The Three Witnesses - 1 John 5:4-12

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup

The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the New Testament, 1 John 5:4-12. In this passage of Scripture, the Apostle John tells us how our faith is established by God on the testimony of three witnesses—the water, the blood, and the Spirit. As we partake of the bread and drink from the cup today, we affirm the testimony of the blood of Jesus Christ and thank God for the eternal life that comes through faith in Him. All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.

As you listen to the episode today, my hope is that you will be encouraged from the time spent meditating on what Jesus has done for you. You are a special person; the one Jesus died to save!

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "The Three Witnesses." I read from 1 John 5:4-12 (NLT). All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.

4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

6 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. 7 So we have these three witnesses— 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

When I read this passage of Scripture, I was reminded of the provisions of the Law concerning witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15), “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” As a Jew, John was aware of this provision of the Law and chides his neighbors for accepting human testimony but not the testimony of God concerning His Son. The testimony of the water, the blood, and the Spirit did not occur at some remote private function, but in the public where all the world could see. Jesus was baptized by John (Matthew 3:13-17), and it was there that John heard God speak, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy,” and saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Later, the witness of the Holy Spirit was present as Jesus performed miracle after miracle and empowered those who established the church. The greatest witness is Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. He shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. All who believe accept these testimonies as true, and in turn, God gives them eternal life. By the same faith, we defeat this evil world. Those who reject this testimony are calling God a liar and choose death over life. Dear neighbors, take these words to heart—believe and live! As we assemble today, we partake of the bread and drink from the cup to remember our Savior, Jesus, and the price He paid for us. By partaking, we affirm our belief in the truth of the witness of the blood of Jesus. We have confidence in this world; the foundation of our faith rests securely on the testimony of three witnesses. Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father. Once again, You show us the way. You are consistent with Your word in that You provide the testimony of three witnesses that our faith might rest on solid ground. We are thankful that we have the gift of life through our faith in Your Son, Jesus. As we partake of the bread and drink from the cup today, we remember Jesus and the price He paid that we might have the forgiveness of our sins. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6:24-26, "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!