1 John 5:7

1 John 5:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
• New International Version (NIV)For there are three that testify:
• English Standard Version (ESV)For there are three that testify:
• New King James Version (NKJV)For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

Context of 1 John 5:7

5Who is the one who is victorious and overcomes the world? It is the one who believes and recognizes the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. 6This is He who came through water and blood [His baptism and death], Jesus Christ—not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. It is the [Holy] Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. [He is the essence and origin of truth itself.] For there are three witnesses: 8the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three are in agreement [their testimony is perfectly consistent]. 9If we accept [as we do] the testimony of men [that is, if we are willing to take the sworn statements of fallible humans as evidence], the testimony of God is greater [far more authoritative]; for this is the testimony of God, that He has testified regarding His Son.

1 John 5:7 word by word

ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• there areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• threeτρεῖςtreis tria · ThreeG5140
• that bear recordμαρτυρέωmartureō · to testifyG3140
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• heavenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• the Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• the Wordλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the Holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
• Ghostπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520

Cross-references for 1 John 5:7

• 1 John 5:10The one who believes in the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies confidently on Him as Savior] has the testimony within himself [because he can speak authoritatively about Christ from his own personal experience]. The one who does not believe God [in this way] has made Him [out to be] a liar, because he has not believed in the evidence that God has given regarding His Son.
• John 8:13Then the Pharisees told Him, “You are testifying on Your own behalf; Your testimony is not valid.”
• Psalms 33:6By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, And all their host by the breath of His mouth.
• Isaiah 48:16Come near to Me, listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, From the time that it happened, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His [Holy] Spirit.”
• Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me To bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives And freedom to prisoners,
• Matthew 3:16After Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he (John) saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus),
• Matthew 17:5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!”
• Matthew 28:19Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
• John 5:26For just as the Father has life in Himself [and is self-existent], even so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself [and be self-existent].
• John 8:18I am One [of the Two] who testifies about Myself, and My Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”
• John 8:54Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is [worth] nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
• John 10:37If I do not do the works of My Father [that is, the miracles that only God could perform], then do not believe Me.
• John 12:28[Rather, I will say,] ‘Father, glorify (honor, extol) Your name!’ ” Then a voice came from heaven saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:4Now there are [distinctive] varieties of spiritual gifts [special abilities given by the grace and extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit operating in believers], but it is the same Spirit [who grants them and empowers believers].
• 2 Corinthians 13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
• Revelation 1:4John, to the seven churches that are in [the province of] Asia: Grace [be granted] to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being], from Him Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits that are before His throne,

Commentaries on 1 John 5:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7There are three that bear record - The Father, who bears testimony to his Son; the Word or , Logos, who bears testimony to the Father; and the Holy Ghost, which bears testimony to the Father and the Son. And these three are one in essence, and agree in the one testimony, that Jesus came to die for, and give life to, the world. But it is likely this verse is not genuine. It is wanting in every MS. of this epistle written before the invention of printing…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7For there are three that bear record in heaven … - There are three that “witness,” or that “bear witness” - the same Greek word which, in 1 John 5:8, is rendered “bear witness” - ͂ marturountesThere is no passage of the New Testament which has given rise to so much discussion in regard to its genuineness as this. The supposed importance of the verse in its bearing on the doctrine of the Trinity has contributed to this, and has given to the discussion a…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 We are inwardly and outwardly defiled; inwardly, by the power and pollution of sin in our nature. For our cleansing there is in and by Christ Jesus, the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Some think that the two sacraments are here meant: baptism with water, as the outward sign of regeneration, and purifying from the pollution of sin by the Holy Spirit; and the Lord's supper, as the outward sign of the shedding Christ's…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8there are three that testify: The Holy Spirit came down on Jesus at his baptism (see John 1:32–34). The water refers to the water in which John baptized Jesus (see Matthew 3:13–15; Mark 1:9–11). The blood refers to the blood Jesus shed when he died on the cross (see Mark 15:37–39). These three (the Spirit, the water, and the blood) together proclaim that Jesus is God’s Son (1 John 5:6). After the phrase three that testify, a few very late manuscripts add…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. three--Two or three witnesses were required by law to constitute adequate testimony. The only Greek manuscripts in any form which support the words, "in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one; and there are three that bear witness in earth," are the Montfortianus of Dublin, copied evidently from the modern Latin Vulgate; the Ravianus, copied from the Complutensian Polyglot; a manuscript at Naples, with the words added…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 5:7

• Holy Spirit
• Jesus, the Christ
• Trinity
• Word

In the dictionaries

• Holy Ghost
• Idol
• Hope
• John, the Epistles of
• Trinity
• Truth
• testimony, testify, witness, eyewitness, evidence

Commentaries on 1 John 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings