October 29, 2017am. Read last 1 Sola Scriptura ( Scripture alone ): The Bible alone is our highest authority. Corey M. Minter.

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1 1 John 5:6-11 Water, Blood and Spirit October 29, 2017am Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN On October 31, 1517 (500 years ago this Tuesday) a pastor named, Martin Luther pinned his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church in Germany. This paper covered 95 issues that Luther felt needed to be addressed by the Roman Catholic church. They ranged from abuses of people to heretical teaching. The Church had veered far off course in Luther s day, and it began to hold church tradition and the words of the pope on equal standing as Scripture. With the pinning of the 95 Theses, Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation, an event which has shifted history itself. The Reformation endeavored to reform Christianity back to its original view as laid out in Scripture. Therefore, what is now called the Five Solas became the battle cry of the Protestant Church. Read last 1 Sola Scriptura ( Scripture alone ): The Bible alone is our highest authority. 2 Sola Fide ( faith alone ): We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ. 3 Sola Gratia ( grace alone ): We are saved by the grace of God alone. 4 Solus Christus ( Christ alone ): Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King. 5 Soli Deo Gloria ( to the glory of God alone ): We live for the glory of God alone. Corey M. Minter Page 1 of 9

2 Those five points shaped every aspect of what we endeavor to do here this morning. You heard it in our singing, you have felt it in our fellowship, and my prayer is that you will hear it in the preached Word. Its not to say that one is more significant than the others, but were it not for Sola Scriptura we would not know faith, grace, Christ, or even that all of our life ought to be lived for the glory of God. So its in that light that I would like for us to stand and read the Scripture this morning. READ 1 John 5:6-11 Let me just address this here before I jump into the sermon. Many of you who do not read from the KJV/NKJV probably have a very different version of verse 7. Although verse 7 reads, For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one in the NKJV/KJV, the most true translation of the Greek text is MUCH shorter. Verse 7 SHOULD read as For there are three that testify. If you would like a longer/better explanation as to why there is such a big difference between versions, come up and ask me after service. I would love to talk about it with you. If I have a lot, I can write my thoughts out more thoroughly and pass them out at a later time. KIDS What are the three testimonies that John brings to affirm Jesus as the Giver of eternal life? When was the last time you were in a courtroom? Unless it is part of your profession, I hope you do not make a habit of it. I received a Corey M. Minter Page 2 of 9

3 speeding ticket a while ago, which is embarrassing for anyone, but its worse when you are a pastor and you break the law. Add to that, its a small town, and I know several of you are employed by or work around the courthouse. I had sat through almost two hours of traffic court without seeing anyone I knew; I was off scot-free; all I had to do was pay my fine and leave, when I heard What are you doing here? Sure enough one of our people who works at the court house caught me. My reputation was ruined now, more so, that I am confessing it to all of you. John invites us into the courtroom this morning, but this is no mere traffic court. This is the biggest decision in history; the most important decision in your lifetime. The verdict that needs to be reached concerns verse 11: 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Do you remember last week s sermon? We talked about victory. There was a certain sporting goods name brand that I reference over and over again that means victory. Do you remember what it was? Nike. John used that Greek word Nike (or victory) four different times in verses 1-5. Now, in this paragraph, he is putting that statement on trial. Did God gives us victory in Jesus Christ? 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Basically, is that statement true? Did God give mankind the gift of eternal life through Jesus, His Son? Can we really have victory in life and over death? Corey M. Minter Page 3 of 9

4 There are three basic views of what happens when you die: (There are about a million offshoots of these three, but we do not have time to go over them in this setting. When I taught high school students this I always used these terms I apologize if they are too abrasive) 1. Rot nothing. You get one chance and nothing more. 2. Respawn come back. You do good. You come back better. You do bad. You come back as something worse. 3. Reward/Consequence Eternity. You are made up of something more than flesh and blood. God has put eternity in your heart. (Eccl. 3:11) John, and the Holy Spirit, is trying to convince you that you do not just rot when you die, that the idea of cosmic karma do good and you come back more enlightened with another chance at life is not true, that God wants to offer you victory in this life and over the grave through Jesus Christ, His Son. Is that true, jury? Jewish law mandates that in a court, two witnesses must be called and both agree in order for the charge to be valid. Here, John, will go above and beyond and call three Water, Blood and Spirit. 6 This is He who came by water and blood Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. Corey M. Minter Page 4 of 9

5 Call your first witness. Water: The Baptism of Jesus In order to hear the testimony of the baptism of Jesus, we are going to have to turn to Matthew 3, where we are introduced to another John other than our author, John the Baptist (or John the Baptizer). He is a pretty strange figure in Scripture. He lives out in the wilderness. He eats locusts and honey, and he dresses in camel hair, probably to separate himself from the Scribes and Pharisees who paid such close attention to their outward appearance with long, flowing, clean, linens draped about themselves. John looks like Elijah short tunic, rough garments, leather belt and all. He attracted a crowd, not necessarily by how he dressed but, by what he taught. He claimed to be the forerunner of Christ, the last prophet before the Messiah came. The first time he saw Jesus in an open setting, he cried out, Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! Matthew 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He Corey M. Minter Page 5 of 9

6 saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. It might seem strange for Jesus to be baptized. John the Baptist sure thought it did, too. In fact, he tried to talk Jesus out of it, saying that Jesus should really be baptizing him. Nonetheless, Jesus is baptized, and scholars believe it was for a few reasons: 1. To mark the beginning of His public ministry 2. To allow John the Baptist an opportunity to link what he had been teaching about a Messiah to Jesus 3. To obey God through public profession 4. To associate Himself with the people of God 5. To obey Old Testament law of the priesthood that stated must be set apart by being fully cleansed by water 6. To give the opportunity for the Father and Spirit to testify of Christ 1 In fact, here is the most clear evidence of a Triune God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this on occasion, Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends upon Him and the Father testifies to all hearing. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 1 adapted from Stephen Davey. Without a Doubt: Water, Blood and Spirit Corey M. Minter Page 6 of 9

7 That s a pretty good first witness. Father, Son and Holy Spirit all proclaiming the same thing: Jesus is Who He said He was and He did what He said He was going to do. Most believe that John the author of 1 John, John the apostle was there to see it since he was a disciple of John the Baptist before he followed Jesus. Call your second witness, John. Blood: The Crucifixion of Jesus When John writes about blood in 1 John 5:6-8, he is referring to that act of Christ on the cross. All other religions teach that you must sacrifice to God. Only in Christianity does God sacrifice Himself for you. Some may hear of Christ s crucifixion and say, What s the big deal? A good man died in a bad way. There are a ton of stories just like that in every history book. What makes Jesus s death on the cross so special is not the brutality (although it does make it more powerful the Creator suffered all of this at the hands of His creation). No. The beauty of the crucifixion is in why Jesus died not how necessarily. He The Only Perfect paid out all of Himself for all the unperfects. The consequences of all my sin and yours is death separation from God, but Jesus loved us too much to just let us die. So He died He was separated so that we can be joined to God. Here are just a few evidences of that from Matthew 27: 1. Darkness Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. For three hours noon to 3pm, darkness covers the whole earth. Jesus took on all our sin on the cross, and the Holy God Corey M. Minter Page 7 of 9

8 cannot look on sin. For three hours, He turns His back on Christ so that He might welcome us into His presence for all eternity. For more evidence of this, hear what Jesus yells in verse Cry Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Every time Jesus spoke of God in the New Testament, He ALWAYS called Him Father, except here. My God, My God, Why have you forsaken Me? But soon after, Jesus yells again. This time He screams, It is finished, and three things happened simultaneously. Matthew 27:51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; The veil is torn, the earth quakes and dead are raised to life. 3. Veil This veil in the temple is what separated mankind from the Holy of Holies the presence of God. It was 60 feet tall and six inches thick, yet it was torn in two from the top down in an instant. The message was clear: Mankind s sin had been dealt with. We may now go freely into the presence of God. Corey M. Minter Page 8 of 9

9 Those saints who had died on earth for millennia before Christ sacrificed Himself were now raised and were given new bodies. Those are pretty convincing testimonies, many validated by non- Christian historians of the same time. Jesus baptized the Spirit descends and the Father speaks. Jesus crucified God turns His back on Him for six hours in order to welcome us for eternity. Do you need more evidence? There s a third witness. Hold your finger there in Matthew 27 and flip back to 1 John 5: 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. Spirit: The Truth of God The truth of the matter is that on a jury, you may be given evidence after evidence, witness after witness but still feel indecisive. What verse 10 says is that the Holy Spirit has whispered the Truth into your very heart. You may accept it or reject it, but it does not change the truth. My hope and prayer is that you are like the Roman soldier in Matthew 27:54. He did not see the baptism; he did not know all that was going on with the death of Jesus the earthquake, the veil torn, the dead raised but still he falls to his knees and cries: Matthew 27:54 So when the centurion and those with 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! Only the Spirit can do that to you. Evidence will only go so far, but I trust in God to reveal it to you personally this morning: 1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Corey M. Minter Page 9 of 9