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.
Testify
This is one of those passages that causes most people to go, “huh?!?” After all, at first glance, it’s not very clear what John is talking about. Of course, that’s the challenge for those of us who are reading these words almost 2000 years after they were first written.
You see, in order to understand what John is talking about, you have to know some of the teachings of the Gnostics. One of those teachings was that Jesus was born fully human. The Spirit of God didn’t enter Jesus until his baptism. And then, just before his death, the Spirit of God once again departed, leaving Jesus only a man at his death.
John has spent his entire letter defending the belief that Jesus was fully God and fully man at his birth and at his death. And that’s his point in this passage. Using terminology that Gnostics would fully understand (water and blood), he makes the point that both testify, along with the Spirit of God, that Jesus was the Christ: God incarnate.
My point is this: there are times when the best way to make a point is to take the very terminology most comfortable with those in your audience and use that terminology to introduce the message of God’s love. If you’re talking to a biker, use language that a biker will understand. To a doctor, introduce God’s love using medical terminology. It may mean that others who are peaking in at the words you write (or say) may struggle to understand them (unless they understand the context), but you must be true to your target audience.
My prayer: Lord, far too often we expect our audience to understand our terminology. In many church circles, we’ve come up with language that those outside the church simply do not understand. Show me the ways in which I miss my target audience, and help me to always speak in a way that is easy for others to relate. Amen.
Until tomorrow.
