The last part of 1 John 5:20 is very mysterious and yet very packed with meaning. John says, “This is the true God and eternal life”. What does “THIS” refer to? Why didn’t John just say, “He is the true God and eternal life”?
In light of all we enjoyed this week concerning the True One, being in the True One, and what does it mean that the truthfulness of God becomes our human reality, this sentence is packed with meaning.
THIS is the true God and eternal life
“This” here in 1 John 5:20 refers to the God who has come through incarnation and has given to us the ability to know Him as the genuine God and be one with Him in an organic way in His Son Jesus Christ.
THIS – all this – is the genuine and real God and eternal life to us. It doesn’t say that He, God, is the true God and eternal life – but it is THIS. Praise the Lord, we are also included in “this”!
Our being in the true One by the understanding that the Son of God gave us through the divine life is the true God and eternal life!
The True One and His Son = the True God and eternal life
We are in the True One and in His Son Jesus Christ – when we are not in them, they are two in our objective understanding. But when we are organically united with Him and we are in the True One and in Jesus Christ in an experiential way, these two are one.
Also, as we see in the last part of the verse, these two are our true God and our eternal life! The True One in whom we are is the True God, and the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we are is the eternal life to us!
How mysterious – yet how real, God Himself now lives in us as we are In Him!
We are in the True One experientially
We need to see this and be in this reality in our experience – we are no longer outside of God; rather, we are in this God, and we are in the true One, in His Son Jesus Christ! God and Christ are no longer objective and outside of us, but through our being in Him they become real and subjective to us! This is the true God, and this is eternal life – the very God and the very Jesus Christ in whom we are is the true God and the eternal life.
Hallelujah, we are in the true One and in Jesus Christ right now! In our experience the true One becomes the true God, and Jesus Christ becomes eternal life – we are in the True God and in the eternal life.
This is so mysterious yet so real – all this is in the divine and mystical realm of the Triune God and the life-giving Spirit. The very God who has become experiential to us through our being in Him is the true God and eternal life. In this true God and eternal life we and our being in God is included!
Praise the Lord, we know that we are in the true God and in eternal life because we are in the true One and in His Son Jesus Christ!
[sharing inspired from the life-study of 2 John msg. 2, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery. You can follow the articles on The Four Great Pillars on this blog. Picture source: Trees in Autumn, the WallPepper project.]
Lord, cause us to see where we are! We are in the True One and in Jesus Christ! The Lord Jesus has come as the Son of God to give us an understanding of the Triune God and the divine reality. Lord, keep us open to You that we may live in this organic union with You. Our real home and dwelling place is the true One and Jesus Christ. Praise You, Lord, for becoming the true God and eternal life to us in our experience! We are IN the Triune God, in the true God!