-12).

Life is the blessing that comes to those who believe the testimony God has given about Jesus: life now (I John 5:13), and in the age to come (Titus 1:2). Note that in this paragraph (I John 5:6-12), John merely amplifies what he said in two verses at the end of his Gospel. "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:30-31). Testimony (signs)—Belief— Life. The purpose of testimony is to produce belief; the result of belief is life. John's sequence of thought is the same. God has borne witness of His Son, and if we believe in Him, we can pass from death to life.