Is 1 John 5:7 Trinitarian?
In the King James Version of the Bible it reads:
- (KJV) 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.
Not authentic. Here are a couple of commentaries on this verse being an interpolation (an interpolation is a parenthetical comment which is presumably added in the margin which is later incorporated into the text).
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary on 1 John 5:7: The passage as given in the KJV is in no Greek MS earlier than
the 15th and the 16th centuries. The disputed words found their way
into the KJV by way of the Greek text of Erasmus (see Vol. V, p. 141).
It is said that Erasmus offered to include the disputed words in his
Greek Testament if he were shown even one Greek MS that contained them.
A library in Dublin produced such a MS (known as 34), and Erasmus included
the passage in his text. It is now believed that the later editions
of the Vulgate acquired the passage by the mistake of a scribe who included
an exegetical marginal comment in the Bible text that he was copying.
The disputed words have been widely used in support of the doctrine
of the Trinity, but, in view of such overwhelming evidence against
their authenticity, their support is valueless and should not be used.
- The Textual Problem in 1 John 5:7-8.
Most modern Bible translations correct this problem. For example,
- (RSV) 1 John 5:7,8 And the Spirit is the witness, because the
Spirit is the truth. There are three witnesses. . .
- (NASB) 1 John 5:7 For there are three that testify:
- (ASV) 1 John 5:7 And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because
the Spirit is the truth.
- (NIV) 1 John 5:7 For there are three that testify:
For the unconvinced. However, even if we were to accept this verse as a legitimate part
of Scripture, does it teach three Beings? In verse 8 we are told that
there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, the water and
the blood. Here we see that one does not have to be a living person
to bear witness. The water bears witness and the blood bears witness,
yet no one would suggest that the water and blood are persons. Why then
should we insist that because the spirit bears witness in heaven it
must be a living person?
There are three ways in which witness is borne to the truth in heaven.
These witnesses are one, or they bear a united witness. It does not
mean that they are one person, one being, or one God. Jesus explained
what this oneness means when He prayed that we all might be one as He
and His father are one. Not that we might become one human, but simply
that we might be in perfect harmony even as He and His Father are in
perfect harmony.
In heaven, God bears witness to the truth, so does Christ, and so does
the holy spirit! However, while God and Jesus may witness audibly by
the words they speak, the holy spirit, whether in heaven or on earth,
witnesses by making impressions on the hearts of those who are willing
to learn, giving them understanding of the truths of the plan of salvation.
In heaven there are three avenues of witness, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
on the earth, there are three, the water, the spirit and the blood.
Are the three in heaven a trinity because they are mentioned in the
same breath? By this reasoning we would have to conclude that the water,
the spirit and the blood are also a trinity, and that the water and
the blood are persons.
Spirit, water and blood.
- These refer to God's voice at Jesus' baptism, His crucifixion and resurrection, and the witness of the Holy Spirit. In verse 8, John will note that these three agree. In verse 9, John points out that the testimony of God is greater than that of men, making his a powerful and convincing argument that Jesus is the Son of God.
- Jesus was anointed (or baptized) by spirit, water and blood.
Further reading
