What Does “the Spirit, the Water and the Blood Testify” Mean?

Let’s read the whole passage in question with special focus on the key verses 5-9:

1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

6This 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. 7For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1 John 5:1-12

Verses 7-8 speak of three that testify in reference to who Jesus Christ is, that is, the Son of God (as confirmed in verses 1 & 5). In other words the passage is focused on the identity of Christ and the proof thereof. Keep in mind that the Mosaic law required two or three witnesses to establish the truth of a particular matter (Deuteronomy 17:6 & 19:15).

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Water and blood represent external, objective witnesses to the identity of Christ, presumably referring to Jesus’ baptism (water) and birth/death (blood) as follows:

At the water baptism of Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit testified about the Son (Matthew 3:16-17).
Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit and, later, the wise men from the East recognized who Yeshua was as a child (Luke 1:35 & Matthew 2:11).
The death of Jesus also testified to who Christ was (Matthew 27:54 & Hebrews 9:14).

Meanwhile the Holy Spirit witnessed throughout the Messiah’s life on Earth concerning His identity (Mark 1:12, Luke 1:35 & Acts 10:38).

NOTE: Additional verbiage was added to verses 7-8 that is not included in the most reliable Greek manuscripts dated earlier than the 10th Century. English translations that relied on the newer manuscripts include these extra words, but they’re obviously not part of the original epistle. To observe the extra verbiage compare the KJV & NKJV text with the other translations of verses 7-8 here and here.

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