John 5:6-12 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. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given 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.
The key to eternal life: Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Within each born again believer is the Holy Spirit. He has come to give eternal life to every person who puts his or her total trust in Jesus Christ. God has given every person a soul where God himself can abide, and He brings eternal life to those souls cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Without Christ’s redemptive work, eternal life is not a reality. Historically, few humans are significant in this world’s milieu, making a large imprint on the world. A few years after death, most of us are forgotten except for the few family members or friends who knew us well, and their memories of us will rarely pass on to generations. But in God’s context and in his domain, we are set large, important, glorified. In his household, we are known as sons and daughters of the Most High—impressive, filling the universe not only with the glory of God but the glory He has bestowed upon us. We are transformed from small, insignificant humans, biological specks on the Earth’s surface, to spirits so magnificent that we express God himself. By saying that the life God gives us is in his Son, John confirms our victorious status. He who called himself the Son of Man is the presence of God on Earth, the complete divine image of God. In and through him all things were made. Jesus was confirmed by God himself: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3: 13-17) The same confirmation occurs on the Mount of Transfiguration when God the Father reiterates that Jesus the man is his Son: After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. (Matthew 17:1-8)
In the above situations and others, God confirmed the man Jesus as his Son. Of course, this must have been hard to grasp, for Jesus walked this earth as a biological entity; yet God was identifying him as his Son and marking him with authority. This concept of Jesus being God remains a stumbling stone to many today. John separates those who believe that Jesus was just a good man or perhaps a religious fanatic from those who believe that He is the Son of God. Only the latter will reap eternal life and life forever with the beauty of God’s DNA in them. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we SHOULD BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; AND IT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVEALED WHAT WE SHALL BE, BUT WE KNOW THAT WHEN HE IS REVEALED, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:1-3) The former will inherit a grave polluted by sin and finiteness because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. Christians will be without sin when we enter his kingdom. they will be like Jesus: pure, holy, eternal. No death or tears of remorse will be in that eternal kingdom. Only perfect, blissful life will exist for all who are found IN the Christ. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. (John 3:36) The Spirit of God testifies that Jesus is the Son, but Jesus also came by water with his baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Because Jesus took up the mantel of man, to be right with God, He had to be baptized with John’s baptism of repentance. Since Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He was without sin; consequently, He did not have to be baptized in water as a sign of his repentance. Because Jesus represented the perfect Son of Man or God’s Anointed One, He fulfilled this requirement as a sign to others of his obedience to God, and his baptism allowed God to identify Jesus as his Son. From that time, Jesus’ mission was to reveal himself as God in the flesh by performing many miracles, even on the Sabbath. By working on the Sabbath, Jesus revealed God never rests in creating. Of course, salvation validates this comments, for we who are IN CHRIST have been made a new creation. Keeping the Sabbath and the regulations of the law could never make man a new creature. Man’s basic nature, his attitude and fleshly likeness, was contrary to the purity of God, outside of God’s likeness. Man could attempt to be right with God for a short period of time, but his true Adamic nature would eventually place him at odds with God’s purity and holiness. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. (Genesis 8:21) The human race since Adam and Eve’s failure to obey God has been in a state of rebellion against the Creator. This nature of wanting man’s ways above God’s will trumps everyone’s life, causing men and women estrangement from God’s eternal nature and everlasting life. In resignation to man’s evil ways, God says that he will permit man a short existence, experiencing the good and evil of living, but not eternity with God outside of Christ. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. (Genesis 8:22)
Judgement will fall on all men and women for their waywardness from God. Dust will return to dust. God’s eternal presence requires absolute holiness. Sin is contrary to God’s nature of perfection. Sin is a flaw of the flesh, a cancerous substance to the existence of eternal life. Therefore, for men to be with God and possess eternal life, sin must be excised from man’s being. Jesus came to do just that. He came to rectify the condition of man, to take man from finite to eternal. Therefore, He satisfied God’s judgement on sin: death. By dying on the cross, Jesus fulfill God’s judgement on sin. In Noah’s time, the Lord killed all the people and creatures on Earth because of the sin that was rampant on the Earth. Killing everything living did not do away with the contamination of sin. Sin still existed in the hearts of people. Violence was still part of their everyday lives. God repented of killing everyone, but He had a plan to redeem many, and this plan included the death of his Son. His Son would pay the debt of sin for all who would place their faith in his Son’s death and resurrection. By hiding in Christ through faith in HIS WORKS, mankind would escape the penalty of death that was assigned to all. When death came to Jesus because of the sin of the world, we too died with him if we substitute his works for our works. We not only died with him, we were resurrected with him in his cloak of righteousness. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. (Romans 6:5-8) Praise God, new creations came about when Jesus arose from the grave. God is in the creation business. No longer are we trapped in this finite life on an insignificant celestial body called Earth. Christians are designed for eternal life because Jesus is eternal, and we are hidden in him. IN CHRIST, we arose anew, no longer bound to the regimentations of life: As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. Now and forevermore, a new existence in the presence of God is ours. When we escape this vail of tears, days, time, and seasons will not control us, for we will be in the timeless God, at home in peace and harmony. 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. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. Jesus was baptized for us; He was raised for us, He shed his blood for us, and God announced his divinity to all the world. We are saved by the water, blood, and Spirit. Because this is true, Christians all over the world sing, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! Praise God.
Late today due to illness and doctor’s appointment. Bless you all!
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