PROTESTANT ERROR: ONLY GOD CAN FORGIVE SINS

According to Protestants and other non-Catholic religions, only God can forgive sin and they use the scripture 1 John 1:9 for this doctrine. But is this true? Yes, it's true that Jesus forgives sin but he has likewise given this authority and power to forgive sins to his Apostles and to their successors. Jesus being God himself has given such authority and power to men whom he called to build up his church this is very clear in the scriptures and no amount of twisting its interpretation can change what is written.

1 John 1:9 does not even say it is only Jesus that can forgive sins, those that say and teach such doctrine is mistaken and just making an interpretation of the verse that says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Nothing in this verse that says Jesus alone forgives sins. In fact, it teaches us to confess our sins and the effect of that confession is forgiveness and purification from all unrighteousness. Confession makes us clean. But as far as the Catholics are concerned, our sins are washed away by Baptism which is our initiation into a new life as a Christian and member of the Catholic Church the Church Jesus founded and that by faith in Christ we are justified meaning we are made righteous. Why then is John here teaching us to confess our sins? To better understand this there are two things to consider, sin and confession.

1 John 3:4 states: "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact sin, is lawlessness." Lawlessness means a lack of order, chaos, and anarchy.  If sin is lawlessness it means the one in sin does not follow the law or breaks the law. A sin, therefore, is the result of an act of the person against the established law or transgression of the law. To cut our article short we will not delve here into the law but on sin as an act of one that breaks the Law. On the other hand, confession means admission, acknowledgment, and revelation of one's action already committed. To confess therefore is an act of making a statement of what one has done, it can be in written form or orally. To confess our sins is to make a statement of admission to one who is authorized to hear our confession for the purpose of asking forgiveness and make repentance an act of being sorry and remorseful of having committed the transgression of the law also known as penance.

The next question we asked is to whom are we going to confess our sins? Non-Catholics would say, well we confess it directly to Jesus and to God but, not to priests or bishops. Yes, we can do that, but since God is all-knowing he already knows our sins and we don't have to confess to him our sins but ask forgiveness from him. But Jesus himself said, not all who call on me Lord, Lord will be saved. So confessing it directly to Jesus does not guarantee that he will hear us since he said, not all who call on him will be saved, and being saved is having our sins forgiven. What one can do in confessing directly to Jesus is to make assumptions that he hears us and that he will forgive us. Definitely, we cannot call on God the Father to confess our sins since he has given all the power and authority to the Son and that no one can come to the Father except through the Son. In fact, if we follow the bible how our prayers that include confession of our sins reach God it is through the Angels and Saints in heaven. But since non-Catholics reject these "protocols" of heaven, they have no one to hear their prayers and confession. If that is so, the chances that one's sins are not yet forgiven are higher and one may still be living in a sinful state because God has not forgiven him yet.

Now consider the effect of confession and the implication of what John teaches in his Gospel. It is that confession is a must for our salvation.

To whom are we to confess our sins? Non-Catholic or Protestants would say only God can forgive sins but the bible also teaches that the power and authority to forgive sins are likewise given to men as shown by the "man" Jesus Christ. This is true in Matthew 9:8 it says that God has given authority to forgive sins to men as it is written: “When the crowds saw this (Jesus forgiving sin and healing a paralytic), they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” What is that authority they are saying? It’s the authority given to men to forgive sins as exemplified by Jesus in the earlier verse of the same chapter. 

On the other hand, the same power and authority to forgive sins have also been given by Jesus to the leaders of the church, the Apostles in John 20:21-23 saying: “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” And with that, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” How can Jesus say this? In Matthew 28:18-20, this is what we will read "Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Having given all power and with it authority from the Father, Jesus too gave the Apostles and their successors the same power and authority.

So to say Jesus alone can forgive sins is incorrect because he handed over the same power and authority to the Apostles who he sent to build his church, the Church of God, which is Catholic in nature and reach (Ekkelsia Katholes, Acts 9:31). It is to be built throughout the world thus it is called the Catholic Church of Christians. Did the Apostles also send others as Jesus sent them? Yes, they appointed Bishops and Presbyters (priests) and send them for the mission of the Church with the same power as given to them by the Lord for the building of the Church.  

Now under John 20:21-23, how can the Apostles and their successors the Bishops and priests forgive the sins they are authorized to forgive if they don’t know the sins of the person they will forgive? Only by confession will the Apostles and their successors the Bishops and Priests know what they are going to forgive or not to forgive. That is the context of 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins [to those empowered by the Lord to receive our confession] he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." The power of the Bishop and Priest to forgive sins comes directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. They serve as the channel used by the Lord. The Priest would always say “I absolved you of your sins in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” He does not own up the forgiveness itself but only the channel of the sacrament of forgiving sins instituted by Jesus himself in John 20:21-23 although they are given power and authority to forgive or not to forgive freely.

Do they really practice confession of sins in the biblical times of the Apostles? St. James said it well in James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Confession of sins is not only obligatory for the Christian but is also part of the healing process of the penitent sinner. There are however two types of sins, one is a public sin where the public is scandalized by the acts of the person or persons and one is private Those public sins in the past include heretical acts of apostasy and the sinner or sinners make an act of public confession but for sin that is made in private, the penitent makes a private confession with the priest and or bishop and these are sealed because it is between the penitent and God through the priest having given authority to either forgive the sins or retain them.

Confession of sin is an act that is hard for the person but it is not only a must according to the command of Jesus but it is also a part of the healing process of guilt that the person suffers and carries in himself or herself. When anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned. Leviticus 5:5 because keeping the sins committed to oneself will always live with that guilt and will find no peace. That is why Proverbs 28:13 says "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

Jesus gave us the gift of the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation that we may find peace and assurance of hearing that God forgives us or our sins from the mouth of the Priest or Bishop to which he gave authority and power to forgive sins. Its music to the ears to hear the Priest "I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".

By: Bro. Manny Santos, OTFS Apologist

Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholes (Acts 9:31)

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

IS THE FATHER THE "ONLY" TRUE GOD?

Catholics are always confronted by other preachers that teach Jesus is not God but only human with the biblical passage in John 17:3 that according to them is the best proof that the Father is the only true God. However, a single passage in the bible may just be a part of the truth and not the entire truth, therefore a half-truth, when used as representing the whole truth, is a lie. We, therefore, have to study not just verse 3 of the 17th chapter of John but the verses preceding to and following after to know exactly what is the context of the said verse. There is this saying that is true and accepted by many theologians that a text without the context is a pretext meaning that scripture read separately without regard to the surrounding verses is easily misconstrued or given a wrong interpretation. Therefore if we want to get to the truth and the right interpretation of John 17:3 that is consistent with what the Gospel of John is teaching, we have to take into account the verses preceding and following after John 17:3.

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. 

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.

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

Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholes (Acts 9:31)

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.