I'm going to begin reading tonight in verse 6 of chapter 5 of the book of 1 John. And I'm going to tell you, I think this is one of the most phenomenal passages of scripture that John wrote in this first epistle that bears his name. If you remember, John is the author under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the inspiration actually of the Holy Spirit, of five books in the Bible. He wrote the gospel that bears his name. 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and also he was the scribe for the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ. So John has written something I think to be profound. When I began to study and tried to prepare to understand this so I could teach it so someone else could understand it, I'll be honest, I didn't get as much help as I would like from man, but I'm glad to tell you I got some sweet help from the Holy Spirit and I'm excited about telling you what that is. Matter of fact, there were several authors, good men, good godly men, that said, there's a couple of these verses that shouldn't even be in the Bible. Well, let me make it plain. We're King James only here at Roxolana. And I'll tell you what, I believe we got the book that God inspired. He's preserved it. And you know what we're going to stay with? We're going to stay with the KJV. So you pray just a little bit. If you've got a question, feel free to ask it, a comment. Just feel free. He said in verse 6, He said, This is He that came by water and blood. Now notice, I'm going to emphasize this later in our study, but notice the order. We're going to go back and look at John chapter 19 where Jesus was crucified, and we find there when the soldier pierced His side with a spear, there came forth blood and water. But look at what John said. Here he said, this is he that came by water and blood. Now everybody listen, order, and I've just said it, but I'm going to say it again for emphasis, Catherine knows that, it's important. I don't care where you find it, it's important. He said by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. And let me say this as a reminder, remember John is taking a stand against the Gnostics. The Gnostics were a group of people that thought they had superior knowledge. And I don't know who identified their knowledge to be superior except those that belonged to the Gnostics. You know how that is. And they said that Jesus was not both God and man. They said that the divinity side of Christ, or of Jesus, or the Christ came upon Jesus at His baptism and left at His crucifixion. Can I tell you, John's going to give a testimony that's undeniable, irrefutable, that He was very God, a very God, a very man, a very man. He was both God and man. Not only at the baptism, but at the crucifixion, the burial, the resurrection, and by the way, I'm about to get happy, hallelujah, He's still God, He's still man, and He's soon to come, He's soon, He's soon to come. He said, and it is the Spirit that beareth witness, now watch this phrase, because the Spirit is truth. Now I'm gonna tell you, that'll let you go home and sleep good tonight, if you'd let it. He said, for there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And there are three that bear record, in earth. Watch what three they are. Watch the order. The spirit, the water, and the blood, and these things agree in one. Now, if for sense or in light of the fact we receive witness of men, Witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. Now I'm going to talk to you a little while tonight about this thought, the witness to us. Next week, the Lord willing, we'll look at the witness in us, and they're both important. They are both of them important. So, you know, John has already told us that earlier in this chapter, in order to be born again, we've got to believe that Jesus is the Christ. That's the basis of our Christianity. From John chapter 1, the Gospel of John chapter 1, verses, where is it at? 9, 10, and 11, where he said, He said, He came to his own, and his own received him not, but to as many as believed. To them He gave you power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believe on His name. John 3.16, you know that. John 5.24, right on down through to the end of the book of John, where He said, These things have I written that you might believe, and that believing you might have life through His name. So it's important for us to believe that Jesus is the Christ. that He is God and that He is man. And John has done an absolute amazing job, in my opinion, to establish this and remove any kind of doubt. And you know what? When we consider what the holy men of God wrote according to 2 Peter 121 in this Bible in order for us to receive some undeniable truths concerning God's only begotten Son. I want to tell you what, I believe if you just simply believe the Word of God, we don't have to always understand it nor be able to explain it. All we've got to do is believe it. You know what we'll come away with? We'll come away without a shadow of a doubt to understand that Jesus is the Christ, and that the Gnostics, or the people that belong to the Jesus Institute of this day, are false. So anyway, let's get on into the message. You see, everybody's got an opinion about Jesus. If you agree with that, say Amen. But everybody's opinion is, is not, is not right. Unless, now listen, unless it's backed by the Word of God, we ought to junk it. Now, I don't know who's going to be hearing this and who isn't. I mean, I'm not an international preacher. I'm not even a national preacher. But somebody may get something from this. If you go to a church and you don't know what your preacher stands on, you go to him and say, what do you believe about Jesus Christ? And if he doesn't believe what this book, the Word of God says, then you need to find you another church. I'm telling you, if he's wrong about Jesus, chances are he'll be wrong about everything else. Jesus, friend, listen, we've got, that's all we got. You see, a lot of people say he was a prophet, but he was more than a prophet. He was prophecy come to life. A lot of people say that he was a great teacher, but he was more than a great teacher. He was the subject of all great teachers. So in light of the false teachings, John is setting forth an absolute, amazing, let me use the word again, infallible, unassailable, I'll add another word to it, argument that Jesus is the Christ. When we look at Jesus Christ, we see Him in the fullest sense of the word. I know I'm saying it, but I need to say it. Listen friend, He was not just man, He was also God. He was not just man, He was also God. And He proves it throughout His public ministry in the records of the Gospel account. Let me give you, and I can't get the chapter and verse in my mind, maybe chapter 8 of the book of Mark, where Jesus was asleep in the boat. You remember that? The storm was raging. They'd come back, he had his head on a pillow and said, cares not that we perish? He got up, went to the bow of the boat and said, peace be still. And immediately there was a great calm. Well, man sleeps. The Bible, I can show you in the Word of God, in the book of Psalms specifically, that God doesn't slumber or sleep. Man does, but on the other hand, man can't stand on a bow of a boat and say to a storm, peace be still, the winds cease and the waves calm, but God can, and He did. I'll tell you, for Him to do what He has done for you and I, He had to be man and God. For Him to be able to die, for Him to be able to save, He had to be both. So He was fully God, He was fully man, and let me say it like I love to say it, He was so much God, it was as if He were not man, He was so much man, it was as if He were not God. Now let's look at verses 5 and 6. Let's take them together if we can. He said, Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He, speaking of Jesus, that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood, and this is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. You see, we've got John giving us his testimony here, and John's gonna call on three things. Remember, look at what he said. He said that there are three that beareth witness in the earth. What did he say they were? The water, the blood, and the Spirit. You can find that in verse eight. You see that? Three that bear witness in earth, three that bear witness in heaven. And John's going to be dealing more, as you already know, with the witnesses here on earth than the ones in heaven. And John said, Who is he that overcometh, but he that believeth? Listen, friend, when we begin to think about this, we need to think about it sincerely. Now let me say something, I hope it doesn't throw too many people off, but if you bear with me, listen to the Spirit of God, look at the Word of God, I think it'll be clarified. The water and the blood, turn with me really quick. Let's go to John chapter 19, and we'll read that. We'll just look and see where this idea comes. And I'll be honest, when I began to study this, that's what I thought. But then again, there was something inside me. I could never get peace in my spirit about this to understand it. But I've got it now. I was so excited about sharing this with you, I couldn't hardly stand it. So I hope I've given it to you when I do, and after I have, to where you say, I see that. If you're in John chapter 19, say amen. Let me pick it up in verse 33, just simply for time's sake. He said, when they came to Jesus, speaking of the soldiers that were given the task not only to crucify Christ and the other malefactors with him, but also to break their legs so they could take them down off the cross, lest the day of preparation be contaminated. When they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, because the word of God said, not a bone of him shall be broken. But look at this. One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side. And watch what John said. Now, John didn't make a mistake. You hear? John didn't make a mistake in order. There's a reason for this. He said, one of the soldiers took a spear, went forth, pierced his side, and forthwith came there out, watch this, blood and water. See, glory, hallelujah. At the cross, Jesus was dying as our Savior. He was dying, and God's wanting to show us, me and you, sinners that need to be saved by grace, how we can get to God. And remember the Old Testament, the tabernacle? Remember the Old Testament in the temple, when they set all the furniture up in the court, getting inside to the holiest of holies? There was a process. You'd go through the gate if it was a temple. You'd go through a door if it was a tabernacle. And the first article of furniture the people found was the brazen altar. where the animal sacrifices were made and where the blood was poured out. Y'all remember that? Beyond that, between that, the brazen laver altar and the door of the holy place was a laver made of brass. Now the blood, everybody listening to this is going to shake some of you, the blood is an only one time application. The blood we found out in John. God's Son cleanses us from all sin. Once it works, it continues to keep on working. It never ceases. But how many times have you and I, on our way into communion with God in the holy place, we've had to go through this Bible and find out how a young man can cleanse himself from his ways. Find out what Jesus said, sanctify them through thy Word. Thy Word is truth. By the washing of the water, Paul said to the church of Ephesus, chapter 5, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Are y'all seeing this? You see, it's the blood that saves us and cleanses us from sin. It's the water, friend, that sanctifies us and enables us to walk in fellowship. When we get over to 1 John 5, John said, it's not blood. First, I'm not talking about salvation. I'm talking about the fact of a testimony of who Jesus is and God give us some undeniable testimony in the water and the blood which speaks of his baptism and his death and the shedding of his blood at Calvary. But here's the deal. The water and the blood that was shed here in John 19 is not the water and blood that John's referring to in 1 John 5. If you heard that at least, and if you understand me, say amen. Okay? The order is one of the keys to this, and he follows the same order through this. My, my, my, how exciting that it is. So I hope you weren't too surprised or too disappointed. But I want you to know something. They taught, again, that in Matthew chapter 3, when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan, that Christ came upon Him. Why do you think that they would have thought that. You remember what happened when Jesus was baptized by John and Jordan? When He came up out of the water, you remember what happened? The heavens opened. Not a door, the heavens opened. When He speaks of the church, a door opens. When He speaks of Christ, it's always heaven opens. But the heavens opened, a dove descended, lit upon Christ in the form of a dove, and a voice was heard, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." I'd like to be able to expound that statement and expound it with the same kind of force God spoke it with, but that's a possibility by me. So the Gnostics, they were applying literal understanding to something that's very spiritual. So you all can see that, right? And that's why they thought, well, Among other things, they didn't believe, listen, they didn't believe the spirit and the body could coexist and all kinds of stuff. I told you that a long time ago. But they thought, too, that that spirit that they thought, that Christ, that divine side of Him that came at the baptism, had to leave at the crucifixion. They didn't think God could die. Well, they needed to re-on, did they not? So look. There are two things that John highlights in this, and the first, as I've already said, is baptism. Let's go back to Matthew chapter 3 really quick, a couple of verses of scripture. Lord, time flies when I'm in this pulpit. Chapter 3 of the book of Matthew, and let me pick it up in verse 15. Matthew 3.15, He said, And Jesus answered him, speaking to John, and said unto him, Suffer, or allow it to be so. For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him, or he buried him, or he baptized him. Now, let me tell you, baptism is an identification with. That's what baptism is, it's identification. Jesus was inaugurated into His public ministry in His baptism. Let me tell you, it goes further than that. See, this is shouting ground. He identified with people like me and you, sinners needing to be saved by grace. And in essence, when he was baptized, I've never heard anybody teach this, preach this, this is kind of fresh from heaven. He showed mankind what he was going to do in going down in the water and being raised up out of the water. He was showing them that he would be buried, he would die, but yet he'd come back to life again, hallelujah. And that's what resurrection teaches. I've never heard that before, but I like it. I like it. See, when we get baptized, water is an enemy. Water is an enemy, it'll kill you. And that's what it's a picture of, us dying with Jesus and us raising to walk in the newness of life. Look at the verse 16, following Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, lighting upon them, a low voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. So it was during the baptism, in water, in the river Jordan, where God gave a verbal witness, one of the three verbal witnesses that He gave concerning His Son. The other two, you'll find one in John chapter 12 and the other one in the book of Matthew chapter 17. Got a question? Oh, okay. So John testifies that he saw the heavens open and the Spirit descending. And remember, Remember what Jesus, God said, Jesus said, God said in John 6, 27, for Him, speaking of Jesus, God's only begotten Son, hath the Father sealed. God sealed Him at least in two ways, as I understand it. Once with the, once, friend, with the Spirit of God, lighting upon Him, and three times, actually, with the verbal testimony. Well, listen, do you ever think about this? If you can't believe God, who can you believe? And yet, John's going to say here in 1 John that there are some people that believe men before they believe God. Another verse, before we move on, comes to my mind. 2 Timothy 3. 2 Timothy. 1 Timothy 3.16. Great was the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, or by the Spirit. I'm not looking. You know what he was saying? Paul was saying that Jesus was not only identified but He was declared without a shadow of a doubt that He was who and what He said He was and the miracles that He did, the works that He performed by the power of the Holy Spirit was enough to solidify, to seal, to remove all doubt in the mind of any man that He was who He said He was. See, I think that's phenomenal. I think the Word of God is just amazing. It's just absolutely amazing. I wish I could say more about the voice from heaven than what I have, but I know when to stay away from things way too holy for me. Now, the second thing of this, the second witness that John said, not only the water, but of the blood, it showed up at the crucifixion. Now remember what I told you, the blood and the water, In the gospel, chapter 19, and it's the water and the blood in the first epistle of John. They're not talking about the same thing. One of them is the baptism and the other is the cross. The other is the shedding of the blood. And it was highlighted in this place called Calvary. How wonderful it is to see that and to take note of that. You see, I believe that God knows what He's doing, don't you all? I believe He knows what He's doing for me and you. And look, the emphasis is there in the way that it is written. I'm trying to work through my notes here really quick because I don't want to repeat too, too, too, too much. So as we begin to think about this, we can see both at the initial beginning of Jesus' public ministry, God saying, And when he gets to the end of Calvary, God's saying, putting the seal on him. How wonderful. Y'all know the blood is in a place that we're going someday? I believe with all of my heart, I believe with all of my heart, Jesus took His blood and applied it into the holiest of holies made without hands in the heavens. I know there are some good men that would disagree with that, but if they want to continue to be wrong, that's alright with me. But I believe with all of my heart, the blood, the blood is in heaven. So, verse 6, let me read it again, cuts at the very heart of the Gnostics, and that's a battle that John was battling. He said, this is He that came of water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood, and it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. It's like John says, now look, it had been enough to have the water and the blood, but wait just a minute. Wait just a minute, there's something else. There's the spirit of truth. I don't know about you, but I'll tell you what, I feel like I'm sort of on shouting ground tonight. Without a doubt. Go with me to John chapter 14, I believe it is. It'll either be 14 or 16, and watch this. When we begin to think about the Holy Spirit, I don't know how much we know about Him. I don't know as much about Him as I'd like. But listen, what I'm going to say, I know he's not, quote, the third person of the Trinity. He's as much God as God the Father and God the Son. He's co-existent, co-eternal, co-equal with God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. I don't know who started this, that Jesus is the second part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, the third part. The Bible doesn't ever divide them that way. Do you all understand that? You can't find a verse of scripture that divides them. Now, I grew up on that. I've said that too many times, but I've stopped saying it. I haven't said it for a long, long time. John 14, look at this in verses 14, 15, 16, I think it is. Is that it? Yes, it is. Let me pick it up in verse 16. Thank you, Wendell. He said, and I will pray Jesus did tell him he's going back to the Father. It's what he said at the beginning of this chapter. And he said, I'll pray the Father he should give you another comforter that he abide with you forever. Watch this. Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but you know him for he dwelleth in you and shall be in you. He didn't say the spirit of guesswork, but he said the spirit of truth. Now let me tell you why John's highlighting this. I believe this with all of my heart. John is saying, let me tell you something. In some ways, now listen to this, don't put me in a corner if you think I'm wrong. God's testimony stands as a testimony of the past. God spoke when Jesus was on His footstool. Now, I know since God spoke, He's still speaking. You understand that? His Word is still revelant today. Every time we read it, we can hear God testifying of His Son. So I understand that. But to be honest, God spoke about His Son, gave a testimony in a day past. But the Holy Spirit, He not only gave a testimony in the day that Jesus was crucified, the day that Jesus was baptized, and He did because He was there. Listen to this, He gives a testimony tonight at Roxaland Gospel Tabernacle because He's here. Are y'all getting that? It's not just a past, but it's a present. Now, when you think about the Trinity, we know God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit cannot be separated. In reality, God has given His testimony too. So, I ask you not to put me in a corner, but think about that. He was there witnessing that. He was there in His person in that day. at both events, at the baptism, at the crucifixion, and tonight He's here with us in the Word of God and says, yep, brothers, I'm one of those three that bear witness in earth. I was there, it happened, just like John said. And I don't know about you, but I get happy about that thing. Look at verse 7, we'll move on, gotta hurry. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. These three are one. And there are three that bear witness in the earth, the Spirit, the water, and the blood. And these three agree in one." Notice the difference there? I can't highlight that much, but I can note it and recognize it. You see? Hey, I'm going to tell you, friend, listen. These are two of the verses that people said, you know, that ought not be in there. It's not found in the oldest manuscript. But I'll tell you what, in that Texas Receptus, it's found there, you hear me? And I'm glad that the translators of the KJV had enough sense, friend, to put it here, to put it here. Now, God the Father, God the Son are, as I've already told you, co-equal, co-eternal, co-existing. You can't separate them. They are one. We serve one God, but that God manifests Himself in three different persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And you say, preacher, I can't understand that. Look up here, I can't either. Nobody else can either. Well, you know, Judy, I was thinking about using one of the old illustrations, but I don't find any of them able even to touch it. She was talking about a three-leaf clover. We could talk about an egg, we could talk about water, and it's three different forms, but that's still. That's steel. They are separate, they are independent to a degree, and yet they are one. They not only agree in one, but they are one. So when we begin to think about this, God wants us to know the truth about His Son. And you say, why? Look at verse 1 again, and I'm closing. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. That's pretty simple about being saved, isn't it? Now I know that there's a process here that God convicts man of his sin. He becomes convicted of his sin, becomes broken and contrite in his spirit and in his heart. But I'll tell you what, friend, it works when God works in us. Jesus said, if I be lifted up, withdraw all men unto me. And the Holy Spirit was sent back into this world to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come. And He's done His work. He's doing His work. And anybody, anybody that would say, hey, God's convicted me of my sins. I realize that I'm a sinner, I'm in need of a savior. God will save you. That's what the word of God teaches. Let me close reading verse 9 and 10. Go ahead, Judy, if you will. He said, if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which he hath testified of his Son. Now, what's that witness? In earth, it's the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. In heaven, it's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Or God the Father, God the Word, and God the Holy Spirit. And they are one. You see, the testimony that God gave of His Son on earth does not contradict the testimony that He holds about His Son in heaven. In fact, God so arranged it, so designed it, that they would agree perfectly, as His Son was to be presented as God incarnate, presented as Savior for all mankind. And the Word of God is real when it says, if you just believe, Jesus is the Christ, thou shalt be saved. I'll quote Romans 10. He said, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Jesus said, He that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Jesus said, Who served? No, Paul said it in Romans 10, Who served is called upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. The sad part of it is, there were people today that watched CNN. And I have no idea why. CBS, NBC, Fox, whoever, whoever. They'll read a newspaper, read an article, find something online that a man has written and they'll say, that's the truth. When somebody tries to tell them the truth from the word of God and say, thus saith the Lord. I say, you know, that's not enough. I can't really believe that. You know what that is in essence? That's calling God a liar. That puts men on dangerous territory. So God has given us in this passage a witness to us. A witness to us. And next week, the good Lord willing, we'll look at the witness in us. And what a great study that will be.