Have you ever heard the phrase "God testified about His Son" and wondered what that testimony actually was? You're not alone.
Understanding God's Testimony concerning Christ is essential to the Christian Faith. The Bible summarizes it in this single sentence: He who has the Son has life (1 John 5:11-12).
In this article, we will look at God's testimony and make comparisons in line with scripture, exploring what it means, how it happened, and what we derive from it.
What Is The Testimony Of God?
The term testimony is most often used in a court of law, where a witness testifies in a case. It involves making statements of fact or declaring evidence, usually done verbally and under oath.
In the Bible, however, the idea specifically portrays making statements about an event related to a person's relationship with God or another.
A clear example is the Apostles witnessing Christ before kings and rulers. What they did is called testimony.
Therefore, the Testimony of God is the witness that the Father has given regarding His relationship with the man Jesus Christ and the events surrounding Him.
God's Witness in History
In Hebrews 1:1–2, it is written:
"God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds."
We can see the message of God to the fathers of old through the prophets as a testimony or testimonial. In these days, He has testified by or through His Son.
In the old days, God promised what He would do to the fathers through prophets in different dispensations of time and various ways. But in the new, we have the testimony of what He has done by and in Christ Jesus.
While the testimony was of life, the prophets did testify of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that will follow.
The distinction is that the prophets of old testified of a future event, while those of the new are a confirmation of its fulfillment.
The Witness of John
In the testimony of the last prophet of old, John the Baptist, the people asked if he was the Christ, and he said no. When they insisted, he replied:
"I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said." (John 1:23 WEB)
Then, John continued to testify about Christ, saying that he was one dwelling among them, and God confirmed it when He testified to John of the man Jesus at baptism.
"The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.’
I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water: that he would be revealed to Israel.’
John testified, saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him.
I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.’" (John 1:29–34 WEB)
While the synoptic Gospels account of a voice from heaven saying, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased", the point is that God the Father testified of His relationship with the man Jesus Christ.
The Greater Witness
As men witnessed the events and fulfillment of the prophecy, God also bore witness to them.
Consistent with Apostle John's first letter:
"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is God’s testimony which he has testified concerning his Son.
He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son." (1 John 5:9–10 WEB)
The testimony of God is both the greater and greatest witness, and that is the same testimony for those who believe in the Son of God.
The question is, What is the testimony God has testified concerning His Son?
The Testimony Of God: He Who Has The Son Has Life
"The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life." (1 John 5:11–12 WEB)
There is life, and there is the life. Life can be relative to anything living, but the life here refers to the everlasting one.
According to the story of Nicodemus in the Bible, Jesus Christ also said in John 3:16–17 WEB:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him."
The testimony of God concerning Christ entails eternal life, received through faith in the Son of God.
It reveals that eternal life is in Christ, and by identification with Christ, one receives access to this life.
Likewise, those who choose not to believe in the Son of God do not have eternal life. This is because they refuse to believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Eternal Life Is In Christ Jesus
The Gospels and Epistles emphasize that eternal life is in Christ Jesus. One who is curious about the why and how should look at His sufferings and the glory that followed.
In His sufferings, we learn how God identified with man's state to save mankind. In His glorification, we learn how God raised Him from the dead. We understand the death of Christ to be the down payment for sins, and through His resurrection, we receive hope of life in the Eternal.
As Apostle Paul would say in the face of persecution:
"We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you." (2 Corinthians 4:13–14 KJV).
In conclusion, God's testimony, as revealed in the Epistles of John, is that He has given eternal life to those who believe in Christ Jesus. His resurrection stands as the reference point, offering the sure hope of life after death to all who trust in Him.
