1 John 5:6-12 | Sunday April 26, 2026 1 John 5:1; 5 ESV (1)  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him. (5)  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Everyone can be born of God by believing in Jesus. The offer of salvation is universal. When we believe in Jesus, we are born of God and become overcomers because of all that Jesus accomplished. Last week we spent extra time looking at how important it is for us as overcomers to live each day as an overcomer . When we have fellowship with Jesus and abide with Him, we are living as an overcomer. This is all possible because of Jesus and starts when we believe in Him. Belief has no value by itself. What or whom we believe in is where all the value comes from. I can earnestly believe something with all my might, and it be wrong. No matter how much I believed it, it is still wrong and has no value. John wants to make sure we know who we are believing in. He does this by sharing various testimonies, or witnesses that point to the truth of who Jesus is. 1 John 5:6-12 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. 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. (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. (10)  Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. 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. John brings up 4 testimonies that all bear witness to the amazing truth about Jesus, the Spirit, the water, the blood, and God the Father . Remember that a group of false teachers have left the fellowship with the apostles. They have started teaching a different Jesus. One of these false teachers, named Cerinthus, believed that Jesus was born as a mere man, and then the “Christ Spirit” or divine messiah descended on Him at Jesus’ baptism but left Him before the cross. This meant that the messiah did not fully take on flesh and did not die on the cross. 1 John 5:6 NAS95 (6)  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. John’s goal is to share testimonies that explain who Jesus is and what He accomplished, and yet these verses are very hard to understand. Throughout church history there have been many different interpretations as to what the water and blood are in reference to. One detail that is helpful in understanding this verse is to see that Jesus coming with water seems to be agreed upon . John is arguing Jesus did not only come with water , meaning those he is correcting agree on the water part. This would fit with the false teaching of Cerinthus if the water John is referring to is the Baptism of Jesus. Mark 1:9-11 ESV (9)  In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (10)  And when He came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. (11)  And a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.” This was the moment that John the Baptist had been waiting for. John 1:31-33 informs us that Jesus was revealed as the messiah because the Holy Spirit descended and remained on Him at His baptism. "Messiah" means "anointed one," and Jesus was anointed at His baptism with the Holy Spirit. This began His public ministry . Cerinthus was correct to emphasize it; the Messiah had to come through water . Yet he was wrong to say that Jesus was not fully God or the Messiah before this moment. He was also wrong to say that the Messiah left Jesus before the cross. Jesus had to come not only with water but also with, or by means of, the blood. Hebrews 9:11-14 NLT (11)  So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. (12)  With His own blood —not the blood of goats and calves— He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. (13)  Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. (14)  Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God . For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Christ did not come just to be an example of servanthood to us. He did not come just to perform miracles and teach.  The Christ, who was recognized by His baptism (the water), came to be the perfect sacrifice (the blood). He entered into the perfect tabernacle in heaven with His own blood. Through the eternal Spirit, Jesus offered Himself, His blood, to God the Father. All three members of the Trinity were involved. We are saved, and our sins are paid for by the blood of Jesus. If the spirit of the messiah left Jesus on the cross, then His death was that of a mere man, and trusting in Him would not give someone eternal life. If the blood of animals could make someone ceremonially clean, how much greater is the blood of Jesus? What could we ever add to this payment? Jesus’ baptism and death on the cross are the two horizons of His earthly ministry . John is emphasizing all that Jesus accomplished as the true messiah. He came both through the water of His baptism and the blood of His death on the cross. There are many other interpretations. Water and blood could also point to Jesus’ full humanity as the messiah at His birth. This would correct Cerinthus’ view that the messiah or divine part of Jesus only descended at the baptism. Water and blood also has an allusion to the moment at the cross when the soldier pierced Jesus and water and blood came out (John 19:34). Overall, the water and blood testify to who Jesus is and what He accomplished . They are not alone in this testimony. 1 John 5:6 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. And the Spirit is the one who testifies , because the Spirit is the truth. In 1 John 4:8 we were taught that God is love; now we are taught the Spirit is the truth. The Holy Spirit is crucial in helping us understand Jesus and understand spiritual truth. One of the primary focuses of His ministry is to proclaim Jesus and to teach us spiritual truths. John 15:26 NAS95 (26)  "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 ESV (12)  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. (13)  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit , interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The Holy Spirit is not focused on promoting or emphasizing Himself. He is the helper who comes to testify and explain who Jesus is. The Holy Spirit takes the truths about Jesus and makes us able to understand them. Spiritual truth is not learned by human wisdom but through the work of the Holy Spirit. He is truth and proclaims Jesus. 1 John 5:7 ESV (7)  For there are three that testify: (8)  the Spirit and the water and the blood ; and these three agree. The Holy Spirit, the water, and the blood are all giving the same testimony about who Jesus is and what He accomplished. One testimony would not be enough to verify this truth. So God gave us multiple testimonies, which fits a principle found throughout His Word. Deuteronomy 19:15 ESV (15)  “ A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 2 Corinthians 13:1 ESV (1)  This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. We are told not to accept something if it only comes from one source, one testimony. This principle could not be more important to our society today. As believers, we need to use extreme caution and discernment in what we accept as truth. Today, a falsehood can be repeated on countless websites and posts and have no real truth behind it. This is why anchoring to God’s truth is so important. He has given us multiple testimonies to prove who Jesus is. Some translations have an extra sentence or two right between verses 7 and 8. 1 John 5:7-8 NKJV (7)  For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (8)  And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. The underlined section is what has been added. These sentences do not add anything incorrect and even emphasize the Trinity. The issue is that the case to not include them is very clear-cut. The longer reading is not found in the major Greek manuscripts.  It is not quoted by any early church fathers, and if it were in scripture, it would have been a very helpful verse as they debated the Trinity. The first time it shows up is in the late 11th and 12th centuries, and both times in the margin . Erasmus compiled a Greek New Testament that the KJV is based on and refused to include it in his Greek first edition. He eventually added it in his third edition after a lot of pressure from the Catholic Church. Then in later additions he removed it again. I bring it up so you know how well documented, studied, and scrutinized the Bible has been. God performed a miracle in giving us His Word, and He is big enough to protect it . There is no one perfect translation, but we have a perfect communicator in God, who gave us His Spirit so we could know His truth. In His love He gave us so many witnesses to who Jesus is, and He even testifies about Jesus Himself. 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. When something is proved by enough human testimonies, we believe it to be true. We should be all the more willing to accept the testimony that comes from God. 1 John 5:10 ESV (10)  Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself . 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. If someone refuses to believe in the testimony God had given about the Son, then they are calling God a liar. The truth of Jesus goes beyond any human's opinion and straight to God. Unbelief is an active, sinful rejection of God’s truth about Jesus. To reject Jesus is to refuse God’s testimony about Him. This verse is not about your ability to believe or how much you believe. The testimony that we have in ourselves is about who Jesus Christ is. The fact that we believe at all proves Him. John has consistently presented belief as a very simple true or false issue. We overcomplicate it with varying degrees and ultimately place the emphasis back on ourselves. It is about Jesus. Do we accept what God has testified about Him? Yes or no? It is that straightforward. Verse 11 explains to us what the testimony is. 1 John 5:11-12 NAS95 (11) And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life , and this life is in His Son. (12)  He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. The testimony that we have within ourselves as believers is that God gave us eternal life in Jesus. To have Jesus is to have the life, eternal life. This is not about how saved we feel. Our testimony is not based on our emotions. It is based on the fact that God has given us life through Jesus. There is only one way to have eternal life, and that is through Jesus. This means that it is impossible to have eternal life without Jesus because He is eternal life. This life we have been given is the life. John 10:9-10 ESV (9)  I am the door. If anyone enters by Me , he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (10)  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly . Jesus is the only door. All we have to do is enter through Him. We believe in the testimony God has given that in Jesus is life. When someone believes we have a secure promise that they will be saved. When we believe in Jesus, we are given Him, so we are also given eternal, abundant life. This is not just life that never ends but is to be extraordinary and remarkable . This abundant life does not just start when we get to heaven, but we can start walking in it right now. The more we have fellowship with Jesus, the more abundant life becomes. What makes you feel the most alive right now? Is it an adrenaline-pumping experience? Is it a day of good health or a beautiful view with great weather? True abundant life is in Jesus. Philippians 1:21 ESV (21)  For to me to live is Christ , and to die is gain.