1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true… These are the strongest words that can be used in reference to any object. I. THE APOSTLE'S KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST. 1. John knew that the long expected and earnestly looked for Saviour had made His appearance among men. What mere man could talk of going to and coming from heaven, as though he were speaking of going into and coming out of a room in a house and claim to be sane? He was "Emmanuel, God with us," who, while here below, remained there always. "And we know that the Son of God is come." 2. The apostle received a priceless gift from the "Son of God." And hath given us an "understanding." The importance of the "understanding" that Christ gives may be seen in the object which it understands. A teacher who succeeds in making a great and difficult subject clear to our minds deserves our profoundest gratitude and highest admiration. The "Son of God" gives mankind an understanding that apprehends the greatest of all objects — "Him that is true." The Son comprehends God and He gives us understandings to apprehend Him. Such an understanding is truly a great gift, the greatest of its kind possible. When we bear in mind that by it Christ places us in the light in which we may see and know God, we cannot fail to feel that it is indeed such. For, like all objects of the mind, God can only be known in His own light. The only way we can possibly understand a great author is to possess the light in which he wrote his work — we must see with his intellectual eyes as it were — then we shall understand him, not otherwise. The understanding which Christ gives us includes much more than a mere capacity to apprehend an object, it includes a suitable spirit in which to enter upon the study of it. Indeed, unless we are in fullest sympathy with the spirit of the object we are studying we shall fail to understand it. It is something to be able to understand the great works that have been produced by the illustrious men of the different ages; their sublime and inspiring poetry, their wise and informing philosophy, their splendid pictures, their fine statuary, and their grand architecture. But the "understanding" which the "Son of God" gives apprehends God; it knows "Him that is true." Such a mind must be capacious indeed. II. THE APOSTLE'S RELATION TO CHRIST AND GOD. 1. "And we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ." A closer relationship than these words describe cannot be conceived; they imply that the most thorough and vital union subsists between God, Christ, and the Christian. That is a triple union the strong hand of death cannot sever, nor will the damps and chills of the grave impair the golden cord that binds the Christian to God and the Saviour. Eternity will only add to its power and perpetuity. To be in Him that is true is to know Him. 2. They possessed an intelligent assurance of the intimate relation which they sustained to Christ: "And we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ." They had entered into the close union with God by means of Christ, but they had not severed themselves from Christ in order to keep up the union with God; they were in Him that is true, "even in His Son Jesus Christ." All who are in "His Son Jesus Christ" see God from the only standpoint from whence it is possible for the soul to see Him really and satisfactorily. A visitor who went to Trafalgar Square to view Landseer's lions, selected a position on low ground from which he could look up at them, where the stately proportions of the whole column could be seen to the greatest advantage. Quite another effect is produced by looking down upon them from the terrace in the front of the National Gallery; the column seems dwarfed and the lions out of proportion. The standpoint made all the difference in the view. Christ is the only standpoint from which we can see God really: in Christ we "stand on the mount of God, with sunlight in our souls," and see the Father of our spirits. III. THE APOSTLE'S SUBLIME TESTIMONY TO CHRIST. "This is the true God and eternal life." Jesus Christ was not a Divine man merely: if He were not more than that John would not have said that He was "the true God." He was the best of men, but He was infinitely more; He was "the true God and eternal life." As the earth is the source of the life of all the fields and forests — as much the source of the life of the majestic oak as the sweet and fragrant violet — so Christ is the source of the soul's life. Separated from the earth, the most vital plant or tree would wither, droop, and die; no plant, however vigorous and beautiful, has life in itself. Jesus Christ is, in the fullest sense, the source of the soul's life; "For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." As the fountain of eternal life He imparts it to all who possess it. "I give unto them eternal life." The source of all the waters of the world must be an immense reservoir. If it were possible for the question to be put to all the waters found on the earth, to all streams, rivers, and lakes, "Where is your source?" do you think that they would answer, "Oh, some spring that takes its rise at the foot of a distant little hill." No, if anyone hinted that such a spring was their source they would scout the idea at once as the very acme of absurdity. Their united answer would be, "Our source must be an inexhaustible ocean." Then can a mere man be the author of "eternal life"? Impossible. (D. Rhys Jenkins.) Parallel Verses 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. |
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