We're going to be reading in 1 John this morning, chapter 5, verses 6, 7, and 8. This section, especially verse 7, is one of the most controversial verses in the New Testament. And you'll see why as we get into the sermon today. Verse 6 says, This is He that came by water, and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water only, but by water and blood. And there's a Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. Verse 7, 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. Most all your modern translations today, the ESV, the NIV, all the modern translations leave out verse 7. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. This is an attack against the Word of God. And I want to show you and read some things to you. This is not the only verse. This morning I want to warn you about the modern translations. The modern translations, you say, why is there a difference between the King James Version and the modern translations? It's because the King James Version came out of the Texas Receptives, Greek. And all the new translations come out of the Westcott and Hort-Alexandering text, which is corrupt. And as we read this, I'm going to read you, we just read the one. The NIV on 1 John 5, 7, here's what it says. For there are three that testify. That's all they say. And the ESV says, for there are three that testify. They take out, bear record, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. They remove that completely out of the Word of God. The New American Standard Bible has, there are three that testify. They take out everything else. And then the NKJV has, For there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. At least that one is better than the other ones are. So in that verse you see, they just about completely remove everything in there concerning the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three agree in one. Another verse that's alarming to what they do. This is a great verse. 1 Timothy 3.16, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. That's the King James Version. Now here's the NIV version. Beyond all question, the mystery from which true Godliness spring is great. He appeared in the flesh, not God, He. Who's He referring to? They removed God altogether. The whole emphasis is about the deity of Christ. God was manifested in flesh. He's manifested in flesh is how they translate it. vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed all in the world, was taken up in glory. You see how they removed the word God out of the NIV? And the ENSV does the same thing. They remove God manifest. They remove those two words. And in the New American Standard Bible they do the same thing. God was removed and they put He was revealed. They remove God out of that verse. And it reads So much better when you read it correctly. God was manifested in the flesh. What does it say in 1 John? And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and He was tabernacled among us. God was manifested in flesh. And they're taken out of the Word of God. Another verse that we see, how they mistreat the Word of God is, all of you know Matthew 6.13, "...and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now, what do they do in the new versions? The NIV, they removed this from it. They have this, "...and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil." That's all they have. They remove, "...for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen." They take that completely out. The ESV, which is the one being pushed today among the religious bookstores, is the ESV. And it says the same thing, "...and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." and they take out, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. So you can see that the new translations, beloved, are removing parts of the Scripture. Another very important verse, as you get into this, is John 1.18. No man has seen God at any time. This is the King James Version. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. The only begotten Son. Now in the NIV, here's what it says. No one hath ever seen God, but the one and only Son, didn't say begotten, only Son, who is Himself God, and is in close relationship with the Father, hath made Him known. That's the NIV. And in the ESV it says, no one has ever seen God. The only God who is the Father's side, He hath made Him known. And some other ones call it the only, and the New American Standard Version reads, no one has seen God at any time, the only begotten God. They call Him the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father. He has explained Him. Beloved, God wasn't begotten. A son was begotten. You say, what difference does that make? It makes a lot of difference. If God can be begotten, God created another God, but He didn't. He begot a son. Now according to what I understand, the false cults back then, some of the teachers, they considered God in different levels. So Christ was just a small God, but He wasn't the God. And then also in Colossians 1.14, you can see what they're doing away with the blood of Christ. In Colossians 1.14 it says, "...in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins through His blood." Now NIV reads this way. whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, they completely removed through His blood." Removed it. Just took it out all together. The ESV has it this way, "...and whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, they took out through His blood." The New American Standard Bible reads the same way, "...in whom we have redemption. The forgiveness of sin through His blood has been taken out." So you can see how the modern versions are attacking the blood and deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. A few more examples to show the importance and why we cling to the King James Version of the Word of God. In Romans 1.16 it says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. This is the King James Version. For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Now the new versions, the NIV has it this way. For I am not ashamed of the gospel. They leave out of Christ. I'm not ashamed of the gospel, but they leave out who it's about, of Christ. because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, to the Gentile. Now the ESV has it the same way, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. You see, the importance of this is that it's the gospel of Christ Not just any gospel. It's the gospel of Jesus Christ. And they remove that from those new translations. And that's why I highly recommend that you don't buy and read the new translations. This is just a few. There's hundreds of incidents in the Bible. And here's another verse that you've heard many times in your life read. Matthew 17, 21. The King James. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. The NIV, they completely remove the verse from the Bible. It's not even in there. Completely remove it. The New American Standard Bible, they remove out. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. They leave out some of the verse. The ESV completely removes it. The New Version, the ESV, they take it completely out of the Bible. So you can see another incident of where they corrupt the Word of God. Here's another verse, John 5 for it. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the waters. Whosoever then first after the troubling of the waters stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. Now the NIV takes it completely out, removes it. The ESV completely takes it out. And the New American Standard Bible has part of it. Instead of troubling the water, they have stirring the waters. So you can see that some of these translations, they completely remove the Word of God. Another one is in Acts chapter 8, verse 37. And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. This is about being baptized. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The ESV removed it completely. It's not even in the ESV. The NIV completely removed it. It's gone. You will not find that verse in there. The Emphasized Bible completely removed it. It's not in there. They completely removed the Word of God from this section. Beloved, it just goes to show you what's going on in our nation today. In religious circles, they're trying to do away with the Word of God. Here's another verse that you're all familiar with. Luke 4.8, And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan. For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. That's the King James Version. Now the NIV, here's what they say. Jesus answered, It is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve Him. They took out and said unto Him, Get thee behind me Satan. They took it completely out. It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only. They took out part of that. The ESV they took out and said unto them, Get thee behind me Satan. And the New Americans took it out, Get thee behind me Satan. And they emphasize the Bible. Get thy hand behind me, Satan. They took that completely out of the text. You can see what they're doing, beloved, to the Word of God. They're mishandling the Word of God. Now this is important here in 1 John 4, in the King James Version. It says, "...and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God." And this is that spirit of antichrist wherever you have heard that it should come and even now already is in the world. The NIV says this, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus not from God, this is the Spirit of the Antichrist, which we have heard coming and even now is already in the world. They took out that Christ has come in the flesh. They completely removed that part. They were removing His incarnation. Him being becoming a man. And so the ESV took it out. They took out the word confesseth, and they took out Christ coming in the flesh has been removed. The New American Standard Bible is the same way. Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, they took it out. So you can see, beloved, how important these things are. One more, and then we'll go on. 1 Peter 1.22, Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfinite love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. Now in 1 Peter 1.22 in the NIV, here's what they say. Not that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth. They took out through the Spirit. Took it out. They're emphasizing that you can do it on your own. But the Word of God has through the Spirit. So that you have a sincere love of each other, love one another. ESV takes out. The same thing through the Spirit. Here's how they put it, having purified your souls, your obedience to the truth. for a sincere brotherly love, love one another from a pure heart, they took out through the Holy Spirit." You can see how they're removing even the Holy Spirit from the Scriptures. Beloved, this is just a few things, the difference between the modern translations and the King James Version. I just wanted to show you 1 John 5, 7 is not the only verse that they're attacking in the Scriptures. And there's hundreds of more verses. We could spend all day going through all the changes that they've changed the Word of God. Now coming back to this. In summary, I have chosen to use the English Bible that is built on the solid foundation of faith, believing that God has preserved His words in the Mizrahi Hebrew text and the textus receptus, Greek text, and that the King James Version preserved in the English language an adequate translation that preserves the Hebrew and the textus receptus, Greek text. That's why we base the King James Version on those Hebrew and Greek texts and not the Alexandrian texts. As we look at 1 John 5, I'm going to give a little background. We see the test verses 1-5, 13-15, and 18-21. The question is, how do I know I'm born of God? The answer he gives. The saved person believes that Jesus is the Christ, chapter 5, verses 1 and 5. That's how you know that you were born of God. Number two, the saved person loves and obeys God, chapter 5, verses 2 through 4. Number three, the saved person has a prayer answer, his prayer's answer, chapter 5, verses 14 through 15. Four, the saved person does not live in continuous sin, chapter 5, 18 through 21. The testimonies, 5, 6 through 12, is given by the Father and the Spirit, chapter 5, 6 through 9, verses 11 through 12. Regarding the Son of God, 5, 6 through 9, Jesus is the second person in the Trinity. Two, regarding the saints of God, chapter 5, verses 11 and 12, we have eternal life in Jesus. And as given by all believers, chapter 5, verse 10, we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God to know that we have eternal life. The two transgressions is mentioned in this chapter. John gives directions on how a believer should pray for another believer who has committed one of these transgressions. A transgression that does not lead to death, 516a, here a prayer should be made. The transgression that leads to death, here a prayer need not be made. We'll get into that when we get into those verses. And it says, this is he who came by water and blood. The false teachers taught that Jesus Christ did not have a real body. Not flesh, not blood. He had a body only in appearance. This was Gnosticism. They had the higher learning, the more truth. They knew more than the average Christian. Now we're going to notice some verses that teach the truth concerning Jesus had a real human body. And that's why they took out in 1 John, they took out He had a body. They took it out of the Scriptures. John 19.34 says, But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith there came out blood and water. What is that showing? It's showing he had a real body brother, Dave. When he pierced his side, what came out? Blood and water. If he'd have been a phantom, nothing would have came out. If he'd been a ghost. showing he had a real body in Galatians 4, verse 4 says, But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Why was he made under the law? So he could obey the law for us. He is our righteousness. Our righteousness is by the law keeping of Jesus Christ. Matthew 1, verse 18 says, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, When, as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 1.20 says, But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost. And verse 21 says, He shall bring forth a Son, and she shall bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. She brought forth a Son. He was a Son from eternity. He took on a flesh, a human body. A flesh was born. Human nature was born to the person of the Son of God. Hebrews 2.14 makes it very clear that he had a body. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself, talking about Jesus, likewise took power of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. Verse 16 says, for verily he took not on him the nature of angels. Why was that important? Because angels cannot die. Only Christ could die as we're going to see. But He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Why Christ had to become a man? One, to meet the demands of God's righteousness that the nature which has sin must also be the nature to pay the sin penalty. We sinned in the human flesh. Human flesh had to die for human flesh. Number two, to be able to suffer and die for His elect, He had to have a human flesh, a human body. Three, to be able to be our self-sacrificing and sympathetic high priest, he had to have a body so he could do that. To be subject to the law in his obedience. He was born of a woman made under the law. He came subject to the law for us. His obedience is our obedience. His righteousness is our righteousness. Hallelujah. To be our nearest kinsman, to redeem us. You know, it speaks about the nearest kinsman. Boaz was the nearest kinsman to Ruth. To be the second Adam who restored us from the fall. He's called the second Adam. If the Son of God did not take to Himself our nature in His birth and our sins in His death, He could not reconcile us to God. See how important the incarnation is? You do away with the incarnation, you take away his humanity, we have no salvation. If he couldn't die as a human being, he could not atone for our sins and make reconciliation for the sins of the people. The oldest and most natural view understands water as a reference to Christ's baptism. with the attendant witness to His identity as the commencement of His ministry when He began His ministry. Matthew 3, 13-17, Mark 1, 9-11, John 1, 31-34. First we'll look at Matthew. Then comes Jesus from Galilee to Jordan. Now we're talking about the witness to Jordan unto John to be baptized of Him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer to be so now, for thus it cometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto him. And he saw, John the Baptist saw, the Spirit of God descending like a dove. He's bearing witness to this. The Spirit of God was descending like a dove and lightening upon him. He was bearing witness to the Holy Spirit coming down like a dove, lightning upon Christ, and a voice from heaven saying, he witnessed to this, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. You have the Father, you have the Son being baptized, you have the Holy Spirit bearing witness by coming down and lightning upon Christ, and you have the witness of the Father and saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. You have all three witnesses in that illustration there. And in John chapter 1, verse 31-34, And I knew him not, but he that should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John buried a record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. It happens on the Acts chapter 2. on the day of Pentecost. And I saw and bear record, this is the Son of God. The word record there means witness. I saw and bear witness that this is the Son of God. Here you have the witness in John 1. So John emphasizes not just that he came, but especially that he came by water and blood, since it is his blood which cleanses from sin. Water and blood. and the blood to the consummation of His saving ministry on the cross. This view is supported by the fact the context dictates that there was water and blood must validate the matter of Jesus' coming. The two terms serve to sum up Christ's redemptive mission. Ephesians 1.7 says, "...in whom we have redemption, through His blood." And remember, in Colossians, they took through His blood out You can see how the modern virgins are attacking the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. And remember what Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. No one has the right to remove or add to the Word of God. It's a dangerous thing according to Revelation. Those who take out or add to the Word of God Hebrews 9.12 says, "...neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered into once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." He didn't earn temporary redemption, hold out redemption. It's eternal. What He does is eternal. Beloved, the redemption that we have is eternal. You can't lose it. It's eternal. It's not something that has to be done again and again and again. He offered a sacrifice once and for all. He offered himself a sacrifice for sin. Never to be repeated again, beloved. In Matthew 1.21 it says, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. And you know, we hear the name Jesus Christ. Christ is not his name. That's his title. Christ means the anointed one. It means the Messiah. Jesus the Messiah. Jesus the Messiah. And His humanity. Why did He say, I am a man? I'm the Son of Man so often. Why was He illustrating by saying, I'm the Son of Man? I'm the Son of Man. I'm the Son of Man. He was saying, I am the seed of the woman. It was to be the Messiah. I am that Messiah. I am the Son of Man. That's what He was emphasizing. He wasn't denying that He was God because He was God manifested in flesh to redeem His people. He had to become flesh to redeem and die as our substitute. Remember, that's why it's so important to understand the incarnation. Without becoming flesh, He could not die. He couldn't die as God. God cannot die. but as man and God in one person, He could die for our sins. Hebrews 2.14 says, For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. There was a conflict between Satan and Jesus from the beginning of the world. Jesus said, I beheld Satan falling out of heaven as lightning. He always opposed the truth. Jesus is the truth. And Satan has always opposed Jesus Christ. Hebrews 2.14 For as much then as the children can protect the flesh and blood, he himself also took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, as I said before, angels cannot die, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. He took on him the seed of Abraham, which is the seed of David. He was of the lineage of David, the lineage of David. Oh beloved, what a blessing that is. If the Son of God did not take to Himself our nature in His birth and our sins in His death, He could not have reconciled us to God. In Hebrews 9.22 it says that almost all things are by the law purged with blood. And without shedding of blood, there's no remission. Without the shedding of blood, there's no salvation. That's why the modern versions want to take out the blood. They don't believe in a human sacrifice. It's against their reasoning. They can't comprehend how can God demand the sacrifice of another human being. They reject atonement. They reject blood and sacrifice. They reject it and despise it. And they want to have a social gospel. You do so, if your good works outweigh your bad works, you go to heaven. It's got nothing to do with the atonement, got nothing to do with salvation in Christ. but by all things are purged with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. Be grateful this morning for the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin, beloved." We're all sinners still by the grace of God. We're still sinners. We have a fallen nature. We don't practice sin, but we still sin. And we have to go to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. All of us must go to the throne of grace daily. and receive that precious cleansing in our consciousness. We've been forgiven once and for all, but in our daily fellowship with God, we need that continually cleansing of the blood of Christ applied to our conscience, that we can serve God with godly fear and reverence, and knowing that our conscience is sprinkled from the touches of our sinfulness and our sinful nature. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Beloved Jesus was set up as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13, 8. In God's eyes, He was slain before He ever came into this world in God's purpose. As it reads, it says, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of life. of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, it means in the purpose and mind of God, God saw Jesus slain for our sins upon the cross. Acts 4, 27-28 says, For a truth against the Holy Child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together, they all were gathered together, the priests and the high priests and the Roman soldiers, for to do whatsoever thy hand or thy count hath determined before to be done." They couldn't do one thing apart from God's appointment. Jesus had to give up His life before they could take it willingly. He said, I could call twelve legions of angels from heaven if I wanted to at this very moment. He could destroy the world. But He came for what purpose? To die for our sins. He willingly, obediently, went to the cross for us. The Holy Spirit, that He testifies to Christ, He testifies of Jesus Christ. It says in 1 John 4, 2, "...hereby know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." When John wrote that, those of the Genosics, they denied that Christ came into the flesh. And this is why John is saying this is so important. And the Holy Spirit bore witness to that. And Jesus said in 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 shall testify of Me. Who does He testify of? Who does He bring to our remembrance? Who does He reveal unto us? Jesus Christ, brother D. Jesus Christ. He says in chapter 16, 13 of John, Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth, and He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. He will show you things to come. You know, the apostle was given special revelation to pen the Word of God. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Luke wrote the book of Acts, Romans, all the epistles. The Holy Spirit is the one who controlled them and gave them the words. That's why we believe in verbal inspiration. Every word of God was inspired by God the Holy Spirit to be penned just the way the Holy Spirit led them to write it. Even though Paul wrote his books, it was the Spirit that gave him the words to write. 1 John 4, 6 says, We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of the air. Beloved, there's always going to be those who are going to reject the truth. The world hates the truth. Jesus said, if they've hated Me, they're going to hate you. And that's so true, beloved. If you live for the Lord and stand for the Lord, you're going to have those around you, not everyone, but a lot of people will shun your presence. They don't want to be around you. Why? Because you have the Spirit of Christ, and they don't want to be around. They feel uncomfortable. 1 John 4, 7 says, For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And the sense of the context and the scope of this place do necessarily require this verse for the words of the following verse, and there are three in earth. How could you say in verse 8, and there are three in earth, the construction wouldn't make any sense. And there are three in earth, cannot have a right construction, but upon supposition that there are three also that bear record in heaven, with which these three in earth are connected by the conjunction participle and. that Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the world and that there is eternal life in Him for His whole church elect, He gives six witnesses as being their testimony to the same, three in heaven and three on earth. This is the subject of this, and the following verse, so that both of these we have the fullest proof, given that Christ is the Son of God, and the one only Savior and Mediator. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And what was their testifying? That Jesus was the Son of God. The Son of God. On His baptism they witnessed to that. All Christ, He testified that He was the Son of God. The apostles, Paul, they all testified Jesus is the Son of God. This is all the way through the Scriptures. That in the Godhead there are and do, by essence, union, exist and coexist. Three divine persons styled in the words before us, the Father, The Word and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one in the same essence. Not one in personalities, but one in self-existent Godhead. There's only one God. One God in essence. But there's three in personalities in the one God, in the one essence. In God there's three personalities revealed to us. How do we know this? Only because the Scripture reveals it. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And these three are one in essence. There's only one God. Not three gods, one God. Three subsistence in the one God. We call them persons because that's the only way we can understand it in our language. that in the Godhead there are, and due by sensual union and existence, coexist in three divine persons. Not one in personality, but one in self-existence. Some people teach there's only one person. That's God the Father. There is no Son and there is no Holy Spirit. There's only the Father. They're called Jesus only. Jesus only, Pentecostal group. And there's others who hold that position. Wilson Thompson, the Baptist minister, held that position. He taught that the Father was incarnated, not the Son. He denied the eternal Son of God. He denied the eternal Holy Spirit. He only believed in the personality of the Father, not of the Son and not of the Holy Spirit. This is important what you believe, and what you hear, and what you read. You have to be careful reading the writings of men, because men can lead you astray. Matthew 28, 18-20. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, definite article, and of the Son, definite article, and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always unto the end of the world. Why did the Holy Spirit emphasize Thee, Father, Thee, Son, and Thee, Holy Spirit? Showing that there were distinct personalities in God, the Godhead. If He didn't put the definite article, Thee, and just emphasized the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then you could say they're all three the same. But the Holy Spirit, by inspiration, led Matthew to put the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, showing that he is talking about three separate persons in the Godhead. God the Father bore His testimony to Christ by His baptism. He also renewed the same in his transfiguration when he was transfigured before the apostles, saying by an audible voice, which whilst it came from heaven was heard upon earth, thou art my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Mark 1 11. Thou art my beloved Son, and thee I am well pleased. Luke 3.22. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3.17. The Father renewed the same testimony concerning Christ when He was transfigured. This is my beloved Son in Matthew 17.5 and John 1.32-34. And John Barry Rutgers saying, I saw the spirit descending like a dove, that's talking about his baptism. And these are the witnesses that God gave of his son and his transfiguration when his countenance was changed like light. And Peter didn't know what to say when he said, should I make three tabernacles? One for thee, one for Lass, one for Moses because he was afraid. But we see the glory of God. The word John 1.1, Jesus is the son of God and his deity. In the beginning was the word, And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Now verse 14, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. In verse 18, no man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, not the only begotten God, as some of the translations put it. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Christ always existed with the Father from eternity. He's eternal in His deity. He said in John 10.30, I and my Father are one, one in essence in the Godhead. John 10, verse 36, "...say ye of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest because I said, I am the Son of God." You're saying, I blasphemous because I confess that I am the Son of God. You know, some of the New Riders, they say they crossed no war in the New Testament, confessed to be the Son of God. Well, here's a verse here, it says that. John 10, verse 36, "...because I said, I am the Son of God." Oh beloved, what a precious truth. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The eunuch said, I believe that Christ is the Son of God. What hindered me to be baptized? And that believing you might have life through His name. The Holy Ghost became witness to the truth of the divine Father's declaration concerning Christ by His visible descent on the day of Pentecost, and also by His visible descent on Christ Himself, His baptism, and other times. The three that bear record in heaven, bear witness, and the record on earth, they were one in their witness and record. And in closing, in these three are one. There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. That's the only verse in the Scriptures that says the Trinity is one. That three is one. One in essence, one in unity, testimony, record and witness, that which bear record concerning Christ and salvation by Him. has revealed and recorded in the word of grace, and go on to the following particular purpose, which is this, for the three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. any more than there are three words. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three agree in one. Yet both of these bear record and testimony to this important truth, that the Father is not the Son, nor is the Son the Father, nor is the Holy Ghost either the Father or the Son, but they are personally and essentially distinct. Keep that in mind. There is those that teach that they're the same thing. The Father is the Son, He's the Holy Spirit also. They are personally and sensually distinct as to their subsistence in the Godhead, but yet one and the same incomprehensible Jehovah, that being one in the same infinite and incomprehensible essence. This is beyond our comprehension, but the Scriptures reveal it and we accept it by faith. God is one and God is three at the same time. And 1 John 5 says that there are three that bear witness on the earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood. And these three agree in one. Next time we meet, that I preach, I will start back with verse 8 on this. I pray that some of this will be a blessing to you today, and that you receive the blessing from the Lord. And it's a wonderful thing to study the things of God. Does anyone have a song in closing?