When all three witnesses are enumerated together, the Spirit naturally comes first. He is a living and a Divine witness, independent of the two facts of the baptism and the Passion, which concur with him in testifying that the Son of God is Jesus Christ. read more
And there are three that bear witness in earth - This is a part of the text, which, if the reasoning above is correct, is to be omitted. The genuine passage reads, 1 John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record (or witness, μαρτυροῦντες marturountes) - the Spirit, and the water, and the blood.” There is no reference to the fact that it is done “in earth.” The phrase was introduced to correspond with what was said in the interpolated passage, that there are three that bear record “in... read more
1 John 5:8. And there are three that bear witness on earth To the same important doctrine concerning Christ, the Son of God, and salvation through him; the Spirit, the water, and the blood The Spirit here, distinguished from the Holy Ghost in the preceding verse, seems to mean, 1st, That influence of the Spirit, which, in a peculiar manner, attended the preaching of the gospel by the apostles and first ministers of the Word, in that early age of Christianity: together with the... read more
5:6-21 ASSURANCE OF ETERNAL LIFEThe basis of assurance (5:6-12)Those who taught Gnostic-type theories did not believe that the person who died on the cross was Jesus Christ the Son of God. They claimed that ‘the Christ’ (i.e. God) descended on Jesus (the man) in the form of a dove after his baptism and empowered him to do miracles, but departed before his crucifixion. According to them, the Jesus who suffered and died was merely a man. He was not ‘the Christ’. In other words, ‘the Christ’ came... read more
For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.There are three that bear witness ... Note the use of the present tense, contrasting with the past tense of 1 John 5:6, a fact that indicates the three agreeing witnesses as giving their testimony at the time of John's writing and continuously thereafter.The Spirit ... There is no doubt regarding the identity of this witness, the same being the inspired testimony of the holy apostles of... read more
1 John 5:8. And there are three that bear witness in earth, &c.— "And in concurring testimony with these three divine Persons in heaven, who subsist in the unity of the Godhead, and have given their distinct attestations to the saving office ofChrist, there are three practical witnesses to the same upon earth. One of these lies in the miraculous gifts and saving graces of the Holy Spirit: another is the spotless purity of Christ's human nature and life (Hebrews 7:26.), and his holy... read more
8. agree in one—"tend unto one result"; their agreeing testimony to Jesus' Sonship and Messiahship they give by the sacramental grace in the water of baptism, received by the penitent believer, by the atoning efficacy of His blood, and by the internal witness of His Spirit (1 John 5:10): answering to the testimony given to Jesus' Sonship and Messiahship by His baptism, His crucifixion, and the Spirit's manifestations in Him (see on 1 John 5:6). It was by His coming by water (that is, His... read more
B. The Empowerment of Brotherly Love 5:3b-15If love for our brethren really boils down to keeping God’s commandments, how can we do that? It sounds difficult, even impossible. John proceeded to respond to this concern. read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 5:6-12
The section takes a new turn; the test of the Christian life furnished by the witness of the life itself. This witness is that of the Spirit ( 1 John 5:6 ), identical with that of God ( 1 John 5:9 ), and possessed by every believer ( 1 John 5:10 ). Few passages of Scripture have produced such a mass of widely divergent interpretation. read more