“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. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 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. 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. And this is the testimony, that God 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 5:6-12)
In this portion of scripture, John assumes that if we will accept the testimony of men, we should also accept the greater testimony of God. He explains the evidence which leads us to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that evidence is God’s voice at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:13-16), the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10), and the internal witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16).
But how do we know we can trust the testimony of God? Let’s do some profiling, which means we look at the recording and analysis of a person’s characteristics. So, what was the profile of God in the Old Testament?
1. He is omnipresent; meaning “present everywhere.” (Jeremiah 23:24)
2. He is omniscient; meaning “knowing everything.” (Psalm 147:5)
3. He is omnipotent; meaning “having unlimited power.” (Jeremiah 32:17)
4. He is eternal; meaning “existing forever.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)
5. He is immutable; meaning “unable to be changed.” (Malachi 3:6)
Let’s change this profile to the New Testament where John states that God:
1. Is light (1 John 1:5);
2. Is the truth (1 John 1:6);
3. Is spirit (John 4:24).
Spirit and light are expressions of God’s essential nature. Love is the expression of His personality corresponding to His nature. Truth and love stand related to each other. Loving is the condition of knowing. So what does all of this profiling mean for us? That we can safely put our trust in God’s testimony.
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life.” (1 John 5:11-12)