Smoodock's Blog

Now we come to a controversy in itself. Some versions of the Bible divide the text in verse-6 and put part of it into verse-7 saying: “And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.” (1John 5:7),[1] while most versions divide verse-8 and make the first part verse-7, saying: “Because those who testify are three,” (verse-7) and continue with “the Spirit, and the water, and the blood. And the three are in one” (verse-8).[2] This is done to eliminate the statement: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1John 5:7).[3] So, what did John write, and what did he mean?

First of all, it has been proved to any unprejudiced Bible student that the KJV and other versions of the Bible, which hold to the third version of verse-7 above, are wrong. They include the added text, the one that had been inserted in order to prove the doctrine of the Trinity. The verse isn’t in any of the ancient Greek texts, and it is believed to have arisen from an ancient Latin sermon.

This longer reading is found only in eight late manuscripts, four of which have the words in a marginal note. Most of these manuscripts (2318, 221, and [with minor variations] 61, 88, 429, 629, 636, and 918) originate from the 16th century; the earliest manuscript, codex 221 (10th century), includes the reading in a marginal note which was added sometime after the original composition. Thus, there is no sure evidence for this reading in any Greek manuscript until the 1500s; each such reading was apparently composed after Erasmus’ Greek NT was published in 1516. Indeed, the reading appears in no Greek witness of any kind (either manuscript, patristic, or Greek translation of some other version) until AD 1215 (in a Greek translation of the Acts of the Lateran Council, a work originally written in Latin). This is all the more significant, since many a Greek Father would have loved such a reading, for it so succinctly affirms the doctrine of the Trinity. The reading seems to have arisen in a fourth century Latin homily, in which the text was allegorized to refer to members of the Trinity. From there, it made its way into copies of the Latin Vulgate, the text used by the Roman Catholic Church.”[4]

If one considers the inserted text, one has to wonder to whom would the Father, Word and Holy Spirit testify in heaven, and how would John know? There isn’t any support for this verse anywhere else in the Bible. John’s whole point has to do with the witness of God on earth, not in heaven, if, indeed, he witnesses to anyone in heaven, and if he would, why would a need arise there? Sinners are on earth, not in heaven. Lies are told here, not there? Those in heaven know who God is, while men on earth need to be educated and shown what God is like (cp. 1John 1:18). In any case, this is the evidence that concerns the inserted text. Those who believe it will do so, while those who won’t will not. I don’t believe the text as it is found in the KJV is authentic, so it doesn’t belong in the word of God. That said, we’ll move on to what John actually did say.

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[1] See: New American Standard Version (1977), American Standard Version, Revised Version and James Moffat Version.

[2] See: NASB, NET, Tree of Life, Conservative Version, CEV, Williams, Weymouth, LEB, Lamsa, WEB, and DRB versions of the Bible.

[3] See: KJV, Webster, Vulgate and Murdock versions of the Bible.

[4] See Bible. org; The Textual Problem in 1 John 5:7-8, Daniel B. Wallace, author. Dr. Wallace has taught Greek and New Testament courses on a graduate school level since 1979, and has a Ph.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is currently (as of 2010) professor of New Testament Studies at his alma mater.