1John 5:6 - One Messiah, One Martyr

”This is the [One] having come through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not in the water only but rather in the water and in the blood.  And the Spirit is the [One] witnessing, because the Spirit is the Truth.”

-Jesus is the one, the Messiah sent by God.  And He is no angel.  He was flesh and blood, a man born of water, i.e. out of a woman.  He took on real human flesh - the Incarnation.  One of the most incredible, unbelievable Truths of all time.  God Himself stepped down out of eternity and into the womb of a young unwed Hebrew teenage girl, in some tiny unknown backwater in Palestine.  He was born in a filthy stable, cradled in a food trough, and while still an infant, He was hunted for extermination by the king.  He grew up in poverty, and three years after embarking on a teaching ministry, He was summarily betrayed by one of His followers, tried and convicted by His own religious leaders and tortured to death by the occupying Roman army.  And His blood SEALED THE DEAL!  It was victory, not defeat!  In the world’s eyes, He lost, yes, but no - His blood, the blood of the One born of water, this God-made-Man, fully paid the price to ransom US away from sin and death.  To pay the debt of all mankind.  Had to be a human, coming through water, with human blood in His veins, and had to be God, shedding divinely perfect blood.  He is the One.

-And the Spirit is the one.  He is the One Who testifies to the Truth.  The Witness.  The word in the Greek is martyr, which in English of course contains the idea of dying for what you believe to be true.  But this One cannot be killed (and of course you couldn’t see Him to begin with in order to even attempt it).  He is almighty God, God the Spirit - no blood to shed, only truth to disclose and power to show.  In fact, Jesus called Him the Spirit of Truth.  For us, we would consider Jesus to be the martyr, but for John it is the Spirit (and of course they are the same God, though they are different persons).  It is not about dying - it is about seeing and speaking up about it, even if it does cost you your life.  But this One, this Martyr -He saw.  He saw it all - and He is speaking.  He was there when Jesus came through water, at the beginning, at the Conception (Luke 1.35, Matthew 1.18 - He was even there at the baptism, Luke 3.22).  Certainly He was there at the Cross, when the blood poured out.  But now He comes, the Spirit of Truth, sent BY Jesus to testify to the Truth about Jesus (John 15.26, 16.13).  He will bear witness, Jesus said, and so will we, by the power of that same Spirit Who LIVES IN US (John 14.17, Acts 1.8).  Now WE can “martyr” for what we believe... Are you ready?