There are Three Credible Witnesses in heaven and in the earth!

There are three credible witnesses in heaven and three on the earth.

Recently, I searched Google to find the country with the largest number of rivers after realizing information I had posted in a prior message said that Canada had the largest number of rivers in the world. And this was incorrect. I had quoted a source that I thought was reliable. And so I Googled it three more times in order to see if I could find the correct and most reliable facts about the nation with the largest number of rivers in the world. I was dismayed. I discovered that three other sources that I thought were reliable gave me three different answers.

One source said it was the United States that had the largest number of rivers in the world. The other source said it was Russia. And a third claimed it was Brazil that had the largest number of rivers in the world. And there you have it. Four separate online searches giving four different answers. And I suppose there may even be more. I also discovered that AI upon which many rely will at times give different answers to the same question. But thank God for the Holy Spirit in this age. We must not forget that the Holy Spirit will always lead us into all truth if we really want truth. He's the only reliable fact checker on earth.

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Of course, the text for this message is taken from 1 John 5:4-9. And there is a similar conflict among Bible translations concerning passages that speak about three credible witnesses. Perhaps you heard these two phrases before. Here's the first. There are three that bear record in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. The second phrase is somewhat similar. There are three that bear witness on earth. The Spirit, the water, and the blood. And these three agree in one. And did you know that these two statements found in the King James translation of the Bible and about nine others are highly controversial with some claiming that they're not in the original manuscript and therefore there's no evidence that they are authentic and so they have refused to include them in their translations of the Bible.

Father, we thank You for Your Word. We ask Your blessing upon this message. Bless the listeners to the message and let only the truth of Your Word go forth. Father we pray in Jesus holy name. Amen.

To bear witness is to testify or give evidence to the truth of something. For instance, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the identity of Jesus Christ and He affirms us that we believers in Christ are truly the children of the Most High God. And the life of every believer is supposed to testify that Jesus Christ is Lord and we are to be His witnesses. I'm excited to discuss this passage with you today. I'm excited because some time ago the Lord pointed it out to me and it had a significant impact upon me.

The three witnesses in heaven are straightforward. They are The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. But I was puzzled by the three witnesses on the earth. They appear in the New King James Version also, but 23 or more major translations have excluded them from their printing. They call this phrase a spurious passage. And this means they do not think it is genuine, authentic, or true. They claim that it does not come from a proper source. And this message will open up your understanding about the mysterious relationship of The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit a bit more.

Here's the complete passage. Who is he that overcometh the world? But he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. 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. For there are three that bear record in heaven, The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit and the water and the blood. And these three agree in one.

This is a beautiful passage and it sounds very nice. But what does it mean? The first part of the passage is pretty straightforward saying all who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God will overcome the world. And this belief in Christ the Messiah is powerful. Believing this is pure unadulterated faith that overcomes all the evil of the world and is absolutely necessary to gain heaven. The second part of this text refers to The Father, the Word who is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit saying that these three bear witness in heaven meaning that they agree perfectly on all things testifying that they are one God. And this focuses on the unity, the oneness of three divinities in heaven who are so united that they mysteriously become one and the same. And you might say, how can this be? There's only one God. Here's an illustration that may be helpful in understanding the dynamics of these three operating as one.

God has used the institution of marriage to illustrate this unity and oneness of three in heaven. In marriage, the two are supposed to become one. This is also a mystery. But yet, we can wrap our minds around this concept more easily. In a good Christian marriage, these two people, a male and a female, over time become of one mind, one purpose, moving together, sharing together, living together, and agreeing with each other to fulfill one and the same purpose for the good of the entire family.

They essentially become one spiritually and after a while even begin to resemble each other physically. The third part of the passage states that there are three that bear witness to the truth and the authenticity that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God. And these are the Spirit, the water and the blood. The first of these three is the Holy Spirit who enters the heart of the believer at salvation. The Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ by convicting the believer of sin and then coming into his heart at salvation, remaining with him as a deposit on his inheritance until the return of Christ.

The next witness is water. It bears witness through physical baptism and represents the new spiritual life of the believer having been cleansed of all unrighteousness. Thirdly, because of the sacrifice of His life through death for mankind's sin, the shedding of Christ's blood is a testimony of the atoning work inside the believer, healing and cleansing him and delivering him from a life of sin. These three provide evidence and testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Glory to God. And some say that the water and the blood coming up out of Christ's side at His death is also evidence of Him being the Son of God in light of this text.

Now, let's talk about why many versions or translations of the Holy Bible have refused to accept that this passage is authentic. Many of them simply say there are three that testify the Spirit and the water and the blood and that's it. Claiming there's no evidence that the King James version is authentic. They say it was added years later as an afterthought to prove the existence of the Holy Trinity. There's no such evidence that this is true. As to the King James version of the Bible, while it is difficult to understand, many consider it to be a masterpiece of the English language. Because of this and its proven reliability, many pastors and born again believers look into other versions only for clarity of language to help them in teaching, but mainly stick to the King James version as their main source of reliable scripture in the English version.

Bear in mind that the Holy Spirit will always lead us into all truth, if we want truth. He is the only reliable fact checker on earth. And I'll be the first to acknowledge that the word trinity appears nowhere in the Bible. And the purpose of this message is not to promote the word trinity. But the concept of three in one most certainly looms loud throughout the entire holy scriptures. In similar fashion, the word rapture does not appear in the English Bible. Yet rapture is used more often to describe the coming of the Lord than the authentic biblical phrase which says we will be caught up together. And this phrase is in the original Greek manuscripts.

So what scriptures can we use to illustrate the oneness of the relationship between The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? And what if the claim made by some scholars that there is no authentic source of this text found in the King James and other translations is correct? Does that mean that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not one? What can we do? Well, sometime we can use one scripture to prop up another. In other words, we can use two or more different Bible verses to reinforce or explain a particular doctrine or concept. So, let's go for it. Let's look for other scriptures that explain or illustrate this passage which is in question. And we will find one that proves this relationship between the big three in heaven who are three yet one.

And this is an easy fix. We will look at Matthew 28:18 to20 which is called the great commission. The final instructions of Jesus Christ to His apostles and disciples. In this scene, we see that the 11 disciples had gone away to a mountain where Jesus Christ had arranged to meet them shortly before He would ascend to The Father. And Jesus came, scripture says, and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of The Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

So why did Jesus Christ in His final instructions send His apostles and by extension all ministers of the gospel to baptize believers in the name of The Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? What is the reason for baptizing in the name of these three if not to show the triune nature of the godhead and how the three work together in salvation and in the new covenant relationship that believers in Christ enter when they come to Jesus Christ. And you might be interested in knowing that every single version or translation of the Holy Bible agree that this is precisely what He said just before ascending to The Father.

Secondly, I will also use John 14:9-11 to prop up this controversial passage of scripture found in first John. In the scene set by the text, Jesus Christ has told His apostles not to be troubled as He was about to leave them. He told them that He was going to prepare a place for them. And doubting Thomas was worried about not being able to find Christ after He would have left them. And then Christ said that He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to The Father except through Him. At this point, Philip said to Him, Lord, show us The Father. And for a moment it seemed as if Jesus Christ was no longer speaking, but The Father Himself was speaking through Christ and said to Phillip, "Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Phillip?" And then Jesus said to them, "Believe Me that I am in The Father and The Father in Me."

Finally in verse 23, Jesus Christ told them, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our home with him." The emphasis here is on the word we and the word our. We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him. Certainly, this means that The Father and the Son will come and dwell with the one who loves Christ. And you can be sure They will most certainly not leave out the Holy Spirit who is a deposit on the inheritance of every born-again believer in Christ Jesus.

John 4:23 says, "The hour comes, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship The Father in spirit and in truth. For The Father seeks such to worship Him." God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. So yes, we Christians worship one God in a mysterious fashion, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are one. And this mystery will all be revealed to us soon. We are monotheistic. We must remember that in the Hebrew faith or religion in which the Jewish people were brought up. They were taught monotheism. Judaism is a monotheistic religion. Meaning it is founded on the belief in one God alone who is The Creator of the universe. And it is therefore a hurdle for many of them to wrap their minds around this concept. But soon they will all believe. For all Israel indeed shall be saved. My friend, without credible evidence and witness, no case can be determined.

Father, we thank You for Your Word today and pray Your blessing on the listeners. Oh God, that You would give understanding, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to them. Oh God, that if there's any listening that uh do does not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that they may come into His saving grace today Father. Friend, if you believe, engage your heart and say this prayer after me and I assure you Christ will come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior. Say after me:

-Father, I am a sinner.

-I am sorry for all my sins.

-Dear Lord, I crave Your forgiveness.

-Thank You for Your patience and for Your forgiveness.

-I have decided to invite Jesus Christ into my heart.

-Dear Lord Jesus, welcome to my heart. Be my Lord and Savior.

-I give You the key to my heart because I now belong to You forever.

-Please give me the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth.

-Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul. Amen.

Welcome, friend, to the body of believers in Christ. There are so many of us here awaiting the return of the Good Master. In the meantime, we encourage you to let your pastor know that you've given your heart to the Lord and you want to be baptized the way Jesus Christ was baptized.

In addition, begin reading the Word of God every day. Begin in the book of John. It is your daily food, reading audibly as often as possible after John, Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. Pray daily. Attend at your local church. One glad morning the Savior will come and receive us all unto Himself and we shall indeed forever be with the Lord. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.