1 John 5:6-8 reads, "6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus
Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it
is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement."
John proclaims in these three verses three witnesses, the Spirit, the water and the blood. Note that two of these three are external and historical, and one of them is internal and
personal. The water refers to Jesus' baptism which took place a the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The blood refers to the cross which took place at the end of Jesus' ministry. Of course, the Holy Spirit was present at both of these events. The point that John is making here is this: The Lord Jesus actually came to earth as a man to provide salvation for anyone who would believe. God has given to us what we
lack, eternal life. His testimony is this: he who has the Son has
life, because the Son is life. That is the whole point of First John.
Having said that, we do not move from death to life unless we respond to the internal working of the Spirit of God in our hearts. In John 6:35, Jesus says “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” The Lord Jesus is stating that mankind has an inherent inability to be
saved unless we is born again, or unless the Father draws him. As you
know, the word “can” has reference to ability, not permission. The scripture is clear that the Father draws us to Christ. That means he 'woos' us. The Holy Spirit
is a gentleman; He doesn’t force Himself on anyone. When the
Holy Spirit regenerates us He gives us new desires. Perhaps we had
previously scoffed at faith in Jesus, and now we long for a deeper and
firmer faith. If He had not done that work in us, we would still be in our sins.
David said it well in Psalm 23 when he wrote, "...surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life." The word "follow" is quite helpful in deepening our understanding of our condition before God. Follow in Psalm 23:6 means to rigorously and painstakingly pursue. If it were not for His grace and mercy, we'd be HOPELESS!
