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Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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Ask the Pastor
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Question:
clear.gif - 808 Bytes I had a question about the dispute over 1 John 5:7-8. I've read in several places that originally, Erasmus didn't have it in his first couple of editions, and then he only put it in once he was presented with a copy that had been taken from a manuscript that only had it in the margins in the 5th century or something. I realize that it does not change the doctrine of the Trinity, but I would like to have more understanding concerning this passage.


Response:
You may click on verses to reveal pop-up Scripture

clear.gif - 808 Bytes Thanks for writing.

 Much ink has been spilled over this passage of Scripture known as the Johannine Comma. I have no question that God has preserved it for us as we have it in the Textus Receptus and the King James version, and that it belongs in the Word of God.

 The debate is not over the entire passage, but whether or not the end of verse 7 and the beginning of verse 8 should be included. The modern versions exclude 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". Thus, they read the passage as,

"For there are three that bear record the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."

 Erasmus did not include the disputed passage in his first edition, and perhaps not in his second (there is disagreement over how many editions he made). He made this decision based upon the fact that it was not included in any Greek manuscript that he had available. It was, however, found in the Latin Vulgate, which was translated from the Greek near the end of the 4th century. He personally was unsure whether or not it belonged in the Canon of Scripture, and supposedly said that he would include it if he was shown a Greek manuscript that contained it. He was shown one from the 15th Century, and included it (Some historians disagree with this and believe that Erasmus ultimately included the passage because it was in the Vulgate). It has been included in all editions of the Textus Receptus since that time.

 The fact that this passage has very little Greek manuscript evidence has allowed many to question the authenticity of the verse, and subsequently the authority of the Textus Receptus or the King James. Here are some facts that might make the issues a little clearer.

  • 1. The passage is found in the Vulgate, which was translated from the Greek, so clearly the passage did exist in the 4th century,

  • 2. The passage is found in 10-20 Greek manuscripts.

  • 3. It is found in the Old Latin, both in Europe and Africa, which comes from the middle of the 2nd Century and pre-dates the Vulgate.

  • 4. It is found in the Syriac.

  • 5. It is found in the Armenian.

  • 6. It was quoted by Tertullion , who lived from 160-230 A.D.

  • 7. It was quoted by Cyprian around 250 A.D.

  • 8. It was quoted by Athanasius at least three times between 310-340 A.D.

  • 9. I John 5:6-8 contains very poor grammar if part of verse 7 is removed. There must be gender agreement between parts of a sentence (For example, you would not say "Bill rode her bike" if the bike belonged to Bill. You would say, "Bill rode his bike"). In this case, the Greek phrase translated "There are three that bear record in Heaven" includes an article, a numeral, and a participle. All three of these are masculine, which means that they would be modifying masculine nouns. If part of verse 7 is removed, then these words would be modifying the words "spirit", "water", and "blood", which are all neuter, which would be incorrect grammar. However, if the the disputed phrase "the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost" are included, then the grammar is correct because both "Father" and "Word" are masculine, and they would control what gender the article, numeral, and participle would be. It is interesting to note that Gregory of Nazianzus, who lived in the middle of the 4th century, and apparently had not seen the Johannine Comma, recognized that there were unexplainable grammatical problems with the text at that point. Thus, either God inspired John to use incorrect grammar (impossible), or something has been lost (impossible), or the Comma belongs in the Bible.

  • 10. Why would a phrase be added to the Bible to make its claims of a Trinity stronger? As you have said, the doctrine is already found in the Bible and would not need to be added. In addition, in the New Testament we read of people twisting the Scriptures to weaken them, not strengthen them (II Peter 3:16).

  • 11. The fact that it has been included by all editions of the Textus Receptus since that time has importance. God's people apparently recognized that it belonged there.

  • 12. The Bible teaches that God will guide His people into all truth (John 16:13). Saved people have accepted the Johannine Comma, the unsaved have rejected it. God's Word tells us that unsaved (natural) men don't receive the things of the Spirit, but spiritual people do (I Cor. 2:14-15). Who has always accepted the inclusion of the passage? Fundamentalists, Bible believers, and those who accept the Word of God at face value. Who were the first ones to reject it? Modernists, liberals, inspiration deniers and the unsaved. Unfortunately, these unbelievers have brought Christians who should know better over to their side.

  • 13. It is important to remember why it was that John was writing this epistle. He was combating heresy, particularly heresy concerning the Person of Christ. Robert Dabney wrote the following in 1891:

 "We must also consider the time and circumstances in which the passage was written. John tells his spiritual children that his object is to warn them against seducers (2.26), whose heresy was a denial of the proper Sonship and incarnation (4.2) of Jesus Christ. We know that these heretics were Corinthians and Nicolaitanes. Irenaeus and other early writers tell us that they all vitiated the doctrine of the Trinity. Cerinthus taught that Jesus was not miraculously born of a virgin, and that the Word, Christ, was not truly and eternally divine, but a sort of angelic 'Aion' associated with the natural man Jesus up to his crucifixion. The Nicolaitanes denied that the 'Aion' Christ had a real body, and ascribed to him only a phantasmal body and blood. It is against these errors that John is fortifying his "children" and this is the very point of the disputed 7th verse. If it stands, then the whole passage is framed to exclude both heresies. In verse 7 he refutes the Corinthian by declaring the unity of Father, Word and Spirit, and with the strictest accuracy employing the neuter HEN EISIN to fix the point which Cerinthus denied--the unity of the Three Persons in One common substance. He then refutes the Nicolaitanes by declaring the proper humanity of Jesus, and the actual shedding, and application by the Spirit, of that water and blood of which he testifies as on eyewitness in the Gospel. John thus warns his spiritual 'children' against 'seducers' who taught error regarding the true divine Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ and regarding His incarnation and true humanity, and when we further see John precisely expose these errors in verses 7 and 8 of Chapter 5, we are constrained to acknowledge that there is a coherency in the whole passage which presents strong internal evidence for the genuineness of the 'Received Text.'"

 I hope this gives you some things to think about. May the Lord bless you.

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By
Pastor Dr. Mark Montgomery
Email: Ask the Pastor
Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210




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