September 16, 2007

Sermon Index | Home

Sermon
 Scripture KJV

Reverend David S. Huffer

Westwood Baptist Church - 2124 Davis Road
 Waynesboro, VA

1 John
5:6    This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
5:7    For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
5:8    And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
5:9    If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
5:10    He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
5:11    And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
5:12    He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

 

God Is Life: The Testified Life

1 John 5:6-12

 

Purpose Statement: Believe In The Testimony & Live The Testified Life

 

Let’s suppose that you are in jail this morning awaiting trial.

·         You have been accused of something that you did not do

·         Others are saying things about you that aren’t true

·         Your lawyer tells you not to worry he will be bringing in three good witnesses that will testify to the truth of the matter.

As you appear in court, the first witness takes the stand and says: “He is not who he says he is.”

·         The second witness takes the stand and says: “He cannot be believed!”

·         And the third witness testifies: “He is a liar and he is guilty!”

You might feel like the man who had been caught committing a crime and as he appeared before the judge he was told that if he could not afford a lawyer one would be appointed for him by the court.

·         He leaned over to the judge and said: “I appreciate the offer, judge, but I don’t need a lawyer. What I need is a few good witnesses!”

 

John in the defense to the life of Jesus Christ brings in three good witnesses to testify to the truth of who Jesus Christ is.

·         There are those who had come into the church and who were denying the truth about Jesus by saying He was not deity.

·         He was not God in the flesh here on earth.

 

These in-church opponents saw the spirit as good and the body (flesh) as evil.

·         Therefore, they proposed that the Spirit of God came upon the man Jesus at his baptism and departed him right before His death on the Cross.

·         And the man Jesus – not God in the flesh - died.

FRIENDS – Let’s reason this out.

·         If you deny the deity of Christ – you deny the need for the atonement of sin – because man is not sinful

·         This scenario is not just in John’s day – but it is here in modern days also.

There are many groups today who would deny the deity of Christ – many also claim to be Christians.

·         Those whom I fear more than those who blatantly and openly deny the deity are those who sit in our church pews and think such matters do not really matter.

THEY DO MATTER – THE TRUTH ALWAYS MATTERS!

 

John writes with attorney like passion concerning the truth of the matter and in doing so presents three witnesses: The Son, The Spirit and The Father.

 

LIFE TESTIFIED BY THE SON – V.6

John uses the water (baptism of Jesus( and the Blood (the death of Jesus) as historical realities to testify to the truth of who Jesus is

·         These two are essential to the meaning of the Gospel

 

A. Testified By Water – baptism of Jesus

Mark 1:9-10 – “It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.”

·         Those in-church opponents I mentioned would say they accept the baptism of Jesus because that is where the Spirit came upon Him.

FRIENDS – John places the emphasis upon both the baptism and the blood (death of Jesus) knowing the opponents denied this truth.

·         Baptism – dedicated Jesus to His redemptive mission

·         At His baptism Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God

 

B. Testified By The Blood – death of Jesus

John 19:30 – “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said: ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up the Spirit.”

The Shed blood on the Cross:

·         carried out and completed His redemptive mission

·         established Him as Savior

·         brought life to man

The Shed Blood:

·         was poured out to God for Man

·         poured out to reconcile man to God

·         poured out to bring peace between man and God

Hebrews 9:22 – “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission.

 

C. Testimony of Water and Blood Continues Today

Today, the testimony (witness) of the Son is continued through the Church ordinances of Believers Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

·         These are not initiation rites or rituals we have others observe so that they can be a part of us.

FRIENDS – Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are to cause you and I to remember the life of Christ.

·         For in each, the testimony of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection testifies of the eternal life that comes only through the Son.

 

LIFE TESTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT – V. 7-8

A. Testimony to the Son

The Spirit was given to give testimony to the Son

·         John 15:26 – “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

·         John 16:14 – “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

B. Testimony to the Truth

The Spirit of Truth:

·         Was present at Baptism

·         Can be trusted

·         John 15:26b – The Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father.”

·         John 16:13 – “However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

C. Testimony to the Believer

The Spirit’s witness is present today to bear witness to the believer

·         Romans 8:16 – “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. “

The Spirit illumines the Word to believers to apply truth to heart and life.

1 Corinthians 2:14 – “But the natural man does not receive

·         the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

FRIENDS – John says that “these three” – Water, Blood, and Spirit agree – they testify to the one central truth of the Gospel:

·         JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD!

 

LIFE TESTIFIED BY THE FATHER – V.9

A. Testimony of Man

The essence is here:

·         If man is to believed – God the more so!

We trust man in many fashions – doctors, pharmacists, cooks, etc.

·         Why would we not rust in the testimony of God concerning the Son?

B. Testimony of God

1. Testified at Jesus’ Baptism

Matthew 3:16-17 – “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens opened were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

2. Testified at the Mount of Transfiguration

Matthew 17:5 – “While He was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

3. Testified at the time Jesus’ Hour had come

John 12:29-29 – “Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Other said, ‘An angel has spoken to Him.”

4. Testified Through nature at the Crucifixion

Matthew 27:45 – “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.”

Matthew 27:50-54 – “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of

the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those around him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.”

FRIENDS – God testified again and again that this one called Jesus IS His beloved Son.

·         Now – who are you going to believe?

 

LIFE TESTIFIED BY CHILDREN – V.10-12

John has presented three witnesses – The Son, The Spirit,, and the Father.

·         Most would rest their case, but John has one more witness to call to the stand

·         He calls “The children of God”

·         The “Children of God” testify through living the truth to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.

A. Testimony of belief

Believing produces the witness of the Son in the believer

·         Believing is not in facts – but in the testified truth of the Father – we take Him at His Word

·         John 3:15 – “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

B. Testimony of Life

Believing brings about the testimony of eternal life

·         That is the life of the Son

FRIENDS – John speaks of the radical nature of the Christian life

·         It is not a life lived on your own – but upon every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father!

Eternal life is from God.

  1. Eternal Life is a past Gift
  2. Eternal Life is a present Possession
  3. Eternal Life is a Future Reality

Eternal Life is in Jesus Christ the Son

·         Whoever believes in Him has eternal life.

·         Whoever does not believe does not have eternal life

 

HEAR ME CHURCH –Would our beliefs and life speak of the truth of Jesus and who He is?

Or would they be more like the three witnesses I spoke of at the

·         beginning of the sermon – the ones that testified against you.

·         “He is not who He says he is”

·         “He cannot be believed”

·         “He is a liar!”

 

CLOSE

John’s intentions are clear:

·         He wants us to understand that Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, in His full deity

·         God in the flesh is the only One who can bring us to God

·         Salvation is accomplished only through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ

 

3 John 1:3 – “For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth”

 

IN CHRIST WE LIVE THE TESTIFIED LIFE!

 

AMEN!

Top | Sermon Index | Home

© Westwood Baptist Church 2007