66. 1 John 5:7, 8

• 1 min. read • grade level: 12

“E. V.” 1 John 5:6⁶This 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. (1 John 5:6) refers to the fact recorded in John 19:34³⁴But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. (John 19:34). The blood of atonement and the water of purification both flowed from a crucified Christ. Verses 7 and 8 are read as follows by the four editors:” For they that bear witness are three, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three agree in one.” All the rest is omitted. This makes the passage very simple. You may, perhaps, be aware, that when the four editors, Griesbach, Scholz, Lachmann, and Tischendorf, agree in a reading, it takes precedence of the Received Text from which our unrivaled Authorized Version was made; but we can never touch the question of various readings without bearing the strongest testimony to the incomparable excellence of our precious English Bible, for which we heartily bless God every day.