5:9
“If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater”. Under Jewish Law if two or three witnesses testified to the same thing, then constituted strong evidence. How much more if God Himself testifies? You see the truth that Jesus is the Christ, is the Son of God and came in the flesh (ie He is fully divine and fully human) was not an idea made up by men, but something testified to by God. At the beginning there is the virgin birth, then at Jesus’ baptism God spoke. Between then and the crucifixion there were other incidents such as the miracles and the transfiguration. Then after His death God raised Him from the dead. Christianity is a revelatory religion. This does not mean we do not use our minds, nor that we do not use normal methods, but the foundation is the revelation from God. Some might argue that “we want a self-consistent system that does not rely on God’s revelation”. Well, you cannot have such a system, it is logically impossible (If you want some good reading in this area, try Nancy Pearcey, “Finding Truth” and “Saving Leonardo”).
5:10
So if we believe in the Son of God, then the testimony is within us. This means the Holy Spirit is within us, God is in us. So if any false teaching, like gnostic ideas in John’s day, claims to offer more, we can safely reject it, for we have the testimony of God Himself. What could be better! Conversely, if some rejects the gospel, they are not merely rejecting an idea, not merely disagreeing with an argument, they are calling God a liar. We need to be aware of the truth of the situation. Such a person has rejected God’s testimony about His Son, not my ideas, nor even Paul’s ideas about Jesus Christ. They have rejected God Himself.
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