Who is the only true God? Is it God the Father? Jesus? The Holy Spirit? The Trinity? In this article, we will examine what Scripture has to say about the identity of the only true God.
The True God of the Old Testament
Two Old Testament passages identify Yahweh, the God of Israel, as “the true God.” The use of the word “true”[1] in these passages helps distinguish Yahweh, the real or genuine deity, from other so-called gods.[2]
2 Chronicles 15:3-4 (NASB) For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without the Law. But in their distress, they turned to the LORD [Yahweh][3] God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. (emphasis added)
Jeremiah 10:10 (NASB) But the LORD [Yahweh][4] is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation. (emphasis added)
Who is Yahweh, the true God, in the Old Testament? We have only to look to such faithful prophets as Moses and Isaiah to see that Yahweh is the Father:
Deuteronomy 32:6 (NASB) Is this what you do to the Lord [Yahweh][5], You foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father who has purchased you? He has made you and established you. (emphasis added)
Isaiah 63:16 (NASB) For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, Lord [Yahweh][6], are our Father, Our Redeemer from ancient times is Your name. (emphasis added)
Isaiah 64:8 (NASB) But now, Lord [Yahweh][7], You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter, and all of us are the work of Your hand. (emphasis added)
Note, in these passages, God is referred to using singular masculine pronouns: He, Him, and His. Even when “You” or “Your” are used, the singular masculine form, not the plural, is used.[8] In other words, Yahweh is one singular person and not representative of the three persons of the Trinity.
The True God of the New Testament
Three New Testament passages also use the word true to designate the God of the Bible as the true God or the only true God.
Paul and the True God
Chronologically speaking, the first use of the true God in the New Testament is found in Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica:
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 (NASB) For they themselves report about us as to the kind of reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is, Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come. (emphasis added)
Here, the apostle clearly differentiates between God and Jesus. For Paul, God the Father (since He has a Son) is the living and true God, while His Son, Jesus, is not. The same distinction is seen in his letter to the church in Rome:
Romans 16:27 (NASB) to the only wise[9] God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. (emphasis added)
In his closing remarks to the church in Rome, Paul offers glory to “the only wise God” through the person of Jesus, who is the Christ. By default, Jesus is not the only wise God.
We see similar designations in his letter to the church in Corinth:
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (NASB) Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. (emphasis added)
Although the word “only” is added by translators in this passage to emphasize the exclusion of other gods, the consistency in Paul’s theology can be seen without it. The apostle makes an undeniable distinction between God and Jesus. He understands God the Father to be the one God while Jesus, the Christ, is the one Lord.
Jesus and the Only True God
The second occurrence of the phrase the true God in the New Testament is, once again, used to identify God the Father. The apostle John records Jesus’ prayer, in which he clearly distinguishes himself from the only true God.
John 17:1a and 3 (NASB) Jesus spoke these things; and raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father… 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (emphasis added)
The word “only” in this passage is monos in Greek (μόνος). It means alone, only, solitary, single.[10] Jesus’ use of the word “only” more forcefully tells us that God the Father is singularly and uniquely God. There is no other true God.[11] To be sure, the man from Nazareth does not designate himself as God, the God-Man, God the Son, the one true God, the only true God, etc., but rather only as the Christ, that is, the Messiah.
John’s First Epistle
The third New Testament use of “true God” is found in John’s epistle, where he uses the phrase to distinguish the God of the Bible from the idols or false gods of this world.
1 John 5:19-21 (NASB) We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (emphasis added)
John states that the Son of God (a Messianic title, when used of Jesus, is synonymous with Christ, King of Israel, etc.,[12]) has come to give us understanding that we may know “Him who is true.”[13] The context of this passage tells us that “Him who is true” has a Son, that is, Jesus Christ. Thus, God the Father is “Him who is true.” Like 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, and John 17:1-3, this passage clearly identifies the true God as God the Father.
Unfortunately, some Trinitarians misappropriate verse 20 as proof that Jesus is God:
1 John 5:20 (NASB) And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. (emphasis added)
They insist that the phrase “this is the true God and eternal life” refers to Jesus, and not the Father, for three primary reasons. First, since Jesus Christ is the nearest antecedent, it must refer to him. They try to bolster this interpretation with John 1:1and 3. Second, they assert that Jesus is the intended subject because elsewhere in 1 John and in the gospel of John, he is associated with eternal life.[14] Third, they argue that for John to write that the Father is the true God, having already stated it twice, would be tautological.[15] We will examine all three of these claims.
1. The Antecedent is the Referent of Houtos
The premise used to interpret Jesus as “the true God” in verse 20 comes from a belief that the antecedent determines the identity of the pronoun “this,” which, in Greek, is houtos.
1 John 5:20 (NASB) And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This [houtos] is the true God and eternal life. (emphasis added)
Since Jesus Christ is the nearest antecedent to houtos, Jesus must be “the true God.” However, if we use this same method of interpretation elsewhere in the same epistle, we quickly realize it is flawed.
1 John 2:22 (NASB) Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This [houtos] is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. (emphasis added)
In this passage, the nearest antecedent to the word “this” (houtos) is Jesus Christ. Thus, to be consistent in our method of interpretation, we must conclude that Jesus is the antichrist. But, of course, this is incorrect.
Another example by the same author is found in John’s second epistle:
2 John 1:7 (NASB) For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This [houtos] is the deceiver and the antichrist. (emphasis added)
Applying the same method of interpretation Trinitarians use for 1 John 5:20, the antecedent to “this” (houtos) is Jesus Christ. Thus, according to this method, Jesus is the deceiver and the antichrist. Once again, this is obviously incorrect.
In these passages, context, not the antecedent, is the best way to determine the referent of houtos.
2. Jesus is Eternal Life
Trinitarians also assume that houtos in 1 John 5:20 refers to Jesus because it associates the true God with eternal life, and since the Bible elsewhere links Jesus with eternal life, it must be a reference to him. However, John’s gospel tells us that Jesus did not inherently have eternal life in himself, as we would expect if he were truly God, but rather, it was God the Father who gave Jesus the authority to have eternal life in himself.
John 5:25-27 (NASB) “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. (emphasis added)
In the same chapter under review, we see that God (the Father, since He has a Son) is the source of eternal life. It is God the Father who has given eternal life to us in His Son, Jesus.
1 John 5:11-12 (NASB) And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (emphasis added)
The epistle to the Hebrews confirms this truth. Jesus did not inherently have life, but he became the source of eternal life after his resurrection and exaltation by God the Father:
Hebrews 5:9-10 (NASB) And having been made perfect, He [Jesus] became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, 10 being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. (emphasis added)
Indeed, this is what Jesus prayed in John 17. He said that eternal life was knowing both the Father, who is the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom the only true God sent:
John 17:1a and 3 (NASB) Jesus spoke these things; and raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father,… 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (emphasis added)
The testimony of 1 John 5:20, that God the Father is the true God, echoes Jesus’ words as recorded in John’s gospel. To be sure, John’s declaration of God the Father as the true God is consistent in all his writings.
3. A Tautological Statement
Some argue that for John to write God the Father is the true God in the final clause of 1 John 5:20, having just stated it twice in the same verse, would be tautological, that is, a needless repetition. They claim, therefore, that the third time John refers to the true God, it is to present new information, namely, that the true God is Jesus Christ. But John is not averse to using repetition as an instrument for instruction. For example, in his second epistle, he uses tautology as a technique to stress the importance of truth and love.[16] Moreover, he uses tautology in a passage we examined earlier:
1 John 5:11-12 (NASB) And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (emphasis added)
Here, John effectively repeats the idea that eternal life comes from God and is given to us in His Son.
In like manner, John uses repetition in 1 John 5:20 to emphasize an important truth: God the Father, the true God, has been revealed to us by His Son, Jesus Christ. It is this context that provides the framework for the next verse:
1 John 5:21 (NASB) Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (emphasis added)
John is reminding his readers that we are to guard the knowledge that the Son has revealed to us, namely, that God the Father alone is the true God. This truth is what will protect us from following false gods or idols. Not surprisingly, John’s teaching is perfectly in sync with what we learned from the Old Testament and Pauline passages we examined earlier about God the Father being the one true God.[17]
What Do Biblical Scholars Say?
What do Biblical scholars say about the identity of the true God in 1 John 5:20? Not all scholars agree on the interpretation; nevertheless, many scholars affirm that the true God in verse 20 refers to God the Father. For example, E.W. Bullinger, in his commentary on 1 John, writes that the true God in verse 20, “refers to the Father.”[18] In addition, William Loader, in his commentary on the same verse, writes:
It is clear from this that ‘the true (one)’ is God throughout. Christ is his Son. In the final sentence, this (one) most naturally refers still to God, not to Christ, as some have suggested.[19]
John Stott believes “the most natural reference” to houtos in 1 John 5:20 is found in the previous occurrences of him that is true in the same verse. He writes:
In this way, the three references to “the true” are to the same Person, the Father, and the additional points made in the apparent final repetition are that it is this One, namely the God made known by Jesus Christ, who is the true God…The whole verse is strongly reminiscent of John 17:3…[20]
James Montgomery Boice acknowledges in his commentary that while some scholars view Jesus as the true God in the final clause of verse 20, he sees God the Father as the better interpretation:
On the other hand, we must also say in all honesty that “He” can also refer to “him that is true,” in which case all three uses of the word “true” refer to the same person, even the Father. This [interpretation] seems preferable.”[21]
Like others, B.F. Wescott affirms that God the Father is the better referent to houtos in verse 20. He writes:
As far as the grammatical construction of the sentence is concerned, the pronoun [houtos] may refer either to ‘Him that is true’ [God the Father] or to “Jesus Christ.”[22] The most natural reference, however, is to the subject not locally nearest but dominant in the mind of the apostle. This is obviously, ‘He that is true’ further described by the addition of ‘His Son.’ Thus, the pronoun [houtos] gathers up the revelation indicated in the words which precede. This Being—this One who is true, who is revealed through and in His Son, with whom we are united by His Son—is the true God and life eternal.[23]
Even though the grammar of 1 John 5:20 leads some to interpret Jesus as being the true God, it is ill-advised to use it as a proof text for his divinity since all the remaining verses declare, without ambiguity, that the Father alone is the true God.
What About the Holy Spirit?
What about the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity? The Bible never refers to the Holy Spirit as the true God, the one God, the only God, or any other variation of the title. (For more on the Holy Spirit, see these articles.)
What about the Trinity?
Such a clear identification of God the Father as the one true God is often ignored by Trinitarians who claim that God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all equally the one God. However, even Trinitarian scholars admit that the doctrine of the Trinity is never taught in Scripture.[24] (The absence of such a foundational doctrine should cause grave concern, especially for those who believe in Sola Scriptura.) Thus, unsurprisingly, the elusive three-persons-in-one-Godhead is never referred to as the one God, the true God, the only God, etc.
Conclusion
Scripture, both the Old Testament[25] and New Testament[26], is consistent in its revelation of God the Father as the one true God.
[1] Strong’s #571 אֶמֶת emet. The word is also used to describe God’s attributes, character, actions, etc.
[2] The context of both 2 Chronicles 15 and Jeremiah 10 identifies God as the true God as opposed to false gods or idols.
[3] “LORD,” in this and other passages, was used by scribes, beginning primarily in the late Second Temple period, as a substitute for the word Yahweh, the personal name of the one true God. The scribes wanted to avoid breaking the commandment to honor God’s name (Exodus 20:7), so they substituted Lord wherever the name Yahweh occurred. The use of “LORD,” in all capital letters, was adopted to distinguish the word as a substitute for Yahweh from the more generic use of the word Lord (Adonai; master, lord).
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] For example, in Isaiah 6:48, You and Your are singular masculine pronouns.
[9] Some early translations omit the word “wise” and simply say “to the only God.”
[10] John 17:3 Greek interlinear at Bible.com
[11] Several times, Scripture says there is no other god besides God. For example, see Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; Isaiah 45:14, 21-22; 46:9; Joel 2:27.
[12] See John 1:49, Matthew 16:16, etc. “Son of God” is never used as the equivalent of “God the Son,” a title or phrase that does not appear in Scripture.
[13] Indeed, other passages confirm that Jesus reveals God the Father to us. For example, see Matthew 11:27; John 14:8-9, etc.
[14] 1 John 1:2, 5:12; John 11:25 and 14:6.
[15] Tautology is the (sometimes) needless repetition of an idea that may or may not impart additional force or clarity.
[17] 2 Chronicles 15:3-4; Jeremiah 10:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 and 1 Corinthians 8:4-6.
[18] E.W. Bullinger, Bullinger’s Companion Notes on 1 John, Doubleday.
[19] William Loader, The Johannine Epistles, Epworth Commentaries, 1992, p. 79.
[20] J.R.W. Stott, The Epistles of John, Wm. B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1975, p. 196.
[21] James Montgomery Boice, The Epistles of John, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, p. 183.
[22] In like manner, Raymond E. Brown, although he believes houtos refers to Jesus, agrees that the grammar is unclear and acknowledges some scholars understand it refers to God the Father. See Raymond E. Brown, The Epistles of John, Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y., 1982, pg.626.
[23] B.F. Wescot, The Epistles of St. John, Macmillan and Co., London, 1883, p. 187.
[24] For example, Charles Ryrie, Emil Bruner, Millard Erickson, Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius, John L. McKenzie, Oxford Companion to the Bible, Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, etc. See “What Scholars Have to Say.”
[25] 2 Chronicles 15:3 and Jeremiah 10:10.
[26] 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; John 17:1-3; 1 John 5:19-21.
