I had a thought on a point you shared.
> At 01:38 AM 5/5/98 EDT, GregStffrd wrote:
>
> >There are two very significant observations to keep in mind when
> considering 1
> >John 5:20, and for some reason Wallace does not consider either one
> of them.
> >
> >The first has to do with the immediate context. In the first part of
> 1 John
> >5:20, we are told that the Son of God has come and given us the
> ability to
> >know TON ALHTHINON. This creates a distinction between the two, for
> one gives
> >us a knowledge of the other, but TON ALHTHINON also provides what I
> perceive
> >as that most natural antecedent for hO ALHTHINOS THEOS, who is
> distinguished
> >from Jesus (ZWH AIWNIOS [?]-cf. 1 John 1:2) hO hUIOS AUTOU.
>
> Here's the verse:
>
> John 5:20 OIDAMEN hOTI hO hUIOS TOU QEOU hHKEI, KAI DEDWKEN hHMIN
> DIANOIAN
> hINA GINWSKWMEN TON ALHQINON; KAI ESMEN EN TWi ALHQINWi, EN TWi hUIWi
> AUTOU
> IHSOU CRISTWi. hOUTOS ESTIN hO ALHQINOS QEOS KAI ZWH AIWNIOS.
>
> For the sake of clarity, let me number some critical referents in the
> passage:
>
> GINWSKWMEN (1) TON ALHQINON; KAI ESMEN EN (2) TWi ALHQINWi, EN (3) TWi
> hUIWi (4) AUTOU IHSOU CRISTWi. (5) hOUTOS ESTIN hO ALHQINOS QEOS KAI
> ZWH
> AIWNIOS.
>
> To me, the most important questions involve the antecedents of (4)
> AUTOU
> and (5) hOUTOS.
>
> But often what John does is precisely what we
> see here: he brings a subject into near view, then refers to it with
> hOUTOS, which generally refers backward to what is being discussed, in
> this
> case IHSOU CRISTWi. I find it difficult to believe that it would refer
> to
> (1) TON ALHQINON because the predominant subject at this point is
> Jesus,
> not God the Father: Jesus has come, Jesus has given us to know the one
> who
> is true (the father), we are in Jesus, and hOUTOS - Jesus - is the
> true God
> and eternal life. If it referred to (1) TON ALHQINON, then it would be
> a
> sloppy use of hOUTOS, which is not typical for John.
>
Is it really true that the predominant subject is Jesus? If so, then who
is the AUTOU in referent (4)? If hOUTOS refers to a predominant subject,
would not the previous AUTOU qualify as a near subject?
A.T. Robertson has a grammatical comment (and opinion) on this in his
Word Pictures 1Jo 5:20 - Even in his Son Jesus Christ (EN TWi hUIWi AUTO
IHSOU CRISTWi). The AUTOU refers clearly to EN TWi ALHQINWi (God). Hence
this clause is not in apposition with the preceding, but an explanation
as to how we are "in the True One" by being "in his Son Jesus Christ."
This (hOUTOS). Grammatically hOUTOS may refer to Jesus Christ or to "the
True One." It is a bit tautological to refer it to God, but that is
probably correct, God in Christ, at any rate. God is eternal life (Joh
5:26) and he gives it to us through Christ.
Sincerely,
Wes Williams