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<div><font color="#FF6600" face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">In I John 5:19-20 we read:</font></div>
<div><font color="#FF6600" face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">"We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the evil one. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we 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."</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">These words, when read without any preconceptions or prejudices, teach us that Jesus is God, or more specifically, "The true God and eternal life". One may try to understand them otherwise, especially when constrained by the preconception that God is single or singular in nature, and not as the scriptures teach - that He is one.</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">One favourite verse with those who deny the deity of Christ, which is often brought as an argument against the verse above, is John 17:3, which reads: "And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, [even] Jesus Christ". When presented on its own, without regarding the rest of Scripture, one can conclude from this that Jesus Christ is not God because He is here distinct from the Father, who is "the only true God". In fact, this verse is not the only verse one can learn from that our Lord Jesus is distinct from the Father; there are many more such verses, especially 1 Corinithians 8:6 and a host of others, none of which disprove Christ's proper deity (I hope to write more on this later). John 17:3 speaks about the Father, while I John 5:20 is specifically about the Son.</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Now, back to I John 5:20. The simple grammar of this verse shows Christ to be "the true God and Eternal Life". There are arguments against the simple grammatical logic of this verse. The "this" of the verse does not necessarily have to address the Son, some say, it could well address the Father. To prove this point, one might use a sentence like this one:</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">"Jack borrowed money from John because he needed it"</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Now, the "he" in this sentence doesn't apply to what's exactly before the "he" (i.e. - John) because that wouldn't make any sense. Do you borrow money from one who needs money? No. So the "he" actually refers to Jack, the borrower. "Jack borrowed money from John because he (i.e. - Jack, not John) needed it". The same goes for our verse here, they claim. They claim that the words "This is the true God and eternal life" do not necessarily refer to what is right before it, (i.e. Jesus), it could well be refering to the Father, God.</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Now, it is true that some logic is to be applied when reading the scriptures. It's written "Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding" (Psalm 32:9). But the natural flow of the verse shows the Lord Jesus to be the true God and Eternal Life, and one would have to bend the simple meaning of it each time he read the scriptures in order to understand it otherwise, which is dangerous. It is better to accept it as it is and not to apply our own logic and preconceptions.</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">The Jehovah's Witnesses, a cult which doesn't believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus, saw the problem this verse can cause to their theology. They had to bend it, as follows: "We know we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the [power of the] wicked one. But we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us intellectual capacity that we may gain the knowledge of the true one. And we are in union with the true one, by means of his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life everlasting."</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Do you see the twist? We're not "in him that is true - in his Son Jesus Christ". This would show Christ to be clearly "the true" or "the true one" of this passage. So the word "in" is changed to "by means of". But doesn't scripture clearly teach that those who believe in Christ are in Jesus Christ? They do. 1 Corinthians 1:30: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God". 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation". Those who believe in Christ are in Him. The Watchtower Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) know this very well, so they add "in union with" in these passages in their New World Translation, because if they leave the text in tact, it wouldn't settle with their theology. I John 5:19 shows that the whole world is in the evil one, the devil; so they add "the [power of the] wicked one" to further confuse. But scriptures teach that one is either in the evil one, or in Christ, so you'd do well to disregard such attempts at distorting God's word.</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Furthermore, the simple structure of this verse would not allow splitting the description of "the true God and eternal life" into two as some have tried. They say that "the true God" refers to the Father, while "the eternal life" refers to the Son, and by this they supposedly try to give Jesus some respect while robbing Him of His full title. Had it been two separate titles, one for the Father, one for the Son, it would have had to read "these are the true God and Eternal Life.", but it doesn't say that. So the title "the True God and eternal life" is one title and cannot be separated, as this would be playing grammar games with the apostle, and ultimately - with God.</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">But to further prove that this refers to the Lord Jesus, we could ask if Jesus is in any other place called "the eternal life"? Yes, He is! In the first chapter of this epistle, and in the very first verses, Jesus is titled "the word of life", and then also "the life" and "the eternal life which was with the Father" (verse 2). Jesus is life itself, He told us so! "I am the way, the truth and the life!" Whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life (John 3:15). So Jesus by definition of I John 1:2 is "the eternal life", and in our verse is further titled "The true God and Eternal Life".</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Jesus is also the True one in our verse. He always is! Jesus is the "true vine" (John 15:1). Jesus is also the "true light" (what a title!) which enlightens all men (John 1:9). Jesus is "faithful and true" (Revelation 19:11). Jesus is also "the faithful and true witness" (Revelation 3:14). He is not only truth itself (John 14:6), He is the true witness of it and of God (John 18:37). And lastly, He is called "He who is holy, He who is true" in Revelation 3:7.</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">So I John 5:20 teaches us clearly that we are in the Son, Jesus Christ, and that He is the True One, even "the true God and Eternal Life".</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we 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."</font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
<div><font face="Vrinda" class="ws12" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><BR></font></div>
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<div><font color="#FFFFFF" face="VanHelsing" class="ws12">The True God and Eternal Life</font></div>
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