Commentary on 1 John, Commentary · Chapter 5 · Verse 7
1 JOHN 5.7.
For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the holy Ghoſt: and theſe three are one.
CHriſt the Object of our Faith is ſet out, Firſt, By the manner of his coming, v. 6. He came by water and bloud. Secondly, By the teſtimony given him of his coming, which is double, three in Heaven, and three on Earth. In this Verſe the heavenly witneſſes are ſet forth,
1. By the number, three.
2. By their place, in Heaven.
3. By their work, they bear witneſſe.
4. By their names, the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit.
5. By the unity, theſe three are one.
Doct. That there are three Perſons, yet but one God, that doe bear witneſſe to the divinity of Chriſt, and of the plenteous ſalvation wrought by him.
For Explication.
Queſt. Who thoſe three Perſons be, and why ſo called?
Anſw. The firſt Perſon is the Father, ſo called,
1. Chiefly becauſe he is the Father of Chriſt, 1 Pet. 1.3. Partly by eternall generation, as he is God; partly by adoption, as he is man.
2. As he is the Father of all the Elect, 1 Pet. 1.3, 5. John 20.17.
The ſecond Perſon is ſtyled the Word, as likewiſe, John 1.1. A ſolemn name given him in his greateſt triumph, Rev. 19.13. A ſtyle ſeldome attributed to Chriſt, but by St. John in all his Books, although ſome underſtand it of Chriſt, Heb. 4.12.
Chriſt is called the Word in a fourfold ſence, he is a Word of wiſdome, of repreſentation, of revelation, of promiſe.
1. Chriſt is a word of wiſdome: for foreign is not onelyonly foreign but foreign ratio: now Wiſdome is accidental, but ratio is eſſential to a humane ſoul: Now ſuch a thing is Chriſt to his Father, he is the wiſdome or reaſon to his Father, Prov. 8.23, 24: he is the begotten of his Father; they that write of the Trinity expreſſe it thu…, the Father from eternity conſidering and underſtanding himſelfe, from this conceiving of the Father reſulted the Image of himſelfe, that was his Son, from them both reſulted the holy Ghoſt.
2. He is called the Word of God, as he is a word of repreſentation, for foreign, ſo Chriſt is the living Image of God, Heb. 1.3. the character of the Father, like a ſeal ſtampt in wax, they anſwer in every point.
3. He is a word of revelation, John 1.18. No man hath ſeen God at any time, but Chriſt the Wiſdome of the Father hath declared unto us, and revealed Gods will, it was the Lord Chriſt that appeared to Adam, and Moſes, and Abraham, and Gideon, and the reſt of the Patriarchs; as a word expounds all our meaning and reveals our will, ſo it is Chriſt the Word of God, that reveals the will of God to us.
4. He is a word of promiſe, Heb. 11.39. Chriſt was promiſed of old, but not exhibited till the laſt days.
The third witneſſe is the Spirit, every Perſon in the Trinity is an holy Spirit▪ John 4.24. yet it is more particularly attributed to the third Perſon, becauſe he works powerfully and effectually, all that life and power we ſee the creature expreſſe, ſo we ſee that there are three … as that bear witneſſe to the Divinity of Chriſt, and if three, there is a difference in number▪ now there is no diſſertion but a Perſonall difference, Heb. 1.3. ſo that the Father is one Perſon, the Son a …, the holy Ghoſt … third, yet theſe Perſons make but one in Na…, and ſo they are one in witneſſe, D…. 6.4. Jehovah our God is but one, for it is impoſſible there ſhould be more then one God: Nature of it ſelfe abhors more Infinites then one; if there were more Gods then one, if many gods, how could they be Al ſufficient, but that one ſhould have the perfection of another?
Queſt. What is that they witneſſe to?
Anſw. They all witneſſe Chriſt to be to the Son of God, and that he … by water and bloud.
1. The Father teſtifies this, by that voyce that came down from Heaven, T… is my … and well …ſed, Mat. ….17.
He … to his works, John 6.…, 9…, 3…, 36, 3….
2. Chriſt … himſelfe; that … the Son of God by his Miniſtry as oft as occaſion …r…d, John 14, 17, …8.
2. By his works, John 5.36.
3. By his Reſurrection he declared himſelfe mightily to be the Son of God, Rom. 1.
3. The holy Ghoſt have witneſſe of him, by deſcending upon him in the ſhape of a Dove.
2. By convincing the world of ſin, becauſe they did not believe on him.
3. By ſealing up this … to the conſcience of men, Eph. 1:13.
Ʋſe 1. Of refutation of the Jewiſh hereſie, that denies the Trinity of the Perſons, and others that … the unity of the Godhead, all ſuch hereſies are here condemned, There are … that bear witneſſe in heaven, the Father, the W…d, and the S…ing and yet the… ….
Ʋſe 2. Learn here a juſt … work of … faith, there is nothing we believe concerning Chriſt, but we …e ſufficient teſtimony …, Mat. ….19, 15. At the … two or three witneſſes every truth ſhall ſtand: now we have ſ… wit…eſſes, thee …, and three …, if therefore we believe this truth, we …et to … God is …, who hath witneſſed it, 1 John ….10. But if we believe not Jeſus to be the Son of God, we make God a lyar, becauſe we believe worthe teſtimony that he hath given us of his Son, were not … hearts ſlow to believe this truth, what need we ſo many witneſſes?
Object. There is none but believes this truth.
Anſw. … not enough to believe this upon antiquity, or authority, or univerſall conſent of the Chriſtian world, but God calls us to believe this, upon ſome divine teſtimony of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit; its … enough for us … believe that Chriſt is the Son of God, but that God is our …ſter in him▪ ſo that … that doth not give up it ſelfe to be conformable to the Image of God, the wiſdome and revelation of Chriſt, and unleſſe the Spirit likewiſe transform our ſpirit to holineſſe and purity, we doe not believe this truth upon any Divine teſtimony, but upon humane credulity.
Ʋſe 3. If all the three Perſons in the Trinity agree together in the witneſſe of this …th, their we ſee what manner of men we ought to be in our witneſſe were we never ſo many perſons; as the Perſons in the Trinity are three, and yet their nature ſuch, as they cannot be but one, one holineſſe, one goodneſſe, one truth, ſo all that worſhip him, though their perſons be never ſo different, yet let their ſpirits be all one.
1. Hence learn, not to take up a truth upon a ſlight report; God would not commend any work of his to us, unleſſe he had confirmed it by three witneſſes, therefore believe not ſingle reports; ſay not he was a good man that ſaid it, for God would not put upon us any truth, but confirmed it by ſundry witneſſes, therefore believe not every report, though brought by a good man, let God be true and every man a lyar, Rom. 3.15. Jer. 9.2, 3, 4, 5.
2. Hence learn, that all that believe this divine teſtimony of the Son, ought to be compounded into unity; it was the laſt ſolemn Prayer that Chriſt put up for the Church, that they all might be one with him, as he was one with the Father, John 17.8, 9, 20, 21. where he uſeth this as a motive to God, to bring on all believers to unity, becauſe he was one with the Father, and the Father with him, and therefore he prayes that they be one, that hereby the world might believe that God had ſent him; as if diſſenſions among brethren would bear witneſſe to the world, that God did not ſend his Son to be our Saviour; ſo that by theſe diſſenſions, as much as in them lies, they make the promiſes of God of none effect.
2. They annihilate all the teſtimony that the three Perſons give to Chriſt; this unity is that mark whereby all the world ſhall know them to be Chriſts Diſciples, and it is the main duty Paul calls for, Epheſ. 4.3, 6. from this ground, becauſe there is but one God; and one Chriſt, and one faith, Acts 4.31, 32. And indeed all the diſſenſions of the world have ſprung from this ground, that they doe not all worſhip one God, or believe not that God is but one: For what makes a man to fall out with his brother, but either his profit, or pleaſure, or credit is conceived to be hindered, and is not this becauſe I make my profit, or my credit my God? and ſo I had rather loſe God, and fellowſhip with his Saints, then loſe any gain and pleaſure, and ſo I am a lover of pleaſure more then of God: Now the Apoſtle made account, if we profeſſe but one God, the unity of God ſhould be more powerfull to make us one, then any thing in the world ſhould be to make us two: ſo much diſſenſion, ſo much atheiſm: If we ſuffer the world to be more mighty to make difference then God to make unity, we make God our Idoll.