I John 5:5-12


Verse 5 – Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Here is a question – but an obvious question. The only person that is able to overcome the world is a believer in Christ. No one is able to overcome the world, except through a power outside themselves, and only a true belief in Christ.


Verse 6 – This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

Refer directly to John 3:5-8. The water and the spirit is referring to both the natural birth and the spiritual birth. The reason Jesus can enter into heaven is because he is both natural and spiritual – at the same time, whether we understand this or not. We must be like Christ in order to be saved – both naturally and spiritually. We must be natural, but we must also be spiritual.

It is the spirit of God that reveals this truth to us. It is not what we do that assures us of eternal life, but it is God working in us that causes us to believe and that causes us to bear witness, because we know the spirit is truth.


Verse 7 - For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

This passage is speaking about the fact that there are three that are one – and these three are in heaven. It is the father – God the Father, God the son who is here called the word, and the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit. These three are one, not three – this is speaking about the trinity, nothing else. Many do not understand what this means, therefore try to make the words mean something other than what they teach. Verse 8 ties directly with verse 7, and both refer to what John is attempting to instruct the listeners in, which goes much deeper than first supposed.


Verse 8 - And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

AND, there are three that bear witness in the earth, just as there are three that bear witness in heaven. There are three that bear witness in the earth – the spirit and the water and the blood. Bear witness refers to telling us or referring us to the truth of the matter. Earth refers to that which is earthly or ground. Spirit refers to the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, co-eternal with the Father and the Son or the spirit or soul. Water, referring to that which everything is composed of. Blood, which is probably talking about the natural part of every person. The passage refers to three, the Spirit, the water and the blood, and these three agree in one, just as the three of verse 7 agree in one.


Verse 9 - If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

The witness of men is lesser than the witness of God. Because the witness of God is that which testified of his Son, and what he has done.


Verse 10 - He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

There are only two options at this point: (1) Believe the witness he possesses within himself, or (2) or call God Almighty a liar. Because he does not believe the record of God. It might be that this individual does not personally believe, but the main point is that this person is lost, therefore, does not believe the record that God gave of his Son. Understand this very important point – it is not that a person is a bad person, or they have done bad things. It is one simple truth – the person who is an unbeliever does not believe the record God gave of his Son – Jesus Christ.

If a person truly believes in Christ as his own personal Saviour, he knows within himself that verse 7-9 is so. A person truly believes, therefore he is saved, not by what he has done, but because of what Christ has done inside him. A person is lost because he does not believe the record God gave of his son.


Verse 11 - And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

The record has been made very plain or simple. We have life only in the son of God, nothing or in no one else. The one, of course, is Christ, to whom we give eternal praise and honor and glory.


Verse 12 - He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Very plain – there can be no mistake here. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. What more can be said? Absolutely nothing! This is a sure way to discover eternal life. There is nothing here said about church membership, church baptism, or anything else. There is nothing said about living right after receiving the free gift of eternal life.