What is the meaning of the phrase 'only true God' in John 17:3?

Question

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.). Your answer might reflect either of these, though. I highly encourage the usage of your own words as opposed to using traditional words (consubstantial, essence, trinity, unitarian etc. ) when expounding this scripture.

I encourage an answer that relies heavily on expounding the passage in question. — R. Brown, Commented May 11, 2019 at 3:38
Within the aforementioned Gospel, Christ is regarded as being the incarnation of God's divine word. However, the Word of God is precisely that: the divine (godly) Word of the one true God, as opposed to that of some other deity. — Lucian, Commented May 11, 2019 at 11:35

Revelation Lad · Accepted Answer · 2024-10-29 13:08:42Z

Terminology

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (ESV)
αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή ἵνα γινώσκωσιν σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν

The phrase the only true God, τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν, is unique to the both the New Testament and the Greek Old Testament. An abbreviated form ὁ ἀληθινὸς θεὸς is used in one place:

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; 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)

In the New Testament, true God is found only in the Gospel when Jesus speaks and John's letter.

The use in the LXX is also rare. Isaiah uses and repeats the most grammatically emphatic phrase τὸν θεὸν τὸν ἀληθινόν:

Which shall be blessed upon the earth; for they shall bless the true God, and they that swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God. For they shall forget the first affliction, and it shall not come up into their heart. (LXX-Isaiah 65:16)¹

Deuteronomy uses θεός ἀληθινὰ to describes His works:

God - his works are genuine, and all his ways are justice. A faithful god, and there is no injustice, a righteous and holy Lord. (LXX-Deuteronomy 32:4 NETS)

Chronicles has a prophet speaking to Asa of the true God. He uses θεῷ ἀληθινῷ:

¹ And Azarias son of Obed – a spirit of the Lord came upon him. ² And he went to meet Asa and all Ioudas and Benjamin and said, “Hear me, Asa and all Ioudas and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him, and if you seek him, he will be found to you, and if you abandon him, he will abandon you, ³ And for many days it has been for Israel without a true god and without a teaching priest and without law. ⁴ And he will return to the Lord, God of Israel, and he will be found to them. (LXX-2 Chronicles 15 NETS)

The omission of the article reflects the fact a genuine monotheistic expression is that of one God. In this case, the God and true God are identical terminologies.

As the LXX shows, a genuine monotheist knows there is only one God who by nature must be the true God. Even though ἀληθινός is unnecessary, on rare occasion God is called true God and even then the article is unnecessary. Nowhere does this phrase require additional qualification. The book of Isaiah ends with a picture of judgment and salvation before the new heaven and new earth. All people will bless and swear by the true God, τὸν θεὸν τὸν ἀληθινόν.

Clearly the terminology in the Gospel is unique and deviates from both the Old Testament and the similar phrase in First John:

μόνον
As evidenced by the LXX and John's Letter, the terminology to describe the true God does not require the additional term, μόνον. This raise questions. What reason does Jesus have to add this otherwise unnecessary term? Does μόνον have anything to do with Jesus referring to Himself in the third person? What reason does John have for changing what Jesus said by removing μόνον in the Letter?

The Fourth Gospel has many places where a key word has a dual meaning. For example, in His discussion with Nicodemus Jesus uses and repeats the term ἄνωθεν which means both again and above (cf. John 3:3, 7). This raises the question, does Jesus mean entrance to the kingdom of heaven requires being born again or being born from above?

Immediately before praying Jesus shows μόνον has another meaning:

³² Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. ³³ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16)

In English the sense of only in μόνον is one of separation: being alone, by himself. In addition to what Jesus says immediately before His prayer, 8 of the 10 uses of μόνον clearly mean alone, as in by himself. After feeding the 5,000 Jesus left the disciples and crowd; He went by Himself alone to the mountain (John 6:15). The next day the crowd realizes the disciples also departed; they had left alone (John 6:22). In the confrontation over the woman caught in adultery, after hearing Jesus' response the scribes and Pharisees leave one by one until Jesus is alone (John 8:9). The Father has not left Jesus alone (John 8:16, 29). A grain of wheat must die and remain alone to bear fruit (John 12:24).

Only in 5:44 is μόνον understood differently. Yet even here there are 14 translations which consider the sense of alone as proper:

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:44 ESV)
How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? (John 5:44 NRSVA)

Conclusion
As there is no reason to add anything to true God, something additional is being conveyed. In the situation where Jesus prays to His Father in heaven, Jesus acknowledges His coming to earth left His Father by Himself, and so alone until He returns.

And this is eternal life, that they know you the God who is [at this moment] alone [by Himself] and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

The meaning of alone agrees with Jesus' speaking of Himself in the third person and why John removes the word in the Letter. Once Jesus returns, the Father is no longer by Himself. Therefore, after the Resurrection, eternal life is found in He who is the true God.

The triune nature of God was affected first when the Son was sent and then when the Spirit was sent and remained on the Son. While praying in His human form He addresses His Father and states eternal life is found in the Father who is by Himself and Jesus Christ whom He sent and who is soon to be put to death. When He returns, He is in the bosom of the Father, who no longer is μόνον. The plurality inherent to the nature of God was restored; μόνον is no longer necessary so it can be said "He is the true God and eternal life."

Translation from R.R. Ottley, The Book of Isaiah According to the Septuagint (Codex Alexandrinus), Cambridge University Press, 1909, p. 321

Of course Jesus is calling God the only true God, but people who use this to prove Jesus is not God must interpret this to mean, "You alone are the true God," which is distinct from "You are the only true God." Obviously if Christ is deity by nature, then He also is the only true God. The Trinity doesn't posit multiple Gods, or multiple only true Gods. It posits one God, which nature three distinct and eternal persons constitute. — Sola Gratia, Commented Nov 23, 2019 at 20:57
@SolaGratia. How is three not multiple, where in the bible can we find your assertion? If Jesus had a beginning, how can he be as old as his Father and God? When Jesus was circumcised, does that mean God was circumcised too? — Alex Balilo, Commented Jul 11, 2023 at 2:09
Incarnation, Trinity, Person (be it 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Person of the Trinity) are all preconceived denominational words/terms NOT found in the Bible and which are creating a lot of confusion to understand the Holy Scripture. Hebrews 1:3 declares that the Son/ Logos is the EXPRESS IMAGE/PERSONA of the one true God who is INVISIBLE (John 4:24; Colossians 1:15). — Tesfaye Wolde, Commented Jul 11, 2023 at 9:32
@TesfayeWolde "Words and terms not found in the Bible." This is a trivial argument or rather a red herring/strawman logic. For example, is the word polytheism in the Bible? If not are we to suppose the Bible is silent on the matter? It is a common practice to use a single word or phrase to summarize a subject. The inescapable fact is μόνον has two meanings. I assume you believe the correct one is only not alone as by himself...despite the fact it is rarely, if ever used like that in John's Gospel and despite the fact John "reworks" the words of Jesus in the Letter. — Revelation Lad, Commented Jul 11, 2023 at 15:40
@TesfayeWolde The issue is whether the subject or thought is expressed, not whether a word serving as a label for the subject is used. The subject of polytheism is present; the label is not. Likewise the subject of the plural nature of God is present; the label, “Trinity” is not. Unless you are going to be consistent with the presence of labels argument, it is a strawman. No one claims polytheism is not Biblical because the label is not used. More relevant to the question is the dual meaning of monos, a word which is used. — Revelation Lad, Commented Oct 8, 2023 at 14:30

Sola Gratia · Accepted Answer · 2019-05-10 23:06:57Z

[I've tried not to assume any theology, and base everything on the context of the passages.]

"The only true God"

"Only" refers to the fact of there being only one God. This is the doctrine of the Old and New Testaments (Deuteronomy 4:6; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

"Only true" as an alternative to the above, being more specific, refers to the fact that other "so-called gods" (ibid.) are not true Gods (Psalm 96:5; 1 Corinthians 10:20).

"The only true God" refers, then, is simply synonymous with "God."

Implications for Trinitarian and other Non-Unitarian Theology

Since this phrase only identifies the Father as the true God (of which there is only one: "the only"), and does not say "only the Father is the true God," Trintarian theology is not precluded by this passage: only if Unitarianism is assumed can "only the Father is the true God" and "the Father is the only true God" be conflated.

Others Being Called Gods

When Christ quoted "I said you are gods," He was quoting Psalm 82:6: "I said, You are gods—sons of the Most High, all of you." This is a psalm about corrupt and immoral judges who didn't care for their people, and did not uphold justice. They were called "Gods," as Moses was (Exodus 7:1), because they exercised juridical authority and in some sense played the role of God, although legitimately and by His own delegation. Jesus' point here was that if they can be called Gods, to whom the word of God came, merely, how is it that it is wrong for the Word, "who [is] God," (John 1:1) to be called God, as He truly is? That is, one who is truly God in the divine sense, can surely be called God if mere humans can be called it who only have a divine authority.

This is not just a Trinitarian eisegesis. Observe that Jesus' response only answers their objection if the above is true. Saying, "but others were called 'gods'" is not an answer to the objection that He was claim to be God: "you, being a man, make thyself God" (John 10:33). And on notion that it should be translated, "make thyself a god," all I will say is that it is precluded what caused them to want to stone Him: "for saying, I an the Father are one." Or as John himself declared: "[Jesus] said God was his Father, making himself equal to God" (5:18; notice this is John's own testimony of why they wanted to stone Him, and not what they said). And also that this gospel begins, written by monotheist John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God" (1:1).

Again, when Thomas said to Jesus, "My Lord and my God," He was clearly addressing Jesus as such ("he said to him"). Not only is the suggestion that Jesus approved of and blessed this use of the name of the Lord in vain ("OMG!) blasphemous and antihistorical (Jesus being a Jewish Rabbinical teacher), but it doesn't even fit as a theory: no one specifies the two things God is (your Lord and your God) while using the name of the Lord in vain; whereas identifying Christ as the risen God in the flesh certainly warrants such an identification. After all, Thomas' faith was perhaps weak when before this point, Jesus had plainly claimed to be God:

John 16:25-30 (DRB) These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh, when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the Father. In that day you shall ask in my name; and I say not to you, that I will ask the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world, and I go to the Father. His disciples say to him: Behold, now thou speakest plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now we know that thou knowest all things, and thou needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

Seeing Christ risen, and all His claims confirmed and incontrovertable occasioned this confession by Thomas.

The other beings called "Gods" By capitalizing the lettter "G" for the "Gods" you mentioned, are all these "Gods" the almighty YHWH? — Alex Balilo, Commented Jul 11, 2023 at 2:21

Nigel J · Accepted Answer · 2019-05-10 23:50:24Z

Jesus said :

I and my Father are one. John 10:30 KJV.

He did not say 'I and my Father is one'. They are not the same person. The Father and the Son are in perfect unity - within one Divine nature. Each possesses divine nature. And they are one, within that single divine nature.

What is true of one (with regard to that divine nature) is as true of the other. Perfectly.

But as to the matter of person : one is Father, one is Son.

The Deity of the Father is the only true Deity. There only is one deity - only one divine nature. In the nature of deity, there can only be one deity. For one attribute of deity is fulness. No other fulness can exist, but the one.

But the perfection of unity that unites Father and Son causes there to be a perfectly shared fulness, within one diety.

Anything other than this - is not true. It is not real. It does not exist.

Jesus said also :

πνευμα ο θεος John 4:24 TR.

'Spirit, the God'. 'God is a spirit' (KJV).

That divine nature which is possessed by Father and Son, that unity which perfectly unites Father and Son, is one Divine Spirit.