The Spirit, the Water and the Blood

The Spirit, the Water and the Blood

“Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth . . . there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” 1 John 5:5-8. Overcome the world—who would not want that? And yet this is exactly what is promised to us through faith in the Son of God. It is accomplished through the Spirit, the water and the blood. For these three testify about the Son of God. If God’s Son—our victorious Lord—is to be revealed in us, then we must allow His testimony to have free rein in our lives, because without that, victory is out of the question.

1. The Spirit

Without it, we are fatherless—without insight and without power. In such a condition, it is impossible for us to overcome. But when God baptizes us in His Holy Spirit, we will possess this Spirit. This Spirit is able to lead us into all the truth. He will search out even the deep things of God. He will intercede for us with sighs and groanings that cannot be uttered, even when we do not know what to pray for.

He is the Person in the Godhead who does not speak of Himself. He shares only what He hears, because He takes of those things which belong to Christ and declares them to us. He will tell us of things to come. John 16:13-15. He does not speak of Himself, but He takes the things that belong to Christ and declares them to us. But what are those things that belong to Christ? Water and blood.

2. The Water

But not only with water. Water is used for outward cleansing, for washing, for forgiveness of sins, because all the sins that a man commits are outside the body. 1 Cor. 6:18. But he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Water washes away sins. Let us come boldly with a pure heart in the full assurance of faith, with our heart washed from an evil conscience and our bodies sprinkled with pure water. Heb. 10:22.

Most people are content with just the water, but Christ did not come only with water. He came with water and with blood.

3. The Blood

It is true that when a person receives Christ, he partakes of the Spirit, the water and the blood, leading to salvation. But not everyone allows these witnesses to be separated in their own life.

We know that blood came forth from Christ and that He offered Himself in the power of an eternal Spirit, but the question is if that same eternal Spirit has been able to compel us to sacrifice unto bloodshed. God was severe with His own beloved Son, but He did not deal with Him that way so that we could avoid such treatment, as people falsely teach. The Spirit of God cannot be united with a person’s old leaven, old doctrines or imaginations about the return of Christ, the millennium and a lot of other things that only satisfy carnal senses and curiosity. It can only be united with the water (the forgiveness of sins for purification of the body) and blood (the death of the old Adam). God’s Spirit can never unite with the “doctrine” of the old Adam regarding these things. He has seen more than enough of the old Adam. You can be sure that when this old leaven comes forth from people, they are speaking in their own spirit.

God’s Spirit only unites with water and with blood, in other words, the death of Christ. He does not become involved with other things. We cannot experience total cleansing by the blood of Christ all at once, but we can make use of it by constantly being delivered into death. In this way, we suffer to the point of bloodshed, and that is what is required, because this is the blood by which God is able to raise us from the dead. “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Heb. 13:20-21 [Emphasis added].

We can see from this that it is through the blood of an eternal covenant that God was able to raise Christ from the dead. And now He will raise us up through that same blood—to the degree that we are delivered into death. We are already receiving the power of the resurrection now. Phil. 3:10. But the resurrection itself—the resurrection of our bodies—will take place on that glorious Day. At that time, one person will shine like the sun and another like the moon, and one star will surpass another in glory. God’s righteousness will then be revealed in us, and we will see the things that now are hidden; namely, the difference between one who is righteous and one who is unrighteous. That is why it is necessary for us, if we are to have an abundant entrance into the eternal dwelling places, to have already become proficient here in receiving the testimony of Jesus over our life: the Spirit, the water and the blood. Of course, there will be sufferings according to the flesh when God’s will by the Spirit leads us toward the water and the blood, but all of this works together to manifest divine nature in us and to give us a more abundant and more glorious resurrection from the dead.

There are people who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit in the last few years, but they have dragged along their old theories, old leaven and false love into their new state, and they have put a lot of effort into trying to unite the Spirit with all of this folly. They work tirelessly in direct opposition to God’s Word, using analogies and other illustrations to get their fellow men to agree with their folly, which is destined for destruction. The Spirit only unites with water and blood.

How quickly people could grow in the revelation and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ if only they would let go of all their folly. God loves people and longs to give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, but He can’t do that because they drag along this huge burden of theories, which are intended to help a person get nourishment and recognition according to the flesh. But God will not relent. His Spirit will only be united with water and blood, and the only people who can overcome the world are those who allow this testimony to be sufficient for them, both in life and in death.