Water and Blood and the Original Gospel

Book excerpt: Just because something differs from my thoughts does not mean it is “wrong.” However, if something differs from the truth, then it is indeed “wrong.” The Epistles of John clearly reveal the Original Gospel. Therefore, by examining the Words of the Epistles of John, we can understand the Original Gospel that Jesus preached to His disciples “from the beginning” (1 John 2:24) and discern what is a lie from Satan, the devil. The Epistles of John proclaim that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, “who came by water and blood” (1 John 5:6), perfectly removed all our sins. Furthermore, the Epistles state that our salvation is testified by the witnesses of “the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three agree as one” (1 John 5:8). The Holy Spirit testifies that Jesus is God who came in human flesh. The water represents the baptism Jesus received in the water of the Jordan River from John the Baptist, the representative of humanity. Through baptism by the laying on of hands, the sins of the world were transferred to Jesus at once, fulfilling “all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). It is the witness of the water. The blood testifies that Jesus perfectly atoned for the sins of the world, which He took upon Himself through His baptism, by shedding His blood on the cross until He declared, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). This Gospel, which contains all three testimonies, is the Original Gospel. John’s Epistles repeatedly emphasize that “Jesus came in the flesh.” They also declare that anyone who denies this truth is the antichrist. While most Christians believe that “Jesus is God the Son, who came in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary.” Yet, the phrase “the spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2) refers to those who understand and believe why Jesus had to come in the flesh. Why did the Son of God, the Spirit, have to come in human flesh? Jesus came in the flesh to offer the eternal atoning sacrifice for all humanity, becoming the unblemished Lamb. In the Old Testament, for the atoning sacrifice, 1. There had to be an unblemished sacrifice, 2. The sinner had to lay hands on the head of the sacrifice to transfer their sin onto it, and 3. The sacrifice, having taken the sin, had to shed blood and die to pay for the sin. These atoning sacrifices were a “shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). In God’s due time, Jesus came in the flesh to offer “one sacrifice for sins forever” (Hebrews 10:12), to save all humanity from sin. Therefore, those who do not understand the purpose of Jesus coming in the flesh and the redemption accomplished by His “water and blood” (1 John 5:6), and yet claim to believe in Jesus are those who deny “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” The Gospel in which the witnesses of the water, the blood, and the Spirit “agree as one” (1 John 5:8) is the Original Gospel. Can it remain complete if we remove even one of these witnesses? Think of a brazier with three legs. Can it still stand upright if you cut off one of its legs? Indeed, not! The whole house will burn down as the blazing coals pour down. Yet most Christians today believe in a half-gospel. This different gospel omits the witness of the water (baptism) from the Original Gospel, which Jesus accomplished with “the water and the blood.” As a result, they remain Christian sinners, with the sin still remaining in their hearts. According to “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), they will face eternal punishment in hell. I pray that this expository sermon collection will help all readers understand the Original Gospel of truth and receive the grace of being born again as the righteous.