Every single child of God wins the battle against this evil world. Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God will rise victorious. On the surface, this will sound prideful to the non-believer and we should expect that. However, no reasonable person would convict someone on the basis of a lack of evidence; every reasonable verdict is reached on the basis of evidence. Yet, the irrational non-believer is convicted that God and Jesus don’t exist on the basis of a (perceived) lack of evidence.
So, what is our testimony in this case for Christ? John gives us a legal illustration to set us up. He assumes anyone who is remotely aware of legal process acknowledges that, in reaching the most reasonable and logical verdict, we believe the testimony of human beings. He concludes, therefore, that we must rely on the testimony of God which is greater.
The Old Testament was published around 400 BC. Everything in the Old Testament points to Jesus; the Messiah; God’s own Son who is to come. Jesus, the Christ, is revealed in the fulfillment of over 300 prophesies. Legally speaking, there was a need for a minimum of two witnesses to reach a conviction. While John could cite the entire Old Testament, he makes his case based on the testimony of three solid witnesses. Jesus is revealed as God’s son by his baptism in water. Although he had no personal sin, by virtue of taking on the sin of the world He fulfilled the righteousness of the ceremonial law which consisted of washing. At that moment we see the testimony of the Holy Spirit as He descends and rests upon Jesus. Furthermore, we have the testimony of the shed blood of Christ which saves our souls. And all three witnesses are in agreement. Jesus is the Son of God.
And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses – the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 1 John 5:6-8 (NLT)
