1 John 5:20

Memory Verse

And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us a working of the mind in order that we may experientially know the true One, and we are in the true One, in His Son Jesus Christ. This One is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).

The impact of Jesus, a man sent by God, on human history is evident through His life and death. Whether or not a person acknowledges this depends on their openness to the truth. At the heart of Christianity is the profound mystery of godliness, expressed in God being manifested in the flesh, justified in Spirit, discerned by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and received in glory (1 Timothy 3:16).

Along with sending Christ, God has given us a working of the mind so that we may experientially know the true One. The working of the mind describes the active engagement in reasoning, understanding, and forming intentions. It is what goes through the mind. Before salvation, we walked just as all the unsaved, in the futility of their minds, having the working of our minds darkened because it is alienated from the life of God (Ephesians 4:17–18). Prior to salvation our thoughts, reasonings, and intentions of our mind could not understand the truth. The malignantly evil workings of our mind made us enemies of God (Colossians 1:20).

Now reconciled to God, we have a mind that can understand the true One. The workings of our mind have been enlightened so that we may know the hope of His calling (Ephesians 1:18). Not only did Christ come, but God also gave us the ability to understand that He is the true One and that we are in Him. When God raised Christ from the dead, He made a new creation (1 Corinthians 5:17—The Christ is the new creation, not the person). Christ is the head, and the Church is the body (Ephesians 1:22–23). When a person believes that Christ died on behalf of our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day, all according to the Scriptures, he is saved (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). The Holy Spirit washes, regenerates, and places him into the body of the Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12–13; Titus 3:4–5). Now that we are in Christ, we are no longer under the condemnation from Adam (Romans 8:1).

Since we possess a mind that can understand the truth, let us put on Christ as an outer garment–recognizing who we are in Christ and conducting our lives accordingly, making no provision to fulfill the strong desires from the flesh, and walk in a worthy manner of the One who called us into His marvelous light (Romans 13:14; Galatians 3:27; 1 Peter 2:9).