The Text:
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The Challenge:
Christians always run away from John 17:3 when Jesus says the only true God is the Father and he is the Christ that was sent by the Father. and run to John 17:5. They say us Muslims cherry pick one verse. But let’s put things in its context because Jesus is praying and in John 17:1, 2 and 3 Jesus is saying God give me the glory that i had with you. In John 17:5, what is Jesus praying for
first and foremost, if Jesus was Almighty God, did he lose his glory
My Response:
You totally misunderstand John 17:3.
(1) you refuse to take John 17:3 in its immediate, near, remote and total Bible context. Therefore, you do not understand this verse and your claims as to what it says or teaches are false.
(2) you misread John 17:3 by failing to take into account just what the word “only” must have reference to:
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Indeed, “only” modifies “God that really exists” or “God there is,” and not “you.” Therefore, the two phrases—“You [Father], the only true God” and “Only you [Father], the true God”—do not have the same meaning.
Shelenberger, A. T. (2009). An Exposition of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Argument in Rejecting Christ’s Deity Using John 17:3. Christian Apologetics Journal, 8(2), 7.
The whole article by A. T. Shelenberger provides a thorough refutation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ mistaken understanding of John 17:3 and in doing so also refutes the Muslim misunderstanding of this New Testament text.
Earlier in the article Shelenberger states:
The hidden equivocation becomes evident when the phrase “the one [Father] ‘who alone [is] truly God’” is converted to the sentence “the Father alone [or only the Father] is truly God.” The Watchtower had, in effect, made a radical change in the wording. As if the two sentences have similar meaning, the word order basically went from “the Father is the only true God” to “only the Father is the true God.” But, in fact, they do not mean the same.
Shelenberger, A. T. (2009). An Exposition of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Argument in Rejecting Christ’s Deity Using John 17:3. Christian Apologetics Journal, 8(2), 6.
Before that, Shelenberger states:
One contention the Watchtower propounds is that, according to John 17:3, only the Father is the true God. This entails the argument: since Christ places the Father in the category “true God,” it must mean that he does not place himself in it; and only the Father belongs in the category. This argument, however, commits three informal fallacies.
Shelenberger, A. T. (2009). An Exposition of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Argument in Rejecting Christ’s Deity Using John 17:3. Christian Apologetics Journal, 8(2), 5.
When the text of John 17:3 is read carefully, it is clear that Jesus does not exclude Himself so as to deny His own Deity when He speaks of “the only true God.”