SEV Biblia, Chapter 5:6
¶ Este es Jess, el Cristo, que vino por agua y sangre; no por agua solamente, sino por agua y sangre. Y el Espíritu es el que da testimonio, porque el Espíritu es la verdad.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 John 5:6
Verse 6. This is he that came by water and blood] Jesus was attested to be the Son of God and promised Messiah by water, i.e. his baptism, when the Spirit of God came down from heaven upon him, and the voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Jesus Christ came also by blood. He shed his blood for the sins of the world; and this was in accordance with all that the Jewish prophets had written concerning him. Here the apostle says that the Spirit witnesses this; that he came not by water only - being baptized, and baptizing men in his own name that they might be his followers and disciples; but by blood also - by his sacrificial death, without which the world could not be saved, and he could have had no disciples. As, therefore, the Spirit of God witnessed his being the Son of God at his baptism, and as the same Spirit in the prophets had witnessed that he should die a cruel, yet a sacrificial, death; he is said here to bear witness, because he is the Spirit of truth. Perhaps St. John makes here a mental comparison between CHRIST, and Moses and Aaron; to both of whom he opposed our Lord, and shows his superior excellence. Moses came by water - all the Israelites were baptized unto him in the cloud and in the sea, and thus became his flock and his disciples; 1 Corinthians x. 1, 2. Aaron came by blood - he entered into the holy of holies with the blood of the victim, to make atonement for sin. Moses initiated the people into the covenant of God by bringing them under the cloud and through the water. Aaron confirmed that covenant by shedding the blood, sprinkling part of it upon them, and the rest before the Lord in the holy of holies. Moses came only by water, Aaron only by blood; and both came as types. But CHRIST came both by water and blood, not typically, but really; not by the authority of another, but by his own. Jesus initiates his followers into the Christian covenant by the baptism of water, and confirms and seals to them the blessings of the covenant by an application of the blood of the atonement; thus purging their consciences, and purifying their souls.
Thus, his religion is of infinitely greater efficacy than that in which Moses and Aaron were ministers. See Schoettgen.
It may be said, also, that the Spirit bears witness of Jesus by his testimony in the souls of genuine Christians, and by the spiritual gifts and miraculous powers with which he endowed the apostles and primitive believers. This is agreeable to what St. John says in his gospel, John xv. 26, x17: When the Comforter is come, the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. This place the apostle seems to have in his eye; and this would naturally lead him to speak concerning the three witnesses, the SPIRIT, the WATER, and the BLOOD, 1 John v. 8.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 6. This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ , &c.] By water is not meant the ablutions or washings of the ceremonial law; Christ came not by these, but to make an end of them; his blood, which cleanseth from all sin, being the antitype, and so the fulfilling end of them: nor the purity of his nature, life, and conversation; though he came into the world that holy thing which is called the Son of God; and was holy in his nature, and harmless in his life, and did no sin, and so was fit to be a sacrifice for the sins of others: nor does it intend the washing and cleansing of his people from their sins; this is what he came to do, and has done, and not what he came by: but the ordinance of water baptism is designed; and though Christ did not come baptizing with water, he having a greater baptism to administer, yet that he might be made manifest, John came baptizing in that way; and Christ, as the Son of God, came, or was made manifest by John as such, at the waters of Jordan, and at his baptism; there he was declared to be the Son of God by his Father's voice from heaven: not by water only ; he did not come by water only, as Moses did, who was drawn out of it, and therefore so called; or as John, who came administering water baptism externally only: but by water and blood ; by blood as well as water; by which is meant, not the blood of bulls and goats; Christ came to put an end unto, and lay aside the shedding of that blood; but his own blood is intended, and not reconciliation and atonement for the sins of his people, which was what he came to do, and has done, and not what he came by: but the sense is, that as at baptism, so at his sufferings and death, he was made manifest to be the Son of God; as he was to the centurion and others, that were with him, when they observed the earthquake, and the things that were done; and at his from the dead he was declared to be the Son of God with power: and this might be seen in the cleansing and atoning virtue of his blood, which is owing to his being the Son of God. There may be here an allusion to the water and blood which came out of his side, when pierced on the cross, which this Apostle John was an eyewitness of. Some copies add here, and in the former clause, and by the Spirit; as the Alexandrian copy, three of Beza's copies, and the Ethiopic version: but it seems unnecessary, since it follows, and it is the Spirit that beareth witness ; by which may be meant, either the Gospel, which is the Spirit that gives life, and is so called, because by it the Spirit of God, in his gifts and graces, is received, and which is a testimony of the person, as well as of the offices, and grace of Christ; or rather those miraculous works which Christ did by the Spirit, to which he often appeals, as witnesses of his divine sonship, and equality with the Father, as well as of his being the true Messiah; or else the Holy Spirit, who bore testimony to Christ, by his descent on him at his baptism, and upon his apostles at the day of Pentecost, and by attending, succeeding, and confirming the Gospel, which is the testimony of him; and he is elsewhere, as well as here, and in the context, spoken of as a witness of Christ, ( Acts 5:32); because the Spirit is truth ; he is the Spirit of truth, and truth itself; he is essentially truth; his testimony is most true, and firmly to be believed. The Vulgate Latin version reads, because Christ is the truth.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 6-8 - We are inwardly and outwardly defiled; inwardly, by the power an pollution of sin in our nature. For our cleansing there is in and by Christ Jesus, the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Some think that the two sacraments are here meant: baptism with water, as the outward sign of regeneration, and purifying from the pollution of sin by the Holy Spirit; and the Lord's supper, as the outward sign of the shedding Christ's blood, and the receiving him by faith for pardon and justification. Both these ways of cleansing wer represented in the old ceremonial sacrifices and cleansings. This wate and blood include all that is necessary to our salvation. By the water our souls are washed and purified for heaven and the habitation of saints in light. By the blood, we are justified, reconciled, an presented righteous to God. By the blood, the curse of the law being satisfied, the purifying Spirit is obtained for the internal cleansin of our natures. The water, as well as the blood, came out of the sid of the sacrificed Redeemer. He loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, Ep 5:25-27. This was done in and by the Spirit of God, according to the Saviour's declaration. He is the Spirit of God, and cannot lie. Thre had borne witness to these doctrines concerning the person and the salvation of Christ. The Father, repeatedly, by a voice from heave declared that Jesus was his beloved Son. The Word declared that He an the Father were One, and that whoever had seen him had seen the Father And the Holy Ghost, who descended from heaven and rested on Christ a his baptism; who had borne witness to Him by all the prophets; and gav testimony to his resurrection and mediatorial office, by the gift of miraculous powers to the apostles. But whether this passage be cited of not, the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity stands equally firm an certain. To the doctrine taught by the apostles, respecting the perso and salvation of Christ, there were three testimonies. 1. The Holy Spirit. We come into the world with a corrupt, carnal disposition which is enmity to God. This being done away by the regeneration an new-creating of souls by the Holy Spirit, is a testimony to the Saviour. 2. The water: this sets forth the Saviour's purity an purifying power. The actual and active purity and holiness of his disciples are represented by baptism. 3. The blood which he shed: an this was our ransom, this testifies for Jesus Christ; it sealed up an finished the sacrifices of the Old Testament. The benefits procured by his blood, prove that he is the Saviour of the world. No wonder if he that rejects this evidence is judged a blasphemer of the Spirit of God These three witnesses are for one and the same purpose; they agree i one and the same thing.
Greek Textus Receptus
ουτος 3778 εστιν 2076 5748 ο 3588 ελθων 2064 5631 δι 1223 υδατος 5204 και 2532 αιματος 129 ιησους 2424 ο 3588 χριστος 5547 ουκ 3756 εν 1722 τω 3588 υδατι 5204 μονον 3440 αλλ 235 εν 1722 τω 3588 υδατι 5204 και 2532 τω 3588 αιματι 129 και 2532 το 3588 πνευμα 4151 εστιν 2076 5748 το 3588 μαρτυρουν 3140 5723 οτι 3754 το 3588 πνευμα 4151 εστιν 2076 5748 η 3588 αληθεια 225
Vincent's NT Word Studies
6. This. Jesus.
He that came (o elqwn). Referring to the historic fact. See Matthew xi. 3; Luke vii. 19; John i. 15, 27. Compare, for the form of expression, John i. 33; iii. 13.
By water and blood (di udatov kai aimatov). Dia by, must be taken with oJ ejlqwn He that came. It has not merey the sense of accompaniment, but also of instrumentality, i.e., by, through, by means of. Water and blood are thus the media through which Jesus the Mediator wrought, and which especially characterized the coming. See especially Heb. ix. 12: "Christ being come... neither by the blood (di aimatov) of goats and calves, but by His own blood (dia de tou ijdiou aimatov"). Compare "we walk by faith not by sight (dia pistewv ouj dia eidouv," 2 Corinthians v. 7): we wait with (lit., through) patience (dij uJpomonhv," Rom. viii. 25).
Water refers to Christ's baptism at the beginning of His Messianic work, through which He declared His purpose to fulfill all righteousness (Matt. iii. 15). Blood refers to His bloody death upon the cross for the sin of the world.
Other explanations are substituted for this or combined with it. Some refer the words water and blood to the incident in John xix. 34. To this it is justly objected that these words are evidently chosen to describe something characteristic of Christ's Messianic office, which could not be said of the incident in question. Nevertheless, as Alford justly remarks, "to deny all such allusion seems against probability. The apostle could hardly, both here and in that place, lay such evident stress on the water and the blood together, without having in his mind some link connecting this place and that." The readers of the Epistle must have been familiar with the incident, from oral or from written teaching.
Others refer the words to the Christian sacraments. These, however, as Huther observes, are only the means for the appropriation of Christ's atonement; whereas the subject here is the accomplishment of the atonement itself. Ai=ma blood, standing by itself, never signifies the Lord's Supper in the New Testament.
The true principle of interpretation appears to be laid down in the two canons of Dusterdieck. (1.) Water and blood must point both to some purely historical facts in the life of our Lord on earth, and to some still present witnesses for Christ. (2.) They must not be interpreted symbolically, but understood of something so real and powerful, as that by them God's testimony is given to believers, and eternal life assured to them. Thus the sacramental reference, though secondary, need not be excluded. Canon Westcott finds "an extension of the meaning" of water and blood in the following words: "Not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood," followed by the reference to the present witness of the Spirit. He argues that the change of the prepositions (ejn in, for dia by), the use of the article (tw), and the stress laid on actual experience (it is the Spirit that witnesseth), these, together with the fact that that which was spoken of in its unity (by water and blood) is now spoken of in its separate parts (in the water and in the blood) - "all show that St. John is speaking of a continuation of the first coming under some new but analogous form. The first proof of the Messiahship of Jesus lay in His complete historical fulfillment of Messiah's work once for all, in bringing purification and salvation; that proof is continued in the experience of the Church in its two separate parts." Thus we are led to the ideas underlying the two sacraments.
The subject opened by the word blood is too large for discussion within these limits. The student is referred to Dr. Patrick Fairbairn's "Typology of Scripture; "Andrew Jukes, "The Law of the Offerings;" Professor William Milligan, "The Resurrection of our Lord," note, p. 274 sqq.; Canon Westcott's "Additional Note" on 1 John i. 7, in his "Commentary on John's Epistles;" and Henry Clay Trumbull, "The Blood Covenant."
Not by water only (ouk en tw udati monon). Lit., not in the water only Rev., with. The preposition ejn in, marks the sphere or element in which; dia by, the medium through which. For the interchange of ejn and dia see 2 Cor. vi. 7. The words are probably directed against the teaching of Cerinthus. See on ii. 22. John asserts that Jesus is the Christ, and that He came by blood as well as by water.
And it is the Spirit that beareth witness (kai to pneuma estin to marturoun). Lit., and the Spirit is that which is bearing witness. Note the present tense, beareth witness, and compare ver. 9, hath born witness. The witness is present and continuous in the Church, in the sacraments for instance, in water and in blood. Witnessing is the peculiar office of the Spirit. See John xiv. 26; xv. 26; xvi. 8 sqq. See on John i. 7.
Because (oti). Some render that, as presenting the substance of the testimony, which is absurd: the Spirit witnesseth that the Spirit is the truth. The Spirit is the Holy Ghost, not the spiritual life in man.
The truth (h alhqeia). Just as Christ is the truth (John xiv. 6).
