1 John 5:7-8

1 John 5:7-8  "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (8 )And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."   KJV     When you read this verse, one is tempted to believe that it backs up the claim of the trinity. However, it does not say that!     Note the text above this is in bold print, if you will. That short piece is what is known as the Comma Johanneum. The Comma Johanneum is a comma, or short clause, present in most translations of the First Epistle of John published from 1522 until the latter part of the nineteenth century.*     It comes by way of major use of the third edition of the Textus Receptus (TR) as the sole source for translation. The resulting passage is an explicit reference to the Trinity (the doctrine that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God), and for this reason some Christians are resistant to the elimination of the Comma from modern Biblical translations. Nonetheless, nearly all recent translations have removed this clause, as it does not appear in older copies of the Epistle and it is not present in the passage as quoted by any of the early Church Fathers, who would have had plenty of reason to quote it in their Trinitarian debates (for example, with the Arians), had it existed then. Most Churches now agree that the theology contained in the Comma is true, but that the Comma is not an original part of the Epistle of John.  Wikipedia < For More        Here are various texts of this verse from more accurate bibles. (6)This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. (7)For there are three that testify: (8) the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.    New American Standard Bible (NASB) 1 John 5:7-8   New Living Translation (NLT)                                                (7) So we have these three witnesses-(8) the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. Footnotes: 1 John 5:7 A few very late manuscripts add in heaven—the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And we have three witnesses on earth.   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. 1 John 5:7-8   English Standard Version (ESV)  (7)For there are three that testify: (8)the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.     As with all things, the reader is encouraged to search the Scriptures and make his/her own conclusion based on prayer, conscience and study of the Word of God.    Technorati tags: 1 John 5, The Trinity, Holy Spirit