Why Jesus Is More Valuable Than the Treasures of America

1 John 5:6-12

September 14, 2003

 

            Last week we finished looking at 1 John 5:1-5 by seeing how true, biblical faith overcomes the world. Faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God is a powerful force that will cause you to rearrange all the priorities in your life. It will wean you off of the false promises this world offers you, and it will cause you to value the promises of God over and above everything this world seeks, including life itself. This type of faith looks back at the cross, and it sees there on Calvary all of the promises of God secured by Jesus Christ, and this type of faith looks forward to eternity and longs for and desires and yearns after all the magnificent promises of God given to those who love Him. The Christian is the person who seeks, by faith, the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

            This is, however, no easy task. It is a dangerous thing to be a man or woman or child of faith. There are costs, and risks, and dangers, and there is a losing of your present life for that which you cannot see. Men of faith have lost their families, their homes, their positions and honors, their physical comforts; they have been beaten, stoned, tortured, sawn in two, and put to death with the sword. They have wandered around in caves and holes in the ground because they were men of faith. They have given up everything for that which is eternal.

            I can imagine that, after looking at such men and the cost of discipleship and faith, there might be some objections in your mind. One objection might go like this: "Is it really worth it? Is following after this Jesus by faith really worth all of the risk and the loss and the danger? Do I really want to give up my life to follow Jesus?" When you follow Jesus, it is a life-changing journey, and maybe the realization of that is just beginning to affect your mind, or maybe it is now jarring your mind because you never really understood the cost before now. You never realized the implications of verses like Matthew 7:13-14, Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. My friends, enter through the narrow gate. It's not a broad gate. It's not an easy road. It is a small gate and a narrow, difficult way that leads to life. Jesus also said in Matthew 16:24-25, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. These are the demands of the Gospel. If you wish to keep and save your life now, you will walk the broad, easy road that ends in destruction, and you will never overcome the world. The call to follow Jesus is a call to lose your earthly, temporary life, and you may wonder, "Is it worth it?" Is it worth leaving home, leaving family, leaving comforts, giving up comforts, being persecuted? Is it worth being sawn in two or killed with the sword? Is it worth suffering for this Jesus? Do you really want to overcome the world?

            I think the Apostle John knew that his readers might be asking that question. And I'm sure there are times when you've asked that question, during a trial, during a temptation, during a difficulty or a loss. Is it worth it? This morning I want to show you why following Jesus and having real, life-changing, world-conquering faith is worth it. I want  you to see why God's demands in the Gospel are not burdensome, and why they are not unreasonable, and why Jesus should have your allegiance, and your faith, and your trust, and your life. Why should you give your entire life to following Jesus down the Calvary Road, outside the gate to suffer with Him? Why should you value Jesus more than the treasures of America? Let me give you three reasons why you should treasure Jesus Christ over the things of the world.

 

Reason #1 – Jesus Is Fully God and Fully Man (v. 6)

 

            Reason number one: You should treasure Jesus more than all else because He is fully God and fully man. Jesus is both human and divine. One reason why following Jesus is worth the loss of all things is because He is both God and man at one and the same time. That is what the Apostle John is saying in verse 6 when he says, This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. He means that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, and thus He fits the bill as the perfect Savior for the human race and the perfect satisfaction of the wrath of God.

            The Apostle’s statement is a puzzling statement that has troubled Bible scholars throughout church history. Many different interpretations exist as to what this statement means. What is John saying when he talks about water and blood? Let’s start by looking at what it does not mean.

            First, it does not mean the blood and water that flowed from Jesus’ side in John 19:34. There the Apostle writes, But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. Many people throughout church history have taken John’s statement in 1 John 5:6 to refer to this event in the Gospel of John. The meaning is, then, under this interpretation, that the Apostle is here referring to Jesus’ death on the cross by water and blood. Why is this interpretation incorrect? One reason why I believe this interpretation is incorrect is because they are not exact, parallel statements. They both involve water and blood, but in the Gospel of John the Apostle says blood and water and in 1 John he says water and blood. He reverses the order. This isn’t a decisive argument, but it is significant.

A second reason why I don’t think this interpretation holds up is because this interpretation fails to achieve the Apostle’s objective in this section. What is his objective? As you read through the passage it is clear that the Apostle is demonstrating to us the reliability of Jesus; he is giving us proofs as to why Jesus can be trusted and must be trusted. To prove that he must prove that Jesus is both human and divine. John alerts us to that in verse 6 when he says, This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. He adds the full title, Jesus Christ, to show us that this one person has two natures. He is not only Jesus of Nazareth, man. And He is not only the Christ, the Son of God. He is Jesus Christ. He is one Person with two distinct natures: fully human and fully God. This is one of the great mysteries of theology. How can one person have two distinct and separate natures? It cannot be explained, but the Apostle tells us that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed a man, but not only a man, He also is the Son of God. He is equal with God. Back to our question, then, about the interpretation of water and blood. To only point to the cross, and the flow of blood and water, only shows the humanity of Jesus. It does not demonstrate that He is the Christ, because dying on a cross by itself does not prove that a person is God’s Son. The Apostle, in this section, desperately wants us to know and believe that the man Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Savior. So this interpretation fails to meet the Apostle’s basic objective, which he puts forward when he calls Jesus by His full title – Jesus Christ. That is very significant, and a decisive blow to this interpretation.

What does it mean? Here’s what I think it means: The water represents Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and the blood represents Jesus’ cross and His blood that was shed on it at the end of His earthly ministry. To see this, there are two things you need to understand.

The first is that the Apostle was out to show that Jesus was always the Christ from His birth to His death. He was the Christ at His baptism, and He was the Christ at His death. The heretics against whom John is writing taught that Jesus, the man, became Jesus Christ at the baptism, and then right before His death, Jesus Christ went back to being simply Jesus. He was no longer the Son of God at His death, according to this heresy. So the Apostle is out to show that Jesus Christ is one united Person, and that He was so at His birth, and now always will be.

The second thing to understand is the meaning of the word by in verse 6. The word by has the idea of a certain kind of place. It is better translated through in this context. He came through water and blood. The idea is that Jesus came through a place of water, and He came through a place of blood. The idea of a kind of location is prominent. So what types of locations did He come through? A location designated by water, and a location designated by blood. What would fit these two items? Baptism and Calvary.

A place designated by water would be baptism. This is significant because it was Jesus’ baptism that was a sign that He was the Christ, the Son of God. It was at His baptism that Jesus was declared to be God’s Son by God Himself. In Mark 1:11 we read that after Jesus’ baptism, as He was coming up out of the water a voice said, You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased. The Father declared that Jesus was His Son at the baptism. Not only that, but John the Baptist was told that he would see the Holy Spirit descend on the Son of God in John 1:32-34. John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God. When did he see this happen? John the Baptist saw this miraculous event happen immediately following Jesus’ baptism. It was at the baptism that the Spirit came upon Jesus as a dove, and it was at this time that the Father declared Jesus to be His Son with a voice from heaven, and it was at this moment that John the Baptist was utterly convinced that Jesus is the Son of God. The baptism of Jesus is significant because it shows Him to be fully God. He is the Son of God, and as such He is equal with God. The Apostle is saying that Jesus Christ came to the place of water, in other words, baptism, and He was declared there to be God’s Son, the Christ.

The other place is a place of blood, and that is clearly the cross. The cross fits the aim of the Apostle John because it shows the true humanity of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, died on the cross, and blood flowed from His body and was shed for our sins there.

The Apostle reminds us that it was not water only. It was not only at His baptism that Jesus was the Christ, but also at His death. He says, not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. John asserts that Jesus Christ was both baptized and killed. He came with the water and with the blood. The Apostle changes words in Greek here, and rather than saying by or “through” water and blood, and says with. The idea is with reference to. Not only was Jesus Christ’s coming with reference to the baptism, but it was also with reference to the cross where He died, His blood being shed for the sin of the world. The Apostle thoroughly proves that Jesus is the God-Man using this imagery of baptism in water and death by the shedding of blood on the cross.

Why is this important? Why should the fact that Jesus is fully God and fully man motivate you to follow Him at great cost to your self, even perhaps the cost of your physical, temporary life? Job understood the importance and value of this fact of the deity and humanity of Jesus. In Job 9 Job complains that there is no way he can talk with God or be right before Him. God is too far above him; He is beyond him, and there is no way a sinful man can ever stand before a holy and righteous God. Job sums it up in Job 9:32-33 when he says, For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, that we may go to court together. There is no umpire between us, who may lay his hand upon us both. Job’s complaint was that there was no one who understood humanity and at the same time could lay his hand upon God. There was no mediator, no umpire, no one who could represent both man and God before God. Until Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ came, He came as fully human and fully divine, so that He can umpire, as it were, between sinful man and holy God. He sympathizes with our weaknesses because He has been tempted in all points like we have, yet without sin. And He can lay His hand upon God and satisfy the wrath of God and the justice of God because as the Son of God He is God. When you stand before God in judgment, won’t this be a benefit you’ll want then? You say, “What’s the use? Why should the deity and humanity of Jesus impact me? Why should these profound theological truths matter to me?” It must matter to you, because someday you will stand before God Almighty, and if you don’t have a mediator, an umpire between you and God, one who can sympathize with you as a man and can satisfy the justice of God as God, then you will be in a terrifying and awful state. It should be a glorious doctrine to you that Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ, and He always will be Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God. You should run to Him, and indeed you must run to Him, if you ever want to stand before God and not be eternally condemned. The first reason you should treasure Jesus over this world is because Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.

 

Reason #2 – Because God has testified concerning Jesus (vv. 6-10)

 

            Reason number two: You should put all your faith in Jesus Christ because God has testified concerning Jesus. God His given His testimony about His Son, Jesus Christ. Look back at verse 6. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.

            There are some textual difficulties in this section, which perhaps you noticed. Some versions add to the text I read, and many others have a footnote saying that a few late manuscripts add some words. The addition is not part of John’s original letter, but I am not going to take time to prove that to you this morning. I just wanted to mention it so you would know that the extra text is a later insertion into what John originally wrote.

            Understanding that, what is the Apostle saying here? He has already showed us that Jesus is fully God and fully man because of Jesus’ baptism and the events surrounding it, and because of His death. But now he takes it a step further, and he says that the Spirit Himself testifies. What does He testify about? Clearly the context points to the deity and humanity of Christ. The Spirit testifies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The Holy Spirit gives a witness to the reality of these historical events and He testifies that these events prove that Jesus is the Son of God.

            Furthermore, the Spirit is the truth. The Spirit Himself is the truth. Jesus said this in John 16:13 by calling the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth. In our day many people don’t believe that there is something that can be classified as the truth. The Bible never takes this relativistic view. Truth is truth, and everything else is a lie. And the Apostle is emphatic that the Spirit is truth. That means that everything He says is true. He does not give a false witness. If the Spirit testifies that something happened, that thing happened. If the Spirit testifies that an event means something, then that event means what the Spirit says it means. So since the Spirit testifies that Jesus is the Son of God, no matter what you say or I say or what anyone else says, the Spirit is the truth, and Jesus is the Son of God. This is not a matter of opinion. This is not a matter to be discerned by human wisdom. It is revelation to be believed and accepted and rejoiced in. When God speaks and gives testimony through His Spirit it is not our place to question whether or not it is true, because the Spirit is the truth. God is true, and He cannot lie. The Apostle, then, asserts that the Spirit testifies, and the Spirit is the truth.

            That testimony in and of itself should be enough to convince men, but there are rules of evidence, even in the Scriptures. In Deuteronomy 19:15 we read, A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. The Law read that there must be more than one witness, even if that witness is true. Jesus put it this way in John 5:31: If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. In other words, one witness was not valid to decide a matter. There must be at least two. So, to prove that the Spirit’s testimony is valid even according to the Law, the Apostle John introduces two more witnesses in verses 7 and 8.

            How do we know that the Spirit’s testimony is true? For there are three that testify. Or, to put it another way, those who witness are three. There are three witnesses to the deity and humanity of Christ. Who are they? The Apostle tells us, For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood. The Spirit testifies, the water testifies, and the blood testifies. I think here John is referring back to what he just said in verse 6. The baptism and all of the events surrounding it testify that Jesus is the Son of God. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross for sinners testifies that Jesus is the Son of Man. And the Holy Spirit testifies that these things are true. These three witnesses are all testifying to the same thing. The Apostle says in verse 8, and the three are in agreement. Literally it means, “And the three are into the one,” or “And the three are one.” The point is that the three witnesses are like three voices that all sing the same theme, they blend to sound like one voice and they have the same song – Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world! The water, the blood, and the Spirit all in unison declare that Jesus is the Savior, that He is worth giving up everything to have because He alone is worthy as the Son of God and the Son of Man. They agree! We have legal, conclusive testimony. Three witnesses who all say the same thing are put before us. What will you do with them? Will you believe their testimony and abandon this world for the glory of Christ? Or will you despise their testimony and demand your own evidence and sniff at what God has declared to you?

            The Apostle says that we ought to receive the testimony. Look at verse 9. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. Do you receive the testimony of men? If three men came to the stand in a court of law, and they all gave the exact same story even though they were separate witnesses not connected to each other, and not well-known to anyone involved, they just happened to be at the scene of the crime, would you receive it? Yes, I believe you would, and I believe I would. Three independent witnesses would be received in a court of law and would be devastating to any defense case. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. The testimony of God is greater than the testimony of men. It is greater in importance, and it is greater in weight. It carries with it eternal implications, and it carries with it the honor and glory of the Almighty God. It is greater because God has given us three witnesses that are absolutely infallible witnesses: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These witnesses do not lie, and they cannot lie. It is impossible for the Spirit to lie. It is impossible for water to lie, and we know that it is impossible for blood to lie. If blood flows, skin has been punctured, and there is no doubt about that. Blood doesn’t lie. The testimony that God has given concerning His Son is this: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. And these three agree. They are one. Here is what John is saying in verse 9: If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater because this is the testimony of God that He has testified concerning His Son. The this in that verse, I believe, refers backward to the testimony he has just described, and it all points to Jesus, the Son of God.

            Why is it important to receive God’s testimony? Why is this a motivation to faith? There are many reasons, and John gives us one in verse 10. Not to receive the testimony of God is to call God a liar. John puts it like this: The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. There are two people in that statement: one who believes, and one who does not believe.

            The one who believes has the testimony in himself. He has the testimony in his heart. The one who testifies is the Spirit, and the Spirit is in the believer testifying, assuring the believer of Jesus Christ, that He is reliable, valuable, glorious, excellent, and praiseworthy. The only way to have this testimony in yourself is to believe upon the Son of God, Jesus Christ. You must place all of your faith and all of your trust in Him and what He has promised you to have this witness in yourself. If you do that, you have the witness in yourself.

            But what if you don’t? What if you reject the testimony? What if you don’t put your faith and trust in God and all that He is for you in Jesus Christ? What if you fail to place your complete confidence and belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? The consequences of unbelief are devastating. If you don’t believe the testimony of God, you call God a liar. God has given a testimony about His Son, Jesus Christ, and that testimony is given by the Spirit, who is corroborated by the water and the blood. To reject God’s word is to call God a liar. If you deny God’s testimony, you call God a liar because He is the witness. He is the one testifying through His Spirit. There are only two things you can do with Jesus. One is that you can receive Him and believe God’s testimony and entrust yourself to Him. The other is that you can reject Jesus and call God a liar.

            This is not a popular in our day. We like to speak of things that are true for one person or another, but not absolutely true. But God says that if you reject His testimony about Jesus then you are calling Him a liar. You cannot love God and call Him a liar. You cannot get to the Father apart from the Son because God has testified that the Son is the only way. So if you try to take another way, you call God a liar. If you say that Christianity is not true, then you are calling God a liar.

            You don’t want to call God a liar. Most people get uncomfortable when another person asks, “Are you calling me a liar?” Imagine standing before the Almighty God on judgment day and having Him declare to you that you called Him a liar your whole life! What will you say? How will you answer? You will have no mediator because you did not believe upon Jesus Christ. To reject Christ is to call God a liar, and to call God a liar puts you in danger of the eternal fires of hell. Don’t think you can sidestep the issue of Jesus. You cannot ignore Jesus. He will not be ignored. Either you will receive Him by faith and believe God’s testimony, or you will reject Him, call God a liar, and walk the broad road to destruction. Abandoning yourself by faith to Jesus is essential because He is fully God and fully man, and because God has given His testimony concerning Jesus.

 

Reason #3 – Because eternal life is only found in Jesus (vv. 11-12)

 

            I want to give you one more reason why Jesus is supremely valuable. Reason number three: You should treasure Jesus Christ over the things of this world because eternal life is only found in Jesus. He alone is the source of eternal life. John writes, And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son does not have the life. This is one of those texts that ought to overwhelm your soul with awe and wonder at the love of God. Eternal life is to be had for we who are by nature and practice sinners! We can have eternal life! God has given it to us. He has made it available to us. Imagine it, eternal life – living forever in a perfect environment having personal fellowship forever with your Creator and Savior! And it can all be yours! God has testified to man that He has given us eternal life. We didn’t deserve it. We couldn’t earn it. There was nothing to move God to make it available to us but His own great mercy and love, and that was enough to cause Him to do it. God has given to us eternal life. We who believe, we have eternal life! God has freely given it to us!

            Where is it to be found? How is it to be had? How can we have life eternal? It is only to be found in His Son. Eternal life is nowhere to be found but in the Son of God Himself. It is only found in Jesus. That is God’s testimony. It is as if God has told us, “Sinner, I have given my Son as the Savior, and you can have eternal life if you believe in Him. But you cannot have it any other way. You must believe my testimony – that eternal life is available, and it is only available in Jesus.”

            Can you comprehend the wonder of this? Just having the Son for this life is more than we deserve. Just knowing God for a short time is more glorious and more wonderful than anything this world can offer you. But God has not limited how long we can know Him. He has offered us eternal life with Him. He has offered us the Son forever! If we have the Son, we have the life.

Do you have the Son? Do you want the Son? Do you believe the testimony of God? Have you put your faith into Jesus Christ, so that He is your all? Being a Christian is having the Son of God for yourself. It is not just having an intellectual change of mind. It is not just believing a creed. It is not saying a prayer or walking an aisle. Being a Christian is having the Son. It is to have Jesus. “I am His, and He is mine!” Can you say that this morning? Do you know Him like that? If you don’t know Jesus like that, then you’re not saved because he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. You say, “Well, I believe that Jesus died.” Yes, my friend, but do you have Him? Do you own Him for yourself? Is He yours? Even the demons believe that Jesus died and rose again, probably better than we do. But it does not profit them because they don’t have the Son of God. He is not their own. They do not cherish Him and prize Him and savor Him and love Him. They do not rest in Him. They believe well enough, but He is not theirs. Is He yours this morning?

            Many times people assure themselves they are Christians because of something that they did in the past. Maybe they prayed a prayer. Maybe they were baptized. Maybe they had an emotional experience at a camp or a VBS. The Apostle John, however, does not mention anything like that. The question is not: What have you done in the past? The question is: Do you have the Son today? Does He abide in you today? Do you have the life now? If you don’t have the Son today, you don’t have the life either. Eternal life is not yours unless you have the Son, but if you have Him, then you have life and fellowship with Him forever.

            There are many things this world offers the pilgrims that journey through it. Do you treasure those things? Or do you have the Son, and because you have the Son you now know what life really is? Life is not possessions, it is not comfort, it is not ease, it is not even living in this sinful, decaying body. No, true life is the life that is in Christ. True life is eternal life, knowing God and having the Son. Is it worth abandoning the things of this world for Jesus? Is He worth it?  At the beginning I said that following Jesus is costly, and that is true. There is a cost in being a Christian, and that cost may include dying for the name of Jesus. But there is also great reward. There is eternal life with God. There is a cost, but it’s like having to pay a penny for a million dollars. It is insignificant in light of what you gain when you know Jesus Christ. Why should you treasure Him above the passing treasures of America? You should treasure Christ above all the comforts and ease America offers and everything else because He is the perfect Savior, fully God and fully man, God has given His own testimony that Jesus is His Son, and real, lasting, eternal life is only to be found in Him. Let’s pray.

[Home page] [ ]