1 John 5:6-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 This is the one who came through water and blood,[a] Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth.(A) 7 So there are three that testify, 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord.(B)
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- 5:6–12 Water and blood (1 Jn 5:6) refers to Christ’s baptism (Mt 3:16–17) and to the shedding of his blood on the cross (Jn 19:34). The Spirit was present at the baptism (Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22; Jn 1:32, 34). The testimony to Christ as the Son of God is confirmed by divine witness (1 Jn 5:7–9), greater by far than the two legally required human witnesses (Dt 17:6). To deny this is to deny God’s truth; cf. Jn 8:17–18. The gist of the divine witness or testimony is that eternal life (1 Jn 5:11–12) is given in Christ and nowhere else. To possess the Son is not acceptance of a doctrine but of a person who lives now and provides life.
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