(REFLECTIONS ON 1 John 5:1-12 )

Perhaps we have heard the saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” in reference to Christmas. However, the point of emphasis in 1 John is that “Jesus is the Christ is the reason for the season.” Jesus is the Christ, means that Jesus was not just a man that walked this earth, or a spirit from God, or born man and transformed into spirit later by God.

Believing and acknowledging that Jesus is the Christ, means that we believe He is the Son of God, and also flesh and blood like we are flesh and blood. Believing that Jesus is the Christ, John concludes, means that we are also born of God.

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.

We can’t then love God and not love Jesus, or love Jesus, and not love God. If we love God, then we will also love Jesus, because they are one, as we are now one with them if we believe that Jesus is the Christ. Being one, we love God, Jesus, and our brothers and sisters in Christ, because love for God cannot be separated out, just as we cannot be separated out from the love of God.

6 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.

In Matthew 3, we see the baptism of Jesus. Jesus received baptism not because He needed to be baptized, but to show that He is one of us, flesh and blood, standing on our side, our shepherd that would lead us to God. The water testifies of Jesus.

The Spirit then testified after Jesus’ baptism, descending like a dove and alighting on Him, and a voice from heaven said, “This is the Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. The Spirit testifies of Jesus.

The blood that was shed on the cross, again testifies that He was flesh and blood, and could then through His death and resurrection pay for the debt that is owed for our sins. The blood testifies of Jesus. The three are in agreement.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, in the flesh, one of us, and so through Him we are one with Him, and through Him, in relationship and one with God. The Spirit, the water, and the blood testify, and so we have confidence that through Jesus Christ, the barrier between the physical and spiritual world is broken and we are born of God, sons and daughters of God, and salvation is our inheritance.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 1 John 5