Father... that they may know You, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent.
Proof of the Trinity Error
At John 17:3, Jesus identifies the only true God as the Father, the God whom he reveals to the world. The Trinitarian response is to claim that since the word "only" modifies/qualifies the word "God" it does not rule out the possibility that Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, are also "the only true God." And so they like to say in response:
The Father is the only true God
The Son is the only true God
The Holy Spirit is the only true God
In other words, the Trinitarian is admitting that if the word "only" had qualified the word "Father" then yes only the Father would be the one true God. But since it does not, the Trinitarian insists that it does not rule out Jesus and the Holy Spirit from being "the only true God" too.
Exposing the Trickery
1. Matthew 24:36
First of all, the above Trinitarian claim must be taken with a grain of salt. At Matthew 24:36, the word "only" DOES modify/qualify the Father and they still deny the obvious implications of the verse - that only the Father is omniscient and therefore only the Father is God. It says only the Father knows the day and hour. So we can see that even if Jesus had said, "Father.... this is eternal life, that ONLY You are the true God" that such language still wouldn't make any difference to them.
2. Unwitting Admissions of Trinitarian Scholars
In their discussions of John 1:1, Trinitarians scholars admit that the use of a definite article at John 1:1c would have meant Jesus is the entirety of God and such language would exclude everyone else but Jesus. In fact, according to their own argument, all one would have to say is, "THE Father is THE God," and this would exclude absolutely everyone else. The words "only" and "true" would not even be required.
3. Blatant Hypocrisy
Have you ever noticed that Trinitarians will insist that the expression, "God sent his only son" means that nobody else is God's begotten son and it means that ONLY Jesus is God's begotten son? Please carefully regard the significance of this hypocrisy. On one hand, they insist the words "only Son" do mean that only Jesus is God's own son while at the same time they insist the words "only true God" do not mean that only the Father is the true God. But the situation is exactly the same. They are talking out of both sides of their mouth. Their claim that "only Son" means only Jesus is God's son betrays the fact that they really do know that John 17:3 is telling us only one person is the only true God.
4. The Trinitarian's REAL Problem
The real problem at hand for the Trinitarian is his implied definition of the word "God" for this verse. He must attempt to suggestively define the word "God" as "the divine ousia" or "the divine nature" since we are here talking about the one God and the oneness of Trinitarian doctrine is the divine nature. To define "God" as the divine nature here in this verse is the only definition of the word "God" which Trinitarians can even attempt.
The Father is the only true [divine nature]
The Son is the only true [divine nature]
The Holy Spirit is the only true [divine nature]
However, this will not even work for them either. For Jesus to identify the Father as the divine nature would be confusing person and being, a big No-No in Trinitarian doctrine. If the Father is identified as the divine nature that would mean Jesus' divine nature is the Father.
5. "You" and "the only true God" are Necessary Equivalent.
When Jesus says, "that they may know You, the only true God," it is quite clear that he intends to say that one is equivalent to the other. "You" = "the only true God." However, the only way Trinitarians can define the word "God" is to define it as "the divine nature." But that would imply that "You" and "Only true God" are equivalent things confusing the what and the who, person and being. Also, the Father is NOT equivalent to the divine nature since that would mean Jesus' divine nature is the Father in Trinitarian doctrine. When it is understood how they are suggestively defining their terms, it becomes clear that they are not making any sense.
6. It's Not About Knowing a Nature but an Identity
Jesus is here referring to knowing God the Father is a personal and intimate way, a personal relationship with God. The words "only true God" are a reference to an identity with whom we can have a relationship. We do not have relationships with natures; we have relationships with persons. And the person we are to have a relationship with here is "the only true God", that is, the Father.
FATHER... that they may know YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ whom YOU sent.
The words "only true God" cannot refer to a divine nature. These words must refer to an identity with whom we can know, that is, with whom we can have an intimate personal relationship. Therefore, just as Trinitarian scholars have already admitted, the Father and "the only true God" are co-extensive interchangeable terms and this excludes all but the Father from identity as the only true God. To have a relationship with the only true God is to have a relationship with the Father. One cannot then say that the only true God is also Jesus with running headlong into the insanity of saying Jesus is the Father.
7. Jesus Christ's Only True God
At John 20:17, Jesus makes it quite clear that his God is to be our God and that God is his Father. At John 17:3, Jesus is in prayer to his God and Father. His Father is his only true God and his only true God is his Father alone and it is this only true God who sent Jesus as he says here. Jesus knows nobody else but his Father as the true God. Hence, we can be certain that when he refers to the Father as "the only true God" in prayer that he means only his Father is the true God. In fact, Jesus does not even need to say it. It is plainly evident quite apart from John 17:3 that nobody else but his Father alone is his God.
Conclusion
It is quite plain that the Trinitarian trickery here is to suggestively imply a definition of the word "God" which means "divine nature" so that they can say all three persons are the only true God, that is, all three persons have this one divine nature. However, it is clear that the word "God" is not a nature here but an identity, a person, the Father, with whom we have a personal relationship.
Jesus here identifies his one and only God, the Father alone, as "the only true God," which thereby excludes everyone else including himself.
Last Revision/Update: March 14, 2016
