I use the ESV (Study Version) even though my Anglo Catholic parish uses only the King James Version. The ESV is easier for me since I never had exposure to the KJV in my Roman Catholic days. No disparagement intended at all.
The verse reads as Abby10 posts. The footnotes in mine explain its intent is to conform to the OT mandate of two or three witnesses to support a charge (meaning St Paul's statement that Jesus is the Son of God.) The NT also continued this principle (Matt 18:16, 2 Cor. 13:!.
The Spirit abides in all believers and teaches them the truth about God's word; the 'water' was the Baptism of Jesus in which God declared Him to be His Son; the 'blood' is Christ's atonement, i.e., the only way man could be cleansed from sin, by the hand of God only. These three then bear witness to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Word referred to in beginning of St John's gospel (1:1-5)
Nice thread, Sophie.
