Three That Bear Record:

The Answer to the Trinitarians’ Three

Person God of 1 John 5:7

Copyright 2007

Steven M. McCalip

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Website: www.kingjamesman.com

I will now look into another of the supposed proofs for God being three persons, one of the major ones being the verse of 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. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

Let’s also look at this same verse in the context of the other two pertinent, surrounding verses:

This 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. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 1 John 5:6-8

To begin with, I am not like many which corrupt the word of God, discrediting 1 John 5:7 by saying it doesn’t belong in the Bible. 1 John 5:7 is actually missing in its entirety in many modern translations, including the esteemed New American Standard Perversion. It is hacked right out of your “accurate, godly” translations.” The fact that there is overwhelming evidence that it belongs is covered by numerous writers (in particular, Will Kinney has written an excellent article on it which I recommend that you read-it’s on my Recommended Reading list), so I won’t go into that here. My initial point is that I don’t take the easy, cowardly way out like most, for I, too, could say this verse doesn’t belong and try to avoid dealing with this supposed Trinitarian stronghold. As you should know by now, I don’t correct the scriptures. I fear God too much. I believe his words as they’re written, every single word and letter, every jot and tittle. His words correct me, and if you don’t have the nerve to correct his words, they can then correct you and your beliefs, too. His words help me to know Jesus Christ better. They teach me wondrous things because I believe them with all my heart. Correcting them in any manner whatsoever, for any reason whatsoever, is the broad way that leads to destruction. I refuse that path and have done so for my whole Christian walk. It is one of the only reasons God has blessed me with what he has. I pray that you will have that same mind towards his words.

1 John 5:7 belongs like all other verses in the King James, and as is the case with so many scriptures that supposedly go against teachings like the present one, this verse also, when studied line upon line, actually disproves a Trinity. That’s right, I said disproves it, and this study disproves it convincingly if I may be so bold. If you have the stones to test what I’m about to show you, you will see that this belief in a three person Trinity is nothing but a big beautiful lie concocted by a big, beautiful church system that has Mother of Harlots on its forehead. The trinity does not exalt Jesus Christ. It demotes him to one of three objects of your worship. It creates two other gods for you to worship alongside of Jesus. The last time I checked, that practice is called idolatry. If you feel comfortable that worshipping three persons doesn’t conflict with the first commandment, you need to first learn to count to three and then ask God why you pretend that three persons is not three gods and hide behind the “It’s too great a mystery” excuse you’ve been taught.

To properly study 1 John 5:7, I will look at 1 John 5:6-8, for the surrounding verses give us a wealth of insight into the meaning and definitions of words used in 1 John 5:7. Let’s begin our study with what this verse does not say and what it does not teach:

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

• This verse does not say “There are three that live in heaven.”

• This verse does not say “There are three persons that live in heaven.”

• This verse does not say “There are three that are called God in heaven.”

• This verse does not say “There are three beings that have always been in heaven.”

• This verse does not say “There are three that bear record, the Father, the Eternal Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

• This verse does not say”These three IN one”.

• This verse does not say “These one are three”

• This verse says nothing about “three equal substances, three equal homostases, three equal essences, or any other such creedal, man-made filth.

You see, it’s very easy to assume things about this verse with a deluded, “church”-taught, Trinitarian mindset adopted from the Babylonians and Roman Catholics. These modern polytheists jump at this verse because they see the word “three,” yet this verse does not say anything about three “persons,” three “beings,” three “that are called God,” etc. It also does not say “three IN one” as many quote it. We’ll get to that point in more detail later. It does mention “three,” but we will look into exactly what that “three” is referring to shortly. Let’s look at the verses in context.

1. The verse says “there are three that bear record in heaven,” so let’s look first at what it means according to scripture to “bear record.” A quick look at 1 John 5:7-8 shows this definition itself without the reliance and need of dictionaries, lexicons, commentaries, or men’s opinions:

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”

Notice both underlined phrases above in these two consecutive verses. Both are phrased identically except for one word change. The word “record” becomes the word “witness” and thereby shows us a definition by use of a synonym for that word in the same phrase repeated twice. To “bear record,” then, means “to bear witness” to a fact. That is one way you get a scriptural definition. You should want scriptural definitions if you believe scripture over dictionaries or men’s opinions. If you want to run to a dictionary, it’s probably because you don’t mind correcting the word of God when it suits your needs, or you’ve never really learned how to study the word of God by just using the Bible. God’s words do not depend on man’s words.

2. Now that we have determined that to “bear record” means, according to scripture, to “bear witness,” let’s see what these three are bearing record or witness of. By looking at the previous verse in 1 John 5:6, we will see what these three are bearing record of:

This 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. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:6-7

By simple comparison with the previous verse, we see that verse 7 is said to ” bear record” of what was mentioned in verse 6; namely, “he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ.” Now the teaching is clear: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost bear record that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, as evidenced by the phrase”by water and blood.” The phrase “by water and blood” is a direct reference to Jesus being born of water and blood, that he was a real flesh and blood man. Why would John be talking about “water and blood” in reference to Jesus coming? Many will read verse six and have no idea what is being referred to. Yet God in verse six thought it important enough to mention twice in the same verse that Jesus came by water and blood. If you don’t tie in the fact that this whole paragraph is bearing record of something, you won’t know what the “water and the blood” is mentioned for. Jesus said himself that a man must be born of “water and the Spirit,” so water is shown to be referring to a man’s natural birth because we all are born in our mother’s amniotic sac of water, and Jesus himself compared that same water with the spiritual birth in John 3. When Jesus died on Calvary, the same apostle John who wrote 1 John writes in scripture a detail of the crucifixion that has bearing here:

But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. John 19:34-35

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:13

Why did scripture record this detail for us? One reason was to show that Jesus was a real flesh and blood man, not some apparition or ghost that some claim. The fact that he actually bled and shed water at his death shows that. It also matches our verses under consideration. Additionally, it is a fulfillment that none of Jesus’ bones would be broken according to John 19:36’s allusion to Numbers 9:12 and Psalm 34:20.

Now, some Trinitarians will object by saying that three witnesses imply three distinct persons or personalities. I will grant that it CAN SEEM that way upon a casual glance. However, any serious student of the Bible that accepts doctrine based on a casual, nonchalant study of the word doesn’t deserve to be shown the truth, and he will in all likelihood be deceived for his lack of study. Have any objectors to this teaching ever looked up how the word “witness” is used in scripture? Does it always mean a separate person? How did Jesus himself and John use this term? Let’s look at how John and Jesus used this word in John 5 and John 8. These passages are very relevant to our topic here. John 5 and John 8 will be the keys to unlock the meaning and teaching of 1 John 5:7. It is an astounding few verses that will show you that Jesus is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

“If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true…But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.” Jonn 5:31,32, 36,37

“The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go…It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.” John 8:13,14,17-19

Let’s look at these two verses below taken from the passages just mentioned by Jesus and compare them. They seemingly contradict, and, in fact, they will contradict if you hold the Trinitarian belief of God as three persons. It is only by believing that Jesus is the Father that these verses will reconcile and explain 1 John 5:7 and the witness of the Father, Word, and Holy Ghost. It is only by rejecting the Trinity that you will see the how these verses can both be true and how they explain 1 John 5:7. Jesus is speaking in both as recorded by the same apostle who wrote 1 John 5:7. Notice also that the same language of “bear record/witness” is used showing one is a definition of the other:

If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. John 5:31

Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: John 8:14

One of these verses is saying that Jesus’ witness is not true if he bears record by himself, and the other says the opposite: if Jesus bears record by himself, his witness is true. If you read these verses many times as a Trinitarian, you will still have insurmountable problems reconciling them. They can’t be reconciled by believing God is three persons, yet they can be reconciled by believing God is one person. Why? The answer to this question proves one of my major points. Jesus could claim, even though he bears record of himself, that his record is true despite the requirement that two witnesses be established. Once again, we ask ourselves how that is possible? Here’s what the Lord showed me, and it is, I believe, one of the deep things of God: Jesus himself is the two witnesses. Jesus meets the law’s requirement of two witnesses BY HIMSELF because and only because Jesus is the Spirit (Father) and Jesus is the man (flesh). Those are two witnesses that prove his record is true by the definition of the law itself. Later, there would be a 3rd witness, but not a third person. It would be the Holy Ghost, Christ in us, the hope of glory. But the Holy Ghost had not been given yet, so Jesus couldn’t claim it as a third witness at that time. It was claimed as a third witness in 1 John 5:7 AFTER it was given. The first verse above is quoting Old Testament requirements that every thing be proved by two or three witnesses (”at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. Deut. 19:15).

When Jesus says that if he witnesses by himself, his record is not true, Jesus is referring to bearing record only by his flesh as a man. But when Jesus says that even though he bears record by himself, his record is true, he is now saying that “himself” includes his Spirit and flesh meeting the two witness requirement. His Spirit and his flesh are still himself, but now they have become his first and second witness. This fits beautifully and is a magnificent truth that is hidden from the wise and the prudent. Jesus is agreeing that if he witnesses of himself alone, his witness is not true, but remember, he is speaking from his perspective as a man only. When he includes the witness of his Spirit, he can now say he has two witnesses witnessing of him. These two witnesses are him in different forms, Spirit and flesh. A seeming contradiction is once again shown to be a glorious truth. Isn’t that just like God? Verily, thou art a God that hidest thyself.

If God is three distinct persons, Jesus couldn’t say his record is true by just Jesus bearing witness of it. The reason is that Jesus would only be claiming one witness. If God is three persons, why does Jesus say he meets the requirement of two witnesses BY HIMSELF, by his own person? Again, it is because the Spirit and the flesh are the same person, yet they are also two witnesses. It is because the Father and the Son are the same person but counted as two witnesses. If the Trinitarian wants to object and say Jesus’ two witnesses are also the flesh and his Spirit but that this does not eliminate the Father’s other person, Jesus says, “There is another that beareth witness of me…I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.” Jesus says the other that bears witness of himself is the Father, and yet, he says also that that Father is himself. He says that by saying that he indeed bears witness of himself and that it is true, thereby disproving any Trinitarian objection that the second witness is a second person. The fact that it isn’t a second person is shown by the mere statement that Jesus says his witness alone is true. His witness by itself includes two witnesses, his Spirit and his flesh.

Now that I have established that Jesus Christ said that the two witnesses were himself, what is the connection with 1 John 5:7? It is this: We now see the meaning of what 1 John 5:7 was bearing record of. We now see that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost are not mentioned as being some three-person Trinity but as three witnesses bearing record of Jesus Christ-three witnesses of Jesus each and of themselves. Each of these three was a witness of Jesus himself, and that is the greater point. Just as John 8:14 teaches that Jesus is himself two witnesses (spirit and flesh), so does 1 John 5:7, only now it shows that he is three witnesses after the giving of the Holy Ghost. 1 John 5:7 is saying that these three (Father, Word, and Holy Ghost) all bear record and all witness Jesus. They don’t just show who he is-they declare who he is by being who he is.

It is explained in this simple fashion: Jesus was the everlasting Father before his manifestation in the flesh (Isaiah 9:6, John 14:9); he was the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and he is the Comforter, the Holy Ghost in us (John 14:18). How can these three witnesses be all talking about Jesus? The same way that Jesus explained it in John 8. Remember that Jesus says that he himself met this requirement of two witnesses BY HIMSELF. He claimed that the Father is a witness of Jesus because he is Jesus. The Word is a witness of Jesus because he is Jesus. The Holy Ghost is a witness of Jesus because he is Jesus. All three bear record of Jesus coming in the flesh, and all three bear witness of Jesus himself.

A few more points about 1 John 5:7 need to be made. This verse says that “these three are one.” Verse 8 says that three other witnesses AGREE IN ONE, but verse 7 says these three ARE ONE. There is a huge difference, yet many Trinitarians quote verse 7 as if it was verse 8. These three (Father, Word, and Holy Ghost) don’t agree in one-they are one. They are one in the strictest sense, not just one in unity. If they are not one person, then this verse is misleading at the very least. Verses 7 and 8 look similar, but God contrasts them to make a point. The Spirit, water, and blood agree in one, but the Father, Word, and the Holy Ghost ARE one. God is showing us in comparing these similar verses the distinct difference-one agrees “in one” (the Spirit, the water, and the blood), and the others “ARE ONE” (The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost). The Trinitarians’ belief is that the three persons agree in one and are one only in a broad, theoretical sense of unity. They are not ONE person. They are three separate entities that you can worship independent of each other. That is three gods no matter how you mask it with high sounding theological mumbo-jumbo. If these three are not one person, then the verse couldn’t say “these three are one.” I don’t see any qualifying statements next to that verse that says “these three are one but not one person or one being.” If God is three persons, the verse should read “these one are three.”

There is no mention of the Father, the eternal Son, and the Holy Ghost. Have you ever wondered why that word “Son” is not used here? John 1:14 tells us that the Word was made flesh, not the Son. That is critical. God specifically has the term “Word” used in 1 John 5:7, I believe, to show us that his Sonship was not eternal, but his identity as God is. I believe he also uses “Word” here to show us the three manifestations of Jesus throughout the history of the world-as Father before his appearance in a body, as the Word made flesh in a body, and as the Holy Ghost, which is Christ in us.

In conclusion, John 5 and John 8 are the answer to 1 John 5:7’s “three that bear record.” The three that bear record is the same as the two that bore record in John 8:14. The two that bore record, the Father and Jesus, are called “myself” according to Jesus’ own words. Jesus claims he is meeting the requirement of two witnesses even though he says he bears record of himself only. The only possible explanation of how Jesus can meet that requirement is for Jesus to be both witnesses. And that he is. He is the Father and the Son, the Spirit and the man. That is how he can claim that even though he bears record of himself, his record is two witnesses and is true.

I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me” John 8:18

Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: John 8:14

Again, after the Pharisees said his record was not true because he only bore witness of himself, Jesus said that it was his Father and himself that bore witness, yet he also said he by himself bore witness, and that was good enough for the law. By Jesus being the Father and the Son (the Spirit and the man), Jesus met the requirement of two witnesses while at the same time could say he bore record of himself alone. The three witnesses of 1 John 5:7 all do the same thing and bear witness to Jesus, but they are no more three persons than the supposed two witnesses were two persons in John 8. Jesus said they were one person in John 8 (”myself”) acting as two witnesses. The exact same thing applies to the three witnesses of 1 John 5:7. Jesus is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. These three are one God, one Lord, one being, and one person-the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen.