Some Say 1st John 5:7 as It Reads "Father, Word and Holy Ghost", Was Not in the Original Text and Is an Alteration to the Bible. What Do You Say?
1) Direct Answer
I receive 1 John 5:7 as Scripture as it stands. It is not an alteration to me; it is the Word of God, and it perfectly agrees with the whole Bible’s witness of one God revealed as Father, Word (made flesh as the Son), and Holy Ghost.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- God guards His Word: “Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). “The word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8). “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
- The wording fits John’s own vocabulary and theme:
- “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God… And the Word was made flesh” (John 1:1,14).
- John’s subject in 1 John 5 is the threefold witness: “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ… it is the Spirit that beareth witness” (1 John 5:6). Verse 7 gives the heavenly witness; verse 8 gives the earthly witness. That’s John’s pattern of testimony.
- And the truth it declares is taught everywhere else: “Hear, O Israel; the LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4). “God was manifested in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- If “Father, Word, and Holy Ghost” were an intrusion, why does it fit John’s own language (“Word”), his theme of witnesses, and the immediate parallel of verse 8?
- If someone removes verse 7, does the Bible stop teaching one God manifested in Christ? No. The same truth stands in many clear passages.
- The harmony of verse 7 (“these three are one”) with verse 8 (“these three agree in one”) shows a deliberate, Spirit-given structure: one God’s heavenly witness, and His witness in the earth.
Short Reinforcing Statement
I stand with the Scripture as written. 1 John 5:7 is a true, Spirit-breathed witness of the one God—Father, Word, and Holy Ghost—these three are one.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Church Ages, part 8: The Philadelphian Church Age
60-1210 §77
I'd just like to give this little illustration on account of there might be somebody here that never seen it. Watch this. This is the Father, this is the Son, and this is the Holy Ghost. Now, watch close. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. That's what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19. Is that right? Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Now, who is this? Father. (Listen, class.) Father, Holy Ghost, Son. Now, who's this? Holy Ghost. Who's this? [Congregation says, "Father."] Who's this? [Congregation says "Son."] Son. All right. Now, this...
Questions and Answers
59-0628E §87
Now, in Matthew 28:19, that's the last chapter and the last verse in Matthew. If you read a love story, and it said, "John and Mary lived happy ever after," who is John and Mary? Go back to the first of the book; find out who they are. See who John and Mary was that lived happy ever after. If Jesus said, "Go baptize in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost," and Father's no name, Son's no name, and Holy Ghost is no name, then what was He talking about? Who is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Go back to the first of i...
The Godhead explained
61-0425B §66
...this is, now. Now, Matthew 28:19. Let's watch just a moment. And now I am going to take Acts 2:38 right here, where Peter said, "the Lord Jesus Christ"; and Matthew said, "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." Now listen. He said, "Baptize them"---not in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Holy Ghost. He never said that. There is no name, and name, and name. He never said, "Baptize them in the names of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," because it's not even sensible. He said, "Baptize them i...
Godhead explained
61-0119A §42
Now, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when ... his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together [Are you reading with me, Sister Sewell?], before they came together, she was found with a child of God the Father." Am I reading right? [Someone says, "No."] Oh, I made a mistake? Was found with child of who? [Someone says, "The Holy Ghost."] Well, I'll say. Now, who is his father? You said this was his father, and the Bible said this was his father. She was found with a child, not of Go...
Questions and Answers
54-0515 §86
Matthew, the first chapter, starts off with genealogies of Jesus Christ, "Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob," so on, down like that till it comes down to the 18th verse: Now the birth of Jesus Christ... Here it is, the 18th verse: Now the birth of Jesus Christ (follow me with your Bible) ... the birth of this man Jesus Christ was on this wise: When ... his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph ... she was found with a child of God, the Father. Did I read that right? What does it say? [Congregation says, "The Holy...