1 John 5:20 kjv
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 his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
1 John 5:20 nkjv
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5:20 niv
We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5:20 esv
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5:20 nlt
And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
1 John 5 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deity of Christ | ||
| Jn 1:1 | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. | Jesus is God. |
| Jn 1:18 | ...the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known. | Jesus' divine identity and revelation. |
| Jn 20:28 | Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” | Disciples acknowledge Jesus' deity. |
| Rom 9:5 | ...Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. | Paul affirms Christ's sovereignty and deity. |
| Tit 2:13 | ...our great God and Savior Jesus Christ... | Jesus as both God and Savior. |
| Heb 1:8 | But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever...” | God the Father refers to the Son as God. |
| 2 Pet 1:1 | ...righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ... | Peter affirms Christ's deity. |
| Knowledge and Understanding of God | ||
| Jn 17:3 | And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. | Knowing God and Christ is eternal life. |
| Lk 10:22 | ...no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. | Revelation of God comes through Jesus. |
| Matt 11:27 | All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father... | Father and Son have unique knowledge, revelation. |
| Col 2:2-3 | ...to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ... | All knowledge and wisdom found in Christ. |
| Union with Christ ("in Him") | ||
| Jn 15:4-5 | Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine... | Spiritual union for life and fruitfulness. |
| Rom 6:11 | So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. | New life is found "in Christ." |
| 2 Cor 5:17 | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. | Being "in Christ" brings transformation. |
| Eph 2:13 | But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. | Redemption brings closeness "in Christ." |
| Col 1:27 | ...Christ in you, the hope of glory. | Christ's indwelling is the hope. |
| Eternal Life through Christ | ||
| 1 Jn 1:2 | (the life was manifested, and we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us) | Jesus Himself is eternal life. |
| 1 Jn 5:11-12 | And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life... | Eternal life is intrinsically linked to having the Son. |
| Jn 3:16 | For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. | Faith in Christ grants eternal life. |
| Jn 6:47 | Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. | Believing in Jesus provides eternal life now. |
| Jn 10:28 | I give them eternal life, and they will never perish... | Jesus is the giver and guarantor of eternal life. |
| Christ's Advent and Purpose | ||
| Jn 1:14 | And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us... | Incarnation of Christ. |
| 1 Tim 3:16 | Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh... | Christ's appearing in human form. |
1 John 5 verses
1 John 5 20 Meaning
First John 5:20 declares that believers possess an experiential knowledge that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has come to earth through His incarnation. His advent has illuminated their minds, granting spiritual understanding, enabling them to intimately know the one true God. This verse further asserts that believers are spiritually united with this true God through their relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. It then culminates in a profound theological statement, identifying Jesus Christ as "the true God and eternal life," thereby affirming His divine nature and His essential role as the source and embodiment of eternal life for all who believe.
1 John 5 20 Context
First John chapter 5 is largely concerned with the assurance of salvation and the victory believers have in Christ. The apostle highlights core tenets of Christian faith: love for God demonstrated by keeping His commandments (v. 2-3), the victory that overcomes the world through faith (v. 4-5), and the tripartite testimony of the Spirit, the water, and the blood concerning Christ (v. 6-8). The chapter emphasizes that eternal life is in the Son (v. 11-12) and provides confidence in prayer for fellow believers (v. 13-17). Verse 18 reminds believers that one born of God does not habitually sin, implying divine protection from evil.
Within this flow, verse 20 serves as a culminating affirmation of who Jesus is and what He provides. It directly confronts false teachings circulating among the early Christian community, particularly proto-Gnostic tendencies that might have denied the true humanity or full deity of Christ. Such groups might have separated the divine Christ from the human Jesus, or taught a different path to spiritual knowledge. John emphatically states that true understanding and fellowship with God are found exclusively in the Person of Jesus Christ, who is explicitly identified as the true God and the source of eternal life. This declaration provides the final theological foundation for the Christian's victory over the world and security in God, setting the stage for the concluding warning against idols in verse 21.
1 John 5 20 Word analysis
- And we know (καὶ οἴδαμεν - kai oidamen): The Greek verb oidamen denotes a fixed, settled, and certain knowledge based on personal experience, observation, or divine revelation. It's not a speculative or intellectual 'knowing' but an assurance. "And" connects this assured knowledge to the preceding assertions about Christ and life. This "we" includes John and his fellow believers, signifying a shared, corporate conviction.
- that the Son of God (ὅτι ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ - hoti ho Huios tou Theou): This is a direct, emphatic divine title, signifying Jesus' unique, essential, and eternal relationship with God the Father. It underpins His authority and identity.
- has come (ἥκει - hēkei): This Greek perfect tense verb emphasizes the arrival of the Son of God as a past event with enduring present effects. It points definitively to the Incarnation – Jesus' literal advent in human flesh – affirming His historicity and countering any Gnostic-like denial of His genuine humanity.
- and has given us understanding (καὶ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν διάνοιαν - kai edōken hēmin dianoian): God's grace is highlighted; understanding is a gift, not self-acquired. Dianoia refers to the faculty of the mind, spiritual perception, or the ability to grasp truth. It implies a divinely enabled enlightenment of the inner being, enabling believers to discern spiritual realities previously hidden.
- so that we may know Him who is true (ἵνα γινώσκωμεν τὸν ἀληθινόν - hina ginōskōmen ton alēthinon): Ginōskōmen (subjunctive of ginōskō) refers to an experiential, relational, and intimate knowing, a personal relationship, not merely intellectual assent. Ton alēthinon (the True One/He who is true) is an absolute reference to God the Father, often contrasted with idols or falsehood. This purpose clause shows the ultimate goal of Christ's coming and the granting of understanding.
- and we are in Him who is true (καὶ ἐσμὲν ἐν τῷ ἀληθινῷ - kai esmen en tō alēthinō): "In" (ἐν - en) signifies a sphere of existence, spiritual union, or identification. Believers' lives are lived within the reality of God the Father, the True One.
- in His Son Jesus Christ (ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ - en tō Huiō autou Iēsou Christō): This parenthetical or explanatory phrase immediately clarifies the preceding statement. The spiritual union with God the Father is realized through and in union with Jesus Christ. There is no access to "the True One" (the Father) except by being "in His Son Jesus Christ." This underscores Christ as the sole mediator.
- This is (οὗτός ἐστιν - houtos estin): Grammatically, "This" most naturally refers to the immediate preceding subject, which is "His Son Jesus Christ." It is a strong, declarative identification.
- the true God (ὁ ἀληθινὸς Θεός - ho alēthinos Theos): A momentous, direct affirmation of Jesus' full deity. Alēthinos again emphasizes authenticity and reality, contrasting Jesus as the real God with false gods or spiritual delusions.
- and eternal life (καὶ ἡ ζωὴ αἰώνιος - kai hē zōē aiōnios): Not merely a source of life, but Jesus Himself is the very embodiment and essence of "eternal life." This ties back to John's pervasive theme that eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ (Jn 17:3) and is found uniquely in the Son (1 Jn 5:11).
1 John 5 20 Bonus section
The strong declaration of Christ's deity in this verse (οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀληθινὸς Θεὸς - "This is the true God") serves as a climactic theological point in John's letter. It forms a powerful refutation against any form of polytheism or the worship of idols, implicitly referenced in the very next verse (1 Jn 5:21). John often presents truth as exclusive and real (ἀληθινός) in contrast to what is false or illusory. Thus, Jesus being the "true God" emphasizes that any other god or object of worship is, by implication, not genuine. The entire letter builds to this emphatic Christological statement, which then grounds the believer's entire reality: their knowledge, their existence ("in Him"), and their eternal destiny.
1 John 5 20 Commentary
First John 5:20 is a profoundly concise statement that encapsulates core Christian doctrines: the Incarnation, spiritual illumination, union with God, and the absolute deity of Jesus Christ. It states with assurance that believers possess an enlightened understanding, graciously bestowed by God through the Son, which allows them to genuinely know the Father. This "knowing" is not academic but an intimate, saving relationship. Crucially, this verse definitively identifies Jesus Christ not only as the path to God but as "the true God" Himself and the living embodiment of "eternal life." This serves as the ultimate corrective against any attempt to diminish Christ's unique identity or place, positioning Him as the essential object of faith, the genuine revelation of God, and the ultimate source of spiritual vitality and everlasting existence.