Does John 17:3 Prove Jesus is NOT God?
I have recently been receiving some comments citing John 17:3 as proof that Jesus is not truly God. I previously addressed this passage of scripture in my presentation on Trinitarian theology ([ Ссылка ]). However, I recognize that that video is long and many won’t watch it long enough to see my interpretation of John 17. For the sake of convenience, I will give here a stand alone presentation of this controversial verse.
In John 17:3, Jesus says:
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)
Many critics of Trinitarianism point to this verse as supposed proof that Jesus rejected claims of divinity. John 17:3 is a part of Jesus’ high priestly prayer that begins with the first verse of this chapter. Thus, the proper understanding of what Jesus meant when said the words of verse 3 lies in understanding the context of the rest of His prayer. For our purposes, we will examine verses 1-5.
The first thing to notice is that Jesus demands twice, once in verse 1 and again in verse 5, that the Father glorify Him. In verse 5 specifically, Jesus qualifies the kind of glory He is demanding – the same kind of glory due to the Father; the glory He had with the Father before the world was (in other words, before creation).
Jesus’ demand tells us two things: 1) He is glorious just as the Father and 2) He has existed eternally. To be eternal and glorious are two attributes that are only true of the one true God – YHWH. If Jesus is anything other than truly God in His nature, He is committing blasphemy here.
To prove the point, imagine if Moses were to offer up a prayer of this sort? Or David? Or Isaiah? Or Peter? Or Paul? If any of these men, or any other man or woman, were to demand that God glorify them with the same kind of glory possessed by God Himself, it would be blasphemy of the highest order. Further, for any of these individuals to claim that they possessed such glory prior to creation would be absolutely absurd.
Therefore, if we accept that Jesus is without sin and could make these kinds of claims honestly, He must, of necessity, be truly God with His Father.
As the Divine Son incarnate in human flesh, the only God that Jesus worshipped was found in the Person of the Father. Jesus did not worship Himself in this passage; He is giving reverence to the Father, because the Father is truly God with Him. However, both the immediate context of verses 1-5, as well as the rest of John’s gospel, demonstrate that Jesus believed He is also truly God.
For a more detailed presentation of the Diety of Christ as well as Trinitarianism as a whole, click on the card in the corner to see my video on the subject: [ Ссылка ]
