The Three Witnesses
St. John teaches us that there are three witnesses to the authenticity of the identity of Jesus Christ: The Spirit, the Water, and the Blood!
In his book “Mere Christianity” C.S. Lewis issued his famous “trilemma.” Lewis was concerned that some in his day, gripped by the fad of “demythologizing” the Bible, wanted to call Jesus a “good teacher,” but certainly not God in the Flesh.
So, Lewis declared that Jesus doesn’t give us this option. Lewis insisted that Jesus was either a “lunatic” or a “liar” or, as Lewis believed He is, “Lord.”
The scandalous claims made by the Historic Christian faith strike many so-called “sophisticated” and “educated” secularists as foolish superstitions by ignorant ancients. And that is, frankly, understandable.
Our claims about just Who Jesus is does shake things up. Jesus doesn’t fit into the more comfortable molds of a “philosopher,” a “radical for the poor,” or some revolutionary against “oppression.”
We Normal Orthodox Christians insist Jesus is God Himself become flesh for our salvation. Amazing! Challenging! Uncompromising! And TRUE!
Look at our Lesson today in 1 John 4:20-21; 5:1-21. Please read the whole passage, but today, we will focus on 1 John 5:6-13
This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has borne witness to his Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne to his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life.
St. John insists that Jesus, properly known, is precisely who He claims to be: God in the Flesh reconciling the world to God, the Father.
And John insists this based on the “testimony of three “witnesses.” By the way, you aren’t going to understand this passage without remembering the scene of the Lord’s baptism at the beginning of His public ministry. Stop now and read St. Matthew 3:13-17 and notice what happens as Jesus emerges from the water!
First, the Spirit. St. John insists that the “Spirit is the truth.” Of course, John remembers the promise of the risen Lord that the Spirit, which He would send to the disciples on the Day of Pentecost, would lead the Lord’s Church into “all truth” (see John 16:13). The Spirit descends on the Lord’s head in the form of a dove at His baptism, witnessing to St. John the Baptist (not the same John as we have written here) that this was the Messiah, the Savior of the World. Notice the emphasis on truth. This Spirit (the Holy Spirit) does one work. He reminds us of Jesus. He points us to Jesus. He strengthens us to be like Jesus! This first Witness to the true Identity of Jesus is the Spirit, Who is in eternal communion with the Son and the Father eternally!
In other words, it makes sense the Spirit knows Who Jesus is!
Next, St. John tells us the water is a witness as well. How can water be a witness of the divinity of Christ? For one,” water” here refers to the fact that Christ was a real person, a human person (but not “just” a human person). Water is of this world. Water is the source of life for us humans. Even our physical bodies are mostly made of water! And Christ is baptized in water, and, as He comes up out of the water, He is revealed to all as the “Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” (see John 1:29)
The Water reminds us of the chaotic troubling of the water in Genesis 1, and Jesus enters that chaos and brings order. The Water knows its Master and Creator!
Finally, the blood is a witness. Again, John uses highly metaphorical language. The old saying is, “Life is in the blood.” Lose too much blood, and your physical body will die. So, Jesus’ sacrifice of His life for us to destroy the power death held over us is a strong witness of His true identity! His blood was, and is, the same blood that still flows through His Body, the Church, making those who are the Church “by grace what Christ is by nature.”
The life-giving blood in our veins stops flowing in death, but Christ comes and sheds His blood so that this mortal problem is defeated by the very nature of Who Jesus is!
John also reminds us that, at the Lord’s baptism, the Father speaks from heaven and witnesses Jesus as His “beloved Son.” Those who dare to accept the “testimony” of these “witnesses” for Christ have the life of Christ, the eternal life of Christ, as their own.
And those who reject this “testimony” do not have this life.
Because you were made for Life Himself, and our Lenten journey of the spiritual disciplines is meant to REORIENT you towards your authentic self, and that can only happen as we become “like Christ.”
St. Leo was the bishop of Catania, who lived in Sicily, Italy, between the end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th centuries. From his earliest age, he was a committed follower of Jesus Christ. He was admired for his kindness and enduring love for the poor and wanderers. Sadly, many were enslaved to sorcery and magic at this time. St. Leo regularly preached and taught the people to reject these pagan and false notions and to embrace Christ. Once, a former Christian who had denied Christ and became a servant of the devil was deceiving the people with his sorcery. He even dared to enter the Church during the Divine Liturgy to attempt to disrupt and disturb the Believers. St. Leo left the altar, wrapped his omophorion around the heretic’s neck, and dragged him out of the church and into the square, where he made the sorcerer confess his deceptions and sins.
Today, St. John continues to prepare us for our Lenten journey through spiritual maturity by reminding us that our faith in Christ isn’t based on some fantasy or “tall tale.” Our faith in Christ rests on the testimony of three powerful witnesses to the true identity of our Lord. Now, the only matter to be settled is who you believe. Do you have the courage to be a Normal Orthodox Christian?
P.S. A model of faith and the image of gentleness, the example of your life has shown you forth to your sheep-fold to be a master of temperance. You obtained thus through being lowly, gifts from on high, and riches through poverty. Leo, our father and priest of priests, intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls.
Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV
