while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent · verb — present active indicative, 1st person plural
witness
μαρτυρίανmarturian
G3141
evidence given (judicially or genitive case) · noun — accusative singular feminine
men
ἀνθρώπωνanthrōpōn
G444
from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — genitive plural masculine
witness
μαρτυρίαmarturia
G3141
evidence given (judicially or genitive case) · noun — nominative singular feminine
God
θεοῦtheou
G2316
figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
greater
μείζωνmeízōn
G3187
larger (literally or figuratively
for
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
this
αὕτηhautē
G3778
the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular feminine
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
witness
μαρτυρίαmarturia
G3141
evidence given (judicially or genitive case) · noun — nominative singular feminine
God
θεοῦtheou
G2316
figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
which
ὅςhós
G3739
the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun
testified
μεμαρτύρηκενmemarturēken
G3140
to be a witness · verb — perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
of
περὶperi
G4012
properly · preposition
his
αὐτοῦ.autou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
Son
υἱοῦhuiou
G5207
a "son" (sometimes of animals) · noun — genitive singular masculine
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
Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of G…
Matthew 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in wh…
John 8:17-19 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
Acts 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath gi…
Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
1 John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not th…
Hebrews 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will…
John 3:32-33 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
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…
If, &c.--We do accept (and rightly so) the witness of veracious men, fallible though they be; much more ought we to accept the infallible witness of God (the Father). "The testimony of the Father is, as it were, the basis of the testimony of the Word and of the Holy Spirit; just as the testimony of the Spirit is, as it were, the basis of the testimony of the water and the blood" [BENGEL].
for--This principle applies in the present case, FOR, &c.
which--in the oldest manuscripts, "because He hath given testimony concerning His Son." What that testimony is we find above in Jo1 5:1, Jo1 5:5, "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God"; and below in Jo1 5:10-11.
Adam Clarke on 1 John 5:9
If we receive the witness of men - Which all are obliged to do, and which is deemed a sufficient testimony to truth in numberless cases; the witness of God is greater - he can neither be deceived nor deceive, but man may deceive and be deceived.
John Gill on 1 John 5:9
If we receive the witness of men,.... The witness of a sufficient number of credible men, of men of good character and report, is always admitted in any case, and in any court of judicature; it was allowed of in the law of Moses; everything was proved and established hereby; upon this men were justified or condemned, cognizance was taken of men's sins, and punishment inflicted, yea, death itself, Deuteronomy 17:6; and even in this case concerning the Son of God, his coming into the world, and the dignity of his person, the testimony of men is credited; as that of the wise men, who declared that the King of the Jews was born, and his star had been seen in the east, which Herod himself gave cr…
The Church Fathers
The testimony of men refers to the testimony of people like Moses and the prophets, who were all men of God.
If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater: for this is the testimony of God, which he has testified of his Son. Having said these things, he adds a persuasion of the things that are said, by a lesser argument, saying: If we receive the testimony of men about any common matter, ought we not to receive the testimony from God who is greater? Indeed, is not this testimony about His Son or Christ from God?
If we accept the testimony of man, the testimony of God is greater, etc. Great is the testimony of man that he gives concerning the Son of God, saying: "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand" (Psalm 109). And from the person of the Son himself: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son" (Psalm 2). And likewise from the person of the Father speaking about the Son: "He will call upon me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation'" (Psalm 88). "My Father," because I am the Son of God. "My God," because I am man. "The rock of my salvation," because I will suffer and be saved from death. "And I (he says) will make him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth" (Ibid.). This is a great and true testimony, worthy of all acceptance. The testimony of man concerning the Son of God is great, but much greater is the testimony of God, who has testified himself about his Son when, speaking from heaven, he said: "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Luke 3). Great is the testimony of the forerunner, who, bearing testimony about the Son of God, said: "I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 3). Greater is the testimony of the Father, who sent the Holy Spirit upon him, whom he was always full of, even visibly.
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
Holy Spirit, The, Is God · As the Witness — As the Witness
Witness Of The Holy Spirit · To be implicitly received — To be implicitly received
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 5:9-12
9. -- For this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
9. -- Porro hoc est testimonium Dei, quod testificatus est de Filio suo.
10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
10. Qui credit in Filium Dei, habet testimonium in seipso; qui non credit Deo, mendacem facit eum; quia non credidit in testimonium quod testificatus est Deus de Filio suo.
11. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
11. Et hoc est testimonium, quod vitam aeternam dedit nobis Deus; et haec vita in Fil…
three witnesses: The Spirit descended on Christ at his baptism (see John 1:32-34). The water is the water in which Christ was baptized (see Matt 3:13-15; Mark 1:9-11). The blood is the blood that Christ shed at his crucifixion (see Mark 15:37-39). All three proclaim Jesus as God’s Son (1 Jn 5:6). • After the phrase three witnesses, a few very late manuscripts add in heaven—the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And we have three witnesses on earth. The longer version was written in Latin several centuries after John to explain the three elements (water, blood, and Spirit) as symbols of the Trinity. This explanation found its way into some Latin editions of 1 John…
