The First Epistle of John: Lesson Sixty-four

"There is another who

bears witness of Me, and I

know that the witness which

He witnesses of Me

is true."

John 5:32

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Good day! Let's begin with prayer....

"Our Lord God in heaven, we praise Your Holy name this day because this day belongs to You. I glorify Your name because You alone are worthy of our praise and adoration. Thank You, Lord, for loving Your children so much so that You gave us Your word to follow that we may be transformed from this world and live.

I seek the forgiveness of my sins and pray that You will cleanse me from my unrighteousness. I pray that You will wash me clean and fill me with Your Holy Spirit this day.

I pray for the ladies reading this study, that You will go to her and lift her up. Set her high upon Your Rock and give her strength to meet each challenge she faces this day. I pray that she will earnestly seek Your face today and glean the knowledge of Your truth from Your word.

In Jesus' name...amen."

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The Certainty of God's Witness

Last time we looked further into the notion that there are three witnesses here on earth that testify of the Son of God: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. We know that Jesus was not just a spirit who did not die a physical death....but that He was indeed a man who was baptized, received the Holy Spirit, and died a bloody death for our sins. Then, He miraculously conquered death by rising from the grave for us all.

John, a earthly witness to Christ here on earth, reminds us of these things because of the false teachers surrounding his fellow believers at the time. The Gnostics were spreading a false gospel about Jesus and many were falling away to this teaching.

The Epistles of John were written that we may know for sure whom we worship.

1 John 5:9-10

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He 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."

So as we read these verses, we can clearly see that John understands the importance of the witness of men: it is viable here on earth. John tells us that he was a witness to Christ. He was a mere man.

But then he tells us that the witness of God is greater. In John 5:31, Jesus tells us that He does not bear witness to Himself because then that witness would not be true. He is telling us what John is saying: The witness of God is greater.

Deut 17:6

Deut 19:15

Jesus agreed with the Mosaic law that there must be 2 or 3 witnesses in a court of law. So, Jesus is saying that man's witness is good.....but not enough.

John 5:32

But later Jesus states that because He is God in the flesh and knows all things....His witness is true:

John 8:14-18

Jesus adheres to the laws of man while still maintaining the will of the Lord. But since we are only humans, we must adhere to the will of God.

1 Pet 4:1-2

We must live for the will of God not the laws of man. For God's witness is greater than man's.

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"He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself..."

Now that you are a believer in Christ as the Son of God, the Holy Spirit witnesses in your soul so that you may comprehend what is written in the Scriptures. It is no longer just a book of stories.

You have that witness in yourself.

This gift of knowledge is given to the believer. Now we are united as one in Christ by that love of God's word. It should be that most important substance that unites all believers.

Deut 8:3

Ps 119:11

Ps 119:105

Prov 30:5

John 8:51

John 17:17

1 Cor 12:7-8

Phil 2:14-16

What a blessing it is to have that precious word of life within us. It was given to us so that we are not alone in our beliefs! We have that complete assurance from God.

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"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."

What a condemning statement that is! John is making it perfectly clear that if one rejects the testimony of God, given through Christ, then one is calling Jesus a liar. I wouldn't want to be that person standing before a Holy God in judgment.

As I mentioned before, when we toured the Holocaust museum, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the notion that these poor Jews were so desperate to have a witness to what was happening to them. They wanted to make sure they would be remembered and all the evil things they endured not forgotten. Even General Eisenhower made a similar claim when he said upon entering a concentration camp:

"The things I saw beggar description...the visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering. I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to propaganda. Ohrdruf April 15, 1945."

He was a wise man indeed, for he had the foresight to know that one day people wouldn't believe the Holocaust ever happened. So, Gen Eisenhower wanted to make sure that the testimonies of the survivors remained. This shows just how important a witness truly is to God's people.



We worship a God of remembrance.



Luke 22:19

1 Cor 11:24

Is 43:26



How blessed we are when our Holy God remembers us. He has put inside us His Spirit that we can see His invisible attributes not only in creation, but on His Scriptures. He has given us 3 witnesses in heaven and on earth that those who believe in Him will not be put to shame.



And He remembers us.....and asks that we remember Him.



Take time today to truly remember Him. Do you have memorials set up around you that help you remember all that He has done for you in good times and in bad? Sit and be still for a moment and think back on your life and picture the memorials set up to Him that glorify all the times He was there in those difficult times in the "wilderness" and those wonderful times in "paradise" with Him.



Really take time to praise Him for all that He has done.



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Life Application



Our "witness" is how we can minister to other believers. When we become transparent to others, we begin to allow them to see all that God has done....not all that we are.



It can be a difficult think to allow others to know what happened in your past. But when I saw all those pictures in the Holocaust museum of how the Jews suffered, I realized how important our witness really is. It can be the difference between life and death for some.



I remember when our Pastor told the story about when he was a youth minister back in Ohio. He would often tell the students about his past: rock & roll music, drugs, fornication, etc.

He would tell them about how God called him, changed him, and used him for His glory. It is a powerful testimony of how God changes a man.



Afterwards, a young girl approached him and said how she wished she had a "testimony" like his because hers was boring. Our Pastor then told her to praise God for her "boring" testimony because He had spared her alot of pain and humiliation.



Our testimonies can be powerful weapons in bringing other to Christ when we keep the focus not on what we have done, but on what Christ has done through us.



1 Cor 7:20-21



Here Paul tells us not to worry about what we were when we were called....but rather to "use it" all for the glory of God. Use your testimony to tell others about the glory of God.



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Until next time....



"The believer finds Christ so altogether lovely that he can respond, 'As the years go by and I compare Christ in the Bible, I fine that the promises are all true. Christ is even better than what can be put into words. My conscience witnesses that he is mine and I am his.' This internal witness enables believers, in turn, to be witnesses for God. As Jesus said, 'He shall testify of me; and ye also shall bear witness' (John 15:26-27). God will use your witness to reach lost sinners. Ask God to help you proclaim the truth of His Word and to be a powerful witness of his amazing Son."



-Dr. Joel Beeke (The Epistles of John, 2006, p. 199)



Blessings,

Ruth