Devine Scripture

1 John 5:8

What does 1 John 5:8 mean?

A plain-English look at 1 John 5:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What 1 John 5:8 means

“There are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.” John gathers the threads. The Spirit’s living testimony, Jesus’ baptismal inauguration, and His atoning death converge to a single verdict: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. These witnesses are harmonious, not competing. Together they refute teachings that separate a spiritual “Christ” from the real, suffering Jesus. Faith is not blind leap but response to God’s corroborated testimony. The triad anchors assurance: the same Spirit who testifies now applies the benefits of the blood to those united to the Christ revealed at the water.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

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

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood: and all three are in agreement.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

and three are who are testifying in the earth<Fi> , the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three are into the one.

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit and the water and the blood. And these three are one.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree in one.

Context

Verse 8 completes the testimony triad introduced in verses 6–7, stressing their unity. With the witnesses established, verses 9–12 turn to the weight of God’s testimony compared to human testimony, the seriousness of rejecting it, and its core message—God has granted eternal life, and that life is in His Son. This flow is crucial for John’s aim: to confirm believers against false teachers by rooting assurance in God’s attested Christ, leading next to explicit statements of assurance and its fruits in prayer (verses 13–15).

v.7And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth.

v.8This passage

v.9If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of God is this, that he hath borne witness concerning his Son.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Acts 15:15

    And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

  • 2 Corinthians 1:22

    who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

  • Hebrews 6:4

    For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

  • Acts 2:2

    And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

  • 1 John 5:6

    This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood.

  • 1 Peter 3:21

    which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ;

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