In John 17:3, Jesus addressed the Father as 'the only true God'' which semantically means that no one else is true God except the Father. However, Jesus is also addressed as ''God'' in the same gospel (John 1:1, 18, 10:33, 20:28) and still, Jesus addressed others as 'gods' in John 10:34.
John 1:1 Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants]
ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
John 1:18 Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants] θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν πώποτε· μονογενὴς θεὸς ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο.
John 10:33 Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants]
ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι Περὶ καλοῦ ἔργου οὐ λιθάζομέν σε ἀλλὰ περὶ βλασφημίας, καὶ ὅτι σὺ ἄνθρωπος ὢν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν.4
John 10:34 Greek NT: Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants] ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς Οὐκ ἔστιν γεγραμμένον ἐν τῷ νόμῳ ὑμῶν ὅτι Ἐγὼ εἶπα Θεοί ἐστε;
John 17:3 τη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωὴ ἵνα γινώσκωσι / γινώσκωσιν σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν.
John 20:28 Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants]
ἀπεκρίθη Θωμᾶς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου.
What is the meaning of the phrase 'only true God' in John 17:3? I am seeking an answer that sees John 17:3 in conjunction with other passages where others are being addressed as God/god. Please do not answer using preconceived Christological ideas (i.e. Unitarian or Trinitarian etc.). Theological hypotheses isYour answer might reflect either of these, though. I highly encouragedencourage the usage of your own words as opposed to using traditional words (consubstantial, essence, trinity, unitarian etc. ) when expounding this scripture.