You Cannot Cheat An Honest Man
1 John 5:6-10
Radiation was discovered because Becquerel
left some uranium next to some unexposed film. Before that time,
it was unknown - because no one had an instrument to detect it.
It could not be seen by the eyes; hence, to us , it did not
exist. But when the instrument was discovered, so was the
phenomenon.
The truth of God also requires the correct
instrument. The Apostle has already taught us:
(1 John 1:10 NIV) If we claim we have not
sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place
in our lives.
We cannot be dishonest and discover the truth
of God. The honest man is the only instrument which can detect
the truth of God, for as Solomon taught us:
(Prov 3:32 NIV) for the LORD detests a
perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence.
There it is: If you are an upright man or
woman, God will take you into his confidence - and tell you the
truth. We shall see that here:
(1 John 5:6-10 NIV) This is the one who came
by water and blood--Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only,
but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies,
because the Spirit is the truth. {7} For there are three that
testify: {8} the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three
are in agreement. {9} We accept man's testimony, but God's
testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which
he has given about his Son. {10} Anyone who believes in the Son
of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not
believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not
believed the testimony God has given about his Son.
Testimony: Water
John had a problem in his day: Gnosticism was
growing. It is against the background of this heresy we must
examine this passage, for John is defending the truth against
these people:
Gnostics, in general, held
that the truth was not generally available to all
- rather, it was for those "in the know" - hence
Gnostic, meaning "one who knows." Only by studying with
the particular guru could you know the truth which was
hidden from other Christians.
The particular form of
Gnosticism that John was fighting seems to have
originated with one Cerinthus. He held that "Jesus" and
"Christ" were two separate persons. "Christ" supposedly
entered "Jesus" at his baptism by John - and left just
before the Crucifixion. He thus denies the death, burial
and resurrection of Christ. (He had a lot of other
strange ideas as well - he seems to have taken
contemporary faiths, put them through a blender and
poured the results out to his students).
While Cerinthus no longer
has any impact on us - it is the way of all heresies
that they drop off from the church eventually - his
spiritual descendants are still with us, in the form of
Jehovah's Witnesses.
Symbolic meanings
Water has a number of spiritual meanings. We
shall examine those meanings and then see their effect in our
lives - and so see their testimony.
The first is cleansing. A
sacrifice had to be pure, and Christ was to purify the
church by "water through the word." This clearly
references baptism.
We cannot mean by this
only the physical act of baptism, but rather its use
as an acceptance of the resurrection power of Christ.
Baptism is also symbolic of
our rebirth.
But water does not stop at
baptism. We are to be the ones who are to be springs of
Living Water for the world.
So then, what is the meaning of this in our
physical lives? And what testimony does it bear?
In our lives
First, we can look at the testimony of John
the Baptist. This is most likely the testimony which would have
come first to the Apostle John. He would see here the Son of Man
being baptized as symbolic of our need for baptism.
But we should also look within our own lives:
At baptism, did we
experience spiritual cleansing - and act like it?
If we did not, it is because
we went through the ritual, but did not really claim the
resurrection power of the Christ.
How do we know the
difference? By our rebirth! Did your life change at
baptism - did you die to the world?
And since then, are you the
source of living water to those around you - or just a
dry hole in the ground?
Testimony: Blood
We are deeply into the symbolism of the Bible
here. Blood is a thread woven through the Scriptures from the
death of Abel on through the saints in Revelation. We can see it
used in many ways, but these three will suffice:
Atonement. We know that
blood sacrifices were used in the Old Testament for
atonement. We also know that the Old Testament
prophesied that these sacrifices were just the
forerunner of the Messiah to come. (There's one that's
not commonly quoted). But it is interesting that Jesus
specifically tells us that his blood is "poured out" as
a sacrifice - just as the atonement sacrificial blood
was poured out at the base of the altar. So we see the
prophetic witness that this blood represents.
Blood is also for cleansing
(which would seem strange to the modern housewife!) It
is for purification. We see this most clearly in
Revelation 12:7-12, where the saints wash their robes in
the blood of the lamb.
It also is the means of
access to God.
(Heb 9:7 NIV) But only the high priest
entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never
without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the
people had committed in ignorance.
It is interesting to note the change,
symbolically, from Old Testament to New Testament. In the Old
Testament, the people were forbidden to drink blood. In the New
Testament, it is required. You may not partake of what is only a
forerunner of things to come - but you must partake of the real
thing.
In our lives
It is difficult to see "atonement" in our
lives, for Jesus accomplished that once and for all on the
Cross. This is something we must take on faith. But the other
two aspects can give us visible testimony in our lives:
Do you have the cleansing of
the blood of Christ in your life? When you take
communion, do you examine yourself, repent and accept
his forgiveness on the basis of the blood you take?
Do you have direct access to
God - or are your prayers unheard?
It seems to me that these two tests might be
profitable for anyone who wants to know if the testimony of
Christ is real in him.
Testimony: Spirit
Again, we may see the internal and the
external:
Internal
It seems difficult for us to discern the
testimony of the Holy Spirit in anyone but ourselves, for as the
Scripture tells us:
The Spirit is sent as our
counselor, and counselors counsel in private.
The Spirit is to guide us
into truth - and truth is not marked on any map, but in
the heart.
The Spirit testifies with
our spirit that we are children of God - and thus
reassures us of our salvation. But again, this is
internal.
The Spirit is our "deposit"
- our guarantee of salvation.
All these things are internal; how can anyone
see a testimony in this?
External
First, if these things are
true of us, then we know that the testimony inside must
- it is commanded - flow over into the testimony
outside.
We also know that all these
testimonies are "in agreement." God is one, therefore
truth is one.
Will you call God a liar?
Ah, but some will say, "I'm not so sure. I
see your point, but…" John puts the question to such people:
"Will you call God a liar?"
The testimony of men
We have a great deal of testimony of men and
women who have lived the faith, and testify - in word and action
- to the reality of the faith. We would accept such testimony in
court; why do we have such difficulty in accepting it in life?
More than that, if you would accept the
testimony of men in such a matter, how much more should you
accept what God has testified to?
The ark of the testimony
Perhaps we can see this another way. In the
Old Testament we are familiar with the "Ark of the Covenant." It
is also called the "Ark of the Testimony." It is a mysterious
thing, Indiana Jones notwithstanding.
It was covered by a gold
plated lid of two cherubim - which was called the
"atonement cover." Only by the atonement can we
understand the testimony of God - for Christ's work
makes no sense without it.
In Old Testament times, it
was hidden behind curtains, not to be seen by anyone but
the one appointed by God. The veil is torn; now we can
see the testimony of God clearly.
Indeed, the voice of God was
said to speak from the atonement cover.
And what would that testimony be? We can see
it from the contents of the Ark:
First, there was manna. This
is figurative of the bread of life, of Christ himself,
and the word He gives us.
Next, there was Aaron's rod.
Remember that God selected it from among the twelve
staffs of Israel? That means it is symbolic of being
selected - or of being holy, in other words, set apart.
It was set apart because it was the one that budded and
bore fruit: so it is that God's holy ones must be set
apart and bear much fruit in their lives.
Last, there was the Law -
the commands of God, given to his children for their
obedience.
These are the things which are the testimony
of God. You must choose to believe them - or not.
If not
You cannot sit on the fence and "decide not
to decide." Either it is true, or God is a liar. But beware of
his warnings on the subject. Do not make such a decision in a
fit of absence of mind! For He warns us:
(Heb 10:26-31 NIV) If we deliberately keep on
sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no
sacrifice for sins is left, {27} but only a fearful expectation
of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of
God. {28} Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without
mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. {29} How much
more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has
trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy
thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has
insulted the Spirit of grace? {30} For we know him who said, "It
is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will
judge his people." {31} It is a dreadful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God.
Is this not sufficient? Then consider the
case when there is no hope:
(Heb 6:4-6 NIV) It is impossible for those
who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly
gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, {5} who have tasted
the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming
age, {6} if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance,
because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all
over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
You have heard the testimony of God, borne
through water, blood and Spirit. The choice is yours: live the
life to which he has called you, or call him a liar - and bear
the eternal consequences.
