But first, we need to know what we are after and that is the context of what John 17:3 means. What is the meaning of the context? A context is the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed. It is that parts of something written or spoken that immediately precede and follow a word or passage and clarify its meaning. In layman's terms, to get the whole truth we have to take cognizance of the whole and not just a part of a verse of the chapter and separate it from the rest. So we go to Chapter 17 and get the preceding and the following verses of John 17:3 the complete verses 17:1-5 where Jesus is portrayed by John as looking up toward heaven and prayed the following:
“1 Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son
may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might
give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now, this is eternal life:
that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you
before the world began.
In Chapter 17, Jesus prayed to the Father. Prayer is also another name for conversing with a plea. And we have highlighted the 4 verses preceding and following verse 17:3 that will give a different meaning against the claim of those that use the subject verse as a proof text that Jesus is just a man because the Father is the Only True God.
If we take cognizance of the 4 verses preceding and following verse 17:3 they will prove the subject verse can't be a stand-alone verse to prove the false doctrine that denies the deity or divinity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. By studying the entire paragraph composed of the 5 verses that include verse 17:3, we can conclude that Jesus Christ is not just a man but consistent with the Gospel of John, he is both true God and true Man in one person. He has two natures, Divine and Human in one person. We say it is consistent with the Gospel of John because it is the only Gospel that is different from the Synoptic Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke and that it deals with the mystery and the knowledge of the three persons of One True God. Let us see:
1. In verse 1, Jesus asked the Father to Glorify him that he may glorify the Father. Verse 1 centered on the word glorify which plainly means to give glory. What is glorify and what is glory? Glorify is an action word, a verb that means
to praise, to exalt, to worship, to revere, to give honor or a more direct answer is to give glory. Glory, on the other hand, is
a noun the refers to the majesty, beauty, and power of God. Glory, therefore, is what God has in his being a God. And so in the biblical sense,
glory refers to God's state of being, and glorification is given to God alone since only God is worshiped, praised, and honored.
If Jesus is just a mere man, he is, therefore, committing blasphemy for asking God the Father to glorify him or give him glory. In that
regard, Jesus is proving he is not just a mere man or an ordinary being from the earth or even from heaven like angels but more than any being, he is in effect putting himself equal to the Father, he is God. For Jesus to ask the Father to glorify
him that in turn, he may glorify the father shows a relationship of God with God.
Meaning they are the same God that has glory and must be glorified. But how can this be that a God would ask another God to glorify him and give him glory? This can't be unless Jesus is the same one God with the Father because in Isaiah 42:8 God said this "I am the Lord, Lord is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols." Here God made it clear His glory is him alone and he gives it to no other meaning he does not share his glory and praise to anyone. So the only way we can understand this plea of Jesus to the Father is that being the Son of God, he has the same glory as of the Father before he came down to become a true man to fulfill the will of God the Father. We will deal with this more in verse 5.
But Can God call on God? Is there such a thing in the Bible?
Yes, there are such verses in the bible where it is shown that God calls on his God. One example is in Psalm 45 7-8 "Your throne, O God, stands forever; your royal
scepter is a scepter for justice. You love justice and hate wrongdoing; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with
the oil of gladness above your fellow kings." Now we asked who is God here that God has anointed? It has been revealed in the New Testament under Letter to the Hebrews who this God who is anointed by his God as stated in Hebrews 1:8-9 it says:
About the Son, he says "Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy" Thus the God referred to in Psalm 45 is none other than the Son of God who is Jesus Christ and he has a God as it clearly says "God (the Son), your God (the Father) has anointed you"
Another example is Psalm 110 that says "‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put
Your enemies under Your feet.”’ We know who is sitting at the right hand of God who is called here as Lord, Jesus Christ who is called Lord by the Lord (the Father).
In the two scriptures both Psalm 45 and Psalm 110, we see that God is either called God or Lord. God is Elohim and Lord is Adonai both refer to the Proper name of God, Yahweh. Since YHWH the name of God was so holy for the Israelites, they used either (Elohim) God or (Adonai) Lord to refer to Yahweh.
2. He has been granted authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those the Father has given him. In Verse 2 Jesus has authority over all people that only God has. He can
give eternal life that only God can. Can an ordinary man or even a special one in biblical history give eternal life to a fellow man? Only God can give eternal life. Notice too that the word used is "that he might give eternal life" meaning that Jesus is the judge as he alone is given authority over all people and that the judgment is him alone and we know that God is the judge of all people per Psalm 75:7 "But it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another."
In verse 1 we can already infer from the very words of Jesus that he is himself a divine being equal with the Father as he asked the Father to glorify him as he glorifies the Father. Now in verse 2, we see that God the Father has given him authority over all people. Again some may misconstrue the use of the word "authority" here as again proof text that Jesus is not God because he only gets authority from God the Father. The use of the word authority here does not mean that Jesus as the Son of God has no authority as God himself. The use of the word authority here is the Father's way of giving back to the Son the will to decide alone as freely as he sees fit to "give eternal life" to any of all those that the Father has given him. This is because when the Son of God became man, he freely surrendered his own Divine will to the will of the Father as he humbled himself in obedience to the will of the Father even to the point of dying on the cross. We should remember that Jesus confirmed this when he prayed on the night he was arrested in Gethsemane Luke 22:42 "Father not my will, but Thine be done" and that concerning giving up his life he also said in John 10:18 "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I
have the power to lay it down, and the power to take it up again. This command I
have received from my Father.” Meaning the decision is with Jesus alone but that he loves the Father so much that his will is to do the will of the Father.
So, therefore, make no mistake that The Son of God has the will of his own and the use of the word, "might" is an expression that Jesus has the free will to give or not to give eternal life. That is the context of the use of the word "authority" means in the verse 17:2.
The fact that Jesus "might" give eternal life to any of all those the Father has given him shows he has the power to give eternal life that only God can. Life comes from God alone who created man and gives him life. Thus eternal life can only come from God who is eternal. That power cannot come from a man who is only a creature. Therefore since Jesus has the power to give eternal life, he is not just an ordinary creature as a man but a true God and Man in one person.
We see that the giving of authority shows that the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God has his own free will which he by becoming man has surrendered to the Father is also, in the same way, giving it back to him giving him authority.
3. This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ. (whom the father sent). This verse 3 is actually a bit "controversial
verse" and the construction of the sentence is a bit tricky for those with what the scripture said in 2 Peter 3:15-16 "Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation,
just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these
matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which
ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their
own destruction."
The Gospel of John is a gospel that revealed certain knowledge of the One True God that as St. Peter said about the letters of St. Paul just like John has "some things are written that are hard to understand but the ignorant and unstable people distort." John 17:3 is used to mislead believers on the proven heretical belief that Jesus is just a man and not God.
According to non-Catholics, the Father is the only true God using John 17:3 as the best evidence of their false doctrine "the Father alone is God". First,
the two verses preceding the said verse show Jesus Christ worthy of the same
glorification and glory as God has authority over all people and can give them eternal life that only God can. Second, if we look closely at the construction
of the verse, it shows that the true God has another person other than the Father, Jesus Christ whom the
Father sent because of the use of conjunction word "and" which is used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses,
or sentences, that are to be taken jointly.
If we put the preceding verses 1 and 2 together with 3 we will understand that there are two persons mentioned in the Only True God verse, the Father and Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent. Let's read that again. After saying that he gives eternal life he said what is eternal life "...and this is eternal life that they may know YOU (referring to the Father), the only true God, AND JESUS CHRIST...here John used the 3rd person proper noun to refer to Jesus. The purpose really is to differentiate the two persons in the Trinity the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. The use of a comma after the 3rd person pronoun you and comma after the Only True God and the conjunction "and" only means that the Father God and Jesus Christ are equal to the same thing as One True God. We will understand it better in the verses following verse 17:3. Let's move on.
4. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. While in verse 1, the word glorify is the main action being asked for by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, in Verse 4 glory to God on earth has been said to have been achieved and brought by Jesus to the Father. This means that by making the Father known on earth revealing the mystery of God to those who are called and who have believed, Jesus has brought praise, honor, and worship to the Father by completing the works the Father has given him. The very purpose of his coming to the world and dwelling with men as a true man.
So we ask, how can an ordinary man if we are to believe that Jesus is just a man bring glory to the Father unless he is by nature and power God himself? Since glory is with God, bringing glory on earth means making the real presence of God on earth visible. We should know that by coming into the world he already brought glory to God as the angel sang when he was born "Glory to God in the highest and peace to God's people on earth".
John 1:14 "The Word (God in John 1:1) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the
Father, full of grace and truth." Who then is the only Son what is he? In verses John 1:16-18 it says "Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place
of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only
Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has
made him known." This is a very powerful direct testimony of the Apostle calling and referring to the Son as "who is himself, God". To the Apostle John, Jesus is himself, God in the flesh and physical person seen by them.
Those who were privileged to be given such revelation of the coming of God in the flesh sought him who is God born of the woman and "WORSHIPPED" him. This is told in Matthew 2:11 of the visit of the magi to the newly born Jesus. "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." Thus we can say that the presence of Jesus is the physical presence of God with men. This is the meaning of the mystery word Immanuel which is only used once in the scripture to refer to Jesus Christ, he is Immanuel which means "God with us" spoken of in Matthew 1:23.
Luke 2:9-14 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to
them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for
all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he
is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a
baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” From the mouth of the angel, Jesus the Messiah is the Lord. And as we already know the Lord is God.
Note that there are two persons of the Lord spoken of by the Angel in the verse the one up above whose glory shone around the shepherds and the one who was born and who according to the Angel is the Messiah and the Lord"
5. Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began... Now in verse 5 the true identity of Jesus Christ has been revealed from his own mouth when he asked the Father to "GLORIFY HIM" this is a huge revelation. Jesus is asking God to Glorify him when glory and glorification are only due to God not to humans. Not only is Jesus asking God the Father to glorify him he is telling him what glory he is asking - It is the GLORY HE HAD WITH THE FATHER BEFORE THE WORLD BEGUN for he said once more "Glorify me Father with the glory I had with you before the world began". Now God does not and will never share his glory with any other gods.
Does God share his glory with another or give it to another? Let us hear from God if he shares his glory to any other God:
Isaiah 42:8 "I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not give My glory to
another or My praise to idols (gods)." and said it again in Isaiah 48:11 "For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act; for how can I
let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another."
Know then that God does not share his glory to another god, idol, or anyone because the "All Glory and Honor belong only to God". But Jesus is saying he had the glory with the Father before the world began and the glory is only due to God. Unless Jesus is God he is by this verse blaspheming God the Father because he is making himself equal with the Father sharing the same glory due only to God. Jesus therefore in verse 5 is claiming the glory of God he had with the father and therefore he is God but a different person because he is praying to the Father who is in heaven from which he came and will go back according to him in his prayer.
Know then that God does not share his glory to another god, idol, or anyone because the "All Glory and Honor belong only to God". But Jesus is saying he had the glory with the Father before the world began and the glory is only due to God. Unless Jesus is God he is by this verse blaspheming God the Father because he is making himself equal with the Father sharing the same glory due only to God. Jesus therefore in verse 5 is claiming the glory of God he had with the father and therefore he is God but a different person because he is praying to the Father who is in heaven from which he came and will go back according to him in his prayer.
So then who is Jesus Christ in his original nature before he lowered himself and became a true human being? If we move forward in John 17 going through verses 6-12 we learn a lot more of the true nature of Jesus in his own words from which we can already draw our conclusion lets read:
John 17:6-12 “I have revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those, you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled."
We have to take note of these important words from Jesus Christ:
1. That he comes from the Father and that the Father sent him.
2. "All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them."
This a bold claim by saying "all you have is mine" to the Father. He is in effect claiming divinity the same as the Father. He is declaring himself God having everything the Father has that means including the glory that is in God.
This is true as in the earlier chapter in John 10:28-30 "I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them
to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I
and the Father are one."
Note the following 3 verses, Jesus has plainly made it known that he has the same and equal power as the Father because, in conclusion, he declared that He and the Father are One. Thus he declares equality with the Father as God. If then the Father is greater than all and everything the Father has is likewise owned by the Son then the same greatness of the Father (Greater than all) is also with the Son. That is why Jesus, who said here that he will give eternal life and they shall never perish, is God for only God can give eternal life.
Note the following 3 verses, Jesus has plainly made it known that he has the same and equal power as the Father because, in conclusion, he declared that He and the Father are One. Thus he declares equality with the Father as God. If then the Father is greater than all and everything the Father has is likewise owned by the Son then the same greatness of the Father (Greater than all) is also with the Son. That is why Jesus, who said here that he will give eternal life and they shall never perish, is God for only God can give eternal life.
3. The Father and the Son share the same name.
"Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, THE NAME YOU GAVE ME!" WHAT? JESUS HAS THE SAME NAME AS THE FATHER, THEY SHARE ONLY ONE NAME.
And this is true for the meaning of Jesus in Hebrew is "Yahweh saves" and the LORD IS YAHWEH BECAUSE THE LORD IS GOD. So that when we call Jesus Lord, we are in fact calling the name of God, whose name is Yahweh (YHWH OR JEHOVAH). Jesus is Yeshua that is a shortened version of the name Yehoshua
or Joshua and is the literal Hebrew word for Salvation. Jesus is the savior but what does God say on who is the savior? Isaiah 43:3 "For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior..." What Isaiah prophesied, the Angel confirmed in Luke 2:10-11 once more this is what it says "But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." Therefore the Lord God, Yahweh, is the Messiah, the Savior who is Jesus Christ sharing the same name as the Father, Yahweh, God.
Therefore in John 17, the Father and Jesus are revealed to have this mystical relationship of being One yet they are two separate persons. Jesus commanded the Apostles to Baptize those who will believe IN THE NAME NOT NAMES BUT SINGULAR NAME. In the "name" of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons share the same name, the same glory, the same power, the same substance, the same nature, as the Only True God. One Godhead in three divine persons.
This is the mystery of who and what is God that Jesus Christ revealed to those who believed and will believe. There is one God the Father and there is one Lord, the Son but there is One Lord and God and they are One. "Hear or Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is One". In this Chapter 17, the two divine persons, the Father and the Son have been revealed in the prayer of Jesus Christ having the same Glory as God in later chapters, and in many scriptural passages the Holy Spirit has been introduced in that revelation of One Godhead as Lord and God and with the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts, the complete revelation of the mystery of who and what is God has been made known to men that God is Trinity, three divine persons in One God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the truth, this the true teaching of Jesus Christ, and therefore if any person, group, religion, the church teaches a different doctrine other than the one revealed by the Lord, know that such teaching is false.
Unless all the other verses attesting, witnessing, and confirming the person of Jesus Christ as true God and true man the use of John 17:3 as the only basis of the false doctrinal teaching of those that teach Jesus Christ is not God but only a man is defeated. The entire Chapter 17 should be read to fully understand the mystery revealed by the Gospel of John about the true person of Jesus Christ.
By: Bro. Manny Santos, OTFS Apologist
This is the mystery of who and what is God that Jesus Christ revealed to those who believed and will believe. There is one God the Father and there is one Lord, the Son but there is One Lord and God and they are One. "Hear or Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is One". In this Chapter 17, the two divine persons, the Father and the Son have been revealed in the prayer of Jesus Christ having the same Glory as God in later chapters, and in many scriptural passages the Holy Spirit has been introduced in that revelation of One Godhead as Lord and God and with the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts, the complete revelation of the mystery of who and what is God has been made known to men that God is Trinity, three divine persons in One God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the truth, this the true teaching of Jesus Christ, and therefore if any person, group, religion, the church teaches a different doctrine other than the one revealed by the Lord, know that such teaching is false.
Unless all the other verses attesting, witnessing, and confirming the person of Jesus Christ as true God and true man the use of John 17:3 as the only basis of the false doctrinal teaching of those that teach Jesus Christ is not God but only a man is defeated. The entire Chapter 17 should be read to fully understand the mystery revealed by the Gospel of John about the true person of Jesus Christ.
By: Bro. Manny Santos, OTFS Apologist
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