John 17
2 items across 1 content type
Debate Excerpts (2)
Individual points from debates discussing this topic
“How does John 17:20-21 refute the claim that I and the Father are one means Jesus is God?”
Uthman cites John 17:20-21, where Jesus prays for his disciples: I do not pray for these alone, but for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you — that they may be one in us. If I and the Father are one means Jesus is God (in the sense of sharing divine nature), then by the same logic all believers who are described as being one in the same way would also be God. The student concedes the point: we are not God. Uthman then presses: if the same word one is used for believers and for Jesus, it cannot establish divine identity for Jesus specifically.
“What does John 17:3 say about the only true God and how does it separate Jesus from God?”
Uthman quotes John 17:3 — the words of Jesus himself in the red-letter text: This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. In a single sentence Jesus distinguishes God (whom he addresses as the only true God) from himself (Jesus Christ, whom you have sent). God is the sender; Jesus is the one sent. Jesus also continuously calls God my God throughout the Bible — including post-resurrection. This language is that of a prophet in relationship with God, not that of a being claiming to be God.