1 John 5.20 – Christ is not the true God?

As I said before,

I'm not trying to disprove or prove anything here.

I know that cannot be done either way with this scripture.

I am merely pointing out that this is a bad scripture to base something like this on, since it can so easily be understood in more than one way.

“We are in union with the true one, by means of his Son Jesus Christ. THIS is the true God and life everlasting.”

Who is “THIS” referring to?

You think that the demonstrative pronoun “this” (hou′tos) refers to its immediate antecedent, Jesus Christ.

But some believe that the most natural reference of hou′tos is to the subject not locally nearest but dominant in the mind of the apostle–God.

Haupt makes a good point: “A testimony to the one true God seems more in harmony with the final warning against idols than a demonstration of the divinity of Christ.”

Even A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament, published by Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute, states: “[Hou′tos]: as a climax to [verses] 18-20 the ref[erence] is almost certainly to God the real, the true, [in] opp[osition to] paganism (v. 21).”

Often hou′tos, generally translated “this” or “this one,” does not refer to the immediately preceding subject of a phrase. Other scriptures illustrate the point. At 2 John 7, the same apostle and penman of the first letter wrote: “Many deceivers have gone forth into the world, persons not confessing Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This [hou′tos′] is the deceiver and the antichrist.” Here the pronoun cannot refer to the closest antecedent—Jesus. Obviously, “this” refers to those who denied Jesus. They collectively are “the deceiver and the antichrist.”

The apostle John wrote: “Andrew the brother of Simon Peter was one of the two that heard what John said and followed Jesus. First this one [hou′tos] found his own brother, Simon.” (John 1:40, 41) It is evident that “this one” refers, not to the last person mentioned, but to Andrew. At 1 John 2:22, the apostle uses the same pronoun in a similar way.

Luke makes similar use of the pronoun, as seen at Acts 4:10, 11: “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you impaled but whom God raised up from the dead, by this one does this man stand here sound in front of you. This [hou′tos′] is ‘the stone that was treated by you builders as of no account that has become the head of the corner.’” The pronoun “this” clearly does not refer to the man who was healed, though he is the one mentioned just before hou′tos. Certainly, “this” in verse 11 refers to Jesus Christ the Nazarene, who is the “cornerstone” on which the Christian congregation is founded.—Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4-8.
Acts 7:18, 19 also illustrates the point: “There rose a different king over Egypt, who did not know of Joseph. This one [hou′tos] used statecraft against our race.” “This one” who oppressed the Jews was, not Joseph, but Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

Such passages confirm the observation made by Greek scholar Daniel Wallace, who says that for Greek demonstratives, “what might be the nearest antecedent contextually might not be the nearest antecedent in the author’s mind.”

SO, IT DOESN'T MATTER that the name Jesus was closest to the “this.” It matters what was on the mind of the writer.

It's YOUR OPINION that the 'this' refers to Jesus. But if you look at the Greek, it could be referring to God, the Father.

So again, simply repeating your opinion does not prove anything.

QUESTION:

Where in 1 John 5:20 are we told that Christ is God?

Hi Jammin,
Acts 10.38

Wow?

I can do that too. Watch:

We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we now the real God. We are in the one who is real, his Son Jesus Christ. This God the Father is the real God and eternal life.

The fact that your Bible inserts the words “Jesus Christ” a second time proves no more than me inserting “God the Father.”

You do get that, right?

I mean, you do know that they inserted that second “Jesus Christ” in there, don't you?

The part you made bold…apparently that is your evidence. The problem is, the part that matters in the part you made bold: IT WAS ADDED!

jammin,
–You don't seem to understand burden of proof.
–You don't seem to know that your main arguments is based not on what the Bible said, but on something that someone added.
–You also somehow don't understand that “Christ” means anointed one.
–Nor do you understand that when a list of titles are presented, they do not necessitate that the second title is the definition of the first title.
–Nor do you understand respect, which is odd given how little you yourself know.

Hi Jammin,

Once again you have managed to say something “Biblical”,
I commend your growth here! bravo, keep up the good work!

Your brother
in Christ, Jesus.
Ed J (Joshua 22:34)
holycitybiblecode.org