The Johannine Comma: A Short Defense
Several issues regarding the polemics over the existence of the Trinity in the Bible dispute the originality of the Apostle John’s writing in his epistle. Some modern theologians and polemicists, both within and outside of Christianity, argue that 1 John 5:7–8, the so-called Johannine Comma (Latin: Comma Johanneum), is an addition to Scripture by earlier theologians to reinforce the Trinity. But the question might be, is that really the case?
Textual Variations
This problem is generally based on the quotation of several translations of Scripture, especially the 7th verse, which differs in content between each translation, for example in some English translation texts such as:
- “For there are three that testify:” (NIV and ESV translation)
- “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” (NKJV translation)
and in their respective Greek interlinear translation such as:
- “οτι {for} τρεις {three} εισιν {there} οι {are} μαρτυρουντες {bearing testimony} εν {in} τω ουρανω {heaven} ο πατηρ {the Father} ο λογος {the Word} και {and} το αγιον πνευμα {the Holy Spirit) και {and} ουτοι οι τρεις {these three} εν εισιν {one are} (Textus Receptus/TR)
- “οτι {for} τρεις {three} εισιν {there} οι {are} μαρτυρουντες {bearing testimony} (Wescott and Hort/WH)
In the two Greek manuscripts above, it can be seen that the WH manuscript does not contain the phrase present in the TR manuscript. In some Bible translations itself, the phrase regarding the testimony of the Trinity is bracketed, therefore might be raising questions for the reader; has the Bible been added to, or even subtracted from?
The Ancient Codex
Assessing the originality of the Bible means looking at the more ancient sources, which are closest to the era of biblical canonization. The TR was published by Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466–1536 AD) during the Protestant Reformation, which was a collection of Greek translations of the New Testament called Novum Instrumentum Omne. The KJV by William Tyndale and the German Bible by Martin Luther based their references on the TR. Erasmus based his writing of the TR on his research on the Latin text of the Vulgate (4th Century AD), one of the oldest manuscripts of the biblical canon. On the other hand, the WH text written by Wescott and Hort based their writings on the Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus (4th Century AD), two manuscripts believed to be the most complete. The main problem generally to be disputed is that these two manuscripts, which are considered to be the most sufficient, do not contain the Johannine Comma.
The Church Fathers on the Matter
Although it seems quite convincing that the verse did not exist in the first place during the writings of those codexes, one of the translations of Scripture that existed even before Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus but was not fully canonized until 350 AD, namely the Vetus Latina, contains the Johannine Comma. This Vetus Latina was widely used and quoted by church fathers such as St. Cyprian (210–258 AD) in his Unity of the Church and Tertullian (160–220 AD) in Against Praxeas. Furthermore, St. Jerome in the 4th century AD, when he wrote the Vulgate, noticed the oddity of some manuscripts that may have been deliberately twisted. He said;
“Just as these are properly understood and so translated faithfully by interpreters into Latin without leaving ambiguity for the readers nor {allowing} the variety of genres to conflict, especially in that text were we read the unity of the Trinity is placed in the first letter of John, where much error has occurred at the hands of unfaithful translators contrary to the truth of faith, who have kept just the three words water, blood and spirit in this edition omitting mention of Father, Word and Spirit in which especially the catholic faith is strengthened and the unity of substance of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is attested.”
-St. Jerome in Prologue to the Canonical Epistles, from the Codex Fuldensis (pg. 399)
Socrates of Constantinople (380–439 AD) wrote similarly to Jerome in his attempt to counter Nestorianism which sought to separate Jesus’ divinity from his humanity, that he said;
“Now he was evidently unacquainted with the fact that in the First Catholic epistle of John it was written in the ancient copies, ‘Every spirit that separates Jesus, is not of God.’ The mutilation of this passage is attributable to those who desired to separate the Divine nature from the human economy: or to use the very language of the early interpreters, some persons have corrupted this epistle, aiming at ‘separating the manhood of Christ from his Deity.’”
-Socrates of Constantinople in Ecclesiastical History
And there are many more opinions of the early church fathers who strongly supported and recognized the existence of the Johannine Comma in older manuscripts, such as St. Augustine in Against Maximinium and Idacius Clarus (380 AD), prior to Priscillian’s mention of the Comma to support his Sabellianism heresy.
Why there are translation difference?
Before the final canonization of Scripture by the church, many figures from the churches tried to collect the Scripture texts they had and make their own copies, either from the same language (Greek and Aramaic) or into Latin. The Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus are strongly suspected to have originated in the Alexandria area. Alexandria itself was a hotbed of church heresies after the First Council of Nicaea that sympathized with Arius and his teachings. For about three centuries, the church heretics condemned at the Ecumenical Council were responsible for twisting Scripture passages to support their understanding of the Trinity and Christology as much as possible.
Conclusion
In believing in the doctrine of the Trinity, the quotation from the church fathers was certainly provides a strong source to support the existence of the Johannine Comma. Basically, this verse does not stand alone as a single evidence for the existence of the Trinity, because the existence of the Triune God is stated in almost all parts of Scripture. Non-Trinitarian efforts against the doctrine of the Trinity will not succeed unless the fabrication accusations of the Johannine Comma were followed by the removal of similar verses such as in Matthew 3:16–17, John 14:16–17, Matthew 28:19–20, John 10:30, and many more.
