The story is told of five blind men who were placed around an elephant. Their task was to describe the elephant as best they could. The first man was at the elephant's side, and he said, “The elephant is like a great wall.” The second man was placed at one of it's legs, and he said, “No, the elephant is like a great tree.” The third man was placed at the front side portion of the elephant's head near it's ear, and he said, “No, the elephant is like a huge leaf.” The fourth man was placed at the very front of the elephant near the elephant's trunk, and he said, “No, the elephant is like a huge hose.” Finally the fifth man was placed at the back of the elephant near it's tail, he said, “No, you are all wrong, the elephant is like a long rope.” Isn't it amazing how all of them had a different description of the elephant. Each of them had some of the truth, however, not one of them had all the truth. Sometimes it is like that for us. We all have some sort of witness about Jesus Christ. Some of those witnesses are good, and some are not so good, but there is one who has a witness of Jesus that is without dispute, and John the apostle shares who that person is in today's verse found in the book of First John in chapter five and verse nine. He wrote:
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
God has complete knowledge of Jesus. Let this be without dispute. God knows more than any other witness about Jesus, and He bore witness of Jesus being His son on more than one occasion. We find an example of when God made a declaration about Jesus in the book of Matthew in chapter three verses sixteen and seventeen:
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
We have another example of God bearing witness of His son on what is called the Mount of Transfiguration found in the book of Mark in chapter nine and verses two through seven:
And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into an high mountain apart, And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he did not know what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
People say things about Jesus all the time, but there is no greater witness than God Himself. God, because He can swear by no other, testifies that He has come in the flesh to bring about the redemption of man so that He can have fellowship with him. The question is whether we believe the witness of God or not. Our belief or unbelief will not change the truth of God's witness, but it will determine our outcome when God proves His testimony is so. The scriptures say, “Today is the day of salvation,” and all who read God's witness should take advantage of God's extension of salvation while it is still available.
Next time we take a look at what happens to the person who believes in God's Son, and what happens the person who doesn't believe in God's Son, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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