Grayston adds that "The deepest level of awareness of God, is achieved only by intimate communion with the Son.” (New Century Bible Commentary), Vine adds that "The increasing knowledge of Him that is true is possible because we are in Him. The experience just referred to, in the preceding note, is summed up in this. (5:20) Three times John affirms that the heretics are wrong. 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. It is, “the Son of God has come (in incarnation), has arrived and is here.” While He departed in His glorified body to Heaven, yet He is here in His presence in the Church. John 5:20, ESV: "For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel." 1 a The elder to the elect lady and her children, b whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who c know d the truth, 2 e because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: 3 f Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father … It is important to know that fellowship with God comes exclusively through Jesus Christ. So 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins” — he doesn’t specify any particular kind — “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If so, this is one of the strongest direct statements of the deity of Christ in the New Testament. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. By the Sun of righteousness arising upon you with healing in his wings and the shining light which he diffuses in your heart. 1 John 5:20 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and r has given us understanding, so that we may know s him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. Moral necessity in God for the aforesaid ἃ γὰρ ἂν ἐκεῖνος, etc. John wants to assure believers of the eternal life they possess and spur … It is also implied that one knows the Father, described here as "the only true God," through knowing Jesus. God is eternal life (John 5:26) and He gives it to us through Christ. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance. This one is the true God and eternal life. Heavenly Father, thank You that You sent Your only begotten Son to become our Saviour. (John 17:3), Robertson on Him Who is true - "That is, God." Date of Writing: The Book of 1 John was likely written between A.D. 85-95. Dianoia (John's only use of this word) signifies a process of the mind leading to a conclusion, hence denoting the faculty of forming a conclusion from certain facts. Knowing the true God;… The Greek of 5:20 has only the true (one) and reads literally: we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding ‘so that we know the true(one)and we are in the true(one)’, in his Son Jesus Christ. There is something to my mind so singularly blessed in the expression "eternal life," that I cannot help dwelling upon it. (The Epistles of John- An Expositional Commentary), Cole concurs with Hiebert noting that "Conservative scholars are divided over whether the last phrase, “This is the true God,” refers to the Father or to Jesus. 1 John 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries; ONE LAST WARNING: WATCH OUT FOR IDOLS! 1 John 5 – Born of God and Believing in the Son of God A. The Living Bible by Kenneth Taylor here reads: "Jesus Christ his Son, who is the only true God; and he is life eternal.". 1 John 5:20 Translation & Meaning. God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to reconcile man to the Father through the Son.. and to give spiritual understanding and godly wisdom to all who would trust in His name - Who is the only way to God, the only truth from God and the only life of God. This power and process of the knowledge of God through the understanding given to us, is set in contrast to the darkness of the world (1Jn 5:19-note; cp. Eph. The abiding reality of His incarnate appearing here on earth is essential for His present heavenly ministry (Heb. But he is more -- much more. Not simply a historic fact but an abiding operation—not ‘came’ (ēlthe) but ‘hath come and hath given us.’ Our faith is not a matter of intellectual theory but of personal and growing acquaintance with God through the enlightenment of Christ’s Spirit (ton alethinon), “the real” as opposed to the false God of the heretics.”, Has come (hēkō) means to have come, have arrived, be present. Believers have eternal life in the covenant of the gospel. (The Epistles of John- An Expositional Commentary), Vine adds that 1Jn 5:20 "states the ground upon which believers are assured of the facts mentioned in 1Jn 5:18-note and 1Jn 5:19-note, as to their relationship with God and their consequent condition regarding sin, Satan and the world. 17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. ", This is the true God (“the true or real one”) - To Whom does "this" (houtos) refer? Rather than denying their charges, Jesus went on to state some of the strongest affirmations of His deity in all of Scripture. The Son of God has come - The Name Son of God speaks of the deity of Jesus and the verb has come speaks of the historical event of His incarnation. Here, as he closes the letter, John asserts Jesus'full divinity once again: "He is the true God and eternal life." The Spirit of truth is witness to the Word of truth and so John is able to proclaim that we know that the eternal Son of God has come to earth.. to live and to die as the perfect, sinless Son of Man - and that He has given us understanding in Him - for He is the visible image of the invisible God, full of grace and truth. 1Jo 5:20 - And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in … This is the true God, and this is eternal life. 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