How should one understand John 14:1 and 1 John 5:1?

Question

John 14:1

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. [bold mine]

1 John 5:1

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

The emphasis of the question is how someone is instructed and what knowledge is required to believe in God and also in Jesus.

Please take into account Ephesians 1:17, 4:13, and Colossians 2:2 in answering the question.

Ephesians 1:17

... that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ... [bold mine]

Ephesians 4:13

... till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ... [bold mine]

Colossians 2:2

... that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,... [bold mine]

Answer 1

These examples (among many others) are intended to convey a simple truth - God is God and Jesus is the son of God. This must be really important as all the NT writers keep repeating themselves - echoing Jesus' words of the same truth.

• One is sent to reveal the other.
• One (Jesus) has a God, the other IS God.
• If they were one substance, this would also have been made clear by someone, somewhere.

John 14:1:- “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe ALSO in Me.”

1John 5:1:- “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God..."

God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!” Acts 2:36

The knowledge of God comes through Christ.

no one knows the Father except the Son and those whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Matt 11:27 (Luke 10:22)

But as we know, we cannot understand Christ unless it is given us to understand. We might have a historical or theological knowledge, but this is not the knowledge that causes us to change our lives and become new people, a new creation.

This is a work of God's spirit in us. Just as it was working in Jesus to enable his perfect accomplishment on the cross and the incredibly stressful time leading up to it, of which we are only given a glimpse.

To know Christ in a genuine manner is to know the Father/God.

Ephesians 4:13:- “... till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

Being on this journey of perfection, as Jesus was, we are coming to know obedience, as Jesus did, so that we will become the intended creation - made in God's image - but ONLY in Christ.

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him Heb 5:8-9

We cannot come to God except through Jesus. No knowledge alone will enable that, no intellect or study or degree in Greek grammar. No memorisation of the text as the Jews did and still hold the law above Christ - even claiming he blasphemed by rightly calling himself, the son of God!

And no one comes to Christ except the Father draws/call them. Each will have their appointed time to know the one true God without the deception that has plagued man since Adam.

Via Ephesians 1:17 we see the importance of keeping each in their own place. Paul and all the other scripture writers never combined God and Christ and clearly show a vivid differentiation with Jesus not being God, but having a God.

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the KNOWLEDGE of Him”

and Colossians 2:2

and that they would attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive arguments

See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition Col 2:8

John 14:1:- “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe ALSO in Me.”

There have been and still are many believers in (a) God - Jesus said that they need to ALSO believe in him. Without him, there is no true understanding or resultant belief and then obedience. The knowledge of the true Jesus is a critical first step to allow error and improper understanding to recede and truth to advance.

The whole of 1 John 5 speaks of the importance of knowing the true Christ. The man who conquered evil and death for all other men. If Jesus is God, then his victory is not our victory.

• v1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ
• v5 the one who overcomes the world... believes that Jesus is the Son of God
• v6 This is the one who came by water and blood
• v11 Life is only in Christ

If there was something important John was leaving his readers with in his last letters, he goes over and over the nature of Christ, his physical origins, his intimate bond with God, the truth of Jesus having true life to give - only because the Father gave him that authority.

Answer 2

The word believe sometimes refers to 'trusting in' a person/thing, and other times refers to 'believing that' a proposition is true. One way to tell the difference is to check whether the sentence contains a proposition. A proposition is a phrase that makes a truth claim.

For example, John 14:1 does not contain a proposition. It's about trusting in both God and Jesus. To 'trust in' means to 'rely upon'.

1 John 5:1 is about believing that a proposition is true. The proposition is: 'that Jesus is the Christ is born of God'.

Answer 3

Knowledge is passive data. Faith is functional active knowledge. They come together as described in Ephesians 4:13

until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The two work together. Increasing knowledge will increase faith and vice versa. They form a positive feedback loop. We are talking about spiritual knowledge.

John 14:1

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe ALSO in Me.”

Have faith in God and also have faith in Jesus knowing that Jesus is the Son of God. Faith affects knowledge and knowledge affects faith. They interact dynamically as in 1John 5:1

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

Faith without actions is not faith; it is dead knowledge.

James 2:26

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

How someone is instructed and what knowledge is required to believe in God and ALSO in Jesus?

Paul asked essentially this question in Romans 10:

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?

And Paul himself answered it:

As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

How someone is instructed and what knowledge is required to believe in God and ALSO in Jesus?

Begin by telling him the piece of knowledge that you know that Jesus died for all his sins. As he acts on this knowledge, the knowledge becomes faith to him.

Answer 4

The knowledge of God, unlike the knowledge of the world that require deep learning and studying, it is singularly from faith to believe, an effort seems nothing but in fact difficult to comprehend.

It is possible to achieve the knowledge of God from the scripture as any other worldly knowledge by deep learning and studying, and teach them with authority. But deep inside, whether the person's inside and outside are coherent is plausible.

People who process the knowledge of God can do horrible things, as Jesus warned His disciples;

2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.

3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. (John 16:2-3 NIV)

They have not known the Father or the Son of God for they do not have the Holy Spirit.

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Therefore, the answer to the OP's question does not base on whether one has good knowledge of God and faith, it based on whether the knowledge come from the Holy Spirit in corresponding to the faith that is pleased to God.

• For the Spirit is the comforter, who won't let your heart be troubled (John 14:1)
• The Spirit is spirit of truth, who tell you Jesus is the Christ, born of God (1 John 5:1)
• The Spirit is wisdom who tell you the knowledge of God and Christ (Ephesians 1:17)
• The Spirit will enrich our faith, "for whoever has will be given more", by the same Spirit, we all come to the unity of the faith (Ephesians 4:13)
• The Spirit will enrich our knowledge of God and Christ, "for whoever has will be given more", attaining the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ. (Colossians 2:2)