Wednesday, September 7, 2022

 

Wednesday, September 7, 2022


Psalm 19

Obadiah 15-21

1 John 5:1-12


And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.


Our good friend John has now come to the final point in favour of his argument: the slam-dunk fact that will prove to everyone that, without a doubt, Jesus of Nazareth is God, and holds not only the solution to the mystery of life but is the source of life itself.


The Bible is very emphatic about making sure there are multiple witnesses to an event in order to prove its truthfulness. Moses was given an ancient law by God that legal prosecution can only go ahead on the basis of two or more witnesses. Jesus also references this understanding multiple times in the Gospels. In this very letter, John opened by saying he was not the only one who saw all the wonderful things Jesus did. I could go on and on (Luke 1:1-4; John 1:14; 1 Cor 15:3-8; 2 Peter 1:16-18, etc.).


So we are presented with three witnesses: the water, the blood, and the Spirit. The water refers to Jesus' baptism: Jesus was called and anointed by God. Everything Jesus did was in accordance with God's will. The blood refers to the crucifixion: by hanging on the tree, Jesus presented Himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, and therefore not only obeyed God perfectly, but provides us with the means of being able to obey God perfectly ourselves. Finally, the Spirit: the Holy Spirit of God, who testifies to these things. There is a lot of confusion in the Church today about what the Holy Spirit does and who He is. This shouldn't be the case, as it is very simple: the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus. If you are spiritually inspired to look to Jesus and what you are taught is in line with the Bible, then you are hearing the words of God the Holy Spirit.


We mustn't be afraid of the teachings from God in the Bible. It teaches us such wonderful things. Certainly there are also parts that we find difficult to understand. But the Holy Spirit is here to guide and teach us. As long as we trust the word and don't fail off the rails, we will find great rewards within: “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul: the command of the LORD is true, and makes wise the simple.”



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