Dimensions of Baptism Biblical and Theological Studies

MICHAELS By Water and Blood 159

the primary point of reference is and remains the Christian community. Not

the sins of the world but the sins of Christian believers are the author's

concern here. Jesus is 'our' advocate (exopEV, 2.1), not the world's. If the

Gospel of John tended to ignore the sins of believers, 1 John gives the

matter highest priority. God, because he is 'faithful and righteous', cleanses

believers when they sin (1.9), and the cleansing agent is 'the blood of Jesus

his Son' (1.7). They are made 'clean' not by water alone (whether in

baptism or footwashing), and not simply by the word of God (as in Jn 15.3),

but by Jesus' blood. With this, 1 John brings the message of John's Gospel

into line with the Jewish sacrificial system,^21 and with a number of texts

about salvation and cleansing through Jesus' blood in Paul (e.g. Acts 20.28;

Rom. 3.25; 5.9; Eph. 1.7; 2.13; Col. 1.20), in Hebrews (e.g. 1.3; 9.11-14;

10.4-10,19; 12.24; 13.12), in 1 Peter (1.2,19) and the Revelation (1.5; 5.9;

7.14; 12.11).

The only other reference to blood in 1 John reinforces the point by

building on the incident of the spear thrust and blood and water at the

crucifixion. Jesus, 'the Son of God' (5.5), is further identified as:

he who came by water and blood (5i* uSaTos KOU aijjaxos), not in the

water alone but in the water (EV TGO (iScm) and in the blood (EV TOO

cuMom). And the Spirit (TO TTVEUMO:) is what bears testimony because the

Spirit is the truth. For three are bearing testimony, the Spirit and the water

and the blood, and the three are as one (e'is TO EV E'IGIV). If we receive the

testimony of humans, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testi-

mony of God that he testified about his Son. The one who believes in the

Son of God has the testimony in himself. The one who does not believe

God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that

God testified about his Son (5.6-10).

Whether from the same author or not, 1 John moves here within the same

realm of discourse as the Gospel. The author, familiar at least in a general

way with the Gospel's story line,^22 interprets the blood and water from

Jesus' side at the crucifixion as a kind of 'testimony' (|japTUpia), compa-

rable to the well-known 'testimony that God testified about his Son'

at Jesus' baptism. Such an interpretation is justified by the accent on

'testimony' in both places in the text of the Gospel. When the Spirit first

21. See Heb. 9.22, 'Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified (Ka0a-
    pi^ETca) with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins'
    (NRSV).


22. This is evident from 1 Jn 3.5 in relation to Jn 1.29 and 31, and from 1 Jn 4.14
    ('Savior of the world') in relation to Jn 4.42.