The Spirit, the Water and the Blood
Good Morning Friends,
There is a mercy of rebirth discovered that allows us to sing like Mary sang. There is a provision that makes us fall down before the sacred name of Jesus to be taught all the ways of God and to receive something that the world cannot take away. There is something comforting about the ragged-but-true sound of a sinner saved by grace, lifting up a thankful heart to God as a messenger of love and inner witness of the true religion found in The Spirit, the Water and the Blood.
Scripture: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one 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 one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: 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.
1 John 5:1-12 (NRSV)
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
Malachi 3:1-4 (NRSV)
This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
2 Corinthians 13:1(NIV)
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18:20 (NIV)
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.”
John 19:34-36 (NRSV)
Message: Many devout Christians fail miserably in their efforts to introduce others to Christ simply because they do not know how to go about it collectively. Knowing how to share your faith, that inner authenticating witness of the Holy Spirit of Christianity’s truth, often makes the difference between effective and ineffective testimony. Sharing the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life personally with the essence of the gospel is important for our spiritual growth as well as the conversion of others. It is about being a visible sign of something invisible. So when you talk about Jesus, expect God to use you. The Lord Jesus promised His supernatural resources to all who join with Him in helping to fulfill the Great Commission. Now here the whole water and blood thing might seem strange or obscure to some, leading them to dismiss both as irrelevant. But friends, in defending and proclaiming the faith, I assure you that these multiple witnesses are needed. We are not meant to do this alone. That is why Jesus purposefully chose symbols to convey the undertones and overtones of meaning that logic cannot express. Trees, rocks, clouds, water into wine, seed into bread. Put on your thinking cap and realize that they are all examples of sacred beauty and dignity made to complement the spoken word and in the divine mystery become the divine Word of life. Here the purpose of a witness is to sustain our faith and help prove that Jesus is the Messiah who rose from the dead. The witness then is threefold… the incarnation of God in the man of Jesus and through him the possibility of the Father’s love in the Spirit. It is to be a living witness of forgiveness that grows in us love. It is to be a sign of baptism and the water and blood flowing from Jesus’ side at the crucifixion….the cycle of birth, life, death and resurrection manifest in us.
Pray we appreciate the testimony of men who carry on traditions of God’s law. Pray we appreciate the testimony of God through prophecy, flowing like a fountain that bears witness to the Messiah and his continued presence in history. Pray for the witness of the inward experience of those who carry the testimony of Jesus in their very person. Pray we sing a new song in three part harmony as a witness to God’s truth. Pray we rejoice in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper combined with the reading of God’s Word. Pray we appreciate the testimony of men by but more so the witness of God. Pray we experience the transformative effect of the Sacraments and Word in union and harmony of the Body.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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