Manuscript Notes for June 8, 2025 Sermon - "The 'Three in One' Testifies"
6/8/25 – 1 John 5:6-8 – The “Three in One” Testifies
(Manuscript notes for the sermon)
Pre-Intro: We’re going to spend two weeks with
these verses as the main text (next week to v. 12), addressing them in two
different ways. This week, we’ll read from the KJV, next week back to the
normal version (ESV). Today’s sermon sort of functions as two sermons
addressing two concerns.
1 John 5:6-8 (KJV)
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.
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and
the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Intro: Why the Difference?
Translating Scripture
Today, we’re
talking about the Holy Trinity, one of the foundations of our faith. In many
ways this is an extension of the 2nd sermon of this series, “What Is
God?” We concluded that sermon answering that question simply as God is One. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One!” (Deut. 6:4). However, the companion
question, “Who Is God?” The answer to that is “three.” “God in Three Persons”!
Then we ended the sermon by quoting this verse in the KJV. Why didn’t I quote
it in the Bible I usually use?
Hear v. 7-8
in the pew Bibles: “For there are three
that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in
agreement.” Did you
notice something missing? Hopefully you see that the KJV has three testifiers
in Heaven and three on Earth. 3x2=6. The pew Bibles (and most other
translations) have only three testifiers, and it doesn’t say whether they are
of Heaven or Earth. But they’re three of the same testifiers: “the Spirit, and the water, and the blood.” The three that bear witness in Earth. à The ones who witness in Heaven—“the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost”—aren’t in the pew Bibles. Why not?
Bible translators use what is called a
critical text. Essentially, a Greek New Testament that is a compilation of as
many manuscripts and remnants of manuscripts as can be found. à Why a compilation and not individual manuscripts? à Because Bible translations require two
massive projects:
· Translating from Greek to English, etc. is the
second massive project.
·
The first is studying manuscripts and
deciphering what is truly God’s Word. These manuscripts were preserved by copying
them; so, lots of copies exist, and they are not at all identical. Why not?
§ In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented the
printing press, and it took many years for printing presses to be built and
spread throughout Europe and beyond. Before the printing press, copying was accomplished
fully by hand. And many of the copiers of the Bible and many other books were
monks living in abbeys/monasteries.
§ With hand copies come natural errors from writing
wrong words, misreading someone’s handwriting, trying to figure out where
spaces are (in the early years, no spaces in between words).
§ Further, sometimes “commentary”
was written in the margins of copies of Biblical text. Overtime, these words
become a part of the text itself.
§ Therefore, not only different words, but
sometimes extra verses and passages. (Mk.
16:9-20, Jn. 7:53-8:11)
· To translate, you must know
what to translate before you start translating.
Why
is 1 Jn. 5:7-8 different in the KJV than modern tr.?
· By the way: If you prefer the KJV, that’s
great! It’s an amazing translation. My only preference for you is to read it,
study it, live by it—God’s Holy Word!
· Many manuscripts and copies of the Bible have
been found since the translation of the KJV in the 1600s, and many of them are
much older than what was used to translate the KJV.
· The translators of the KJV were Spirit-filled,
gifted scholars, and the KJV remains massively valuable to this day; but that
doesn’t mean there’s no need to continue translating the Bible.
· Have modern translators taken out Bible verses
and changed Scripture for nefarious purposes? There’s no shortage of accusations (and a
bunch of outright lies and misrepresentations), but there’s little (if any)
reasonable evidence that they’re true.
§ That doesn’t mean there aren’t bad
translations or purposefully-changed translations (because there are—e.g., The
New World Translation for the Jehovah’s Witnesses; Gender-neutral versions),
but many (maybe even most) modern translations are sound with faithful and
Spirit-filled scholarship.
§ If you’re concerned about a particular
translation, do some research, ask about it, don’t blindly trust.
·
I
brought up a theory earlier about “commentary” added to previous manuscript
copies. This idea makes sense in this case. I don’t believe
the Holy Trinity was originally meant to be directly presented in this part of
1 John, and none of the early manuscripts contain this text. But, the
Holy Trinity absolutely applies.
§ Nothing but gratefulness for some unknown but
sound and faithful monk of the Medieval Period who knew exactly what the
Apostle John was talking about by writing in this commentary in the margin.
§ These monks weren’t only copying manuscripts
by hand to preserve Scripture, but they were studying the Scripture, growing in
their faith, worshiping the Lord with their work. Without
their work, we do not have access to read and study God’s Holy Word!
Yet, plenty of King James Onlyists
still insist modern translators are purposefully and nefariously taking the
doctrine of the Holy Trinity out of the Bible by deceptively changing 1 Jn
5:7-8, excluding the three witnesses in Heaven. I submit three problems with
this (at least):
1. The Holy Trinity is still contained in these
verses in modern translations. The remaining three witnesses refer originally
to the make-up of Jesus (more next wk.); one of the witnesses also points to
the Holy Spirit. And it’s God’s Holy Word (2 Tim. 3:16), pointing directly to
God the Father. The Triune God is still obviously here.
2. If the translators hated the Holy Trinity,
they would have reworded the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19) and completely taken
out the Apostle Paul’s benediction in his 2nd epistle to the Corinthians (2
Cor. 13:14).
3. A logical reason: The witnesses of Earth, no
doubt of Earth. What else is no doubt of Earth? The witnesses of Heaven! God is
omnipresent, very much on Earth as in Heaven (Mt. 6:10 – “Thy will be done…”).
à Whether the witnesses are three or six,
ultimately there’s ONE WITNESS.
Main Idea: Every True Witness of
the Gospel Points to One Ultimate Witness: Jesus! (MI for 6/8 & 6/15)
And we
cannot truly understand our Lord and Savior without understanding that He is
not only the Son of God, but God the Son (2nd Person of the
Trinity). Everything Jesus has done is in full agreement with God the Father
and God the Holy Ghost.
How easy is
it to understand the Holy Trinity? Is it something that children have no
problem with, completely understand? If you’re experience is like mine, it is
not incredibly easy to understand or explain. à Doesn’t mean that there haven’t been
attempts: St. Patrick’s Bad Analogies – Donall and Conall
are uneducated Irish peasants and want Patrick to explain to them the Holy
Trinity in a way that is easy to understand. Patrick gives a brief description,
but they want clarification; so, he begins to use analogies, but then Donall
and Conall immediately sound like grizzled theologians by breaking down the
heresies described in each analogy and the early church counsels that refuted
them. These analogies are normal:
· Arianism: The Sun can be seen as three, with
the star, the light, and the heat. But, the light and heat come from the star,
which is the opposite of the Trinity. God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were
not created by God the Father, yet Arians would teach you differently. The
Athanasian Creed I shared with you is directly refuting Arianism, as well as
the Nicene Creed (Counsel of Nicaea, A.D. 325). à Are there any Arians around today?
Jehovah’s Witnesses. à Jn. 1:1 – “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
· Modalism (or Sabellianism): Water can be liquid, ice, and steam. But are they
going to be that at the same time? Is water always all three simultaneously? à No, each of these forms are different modes, or
manifestations of the same substance. à
Modalists believe God is not three distinct persons, but can be revealed in three
different forms. à Believed by Sabellius and others, refuted in A.D. 381
by the Counsel of Constantinople. à
Are there any Modalists today? Yes, a denomination, The United Pentecostal
Church (UPC). Oneness Pentecostals. T.D. Jakes. Some people only baptize in the
name of Jesus (could be Modalists). à
2 Cor. 13:14 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you all.”
· Tri-Theism (or Partialism): The old-fashioned three-leaf clover, or a
three-layer cake. It would be like saying that Jesus is merely a “part” of God,
or one of three gods. à Not particularly believed by any heretic, but refuted
in the Athanasian Creed (lines 15-16): “So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the
Holy Spirit is God; Yet they are not three gods, but one God.” à
Jn. 10:30 – “I and My Father are One.” à Eph. 4:4-6 – “There is one body, and one
Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith,
one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and
in you all.” à Gen. 1:1-2 – “In the beginning God created...
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” à
No one (at least that I know of) claims to believe this, but Muslims accuse us (Christians)
of believing this, in three gods.
The
Athanasian Creed (lines 3-4) gives us
the basis for our faith (if you don’t believe this, you’re not a true believer):
“That we
worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding
(confusing) the persons nor dividing the substance.”
Q: How is the Trinity Proven in the Bible?
It
is proven by progressive revelation. This kind of revelation happens over a
large amount of time, not all at once.
1.
The OT Partially
Reveals the Trinity
a.
The One True
God Connected to Plurality
· The names of God – Elohim – in Hebrew, the
plural form of “El” (Gen. 1:1) à
Even brought up in Gen. 1:26 – “ Let Us make man in Our image…” – Then in ch. 2,
“Yahweh Elohim” (2:5) à
Without this context, we may have to concur that in the beginning, “many gods”
created…?
· Plurality continues even when a singular name for God
(Adonai) is applied: (Isaiah saying) “Also I heard the
voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (“Here am I, send me!” – Is. 6:8)
b.
Multiple
Persons Described as Divine
· Ps. 110:1 – “The Lord (Yahweh) said unto my
Lord (Adonai), Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool.”
§ (the most quoted
OT verse in the NT-Mt. 22:44) v. 45 – “If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” (or,
how can the “Lord” be beneath David?)
§ And Yahweh has
the “other” Lord sit at His right hand? (Hebr.
12:2 – “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is
set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”)
2.
The NT Completely
Reveals the Trinity
a. A Picture of the Trinity at Jesus’s Baptism
· Mt. 3:16-17 – “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the
water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (God-man, Dove, the Voice)
b. Testimony of the NT Writers – Word usage to describe being
Trinitarian: God the Father is God (Theos), Jesus is Lord (Kurios)
· 1 Cor. 12:4-6 – “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. …Diversities
of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.”
· 1 Pet. 1:2 – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ.”
c. Jesus Reveals it Himself!
· Mt. 28:19 – “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”
Concluding
Application: The Testimony Is True!
Jesus
is the ultimate witness of our faith. We would not overcome without Him, the
Son of God and God the Son! One God in three Persons, each Person fully God!
Without this truth, Jesus is not who He said He is.
