Lesson 20: The Witness of God

1 John 5:6-12 · Three Witnesses — Spirit, Water, and Blood

John has said that faith overcomes the world. But faith must have a foundation — an objective basis for trust. In verses 6-12, John lays out the divine testimony on which our faith rests. God Himself has given witness concerning His Son, and that witness is threefold: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three agree in one, and they assure us that the life God offers is found in His Son and nowhere else.

Read the Text

6This 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. 7For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9If 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. 10Whoever 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. 11And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
— 1 John 5:6-12 (ESV)

By Water and Blood

Verse 6 makes a striking claim: "This is he who came by water and blood — Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood."

John is correcting a false teaching that was already circulating — that the divine Christ descended on the man Jesus at His baptism (the water) but departed before His suffering (the blood). This heresy (a form of early Gnosticism) taught that Jesus was only a man who died, while the Christ was a divine spirit who left before the cross. John insists: the same Jesus who was baptized also bled and died. The Christ did not abandon Jesus at the cross. The Son of God came by water and blood — by both His baptism and His crucifixion, by both His life and His death.

The water points to Jesus' baptism, where the Father declared, "This is my beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17) — the beginning of His public ministry, His identification with sinners. The blood points to the cross, where He offered Himself as the sacrifice for sin — the culmination of His work. Both are essential. A Christ who only taught (water) but did not die (blood) cannot save. A Christ who died but was not the incarnate Son cannot save. The water and the blood together testify to the full reality of the incarnation and the atonement.

Water and Blood in John's GospelThe connection between water and blood appears throughout John's writings. In John 19:34, when the soldier pierced Jesus' side, "there came out blood and water." In John 3:5, Jesus spoke of being "born of water and the Spirit." In the Gospel of John, Jesus turned water into wine (John 2), offered living water (John 4, 7), and His side flowed with both water and blood at the cross. For John, water and blood together testify to the full reality of who Jesus is and what He came to do.

The Spirit's Testimony

Verse 6 continues: "And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth." The Holy Spirit is the third witness, and the greatest of the three. The Spirit is the truth — not merely a truth-teller but truth in His essential nature. Everything the Spirit says is true because He is truth.

The Spirit's testimony is both external and internal. Externally, the Spirit inspired the Scriptures that bear witness to Christ. Internally, the Spirit takes that witness and makes it real in the heart of every believer. He opens our eyes to see Jesus for who He really is — the Son of God who came by water and blood.

Verse 7 declares: "For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree." The three witnesses are not in competition but in perfect harmony. They all point to the same truth: Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. The Spirit confirms what the water (His baptism) and the blood (His cross) declared.

The Greater Witness

Verses 9-10 press the logic: "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."

John's argument is from the lesser to the greater. We accept human testimony every day — in courtrooms, in news reports, in everyday conversation. How much more should we accept the testimony of God Himself? If God has spoken concerning His Son, to reject that testimony is not skepticism but arrogance — it makes God a liar.

But note the promise: the one who believes receives the testimony in himself. The witness is not external only — it becomes internal. The Holy Spirit takes the objective testimony of Scripture and seals it in the believer's heart, producing the deep, settled conviction that Jesus is the Son of God and that eternal life is found in Him.

ReflectionAdrian Rogers said: "The faith that can't be tested can't be trusted." God does not ask for blind faith but for faith that rests on evidence. The three witnesses — Spirit, water, blood — provide a foundation that is more reliable than any human testimony. When doubts arise, we do not need to manufacture faith. We need to return to the witnesses. The same Spirit who inspired the Word and testified at the baptism and the cross is the Spirit who lives in every believer, confirming the truth in our hearts.

He Who Has the Son Has Life

Verses 11-12 are the conclusion and the capstone: "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."

This is the most concise statement of the gospel in all of 1 John. Eternal life is not a thing God gives you — it is a Person. Eternal life is not a duration of existence but a relationship with the Son. To possess the Son is to possess life. To lack the Son is to lack life, no matter how religious, moral, or sincere a person may be.

The division is absolute and simple. There is no third category. You either have the Son (and therefore life) or you do not have the Son (and therefore do not have life). All the tests John has given — the moral test, the love test, the doctrinal test — converge on this single point: they are all evidence that we have the Son. And having the Son is having life.

This is the foundation of assurance. Your salvation does not rest on your feelings, your performance, or your guesses about the future. It rests on a Person — Jesus Christ, the Son of God — and on the testimony God has given concerning Him. The Spirit, the water, and the blood all agree: Jesus is the Son of God, and in Him is eternal life.

Key Terms to Remember

Check Your Understanding

1. What does John mean by "water" and "blood" in verse 6?

a) Water = the Word of God; Blood = the church
b) Water = Jesus' baptism; Blood = His crucifixion
c) Water = the Holy Spirit; Blood = salvation
d) Water = repentance; Blood = good works
b) Water = Jesus' baptism; Blood = His crucifixion. John is countering a false teaching that the divine Christ descended on Jesus at His baptism but departed before His suffering. John insists: the same Jesus who was baptized also bled and died. The water testifies to His identity (declared at His baptism), and the blood testifies to His work (accomplished at the cross). Both are essential. A Christ who only taught but did not die cannot save. A Christ who died but was not the incarnate Son cannot save.

2. According to verse 9, why should we accept the testimony of God concerning His Son?

Because the testimony of God is greater than the testimony of men. John argues from the lesser to the greater. We routinely accept human testimony in courts, news, and everyday life. If we trust the words of fallible humans, how much more should we trust the words of the infallible God? To reject God's testimony concerning His Son is not intellectual caution — it makes God a liar, because it refuses to accept what He has clearly said.

3. What does the indwelling testimony of the Spirit provide for the believer (v. 10)?

An internal witness that confirms the objective testimony. "Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself." The Holy Spirit takes the external, historical testimony concerning Christ and seals it in the believer's heart. This internal witness produces deep, settled conviction that goes beyond intellectual assent. It is the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16) and that the Jesus of history is the Christ of faith.

4. What is the central message of verses 11-12?

Eternal life is found exclusively in the Son of God — to have Him is to have life. "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." Eternal life is not a thing God gives but a Person we possess. It is not a duration of existence but a relationship with Christ. There is no middle ground — you either have the Son (and therefore life) or you do not (and therefore do not have life). This is both the simplest and the most searching statement in the entire letter.

Primary Resource

Read: Adrian Rogers, "A Know-So Salvation" — the sermon covering 1 John 5:5-13. Rogers emphasizes that God has provided a threefold witness (Spirit, water, blood) so that we can know, not merely hope, that we have eternal life.
Read: 1 John 5:6-12 in at least two translations (e.g., ESV and NIV or KJV). Notice how different versions handle the "three witnesses" — some include an additional phrase about the heavenly witnesses (Father, Word, Holy Spirit) found in the KJV but not in modern manuscripts.

Before Next Lesson

Read 1 John 5:13-17. Ask: What does John say about confidence in prayer — and what is the "sin that leads to death"?

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