Paragraph 5:6–9

Read 5:6–9 in both Berean Standard Bible and Good News Translation. Compare the two versions.

Paragraph Theme: In 5:5 John has talked about believing that Jesus is the Son of God. In 5:6–9 he explains why we should believe in Jesus as the son of God.

5:6a

This: (Pronoun Reference) The word This refers to “Jesus Christ.” In translation it may be clearer to put the name at the beginning of the sentence (see Good News Translation), or to indicate in some other way that the name “Jesus Christ” is in focus here.

the One who came: (Meaning) John is not contrasting Jesus with someone else. He is emphasizing two important points about Jesus’ ministry on earth which those who believe in him (see 5:5) must accept.

by water and blood: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different views about what events in Jesus’ ministry John is referring to by these figures of speech:

(1) He is probably emphasizing that Jesus Christ, who came from heaven, was baptized in water to identify himself with us human beings and shed his blood when he died to save us. In your translation, you will probably need to make clear that water is a figure of speech for Jesus’ baptism, and blood is a figure of speech for his death. See Good News Translation.

(2) Some think John is referring to the fact that Jesus gave us the sacraments of baptism (water) and communion (blood) to remind us of what he has done for us.

(3) Some think this is a reference to the water and blood which came out of Jesus’ body on the cross (John 19:34), proving that he had really died.

5:6b–c

not by water alone, but by water and blood: (Meaning) Here John is denying the teaching of various false teachers who claimed that Jesus was just a man who became Son of God when he was baptized and ceased to be Son of God before he was crucified. That is why John emphasizes here that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not only was baptized but also died.

5:6d

testifies to this: (Lexical Problem) John does not specify here what the Holy Spirit testifies about. However the following verses make it clear that he is referring to the truth about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Good News Translation makes this reference more explicit. The Holy Spirit testifies to this fact in the hearts or minds of believers.

5:6e

is the truth: (Meaning) For the basic meaning of “truth” see the note on 3:19b “we belong to the truth.” Here John means that the Holy Spirit is the one who shows us the whole of God’s nature and his deeds.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.