1 John 5:6-8
This 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. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood;
and these three agree.
Water, Blood and
Spirit
In this Easter season we’ve been enjoying a series of
readings from 1 John. The Apostle John’s
letters, like his Gospel, and also the book of Revelation in which he writes
his great vision, are all very sublime. His
meditative language uses small words and simple concepts to grand effect. In John we read about the word becoming flesh
and dwelling among us. He speaks at
length about light and life and truth and flesh and spirit. In John’s Gospel
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, the Good Shepherd, the resurrection
and the life. He contrasts light and
darkness, the children of God and the wicked world that hates Christ. He invites us to ponder. Simple ideas.
Profound meaning.
Today three key words come to the forefront: Water, blood
and spirit. And John says these three
all agree in their testimony. There is a
deep connection between the three. But
what does he mean by each? And what
exactly do they agree upon? And what
does that have to do with you and me?
Let’s take them in order.
First the water. Scripture is
full of stories about water, from the very beginning of creation when the
Spirit hovered over the formless waters.
The waters of the flood cleansed the world. The waters were turned to blood and then parted
by God’s hand as his people escaped from Egypt.
The water came from the rock in the desert to quench their thirst. And they again crossed waters entering the
Promised Land, when the Jordan River piled up in a heap. The waters of rain would come or hold back at
God’s command. Namaan the Syrian would
be baptized in the Jordan and cleansed of leprosy. And when Jesus came, he also was baptized by
John. Jesus, who also sent his disciples
to baptize and teach.
And so water, in Scripture, serves first of all to sustain
life, as no life can exist without it.
And secondly, it is used to cleanse – most especially in baptism, which
so many of these other stories prefigure.
A Christian who hears a scriptural reference to water naturally thinks
of baptism, of that flood of blessings that God bestows on us as we are born
anew at the font.
This is he – Jesus – who came by water and blood. By the water of his own baptism Jesus comes
to us as the Christ – publicly – for the first time. There John testified that this Lamb of God
takes away the sin of the world. There
the Spirit also testified by descending on Christ as a dove. He came to the world as Christ in his baptism
– that he might redeem the world by the blood of his cross.
But he also comes to you by the water – of your
baptism. But not just way back then,
whenever it was. That baptismal water
continues to flow in a never-ending stream of mercy through your life. When you return to those waters in repentance
and faith, forgiveness in Christ springs anew.
This water that testifies to Christ – this water by which Christ comes
to you – is a font of blessing.
Water, yes, but also blood.
Blood we don’t see as often, do we, at least we hope so. Blood is not a welcome sight. It makes some people queasy. Some even faint. Blood means some sort of injury or violence
has occurred. Something is wrong. Someone’s in trouble.
Blood being shed means death, and it’s a therefore a very
outward sign of sin. Blood testifies to
us of the wages of sin – the due and just consequence of our evil deeds and
words and thoughts.
Blood flows throughout the Bible as well. It’s a blood-soaked book. We first see it when God sheds the blood of
animals, to provide garments of skin to cover Adam and Eve’s naked shame. But sin wouldn’t end there, and with the
blood of Abel, shed by brother Cain, we see that human blood will flow. We see it in the warring cities and nations. In the murderous heart of man. Even the great and holy figures have blood on
their hands: Moses kills an
Egyptian. David kills Uriah the
Hittite.
But again God uses the blood of animals to deal with the
blood-guilt of man. He establishes an
entire system of sacrifice by which the blood of sheep and goats and bulls and
birds is shed – to make satisfaction for sin.
All this blood for all those years.
A sea of red that flowed and crested as it moved toward its fulfillment
in the final sacrifice, the once-and-for-all sacrifice, the Lamb of God without
spot or blemish, Jesus Christ. All those
animal sacrifices for sin were only any good inasmuch as they found their
fulfillment in him, and in his blood.
The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of
Abel. Abel’s blood cried for vengeance,
but the blood of Jesus, for our pardon cries.
The blood of Jesus testifies before God that sin has been
paid for, atonement has been made, satisfaction, propitiation. The shepherd has taken the place of the
sheep, a substitute of nobler name and richer blood than they.
The blood of Jesus – that he gives us, along with his body,
as a new testament – for the forgiveness of sins. That blood of Jesus which we take and drink even
today.
Water and blood – that’s what issued from his pierced
side. John saw it and testified. And the water and the blood agree. Baptism and Supper agree. And by the sacraments that issue forth from
Christ, by the water and the blood, the church is established and
sustained. Just as Eve came forth from
the side of Adam when God formed her from his rib, so is the Holy Church – the bride
of Christ - brought forth from the side of Christ, in water and blood.
Water, blood, and don’t forget the Spirit. These three all testify and agree. These three lead us to Christ, show us
Christ, and deliver Christ to us. So how
does the Spirit come in? As he always
does – in the word.
We spoke of this a little bit last week as we considered
John’s advice to “test the spirits”. And
we mentioned how the Holy Spirit, the source of truth, the one who inspires his
written word – is also the one that testifies to us of Christ. And that the false prophet preaches
anti-christ.
Listen to these words from Dr. Luther as he preached on John
15, very near to our Gospel reading for today, about this very thing – how the
Spirit works in the word to show us Christ:
“Christ says very definitely, the Holy Spirit will witness
of me, of me and not of someone else. Beyond this witness of the Holy Spirit
about Christ there is no sure and abiding comfort. That is why one should write
the words ‘of me’ with capital letters and diligently remember them. For of
this we may be certain, that the Holy Spirit promotes no other doctrine,
preaches neither Moses nor other laws whereby to comfort the conscience. If the
conscience is to be comforted, it can only be by the preaching of Christ’s
death and resurrection – this alone comforts…
“No one in need of comfort, therefore, should wait until the
Holy Spirit in all his majesty speaks to him personally from heaven. For the
Holy Spirit carries out his witness publicly in the sermon. That is where you
must seek and await him, till the word which you hear with your ears witnesses
inwardly of Christ in your heart. But such inward witness does not come about
until the external, spoken witness of the Word is heard which tells that Christ
became man, was crucified, died, and rose again for our sakes.”
Friends if you want to see Christ, know Christ, receive
Christ – then look to the water, the blood and the Spirit. For these three agree. These three testify to Christ, show us
Christ, and deliver us all the blessings of Christ. Remember your baptism. Receive his supper. Hear his Spirit in his word. Here, in the three that testify and agree –
you will find comfort, peace, life, forgiveness, and all the blessings of
heaven.
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