In the days of the disciples, there was a group of people called the Gnostics who did not believe that anything material could be holy. Therefore, they surmised that Jesus did not come in a human body but rather was only a spirit. They would say when Jesus walked on the seashore He wouldn't leave any footprints because a spirit doesn't leave footprints. John the apostle refutes this line of thinking, and being one who actually was with Jesus, John should know. He shares with us in today's verse found in the book of First John in chapter five and verse six:
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.
Jesus was born of a woman, Mary, and this is a reference to being born of water. But John goes on to say “by water and blood”. When Jesus died on the cross, a Centurion guard for the Roman army pierced His side with a spear. The Bible tells us that “out flowed blood and water” which doctors tell us is an indication that Jesus died from a ruptured heart. John could be referencing this in Jesus' death as he was at the foot of the cross, (See John 19:25-27) but the main emphasis from John is that Jesus lived in a body as we do, and this was even witnessed by the Spirit of God.
John tells us over and over again about the Spirit of God's witness of Jesus in his gospel named after him. He said in John chapter fourteen and verses sixteen and seventeen:
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knows him: but ye know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.
And again in John chapter fifteen and verse twenty-six:
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:
And once again in John chapter sixteen and verse thirteen:
However when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Jesus did come in the flesh, and He knows what it is like to live like us. Not only did John the apostle testify of this fact, but the Spirit of God did as well. Because Jesus knows what it is like to live in bodies as we do, He can relate to us fully in whatever we encounter. Our part is to realize this about Him, and enjoin Him in fellowship as we share together every day.
Next time we will take a look at what John says the three witnesses in Heaven, so read ahead, and we shall share together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
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