Q. I am a firm
believer in the Trinity. One verse I looked upon to prove the Trinity is 1
John 5:7. I hear that there is some controversy over the genuineness of
this verse, that it was added in the 1500’s. Can you help me with this?
Was this verse penned by John, or an editor of the sixteenth century?
A. The verse in
question is: "And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit
is the truth." (NASB)
According to
The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 12, page 293, a number of translations
will reject this verse as it appears in no ancient Greek manuscript nor is
it cited by any Greek fathers. Of all the versions, only the Latin
contained it, and even this is in none of the most ancient sources. The
earliest manuscripts of the Vulgate do not have it. It is probably a gloss
that has crept into the text. The explanation from The Interpreter’s
Bible is also supported by a number of other commentaries.
This should not
in any way negate your and my strong belief in the Trinity. For an
excellent one page article on the Trinity entitled "One and Three: The
Trinity," look at the New Geneva Study Bible, printed by Nelson,
page 1102.
