Examine the Verse
John 17:1,3
This verse is claimed to
provide the basis of the Iglesia ni Cristo
belief in the absolute oneness of God,
that the only true God is the Father in heaven;
The Father is the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of all things;
God is Spirit, eternal, immortal and invisible.
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"Jesus
spoke these words, lifted up His eyes
to heaven, and said: “Father,
the hour has come. Glorify Your Son,
that Your Son also may glorify You, And this is
eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and
Jesus Christ whom You have sent".
(John 17:1,3, New King James
Version) |
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1 After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to
heaven and said,
Father,
the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son
may give glory to you.3
And eternal life means
to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus
Christ, whom you sent.
(John 17:1,3, Good News
Translation) |
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Iglesia ni Cristo belief in God and
Jesus Christ:
Iglesia
ni Cristo believes in the absolute oneness
of God, that "the
Only True God is the Father" in heaven; The Father is the Lord God Almighty, the
Creator of all things. God is Spirit, eternal, immortal and invisible; He is the
God and Father of Jesus Christ and His Apostles; and that of
Moses, Abraham and the ancient Israelites.
Iglesia ni
Cristo believes that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God. As the Son
of God,
Jesus is a
Man.
However, Jesus is not an ordinary man but a "very special Man",
who was sanctified; made
Lord, Christ, Savior, Mediator and Judge by God. |
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Apostle's admonition, warning and
unique way of teaching:
1.
No prophecy of scripture is a matter of personal
interpretation. (II Pt. 1:20, NAB)
2. Do not go beyond what
is written. (I
Cor. 4:6, NIV)
3.
We do not use words of human wisdom. We speak words given to
us by the Spirit,
using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths. (1
Cor. 2:13, NLT) |
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Points to Consider: |
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1.
Notice that In the above verses, the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself is praying to the Father in heaven.
2. In the verse, Jesus clearly said this in His prayer
to the Father: "And this is eternal
life, that they may know you 'the only true God'
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent".
3. In the above verse, Jesus is clearly saying that
the Father in heaven is the only true God.
Thus, Jesus clearly believes in the absolute oneness of God.
4. And what did Jesus say about Himself? Jesus clearly said
that "He was sent by the Father." Thus, in
effect, Jesus is distinct or a separate being from God―the
Father who sent Him.
Why is Jesus a separate being from the Father? Jesus Himself
said that the Father is greater than Him. Thus, the Father
and Jesus are not co-equal, in fact Jesus is a
"servant of God". Therefore, Jesus is not God
Himself as Trinitarians would like to believe him to be.
"Most
assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater
than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than
he who sent him. (John 13:16, NKJV)
"You have heard Me say to
you, `I am going away
and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would
rejoice because I said, `I am going to the
Father,' for My Father is greater than I. (John
14:28, NKJV)
The God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has
glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be
killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had
decided to let him go.
(Acts 3:13, NIV)
5. What is the
significance of knowing the Father as the only true God and
knowing that Jesus Christ was sent by the Father? Jesus
clearly said: "And
eternal life means to
know you the only true God and
and to
know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.".
Thus, eternal
life awaits those who may come to know this truth about God
and Jesus.
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John 17:1,3 in other versions of
the Bible: |
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These words spake Jesus, and lifted
up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come;
glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
(King James
Version)
After Jesus said these things, he looked toward heaven and prayed,
“Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son
can give glory to you. And this is eternal life: that people can
know you, the only true God, and that they can know Jesus Christ,
the one you sent. (Easy to
Read Version)
WHEN JESUS had spoken these things, He
lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has
come. Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify Your Son, so
that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify
You. And this is eternal life: [it means] to
know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and
understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise]
to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the
Messiah), Whom You have sent.
(Amplified Bible)
After Jesus said this, he looked
toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify
your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
Now this is eternal
life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom you have sent.
(New International Version)
After saying all these things,
Jesus looked up to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour
has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.
And this is the way
to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
(New Living Translation)
After Jesus finished saying this, he
looked up to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to
you. And eternal life means to know you, the only true
God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
(Good News Translation)
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___________________
Examine
- consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover
essential features or meaning; Source:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/examine
Bible Study
Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free
to visit the
Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or
an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question
you have in mind.
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