Water and the Blood

     "The water and the blood" is one of the most difficult concepts to understand. It does not mean by Jesus's blood and believer's baptism as the former is by grace and the latter by works. The ingredient "blood" is easily understood: "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (of sins)" (Heb 9:22). In the first covenant blood covered almost all things. Indeed, God killed and innocent animal and shed its blood to redeem the sins of Adam and Eve. They had sinned, and under the first covenant blood was all that was necessary for most things.

     Throughout the Old Testament, water was turned into blood in many cases. Also, because blood was so sacred, it could not be eaten, but poured out onto the ground as water.  All things in the firwst testament point to Jesus, combing two testaments into one. Paul explained that the first or Old Testament - which was one of works - was dedicated by blood:

Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. (Heb 9:18-20)

     Note that "blood" was the focus of the dedication of the old testament, but water was added along with other things. Moses sprinkled the book and all the people with blood and water.
     If the reader recalls, the Abrahamic Covenant was sealed with circumcision - the shedding of blood only. The entire story of Moses and Pharaoh is a picture of Jesus's sacrifice on the cross. God added water as a necessary ingredient for safety and salvation which theretofore had been by blood only.
     Also, in that story, the two door posts and the lentels of the houses were sprinkled with hyssop dipped in blood. The blood thereon saved only the firstborn - representing the Hebrews - but only allowed the others to escape. The first-born were saved, but the others were led into safety. Hence, blood was sufficient for most things, such as saving the Jews from perishing. To save other things, such as Gentiles, it took water and blood.
     Blood "enjoined" the Hebrews. Enjoining is urging. The blood encouraged the Hebrews to trust in the blood. Some thing was missing for the Hebrews. They misunderstood the water mixed in with the blood.
     Jesus shed his blood and experienced death for mankind. As a side-note: Jesus did not die, but he experienced the act of dying. Death is forever perishing, but Jesus never perished; he still lives.
     To ensure that Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers made sure that he was: "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water" (John 19:4). The soldier turned Jesus blood into water, sort of reversing the first covenant wherein water was always turned into blood. Note that out came a blood with an admixture of water just as Moses had blood admixtured with water. Moses enjoined the Hebrews, but Jesus enjoined the Gentiles because salvation is for all mankind, not just the Jews.
     The shedding of blood was to satisfy the first covenant, but an admixture of water satisfied the second covenant - the one of grace as it was for all, not just the Hebrews. The first covenant was the repeated shedding of blood of innocent unblemished animals, whereas the innocent unblemished Man shed both water and the blood one time for all. Now examine the meaning of blood and water:

5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 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. (1 John 5:5-8)

      Jesus is the one that came by water and the blood. Note that now water precedes blood as it is so important. The soldier wanted to ensure that Jesus was dead, and the gushing of water validated that to be so. Later on, that became significant as some questioned, and still do, whether Jesus really died or not. The water validates that.
     Medical evidence is that because of the water and the blood, that Jesus did not die of his wounds, but shock: "The cardiovascular collapse theory is a prevalent modern explanation and suggests that Jesus died of profound shock." (Wikipedia; "Crucifixion of Jesus"). To be blunt, there was a drastic change in Jesus's plasma - the clear portion of the blood as it transformed because of dehydration. Jesus seemed to have died because his blood was changed to an admixture of water with blood. That transformation was foreshadowed when Moses mixed water with the blood of the animals.
     The point is that Jesus's death provided not only the blood necessary for a sacrfice but the water for the ultimate sacrifice.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:37-39).

     Water obviously refers to the Holy Spirit. Jesus's crucifixion transformed the Holy Spirit into Jesus's Holy Ghost because the Spirit - Water - experienced death with Jesus. That is known because at his last breath, Jesus "gave up the Ghost" (Luke 23:46).
     The water in the "water and the blood" seems to represent the Holy Spirit and the Word - Jesus, respectively. Three "substances" bear witness in Heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost or The Creator, Jesus, and the Ghost of Jesus. In earth, it is worded differently: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. The "Spirit" in this case, perhaps, is the Power of the Father, the"water" represents the Holy Ghost of Jesus, and the "blood" represents Jesus.
     That is not to imply that the Holy Spirit is two different "substances" but that experientially they are different. As an example, before matrimony the male is only a man, but afterwards he is a husband. His identity is still man but his experience is husbandry. The Holy Spirit with which Jesus was imbued was transformed into Jesus's Holy Ghost as he experienced death (John 7:39). That transformation is critical because the "water" is understanding that the Spirit of God experienced death with the body or flesh of God. It took water and the blood.
     Jesus the Son of Man came for the remission of sins, but the Son of God - His Spirit - came to experience sin for mankind.
     The Man Jesus thought God had abandoned him on the cross, but the Spirit Jesus knew that the Father was right there with him on the cross. In other words, God in all His aspects experienced death  on the cross. In the Old Testament, only animals died. God chose to die so that his children need not. The water and the blood is a significant revelation for what it takes to be saved!