Macland Baptist Church

Evening Worship

04/25/10

“DIVINELY ORDERED WITNESSES”
1 John 5:4-12

Sunday Evening
April 25, 2010
Macland Baptist Church
Dr. Richard Walker

As I mentioned in my message this morning, there are numerous illusions and illustrations used in Scripture that are based on the various elements of a court of law. Throughout Scripture, God is often seen as judge, as is Jesus Christ. A coming day of judgment for believers is called, “The Judgment Seat of Christ,” and for unbelievers it is called, “The Great White Throne Judgment.,” and illusion to a court proceeding where God is both Judge and Jury. A word used to describe salvation is justification, which is a legal term that means to be declared “not guilty.” An element of a court of law that I would like to discuss tonight is the use of witnesses. In the Old Testament law, everything was to be established by the testimony of two or three witness. In establishing guilt that would lead to the death penalty, Deuteronomy 17:6-7 says,

“Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three
witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of
the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of
all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.”

In the New Testament, Paul establishes the reality of Christ’s resurrection through the witness of numerous witnesses, including the witness of five hundred believers who saw Him all at one time.
As important as human witnesses are in establishing the truth of the gospel message, there is no greater witness than God Himself. In His wisdom, God has numerous divinely ordered witnesses that testify to the truth about who Jesus is, what He accomplished through His death on the Cross, what He guaranteed through His glorious resurrection, and what He will bring to pass when He comes again. God witnesses are of His own creation, and when believed, their testimony leads to everlasting life. From 1 John 5, the title of my message tonight is, “Divinely Ordered Witnesses.”

1. THE CALL TO FAITH – The faith to believe that Jesus is God’s Son and the Savior of the World is an overcoming faith that leads to salvation and the New Birth experience. Men and women, boys and girls everywhere are called to place their faith in Christ and receive the power to overcome the world.

Verses 4-5 – “For whatever is born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

2. THE THREE WITNESSES IN HEAVEN – The Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son (the Word), and God the Holy Spirit – is the greatest witnesses of all. The Trinity’s witness is true because the God Himself is truth. It is impossible for God to tell a lie, so anything He says is the absolute truth and can be trusted without any reservation.

Verse 7 – “For there are three that bear witness in heaven; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”

3. THE THREE WITNESSES ON EARTH – God has also appointed three Divinely appointed witnesses on the earth – the Spirit (the Holy Spirit), the water (a reference to the miraculous incarnation of the Christ through natural birth), and the blood (the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross and cleanses men of all sin and breaks the bondage of sin in their lives).

Verses 6 and 8 – “This is He who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ, not only by water, but water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth…And there are three that bear witness on the earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three agree as one.”

4. THE INNER WITNESS – The final witness given in this passage is the inner witness – the witness of the Holy Spirit to our spirit that the things of the gospel message are true and that we are the children of God. This is where we are given the assurance of saving faith which gives us victory over all the doubt and fear that Satan tries to bring to our heart and mind.

Verses 9-10 – “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.”

5. THE TESTIMONY – All of these witness testify that God loves us and has given us eternal life if we will believe in His Son. God’s testimony is that faith in Jesus and a life-changing relationship with Him is the only means of salvation, the only way to everlasting life.

Verses 11-13 – “And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”