Question: Is 1 John 5:7 authentic?
“Recently someone said that 1 John 5:7 is authentic because it appears in the Textus Receptus. Could you please comment.” Australia
Answer:
You are right that it appears in the Textus Receptus, however, it did not appear there until the sixteenth century, even though the majority of texts which are often referred to as the Textus Receptus were in existence long before that time. The story of how 1 John 5:7 found its way into the Textus Receptus is very interesting.
One Bible commentary says, “Erasmus did not have it in his first edition, but rashly offered to insert it if a single Greek Manuscript had it and [Manuscript #] 34 was produced with the insertion, as if made to order… Some Latin scribe caught up Cyprian’s exegesis and wrote it on the margin of his text, and so it got into the Vulgate and finally into the Textus Receptus by the [irresponsibility] of Erasmus.” (Robertson’s New Testament Word Pictures commentary on 1 John 5:7)
Even if this text were considered to be valid, it does not prove a Trinity. For an explanation of this text, please read the “Questions and Answers” Section of the December 2002 issue of Present Truth, available by request or online at www.presenttruth.info.
