1 John 5:8

And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
are	εἰσί eisí	G1526	they are
three	τρεῖς treis	G5140	"three" · adjective — nominative plural masculine
witness	μαρτυροῦντες marturountes	G3140	to be a witness · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
in	ἕν hen	G1722	"in · preposition
earth	γῇ, gēa	G1093	soil · noun — dative singular feminine
Spirit	πνεῦμα pneuma	G4151	a current of air · noun — nominative singular neuter
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
water	ὕδωρ hudōr	G5204	water (as if rainy) literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular neuter
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
blood	αἷμα, haima	G129	blood · noun — nominative singular neuter
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
these	οἱ hoi	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative plural masculine
three	τρεῖς treis	G5140	"three" · adjective — nominative plural masculine
agree	εἰσί eisí	G1526	they are
in	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
one	ἕν hen	G1520	one · adjective — accusative singular neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 John 5:6-7 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 wit…
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he sh…
1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good consc…
Acts 2:2-4 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
2 Corinthians 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 5:6-9

The faith of the Christian believer (or the believer in Christ) being thus mighty and victorious, it had need to be well founded, to be furnished with unquestionable celestial evidence concerning the divine mission, authority, and office of the Lord Jesus; and it is so; he brings his credentials along with him, and he brings them in a way by which he came and in the witness that attends him. I. In the way and manner by which he came; not barely by which he came into the world, but by and with which he came, and appeared, and acted, as a Saviour in the world: This is he that came by water and blood. He came to save us from our sins, to give us eternal life, and bring us to God; and, that he m…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 5:8

agree in one--"tend unto one result"; their agreeing testimony to Jesus' Sonship and Messiahship they give by the sacramental grace in the water of baptism, received by the penitent believer, by the atoning efficacy of His blood, and by the internal witness of His Spirit (Jo1 5:10): answering to the testimony given to Jesus' Sonship and Messiahship by His baptism, His crucifixion, and the Spirit's manifestations in Him (see on Jo1 5:6). It was by His coming by water (that is, His baptism in Jordan) that Jesus was solemnly inaugurated in office, and revealed Himself as Messiah; this must have been peculiarly important in John's estimation, who was first led to Christ by the testimony of the B…

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Adam Clarke on 1 John 5:8

The Spirit, and the water, and the blood - This verse is supposed to mean "the Spirit - in the word confirmed by miracles; the water - in baptism, wherein we are dedicated to the Son, (with the Father and the Holy Spirit), typifying his spotless purity, and the inward purifying of our nature; and the blood - represented in the Lord's Supper, and applied to the consciences of believers: and all these harmoniously agree in the same testimony, that Jesus Christ is the Divine, the complete, the only Savior of the world." - Mr. Wesley's notes. By the written word, which proceeded from the Holy Spirit, that Spirit is continually witnessing upon earth, that God hath given unto us eternal life. By b…

The Church Fathers

The three things are one because everything was accomplished by the one Christ.
— Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARIES

What was it that flowed from Jesus' side if not the sacrament which believers receive? The Spirit, the blood and the water—the Spirit which he gave up, the blood and water which flowed from his side. The church is signified as being born from this blood and water.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMONS 5.3

"This is He that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that testifieth, because the Spirit is the truth, because there are three that bear witness, the Spirit, the water and the blood, and the three are one." The Spirit, that is, of sanctification, and the blood of redemption, and the water of baptism: because the three are one, and remain undivided, and none of them is separated from this connection; because the catholic Church lives and progresses by this faith, so that in Christ Jesus neither the manhood without the true Godhead nor the Godhead without the true manhood is believed in.
— Leo the Great, LETTERS 28

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Witness Of The Holy Spirit · Borne to Christ: On earth — Borne to Christ: On earth

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 John 5:8

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 5:6-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 5:8

Adam Clarke on 1 John 5:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 John 5:8

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 5:6-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 5:8

Adam Clarke on 1 John 5:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 John 5:8

John Calvin on 1 John 5:6-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 John 5:7-8