Scripture-first response
“John 17 proves separate divine persons.”
John 17 is the prayer of the real Messiah completing His mission. The same Gospel says the Father dwells in Him and that seeing Him reveals the Father.
What the objection is claiming
The real prayer of the incarnate Son is moved backward into an eternal society of divine centers.
John 17:5
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.Open full referenceJesus prays for the glory purposed for the Messiah before creation to be realized after His saving work.
How the passages answer it
The incarnate Son possesses real human consciousness and relationship to God. John’s answer to ‘where is the Father?’ is not ‘far away as another God,’ but ‘the Father dwelleth in me.’ Prayer and indwelling must both remain true.