In the True God vs. In His Son Jesus Christ
1 John 5:20 — “The Son of God has come and has given us understanding that we might 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.”
John 15:4–5 — “Abide in Me and I in you… I am the vine; you are the branches.”
|
Aspect |
In the True God |
In His Son Jesus Christ |
|---|---|---|
|
Meaning |
Represents the believers’ living in God as the True One — not merely knowing Him objectively, but experiencing Him subjectively as life, light, and reality. |
Refers to the believers’ union with Christ, experiencing Him as the embodiment of God, since Christ is the concrete expression and access to the True God. |
|
Symbolism |
Signifies entering into the divine reality and essence of truth; not only knowing about God, but living in God Himself as reality. |
Symbolizes the believers’ union with Christ through whom God is made accessible, and by whom humanity enters into the divine reality through incarnation, death, and resurrection. |
|
Way / Method |
Through the understanding granted by the Son of God (1 John 5:20), enabling believers to know, enjoy, and experience God as reality; living in His presence in spirit. |
Through faith and union with Christ (John 15:4; Gal. 3:27), abiding in Him so that His life operates within us. |
|
Explanation |
“The True One” in Greek means genuine, real, actual, in contrast with what is false or imaginary. God becomes subjective reality to us (1 John 5:20). |
“In His Son Jesus Christ” shows how we are in the True One—by being in Christ we are in the True God (Col. 2:9; John 14:6). |
|
Distinction |
Emphasizes the result—living in the reality of the True God. |
Emphasizes the process—we are in the True God through being in Christ. |
|
Example |
1 John 5:20 states, “We are in Him who is true,” indicating believers not only know God but live in His realized presence. |
Believers are “in Christ” (2 Cor 5:17) like branches in the vine (John 15:5), living with Him in His death and resurrection. |
|
Application |
To live not merely by doctrinal knowledge but by the actual experience of God’s reality—loving, walking in light, and serving truthfully. |
To live daily by the union with Christ—acting not out of self-effort but by Christ’s indwelling life and reality. |
|
Mutual Relationship |
Being “in the True One” is the outcome of being “in His Son Jesus Christ”; both are essentially one since the Son and the Father mutually indwell (John 14:10–11). |
Being “in Jesus Christ” is the way to be in the True One; through the Son we are in the Father (John 14:20). |
|
Key Scriptures |
- John 17:3 — “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” |
- Colossians 2:9 — “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” |
Core Points:
- 1. The True God is the subjective, experiential God who becomes our reality and life.
- 2. The Son Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God; through Him we enter and live in the True God.
- 3. To be in Christ is to be in God, for the Father and the Son are one (John 10:30).
- 4. Knowing the True God equals living, acting, and fellowshipping in Christ.
Conclusion:
- * Being in the True God is the highest state of the believer’s life — the outcome of being in Christ.
- * Through union with Christ, the once-objective God becomes our subjective reality.
- * To abide in Christ is to live in God’s reality — this is the essence and expression of eternal life.
*Please refer to the June 2025 Summer Training, General Topic: Experiencing, Enjoying, and Manifesting Christ (Part 3), Chapter 12: The True One
