Understanding VS Knowing the True God

 

Understanding VS Knowing the True God

1 John 5:20 – “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding to 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.” 

Aspect	Understanding	Knowing the True God
Meaning	A spiritual faculty given by the Son of God, enabling believers’ minds to be enlightened and their spirits made alive to perceive divine realities. It is the function of the renewed mind.	The experience, enjoyment, and possession of the true God in divine life—not mere mental knowledge but experiential knowing in life and fellowship.
Method	① Receive the Son of God (believe in Christ); ② Allow the Spirit of reality to enlighten and renew the mind; ③ Receive revelation in the quickened spirit.	① Experience God in eternal life; ② Be enlightened by the Spirit of revelation; ③ Enjoy fellowship with the Lord in truth.
Explanation	Understanding is the function of the enlightened mind after divine life’s shining. It allows us to perceive spiritual things in our spirit (John 16:13–15). It is given through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.	Knowing God is the living experience of Him—experiencing, enjoying, and possessing Him (John 17:3). It comes from union and fellowship with God in life.
Distinction	The aspect of perceiving—an inward ability of the renewed mind and enlivened spirit.	The aspect of experiencing—the result of understanding, producing living knowledge and enjoyment of God.
Example	After being saved, a believer’s mind is enlightened and spirit made alive; he begins to grasp spiritual things such as the meaning of the cross and God’s will.	When believers experience God’s love, receive His supply, and are renewed by His word in fellowship, they truly know the True One.
Application	Live in the Spirit under divine shining to renew the mind and gain spiritual perception of God’s will and truth.	Walk with God, experience His reality, enjoy His presence, and live out His divine life and nature.
Mutual Relationship	Understanding is the means and foundation of knowing God; without it, one cannot perceive divine things.	Knowing God is the result and goal of understanding; through understanding, we enter into the reality of the True God.
Related Scriptures	John 16:13–15 – “When the Spirit of reality comes, He will guide you into all the reality… He will declare to you the things that are to come.” Ephesians 1:17–18 – “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened…”	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 5:20 (b) – “We are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” 2 Peter 1:3 – “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue.”

 

🌼 Core Points Summary

1.      Understanding is a divine faculty granted by the Son, enabling believers to perceive spiritual reality.

2.      Knowing the True God is the experiential outcome of that understanding—living, enjoying, and possessing Him.

3.      Understanding operates through the renewed mind and enlightened spirit under the Spirit’s shining.

4.      Eternal life possesses the capacity to know God, because life knows life.

5.      Knowing God results in abiding in Him and expressing His reality in life.

 

🌿 Conclusion

The Son of God, through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, has given believers understanding, enabling them—through the renewed mind and quickened spirit—to know the True God. Understanding is the spiritual ability granted by grace; knowing God is the living result. Together, they bring believers into the reality of God Himself.

 

*Please refer to the June 2025 Summer Training, General Topic: Experiencing, Enjoying, and Manifesting Christ (Part 3), Chapter 12: The True One