The True God vs. Eternal Life
John 17:3 – “And this is eternal life,
that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent.”
1 John 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;
whoever does not have the Son of God
does not have life.”
|
Aspect |
The True God |
Eternal Life |
|
Meaning |
Refers to the genuine God revealed and experienced through His Son,
Jesus Christ (1 John 5:20). He is not
only objectively real but also subjectively experienced within believers. |
Refers to God Himself as the content and reality of the believer’s
life (1 John 5:11–12). It is the
indestructible, eternal life that enables
believers to partake of God and live Him out. |
|
Method |
Through the
coming of the Son of God in the flesh and by giving us understanding to know
Him as the True One (1 John 5:20a). Only by abiding in Him can we
truly know Him. |
By believing
into and abiding in Christ (1 John 5:12; John 15:4–5). The reality of
life is in union, fellowship, and experience
of Christ as life. |
|
Explanation |
When we are “in
Him who is true,” that is, in His Son Jesus Christ, God is no longer merely objective to us but
becomes our experiential True God (1 John 5:20). |
When we are in
Christ, He becomes our life. This life is God’s eternal being and essence imparted into us so that we
may live and express Him. |
|
Distinction |
The True God is
the source, the Person, the Giver of life. |
Eternal life is
God’s being dispensed into man in nature and essence, bringing a living union
with God. |
|
Example |
The apostles
such as John and Paul experienced God not only as the heavenly
Deity but as the indwelling, experiential
Lord (Phil. 3:8–10; 1 John 4:15). |
Believers
experience Christ as the life supply within, overcoming sin, the world, and death
(John 11:25–26; Gal. 2:20). |
|
Application |
To know and
abide in the True God, not merely to believe that He exists,
but to experience Him as reality and all in all (John
17:3). |
To live daily
in Christ with life as the center; to enjoy divine fellowship and partake of
God as eternal life (Rom. 8:2, 10). |
|
Interrelation |
The True God
and Eternal Life are one (1 John 5:20b). When we are in God and Christ,
They are not two but one in our experience: “This is the True God and eternal
life.” |
The reality of
life is God Himself. The True God becomes life in us; eternal life is the
inward realization and experience of that God. |
|
Scripture References |
1 John 5:20 – “And we know that the Son of God has come
and has given us an understanding, so 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.” |
John 15:4–5 – “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you,
unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides
in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me
you can do nothing.” |
🌿 Key Points
- “This” (1 John 5:20) refers to the experiential oneness of believers in God and His
Son.
- The
True God is the source; Eternal Life is His inward impartation.
- Experientially,
the two are one: God becomes our life, and that life is the True
God Himself.
📖 Conclusion
When we are in God and in Christ, we do not merely believe in Him outwardly — we experience Him inwardly as the
True God and the Eternal Life. 1 John 5:20
reveals this organic union of life between God and His redeemed people.
*Please refer to the June
2025 Summer Training, General Topic: Experiencing, Enjoying, and Manifesting
Christ (Part 3), Chapter 12: The True One
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