1 John 5:6

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 105:1-7
• Hymn — O Praise the Lord, His Deeds Make Known (Psalm 105C)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Reading — Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 14 (On Saving Faith)
• Hymn — Sing Choirs of New Jerusalem (#358)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — 1 John 5:6-12
• Sermon
• Hymn — May the Mind of Christ My Savior (#488)
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Trust in Jesus, the One to Whom God Testifies

Scripture: 1 John 5:6-12

I. Trust in Jesus Because God's Testimony Is Built on Sure Evidence

(1 John 5:6-9)

A. God testifies to Jesus through the water and the blood — the bookends of his public ministry

1. The water: Jesus' baptism — the public commissioning and representation of God's people (Matthew 3:17); Jesus reenacts redemptive history, identifying with Israel as God's beloved Son (Exodus 4:22)
2. The blood: Jesus' death — the public reconciliation realized between God and his people; the beloved Son suffers in body and soul, bearing the wrath of God in place of his people (1 John 1:7)
3. Alternative interpretations noted: (a) the flow of water and blood at the crucifixion (John 19:34); (b) the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper (Calvin, Luther)

B. God testifies to Jesus through the Spirit

1. The Spirit works regeneration and adds his testimony of Jesus to renewed hearts and minds
2. The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth — he can only testify to that which is true
3. Three pictures of the Spirit's work:
   • The Spirit as signpost: effectually guides the lost to be found
   • The Spirit as light: effectually brings those in darkness into the light of Christ
   • The Spirit as spark: effectually ignites dead human hearts to eternal life

C. The three witnesses agree — Spirit, water, and blood — because they are one testimony of one God

1. Word and Spirit together accomplish God's saving work
2. If human testimony of two or three witnesses is accepted, how much greater is the testimony of God (1 John 5:9)

II. Trust in Jesus Because God's Testimony Is Beneficial to Life Eternal

(1 John 5:10-12)

A. The fact: there is a great benefit for those who trust the testimony

1. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself — the word of life planted, growing, and overflowing within
2. Life now: renewed mind, renewed affections, renewed will to obey and love God and neighbor
3. Life in full: perfectly glorified body and soul forever — perfectly happy and perfectly holy
4. Eternal life is given, not earned; we are destitute of it without Christ (1 John 5:11)

B. The warning: there is grave danger in rejecting the testimony

1. To reject God's testimony of his Son is to make God a liar (1 John 5:10)
2. This is the heart of all unbelief — setting human judgment above God's, making God what we want him to be (idolatry)
3. To reject the Son is to remain destitute of life; there is no middle way — belief or rejection, life or the absence of life (1 John 5:12)

C. The testimony of God is 100% true and certain whether or not anyone believes it

1. Jesus Christ is a grand person, a splendid Savior, a majestic Mediator between God and man
2. The call: fix your singular attention and affection on Christ, the one to whom God himself fully testifies