"Witness" is the key word for this session and the object of the witness is Jesus Christ, affirming that He is God. Verse 8 declares that there are three that bear witness in earth - the Spirit, the water, and the blood. This passage was very important to the Christians during John's ministry because there were many false prophets claiming that Jesus was merely a man on whom "the Christ" came when He was baptized and that His divine nature left Him prior to Calvary. If Jesus did not possess His divine nature at the time of his death, He would not have conquered sin and death on our behalf. In the midst of these three witnesses, God provided a witness at Christ's baptism at the beginning of His earthly ministry and at His death at the end of His earthly ministry.