By Artison Rex from Facebook
John 17:3— in Trinitarian Light
Answering John 17:3 from a Trinitarian Perspective
📖 John 17:3 – “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Unitarians often cite this verse to argue that Jesus excludes Himself from being God by referring to the Father as "the only true God." However, from a Trinitarian perspective, this passage does not contradict the doctrine of the Trinity. Instead, it aligns with it when properly understood in context.
Contextual Considerations:
1. Jesus’ Statement Affirms Monotheism, Not Unitarianism
🔹 Jesus, as a Jew, affirms monotheism—that there is only one true God (Deuteronomy 6:4).
🔹 Trinitarians also affirm one God, but understand that the one divine essence is shared by three Persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
🔹 Jesus calling the Father “the only true God” does not exclude Himself from divinity, just as saying “Jesus is the only true Lord” does not exclude the Father from being Lord.
💡 Parallel Argument:
✅ 1 Corinthians 8:6 – "For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things... and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things."
• If calling the Father "one God" excludes the Son, then calling Jesus "one Lord" would also exclude the Father.
• But Trinitarians understand this as distinguishing persons, not denying deity.
2. Jesus is Included in the Identity of the "Only True God"
🔹 Jesus is described throughout the Gospel of John as fully divine and one with the Father:
• John 1:1 – "The Word was God."
• John 10:30 – "I and the Father are one."
• John 20:28 – Thomas calls Jesus "My Lord and my God."
🔹 Since Jesus is the divine Son of the Father, acknowledging the Father as "the only true God" does not exclude Jesus but affirms their relationship within the Trinity.
💡 Key Point:
✅ John 17:3 does not deny Jesus' deity—it defines eternal life as knowing both the Father and the Son.
3. The Context: Eternal Life Requires Knowing Both the Father and the Son
🔹 Jesus does not stop at saying "that they may know You, the only true God." He adds:
• "and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
🔹 If Jesus were merely a human prophet, it would be blasphemous to put knowing Him on the same level as knowing God.
🔹 In contrast, throughout Isaiah (e.g., Isaiah 43:10-11), God alone is the source of salvation—yet here, eternal life depends on knowing both the Father and the Son.
💡 Conclusion:
✅ If knowing Jesus is essential for eternal life, then Jesus must be divine, not merely a created being.
4. Jesus Shares the Father's Glory (John 17:5)
📖 John 17:5 – "And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed."
🔹 Jesus speaks of a shared eternal glory with the Father—something that no mere human or created being can claim.
🔹 Isaiah 42:8 – God says, "I will not give My glory to another." Yet, Jesus asks to be glorified alongside the Father.
🔹 This confirms that Jesus shares in the divine nature.
💡 Key Point:
✅ Jesus is not separating Himself from the Father’s deity—He is affirming His eternal relationship with the Father.
Conclusion: John 17:3 in a Trinitarian Framework
✔ Jesus calls the Father "the only true God" in distinction of person, not exclusion of essence.
✔ Jesus is included in the identity of the one true God throughout John’s Gospel.
✔ Eternal life depends on knowing both the Father and the Son, affirming Jesus’ divine status.
✔ Jesus claims preexistent glory with the Father, confirming His divine nature.
John 17:3, when read in context, supports rather than contradicts the Trinity. The context supports the Trinitarian understanding of the passage!
Answering Unitarian Objections and Argument:
Refuting Unitarian Grammatical Arguments
A. The "Appositional Phrase" and "only" Argument
Unitarians claim that "the only true God" in John 17:3 is an appositional phrase, meaning they suggest, that it restricts divinity exclusively to the Father.
Why This Argument Fails
• Greek Syntax Does Not Demand Exclusivity
• The phrase "the only true God" (τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν) does not necessarily exclude Jesus.
• In Greek, an appositional phrase simply identifies the subject but does not automatically exclude others from also being true God. It simply identifies or explains the subject more precisely.
• Similar Constructions Exist Without Exclusivity
• Jude 4: Jesus is called "our only Master and Lord" (τὸν μόνον δεσπότην καὶ κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν)
• But God the Father is also called "Lord" throughout Scripture (e.g., Luke 1:32, Matthew 11:25).
Conclusion: Just as Jude 4 does not exclude the Father from being Lord, John 17:3 does not exclude Jesus from being the true God.
B. The Use of "Only" (μόνον) Restricts Divinity to the Father
• The Greek word for "only" (μόνος) is an exclusive term, meaning "alone, without another."
Since μόνος modifies "the true God" (τὸν ἀληθινὸν θεὸν), it means that the Father is the only true God, excluding Jesus from this category, Unitarians would argue. But is this so?
• Parallel Uses of "Only" in Greek
• Mark 2:7 – "Who can forgive sins but God alone (μόνος)?"
• Matthew 4:4 "live by bread alone, (μόνῳ) but by every word"
• Matthew 12:4 "for them which were with him, but only (μόνος) for the priests"
• In these passages, "only" Gr. μόνος doesn't always exclude all else, clear exceptions are made in the immediate context. Men do not "only" "live by bread," for example, they eat fish, fruit, and vegetables. These passages, just as Jude 4, have clear exceptions to the word "only" made elsewhere. (See also Bengel's Gnomen cited below *¹)
• Likewise, in John 17:3, we should not take the passage to exclude Jesus Christ from the "only true God" phrase, rather we should accept the passage as Jesus Christ rightly pointing to the Father as the true God as opposed to the false gods of the heathen.
🔷️John 17:3 in Light of 1 John 5:20
A. John 17:3 Does Not Exclude Jesus from Being the True God
"And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3)
Unitarians claim that Jesus is distinguishing the Father as "the only true God," thereby denying that He Himself is God. However, this interpretation is flawed because:
• John 17:3 does not say "the Father alone is God"—it only affirms that the Father is the true God, without denying Christ’s divinity.
• 1 John 5:20 explicitly calls Jesus "the true God and eternal life," which completes the picture of John 17:3 by showing that both the Father and the Son share the divine identity.
• Eternal life requires knowledge of both the Father and the Son, meaning that Christ is essential for salvation (cf. John 5:23).
B. 1 John 5:20: Jesus Is Also the "True God"
"And we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." (1 John 5:20)
Since 1 John 5:20 directly applies "the true God" to Jesus, the Unitarian interpretation of John 17:3 collapses. Instead of contradicting John 17:3, 1 John 5:20 shows that both the Father and the Son are included in the divine identity. (See Barnes and Matthew Poole at the bottom who also make this parallel*²)
🔷️Hebrews 1:8-10: The Father Calls Jesus "God" and "Lord"
One of the most striking affirmations of Jesus' deity comes from the Father Himself:
"But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever’." (Hebrews 1:8)
"You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning." (Hebrews 1:10)
Key Points:
• The Father explicitly calls Jesus "God."
• Jesus is called "Lord" in the sense of YHWH, since Psalm 102:25-27 (applied here) refers to YHWH creating the heavens.
• No one argues that Jesus is above the Father, yet the Father Himself calls Jesus both God and Lord.
🔷️ Other Arguments of Exclusivity Favor the Trinitarian Perspective
• The Bible in numerous places adamantly teaches Monotheism-the belief in only one true God. For example: Deut 4:35, 6:4, 32:39, Isa 44:6, 45:5, 6. It is also taught in the NT just as strongly: 1 Cor 8:4; Eph 4:6, 1 Tim 1:17, John 17:3. Lest there be doubt that there is one, and only one, true God, according to the Bible. For example, Isa 45:5, "I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God." Despite the above, the NT repeatedly calls Jesus God, Matt 1:22, 23; John 1:1, 18, Col 2:9, and not just any god, but uses the phrase, "ho theos" so that there can be no doubt, John 20:28, Heb 1:8. The implication here is that both God the Father and Jesus are the one true God.
• We have the same situation with the title, "Creator". For example in Isa 44:24, "I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself" See also Isa 45:18. Yet in the NT we have similar assertions that Jesus created all things, John 1:3, Col 1:16, 17. Again, the implication is that both Jesus and God constitute the One true creator.
• There is an almost identical situation with Saviour and Redeemer; for example, Isa 43:11 says: "I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior." See also Isa 43:3, 45:18. Yet in the NT we often have Jesus referred to our true Saviour and Redeemer: Matt 1:21; Acts 4:12; 2 Tim 1:10; Tit 1:4, 2:13, 3:6; 2 Pet 1:1, 11. Once more, the implication being that both God the Father (YHWH) and Jesus constitute the One True Saviour of mankind.
• The same is true of the One "Rock" as per Isa 44:8, "Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." See also Deut 32:3,4,15; Ps 92:15. In the NT we find that 1Cor 10:4 says, "for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ." The implication is that both God the Father and Jesus constitute the One true Rock.
• Another point, for example, is God the Father does not share His glory (Isa 42:8, 48:11) yet we find in John 17:5, 24 Jesus shares the Father's glory.
• In Isa 41:4; 44:6 The Father (YHWH, LORD) is called, "First and Last" and so is Jesus, Rev 1:17, 18; 22:13
• Jehovah is the declared the only One who is deserving of worship in Ex 20:3, 34:14; Deut 8:19; 2 Kings 17:35-38; (see also Matt 4:10; Acts 10:25, 26; Rev 19:10, 22:8, 9), yet the NT records numerous times when Jesus was worshipped Matt 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, 17; Luke 4:8; 24:52; John 9:38; Rom 10:9; Heb 1:5, 6; Phil 2:10, etc.
🔷️Patristic Considerations and Arguments from the Saints
John 17:3 was used by Arius to maintain that Jesus Christ was not of the same nature as the Father; however this objection was resolved.
St Thomas excellently writes in his commentary on the Gospel of John (17):
Secondly, we should explain the phrase, you the only true God. It is clear that Christ was speaking to the Father, so when he says, you the only true God, it seems that only God the Father is true God. The Arians agree with this, for they say that the Son differs by essence from the Father, since the Son is a created substance, although he shares in the divinity more perfectly and to a greater degree than do all other creatures. So much more that the Son is called God, but not the true God, because he is not God by nature, which only the Father is.
Hilary answers this by saying that when we want to know whether a certain thing is true, we can determine it from two things: its nature and its power. For true gold is that which has the species of true gold; and we determine this if it acts like true gold. Therefore, if we maintain that the Son has the true nature of God, because the Son exercises the true activities of divinity, it is clear that the Son is true God. Now the Son does perform true works of divinity, for we read, "Whatever he [the Father] does, that the Son does likewise" (5:19); and again he said, "For as the Father has life in himself," which is not a participated life, "so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself" (5:26); "That we may be in his true Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life" [1 Jn 5:20].
According to Hilary, he says, you the only true God, in a way that does not exclude another. He does not say without qualification, you the only, but adds and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. It is like saying: that they know you and Jesus Christ whom you have sent to be the one and only true God. This is a pattern of speaking that we also use when we say [in the Gloria]: "You alone, Jesus Christ, are the most high, together with the Holy Spirit." No mention is made of the Holy Spirit because whenever the Father and the Son are mentioned, and especially in matters pertaining to the grandeur of the divinity, the Holy Spirit, who is the bond of the Father and Son, is implied.
Or, according to Augustine in his work, The Trinity, he says this to exclude the error of those who claim that it is false to say that the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; while it is true to say that the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit are one God. The reason for this opinion was that the Apostle said that "Christ [is] the power of God and the Wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:24). Now it is clear that we cannot call anyone God unless he has divine power and wisdom. Therefore, since these people held that the Father was wisdom, which is the Son, they held further that the Father considered without the Son would not be God. And the same applies to the Son and the Holy Spirit.
In summary:
• Hilary’s Response:
• Something is "true" based on its nature and power (e.g., true gold has both the properties and actions of gold).
• Since the Son performs divine works (John 5:19, 5:26), He possesses the divine nature and is true God.
• 1 John 5:20 states: “This is the true God and eternal life,” referring to the Son.
• Jesus’ phrase "you the only true God" does not exclude the Son but includes Him as sharing in the one divine essence.
• Hilary’s Linguistic Argument:
• The phrase "you the only true God" is structured in a way that does not exclude Jesus.
• Example: In the Gloria, we say, "You alone, Jesus Christ, are the most high, together with the Holy Spirit," implying shared divinity.
• The Holy Spirit is not mentioned explicitly but is always implied when the Father and Son are referenced.
• Augustine’s Explanation (from The Trinity):
• The phrase guards against a misunderstanding that denies the distinct persons of the Trinity.
• Some falsely claim that only the Trinity as a whole is God, rather than the individual persons being fully God.
• Since Christ is called the Wisdom and Power of God (1 Cor 1:24), and only a being with divine wisdom and power can be God, both the Father and Son must be fully God.
• Thus, the Father is not God apart from the Son, and vice versa, preserving Trinitarian unity.
🔷️ Commentator's on John 17:3
🔅Bengel's Gnomen (*¹)
μόνον, the only, the alone) The Son and Holy Spirit are not excluded by this word. Comp. μόνος, ch. John 8:9, “Jesus was left alone, and the woman.” But those meant to be excluded are the false gods, with the idolatrous worship of which the world was crowded.
🔅Barnes writes: (*²)
The only true God - The only God, in opposition to all false gods. What is said here is in opposition to idols, not to Jesus himself, who, in 1 John 5:20, is called "the true God and eternal life."
🔅Matthew Poole writes: (*²)
the only true God. But divines answer, that the term only, or alone, is not to be applied to thee, but to the term God; and the sense this: To know thee to be that God which is the only true God: and this appeareth from 1Jo 5:20, where Christ is said to be the true God, which he could not be if the Father were the only true God, considered as another from the Son. The term only, or alone, is not exclusive of the other two Persons in the Trinity, but only of idols, the gods of the heathen, which are no gods; so 1 Timothy 6:15,16, and many other Scriptures: so Matthew 11:27, where it is said, that none knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any the Father, save the Son; where the negative doth not exclude the Holy Spirit. Besides, the term alone is in Scripture observed not always to exclude all others, as Mark 6:47. Our Saviour saith, it is life eternal to know him who is the only true God, that is, it is the way to eternal life, which is an ordinary figure used in holy writ. He adds,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent; by which he lets us know, that the Father cannot be savingly known, but in and by the Son.
🔅Pulpit Commentary
The life eternal, of which Jesus has just spoken, is this (cf. for construction, John 15:12; 1 John 3:11, 23; 1 John 5:3), that they might know - should come to know - thee, the only veritable God. All ideas of God which deviate from or fall short of "the Father" revealed to us by Christ, are not the veritable God, and the knowledge of them is not life eternal. The Father is here set forth as the fens Deitatis. This does not exclude "the Son," but is inconceivable without him. The Fatherhood expresses an eternal relation. The one element involves the ether as integral to itself: "I am in the Father, and the Father in me."
🔷️ Conclusion: John 17:3 Does Not Deny Christ’s Deity
• 1 John 5:20 explicitly calls Jesus "the true God and eternal life."
• Greek syntax does not exclude Jesus from being God.
• Unitarians misinterpret "only" (μόνος), ignoring exceptions like Jude 4.
• The Father and Son share divine attributes.
• Hebrews 1:8-10 shows that the Father calls Jesus "God" and "Lord."
Thus, John 17:3 does not contradict Christ’s deity but affirms the unity of the Father and Son. Jesus Christ is truly the True God and Eternal Life.
