The One Who Came by Water & Blood | 1 John 5:6

The Eternal Son and the Confession of Christ

Okay, Beloved, let's turn to 1 John, 1 John chapter 5, 1 John chapter 5. We're going to continue this passage, an amazing passage, focusing in particular on the person and work of Christ today. 1 John chapter 5, let's begin in verse 4.

The Word of God says, This is God's Word. Amen. So, Beloved, we find ourselves once again beholding Christ in His person and His work. And we saw last week, last Lord's Day, that in part that Jesus is the Eternal Son, the Divine Son of God the Father.

Just like Athanasius taught, and many of the early church taught, and the major creeds of the other church also affirmed, that Christ is truly God and truly man. And you also recall the confession, Peter's confession, when Jesus asked him who he was, and he said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Which also points to the Christian use of the fish symbol, right, the ichthys. That Jesus Christ, God's Son and Savior. And this is actually, I forgot to mention this, but this is actually also a creedal statement.

It's one of many in the scriptures. It's sort of a little statement of faith that we see throughout the Bible. And so I want to focus today on verse 6. Verse 6 in particular, we find that it's talking about Jesus Christ, our Savior.

This is the one, this is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. Not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood, right? So now, before we dive into the water and blood, I'm sure that's where a lot of our focus is going to be.

And many, you know, the question arises of what that means. Notice that it also says, the one who came. This is the one who came. And this is really important because oftentimes when we're reading scripture or we're hearing the word of God, read or preached, you know, there's a phrase, a proverb that says familiarity breeds contempt.

Many of you have probably heard that saying. Familiarity breeds contempt. And it expresses the idea that a close, long-term relationship with a person or situation brings about feelings of boredom or a lack of respect.

And sometimes that can happen to us if we're not careful. We become, we think we become familiar with the Bible and kind of lose the force of what the Bible is telling us at times. And there are a few ways to fight against those things.

A lot of it is our attitude, right? We should never think that we have it all figured out because we don't. And God's word is inexhaustible, inexhaustible. We will never fully finish diving into the mysteries of God and Christ in his word.

And sometimes it helps to look at different translations to kind of get a different sense of what or a different way of saying the same thing at times. It kind of helps us to maybe see something that we didn't see before.

But, you know, I've been in many churches locally too where this sentiment kind of is sort of there at the church. It's just very disappointing to see churches where they seem to have lost appreciation for what the word of God says and the force behind the words of God's word.

And in these churches, it's almost like people just want to talk about anything but the Bible. It's almost like they're bored with the Bible. They're ready to just talk about other stuff. And that that just that always baffles me.

You know, when I I didn't grow up Christian, I grew up Roman Catholic, as many as you know. But when I got saved, that's all I wanted to talk about. I just wanted to talk about my savior. You know, amen.

Like this is why I come to church. I come to church because I want to receive the word, preach the word, receive the word. And that's what we are all about. Like I mentioned before, that's what Christian means.

Little Christ. Right. We are followers of Christ. And this is what should define us as individuals here on Earth, our relationship to Christ and his word. And just like we read in the Psalms, once again, I long for your commandments.

I long for your word. And we should never lose sight of that. The importance of God's word and not think that we have it all figured out, figured out. So, beloved, let us strive then to grow continuously, continuously in grace.

Amen.

Growing in Grace and Knowledge

Just like 2nd Peter says, you, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard, be on guard. Lest you, having been carried away by the error of unprincipled men, fall from your own steadfastness.

But instead, grow in the grace and knowledge and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Amen.

Right.

That was an inspired amen. I didn't add that one. So this is where our focus needs to be. The one who came, obviously, is none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Christ, the son of God, the one true God, the eternal divine son of God, the father, the monogamous, the only begotten of the father who came to us, to us, to us, his people.

By water and by blood, by water and by blood. Turn with me to the gospel of John in the first chapter, beloved, in the gospel of John chapter one. And John has a lot of cross-referencing between much of the Bible, but also especially between his other writings.

And we're going to see here a close correlation with what John is teaching us in 1 John as well. In the gospel of John chapter one, beginning in verse one, God's word says,. In the beginning was the word, the logos, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him. And apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Skip over with me to verse 14.

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John the Baptist bore witness about him and cried out, saying, This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me has been ahead of me, for he existed before me.

Before me. That's fascinating because John was actually older than Jesus. He was about six months older, according to the gospel accounts. And yet he said, he existed before me. Or in another way to translate it is, before I was born, he already was.

First.

The Greek word there is protos. Protos. First. Before Abraham was, I am. The kind of rings of that divine affirmation that John the Baptist was preaching. So this is clearly not just an exalted man. Much like Ariastad or those heretics.

This is God the Logos who became flesh. The God-man, the son of man, the son of God. Just as many other scriptures tell us, such as the First Timothy 115. It is a trustworthy saying and deserving of full acceptance.

That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Among whom I am the foremost. Christ came into the world to save sinners. Beloved, like you and me. And this is so important that we not lose the force behind these words.

Because many of us grew up in an environment of the church or we've been Christians for some time now. But we cannot lose sight of the utter amazing significance of that reality. No other person in existence is what Jesus Christ is and what he has done.

God, the son of God, became flesh. And came into the world to save us, his people. And Jesus came down to us willingly. He says, I lay my life down of my own accord, willingly. But he was also sent. He was sent and he was given to us.

Sent to us and given to us. By whom? By whom, beloved? But when the fullness of the time came, God. God sent forth his son. God the Father sent forth his own son. Born of a woman, born under the law. So that he might redeem those who were under the law.

Under the curse of the law. That we might receive the adoption as sons.

Amen.

That's Galatians 4 .4 through 5. And some of the most popular verses in the Bible are about this very aspect. This very nature of Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

His monogamous son. That whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. And again, remember that whoever is all the believing ones. Only his people. Who will not perish, but have eternal life.

Because his people will believe in him. And that is one of the principal messages that the Bible, God's word, reveals to us. Just as 1 John also reveals to us in numerous places. We have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son.

He gave us his Son and he sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. The only Savior of the world.

Amen.

The only Savior of the world. So Christ beloved abounds in all his scripture. His words. Let him also abound in our life. In our thoughts. In our words. In our prayers. In our lives. Christ is all and in all.

The Son. Now, okay. That being said, there's a lot more that can be said about that. But now, what does verse 6 in 1 John 5. What does it mean that he came by water and blood? What does that mean specifically?

Let's turn back over there and read that verse again. Once again, this is the one who came by water and blood. Jesus Christ. Not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is the truth.

So what is this pointing to? Notice also there's an emphasis here. There's an emphasis on both water and blood. Not just water, but water and blood. So to say that Christ came by water and blood actually presupposes certain things.

Certain realities. Certain historical realities in the life of Christ. Including the incarnation of Christ. Like the Gospel of John teaches us that he became flesh. So this statement presupposes the incarnation.

The incarnation, at the very least. And it refers to real historical events that took place while Christ was on the earth. While Christ was on the earth. But what specifically? What specifically? Does this refer, for example, like some say, to the piercing of Jesus' side?

You recall in the Gospel of John. Once again, let's turn back over to the Gospel of John in chapter 19. In verse 32, where we will find that event. That historical event where Jesus was pierced with a spear on his side.

In John chapter 19, verse 32. God's word says,. But coming to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. And immediately blood and water came out.

Blood and water came out. And he who has seen has borne witness. And his witness is true. And he knows that he is telling the truth. So that you also may believe. For these things came to pass in order that the scripture would be fulfilled.

Not a bone of him shall be broken. And again, another scripture says,. They shall look upon him whom they pierced. That is powerful prophetic words from the Psalms where the crucifixion of Christ is foretold.

Prophesied before crucifixion was even practiced by the Romans. But is that what this other verse is referring to? Water and blood? The fact that water and blood came out of Christ when he was pierced.

And we have to think carefully through this. Because we have to make sense of the whole passage. The whole verse and the whole passage. And in light of the whole verse and the rest of the passage in context.

This doesn't particularly point to this other part of Christ's life when he was pierced. This is a much smaller detail than what John the Apostle is focusing on in his first letter in this verse. This other verse.

It's just not quite. He's painting a much bigger picture for us. In other words, he's pointing to a bigger picture than that specific detail. And so what about the sacraments? Others say that this is pointing to the sacraments.

Baptism in the Lord's Supper. Specifically. And many of the reformers took this view. Including Luther and Calvin. They took this particular view and several others. And Luther himself went even further by claiming that.

Water and blood. With reference to John 1934, which we just read. Points to the two sacraments. He says in one of his works. This brief summary has been kept in the church. That out of the side of Jesus the two sacraments flowed.

And that's from a Myers New Testament commentary.

But.

Sometimes. It's not just the reformers. Sometimes people get a little too creative with the Bible. And this is a little too creative. It's kind of. What I've mentioned before. It's a form of eisegesis.

Because it's putting something in the text that was never intended. This is not talking about the sacraments.

Okay.

It's reading a little bit too much in there. That was not intended in the gospel. And even here in 1st John as well. Because note also. There is no mention of bread or of the body. There's no mention of that.

It's specifically referring to water and blood in 1st John. And the repeated emphasis on both water and blood. It's not talking about the body specifically or bread.

So.

It shows us as he's addressing something else in particular. Something else in particular. That leads us to the next question then. What is the significance then of Jesus coming by water and blood? And you can even more literally translate this passage.

With or in. With or in. This is who came. The one who came in or with water and blood. Not in water only. But in the water and in the blood. In the Greek. It could more literally be rendered that way.

So there's something here. There's a historical background and context that we need to understand. And I've mentioned this before. Because John addresses it numerous times in his letter. In previous chapters.

First of all, he is refuting heresies. And heretics. Specifically Gnostic heresies. And heretics. Like that of Corinthus. And the Docetists. If you recall, the Docetists are the ones who said that Jesus only appeared.

To be human and to die. He only appeared to look human. He wasn't actually a man. And that is an utter denial of the incarnation. But John is telling us no. He came in water, by water, with water and blood.

Not just with water. But with blood. It's real. It really happened. And so. There's that refutation of this Gnostic belief. This hidden knowledge. It was just an appearance of him seeming to be a man.

And so on. But there's also another specific teaching that the Apostle appears to have in mind. And Gordon Clark's commentary on 1 John has a helpful explanation of this. What John had in mind was the view of some heretics.

Gnostics like Corinthus. Who held that Jesus became the son of God at his baptism. Not that he was always the eternal son. But he became the son at his baptism. And that the Holy Spirit abandoned him on the cross before he died.

John insists that though the baptism marks his public coming. He also came and accomplished his purpose by dying. The heretical view that only an ordinary man died. Altogether ruins the idea of a sacrificial satisfaction.

Of the propitiation. Of the satisfaction of God's wrath in our sin debt. Our wrath debt before God the Father. Okay. So this makes a lot more sense. This makes a lot more sense because we see that in the following sentence.

It is the Spirit who bears witness. The Spirit who bears witness to all of this. To all of Christ. All his life and death. Which is reinforced later on in verses 7 and 8 by the three witnesses. The Spirit, the water, the blood.

All of which are in perfect agreement with each other. There's no abandonment here of the Spirit. Christ never ceased to be God. He never ceased to be part of the Triune God. He always. Yesterday, today, and forever.

Even at the crucifixion. When Christ faced and bore the wrath of God. He never ceased to be God. The Spirit never abandoned him. That is heresy. A Gnostic heresy. From a false teacher. By the name. He was a contemporary of John.

Corinthus. So then. There is that aspect that the Apostle is addressing. Now there's also a bigger picture. That he is revealing to us. That bigger picture are two bookends. Two bookends. Two bookend events.

Historical events in the life of Christ. Specifically, the beginning and the end of Christ's ministry on earth. Namely, his baptism and his death.

Right?

His baptism and his death. Water and blood. Water, baptism, and blood.

Death.

If you recall. There's a technical term for this. Something that is a part that refers to the whole.

Right?

It's a synecdoche. Much, which is used in several places in scripture. Including here. These two words are synecdoches. They are a part that refer to the whole of something else. Specifically, water pointing to baptism.

And not just any baptism. But the baptism of Christ. When he announced his ministry. And then the blood. Which points to his death on the cross. The shedding of his blood on the cross. So it's not just the fact that water and blood came out of Christ when he was pierced.

It's to his death in general. His shedding of blood and his death on the cross. So this verse, the apostle here encapsulates Christ. On earth. His ministry. His earthly purpose with those two words. Two highly public, highly publicized and published events.

Okay?

They were all very public. Publicized and published events. Everybody knew about them. And people continue to know about them now by the scriptures. The word of God and the church. Proclaiming the good news.

Right?

So this is in total contrast to the Gnostics and their heresy. Which emphasized hidden knowledge. Oh, you have to be in the know. You have to have the divine spark in you. Only those people can know the truth.

No.

Christ was out in the open before everyone to see. And to show, demonstrate that his works point to the greater reality of who he said he was. The Messiah, the Christ. The Son of God who makes himself equal with God because he is God.

The Logos. The wisdom and reason of God. The word of God.

Amen?

That's what the apostle is teaching us. Turn over with me to the Gospel of Mark. As we get the context more better grounded there. In the beginning of end of Christ's ministry. In the Gospel of Mark chapter 1 verse 9.

These are very significant events that are recorded in all of the Gospels. Especially his death. And in verse 9 of chapter 1 in the Gospel of Mark we find God's word says. Now it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee.

And was baptized by John in the Jordan. The Jordan River. And immediately coming up out of the water. He saw the heavens opening. And the Spirit, the Holy Spirit like a dove. Descending upon him. And a voice came out of the heavens.

You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased. So this is a highly public, highly publicized event. A voice from heaven. God the Father proclaiming openly before all. This is my beloved Son. In whom I am well pleased.

And later on in Christ's ministry he says it again. Listen to him. Listen to him. Because he speaks the truth. He is the truth.

Amen.

This is the purpose of what John wants to reveal to us in the letter. In his first letter. Highly publicized and published events in the life of Christ. They are bookends. Bookends in the life of Christ's ministry.

In the ministry of Christ on earth. Skip over to chapter 10 now in the Gospel of Mark. Chapter 10 verse 45. We find from Jesus' own words what he came to do. Why did Christ come? Why did he become man?

Why the God-man? Like Anselm famously wrote. Why the God-man? Why did he become flesh? One of the most plain, clear, and profound truths in all of scripture. In Mark 10 verse 45. The word of the Lord says.

For even the Son of Man. The Son of Man. Note that is a messianic and divine title. Did not come to be served. But to serve. And to what? Give his life a ransom for many. He came to die. Jesus came in a very ultimate sense to die.

To give his life a ransom for many. For many.

Amen.

This is no mere man. Contrary to what many Gnostics and heretics like Arius and Corinthians taught. This is no mere man who accomplished and fulfilled all of the Father's will. Which no one before him ever could hope to do so.

Not Adam, not anybody else. Because we are all sinners. Wretched fallen sinners. But Jesus alone. Christ alone. Like the Reformation motto. Solus Christos. Christ alone. Jesus the Christ. The Son of Man.

The Son of God. The one and only God-Man. The one and only God-Man. Truly God and truly man. And on that note. I want to read an excellent passage from Athanasius in his famous treatise on the Incarnation.

I highly commend this work to you all for your edification. He has some very relevant words that speak to this matter. He wrote this around the year 318 AD. Right around Arius and the Council of Nicaea.

When the creeds were being written. All that stuff. All those events. Now he says, how the word and power of God works in his human actions. By casting out devils. By miracles. By his birth of the virgin.

Accordingly, when inspired writers of scripture on this matter speak of him as eating and being born. Understand that the body as body was born and sustained with food corresponding to its nature. While God, the word himself, who was united with the body.

That's the hypostatic union. United with the body while ordering all things as God. Also by the works he did in the body showed himself to be not merely man but God. The word. God the logos. But these things are said of him because the actual body which ate was born and suffered belonged to none other but to the Lord.

The Lord himself. And because having become man it was proper for these things to be predicated of him as man. To show him to have a body in truth and not in seeming. Not in seeming. In other words, he didn't just appear to have a body.

Like the heretics, the docetists taught. That's from the Greek word dokein or dokeo which means to appear or a phantasm or ghost. It's also reminiscent of why Christ said look. When he appeared in the resurrection he said look.

Give me a fish to eat. I'm eating. I'm not an apparition. I'm a real resurrected Christ with a real body. And Athanasius continues. But just as from these things he was known to be bodily present. So from the works he did in the body he made himself known to be the son of God.

Whence also he cried to the unbelieving Jews. If I do not the works of my father believe me not. But if I do them though you believe not me believe my works. That you may know and understand that the father is in me and I in the father.

For just as though invisible he is known through the works of creation. So having become man and being in the body unseen. It may be known from his works in the human body. That he who can do these things is not merely man.

But the power and word of God. I love that parallel that Athanasius paints for us. Just as the invisible God shows his power through the works of creation. Specifically through us. His imago Dei. His image.

So Christ the unseen God becoming flesh becomes visible to us. In his human form and by his works. His miracles. His power over nature and authority over demons. And in his perfect life. Virgin birth.

His baptism and his death. And there's a very excellent note here from the editor of Athanasius' work. Where he explains something very important. Note the comprehensiveness of Athanasius' Christology from the first.

Here he anticipatorily guards against the errors of Nestorius and of Eutychius. Which belong to the next century. The one dividing Christ into two persons. A divine and a human person separately. And the other holding that the human nature was absorbed by the divine.

So Christ was not truly God and truly man in these heretical views. The person of Christ can only be one. That of the Son of God. And just as it is the one person who acts or suffers. So it is his possession of two natures.

Right?

Two natures. Which enables him at the same time to order the universe as God. And to suffer as man. And to suffer as man. This cross and circulatory speech is distinctly scriptural. For St. Paul speaks of the crucifixion of the Lord of Glory.

How do you crucify the Lord of Glory? How do you crucify God? And conversely the second man being from heaven. The man being from heaven. That's in 1st Corinthians 2 .8 and 1st Corinthians 15 .47. And St. John the son of man being in heaven in John 3 .13.

Wow! So this is amazing truths that the Lord, the Spirit of God is revealing to us through John's letter in this verse. Not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. Or in the water and in the blood.

By water and blood. So again, note the sharp emphasis on Jesus coming. Not just with water, but with water and blood. There's a sharp focus there that the apostle is getting at. He states it twice, right?

In verse 6 again, this is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. Not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is the truth.

So this is pointing once again to a much deeper doctrinal truth and reality of the importance of blood all throughout Scripture. We see God greatly emphasizing the importance of blood all throughout. All throughout sacred Scripture.

The Importance of Blood, Sacrifice, and Atonement

Turn over with me to the book of Leviticus. Beloved, in the Torah, the book of Leviticus chapter 17. Leviticus chapter 17. We find a very important truth from God's Word that speaks to much of this importance of blood.

Leviticus chapter 17, beginning in verse 10. God speaks and says,. Which could be referring to exile, but in reality also death. This is pointing to serious judgment. This is where? Is in the blood. Skip over to verse 14.

You are not to eat the blood of any flesh. For the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. Wow. Amen. This is a powerful, powerful word from God. This is pointing to some significant realities regarding blood.

Without blood, you cannot live. That's one thing. Without blood, you cannot live. And that's in more ways than one. In more ways than one. Take careful note of that. Without blood, you cannot live. In more ways than one.

There is no life without blood. There is no life without blood. There is no physical life without blood. That's why you can bleed to death. You can bleed out. If you bleed too much, you can die. Because the life of the flesh is in the blood.

But more than that, God is pointing to something even deeper than just the reality that the life of the flesh is the blood. Eating blood was forbidden by God because God himself reserved animal blood to be used exclusively for sacrifice.

Sacrificially. For it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. What is that? What is that? It makes atonement by the life. By putting something to death. By shedding its blood so that someone else can live.

By putting something to death. Shedding its blood so that someone else can live. This is an amazing reminder for us of how blood is sacred in the eyes of God. So much so that He cuts you off. If you were to eat blood in the Old Testament, He would cut you off.

Exile and death. From your own people. Now, it's to make atonement. It's to make things right for someone else. Let's turn over to the New Testament now in the book of Hebrews. The letter to the Hebrews.

Chapter 9, verses 17. Starting in verse 17. Hebrews chapter 9. As we start tying everything together with Christ. How does this point to Christ? Hebrews chapter 9 explains it better than I ever could.

Hebrews chapter 9, verse 17. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead. For it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

Take note of that. It wasn't inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses, it's referring to the Mosaic covenant, to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God commanded you, which God commanded you.

And in the same way, both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry, he sprinkled with the blood. And according to the law, one may almost say all things, all things are cleansed with blood. And without shedding of blood, there is no what?

There is no forgiveness. There is no forgiveness of sins. Therefore, it was necessary, necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these, than these animal sacrifices.

For Christ did not enter the holy places made with hands, mere copies of the true ones, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God, the Father. For who, beloved? For us. For us. Nor was it that he would offer himself often as a high priest enters the holy places year by year, like the Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.

That is not his own. Otherwise, not his own blood, that is. Otherwise, he would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once and only once at the consummation of the ages, he has been manifested publicly,.

Openly.

To put away, to put away sin by the sacrifice of who? Of his own self. One time for all time. And in as much as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once and only once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him.

Amen.

This is what the blood ultimately of calves and goats and sheep and bulls was pointing to. It was pointing to Christ, the anti-type, the once for all sacrificial lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

Finally, finally, there's no longer any need for a temple with offering animal sacrifices because the blood of Christ.

Made full,.

Perfect satisfaction once for all his people.

Amen.

That is what the apostle John is also pointing to us there. The water and the blood, the baptism and the death of Christ. Now, I want to leave us with this consideration, beloved, very important consideration because we saw how Athanasius was wrestling and grappling to put together the two realities and natures of Christ, that Christ is both truly God and truly man.

The hypostatic union of Christ. He is one divine and human person. He is only one person, two natures such that he is truly both God and man.

Now,.

But this brings us to a question because John is clearly teaching us that, yes, Jesus is the divine son of God and those who believe will be saved in the son of God. But he came with water and blood. It's pointing to the human ministry and nature of Christ.

So then we have to ask ourselves, does God have blood? Does God have blood? How do we make sense of that? Is that even possible for God to have blood? We know from the scriptures that the father has no body.

Right?

The spirit also has no body. The spirit of God dwells in us. The Holy Spirit and regenerates us. The father has no body. The spirit has no body. And we know from John, the Gospel of John, God is spirit and he must be worshiped in spirit and in truth.

And from the.

Children's catechism that we are teaching our children, God is spirit and has not a body like men.

Right?

But what about Jesus? What about Jesus? How do we make sense of Christ here? Because we know that Christ is the eternal son of God, the divine son of God. He is God, but Jesus also has a body. He has a human body, a human mind, a human will because he is truly man, the God man.