Three witnesses

John appeals to three witnesses in 1 John 5:6-8: Spirit, water, blood. These are all witnesses at the Exodus – the Spirit-cloud that leads Israel through the wilderness, the water of the sea, the blood of Passover. Among other things, these three witnesses testify that Jesus is the greater Moses, leading the true Israel in a greater Exodus.

This might in turn link up with the water-blood image of John 19, which identifies Jesus as the Rock in the wilderness, struck so that Israel could have life (cf 1 John 5:12). And, in John’s gospel, Jesus deliers over His Spirit at the time of death. This is not like to be the main referent of 1 John 5, since John is talking about Jesus’ “coming,” not His death. But it’s part of the complex image that John uses.