Explanation of 1 John 5:20

 

1 John 5:20     

“And we know that the Son of Yahweh 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 his Son Yahshua Messiah. This is the true Elohim, and eternal life.”RSB Bible 04th Edition.

First Explanation (This is my personal explanation)

LET’S PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORDING OF THIS SCRIPTURE ITSELF:

There are 2 particular words that are getting repeated in this scripture and trying to give extra emphasis on some point.

1.      Knowing

And we know. That we may know.

2.      The true Elohim (God)

Him that is true. We are in him that is true. This is the true Elohim (God).

What understanding did Yahshua regularly give about who is the one TRUE ELOHIM (GOD)?

John 17:3         

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true Elohim, and Yahshua Messiah, whom thou hast sent.” RSB Bible – 04th Edition.

Going back to the beginning of Scripture of 1 John 5:20, “And we know that the Son of Yahweh is come, and hath given us an understanding,”

Passages that say there is only one God (Almighty):

  1. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one [echad] flesh. " Genesis 2:24
  2. "there is no one like Yahweh our God." Exodus 8:10
  3. "Yahweh, He is God; there is no other besides Him." Deuteronomy 4:35
  4. "Yahweh, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other." Deuteronomy 4:39
  5. "See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me" Deuteronomy 32:39
  6. "Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one [echad]!" Deuteronomy 6:4
  7. "You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You" 2 Samuel 7:22
  8. "For who is God, besides Yahweh? And who is a rock, besides our God?" 2 Samuel 22:32
  9. "Yahweh is God; there is no one else." 1 Kings 8:60
  10. "You are the God, You alone [bad], of all the kingdoms of the earth." 2 Kings 19:15
  11. "O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You" 1 Chronicles 17:20
  12. "You alone [bad] are Yahweh." Nehemiah 9:6
  13. "For who is God, but Yahweh? And who is a rock, except our God" Psalm 18:31
  14. "You alone [bad], Lord, are God." Isaiah 37:20
  15. "Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me." Isaiah 43:10
  16. "'I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me." Isaiah 44:6
  17. "Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none." Isaiah 44:8
  18. "I am Yahweh, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God." Isaiah 45:5
  19. "Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God." Isaiah 45:14
  20. "I am Yahweh, and there is none else." Isaiah 45:18
  21. "Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me." Isaiah 45:21
  22. "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me" Isaiah 46:9
  23. "And Yahweh will be king over all the earth; in that day Yahweh will be the only one [echad], and His name the only one[echad]." Zechariah 14:9
  24. "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one [hen] and love the other, or he will be devoted to one [hen] and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Matthew 6:24
  25. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one [hen] flesh"? " Matthew 19:5
  26. "But do not be called Rabbi; for One [hen] is your Teacher, and you are all brothers." Matthew 23:8
  27. "Do not be called leaders; for One [hen] is your Leader, that is, Christ." Matthew 23:10
  28. ""The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one [hen] Lord; " Mark 12:29
  29. "you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only [monos] God?" John 5:44
  30. "I and the Father are one [hen]." John 10:30
  31. "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only [monos] true God" John 17:3
  32. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one [hen], just as We are one [hen]" John 17:22
  33. "since indeed God is one [hen]" Romans 3:30
  34. "to the only [monos] wise God, Amen." Romans 16:27
  35. "there is no God but one [hen]" 1 Corinthians 8:4
  36. "yet for us there is but one [hen] God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one [hen] Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him." 1 Corinthians 8:6
  37. "Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one [hen]." Galatians 3:20
  38. "There is one [hen] body and one [hen] Spirit, one [hen] hope, one [hen] Lord, one [hen] faith, one [hen] baptism, one [hen] God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:4-6
  39. "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only [monos] God" 1 Timothy 1:17
  40. "which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only [monos] Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone [monos] possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen." 1 Timothy 6:16
  41. "For there is one [hen] God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Timothy 2:5
  42. "You believe that God is one [hen]. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." James 2:19
  43. "For certain persons deny our only [monos] Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." Jude 4
  44. "the only [monos] God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." Jude 25

 

Going back to the ending of the Scripture of 1 John 5:20, “This is the true Elohim, and eternal life.”

What does John 17:3 and many more verses all throughout the Bible show? Yahshua (Jesus) always presented his Father in Heaven as the one true Elohim (God).

Remember that the way the Scripture at 1 John 5:20 is presented by the Translators in English language could provide people to support a CONTRADICTORY teaching that goes against all the UNDERSTANDING that Yahshua (Jesus) provided. This can happen, if ONE SCRIPTURE IS ISOLATED AND INDEPENDENTLY ON THIS ONE SCRIPTURE A DOCTRINE OR TEACHING IS FORMED.

Second Explanation (This is searched from the Internet, presented as it is)

It is obvious that grammatically the word "this" (outoscould be referring to either the Father or Jesus in this particular scripture (see the footnote for 1 John 5:20 in the very Trinitarian NIV Study Bible). But the fact that the true God (or "the true One") has just been identified as the Father of Jesus (1 Jn 5:20, TEV and GNB) makes it highly probable that "this is the true God" refers to the Father, not Jesus. The highly trinitarian NT scholar Murray J. Harris sums up his 13-page analysis of this scripture as follows:

"Although it is certainly possible that outos refers back to Jesus Christ, several converging lines of evidence point to `the true one,' God the Father, as the probable antecedent. This position, outos = God [Father], is held by many commentators, authors of general studies, and significantly, by those grammarians who express an opinion on the matter." - p. 253, Jesus as God, Baker Book House, 1992.

Notice how this Trinitarian scholar actually admits that the probability is that the Father (not Jesus) is being called the true God here. He even tells us (and cites examples in his footnotes) that New Testament grammarians and commentators (most of them trinitarian, of course) agree!

So this single "proof" that the "true God" is a title for anyone other than the Father alone is not proof at all. The grammar alone merely makes it a possibility. The immediate context makes it highly improbable since (as in all other uses of the term) the true God (or the true one) was just identified as the Father ("We are in the one who is true as we are in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and this is eternal life." - NJB; and "We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we know the true God. We live in union with the true God - in union with his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and this is eternal life." - TEV.).

So the immediate context alone makes it probable that the true God is the Father in this scripture also. As we have seen, if we include the context of all the uses of the `true God,' it is certain that He is the Father alone (whose personal name is Jehovah - Ps. 83:18, Ex. 3:15).

To clinch John's intended meaning at 1 John 5:20, let's look another use of the term: John 17:1, 3, where, again (as in 1 Jn 5:20), he mentions Father, Son, and eternal life.


At John 17:1, 3 Jesus prays to the Father: “Father, .... this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” - New International Version (NIV). Here the Father alone is not only very clearly identified as the only true [alethinos] God, but Jesus Christ is again pointedly and specifically excluded from that identification (“AND Jesus Christ whom you [the only true God] have sent”)!

Notice how this respected trinitarian Bible has rendered John 17:1, 3 - “Father,....This is eternal life: to know thee who alone art truly God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” - New English Bible (NEB).

So, the title “the true God” does not have to mean that there are no others who may be called “gods” or “a god” in a subordinate but righteous sense. It is, however, an exclusive title for God, the Most High, only true God, Jehovah. And clearly it refers exclusively to the Father! No one else is the God or the True God! (Compare Ps. 86:10; 2 Kings 19:19; Is. 37:16.)

FINAL COMMENT & CONCLUSION

Simple and beautiful explanation about 1 John 5:20 (It’s a weak language and linguistic issue. If people who read English language DO NOT have a good command over English language, then OH MY GOODNESS, they can read anything into the scripture, they can misquote wrongly, and they can read it out of context.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTVqPVVAhzg