The uniqueness of John's Gospel

[faroukfarouk]

Regarding 'defining' God, John's Gospel itself (1.18) says: 'No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him'.

 

[Simona25]

You're right that each Gospel is unique. The fact that John is so different in some ways from the others gave Matthew, Mark and Luke the name Synoptic, as they are sometimes collectively known.

Blessings.

He wrote the gospel long after the other evangelists and he wanted, among other things, to rebuke the heresy that negated the deity of Jesus Christ. Saint John completed the synoptic gospels and he gives a theological dimension to his gospel.

His dogmatic teachings are:

1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the divine and eternal Logos (Word)
St. John 1, 1-2:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 The same was in the beginning with God.
St. John 8, 58: 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

2. All things were made ​​through Him
St. John 1, 2-3: 2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

3. Jesus Christ is co-equal and co-substantial with God the Father
St John 10, 30: 30 I and my Father are one.

4. Jesus Christ has all that the Father has
St. John 16, 15:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

5. Jesus Christ resurrects death people, just like the Father does
St. John 5, 28: 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,

6. He is the only one that has seen the Father
St. John 1, 18: 18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
St. John 6, 46: 46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.

7. He has been sent to the world out of the love of the Father (St. John 3,16)

8. Jesus Christ took a human body (the Word became flesh), 9. He is whithout sin ( "Which of you convinceth me of sin?") and 10., He descended from Heaven ( "I am the living bread which came down from heaven...").

11. He brings to the world the true teaching about God
St. John 7, 16: 16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

12. Jesus Christ brings to the world His grace
St. John 1,17: 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
St. John 7,39: 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

13. Jesus Christ is the Life and the Light of the world
St. John 8,12: 12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

14. He is the path, the truth and the life (14, 6), the bread of (eternal) life (6, 48).

15. He is the good shepherd that sacrificed for us on Golgota
St. John 10, 11: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

16. He goes back to the Father ("5 But now I go my way to him that sent me"),

17. He sends the Holy Spirit that proceeds from the Father (26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me)

18. He sends the Holy Spirit who will remind us and guide us in Jesus Christ's teachings (26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.)

 

[Elin]

View attachment 73778

I have found that each gospel has a symbol:

The angel is the symbol of Saint Matthew's gospel because this gospel starts with the genealogy of Jesus Christ and it wants to show that the birth of Jesus Christ was supranatural and announced by the Saint Archangel Gabriel. Or, it can mean, like some other church writers say, that the angel inspired the gospel.

The Lion symbolizes the Saint Evangelist Mark because he begins the gospel with the preaching of St. John the Baptist that is roaring in the wilderness like a lion. The lion also symbolizes the work and the power of Jesus Christ (the supreme king).

The ox is the symbol of Saint Luke's gospel because it begins with the story of Zechariah who was priest at the temple (where animals, like ox, would be brought to sacrifice), but it also shows the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ and His priesthood.

And the eagle is the symbol of Saint John's gospel because, as you have shown in your first post, the spirituality, the thinking and the style that characterize the gospel are high and sublime, just like the flying of the eagle that rises to great heights. It also points to the Holy Spirit, the deity of Jesus Christ.

All the symbols have wings, so actually, the first symbol is a man, not an angel,
and it symbolizes Jesus, the man, God Incarnate.
All four symbols are of Christ, and are also found around the throne in Rev 4:7,
and in the four faces of the four living creatures in Ezekiel's vision (Eze 1:4-10).

These symbols come from the four divisions of Israel who came out of Egypt in rank and file,
armed for battle (Ex 13:18), a picture of the church militant and soldiers of Christ (2Tim 2:3),
engaged in spiritual warfare (Eph 6:11; 1Tim 1:18; 2Tim 4:7)
to take hold of eternal life (1Tim 6:12), the promised heavenly land (Heb 11:13-16).

The leader of the first division of three tribes was the tribe of Judah, whose standard was a lion.
Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, and is called the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5).

The leader of the second division of three tribes was the tribe Reuben, whose standard was a man.
The Son of God, Jesus, was a man, God Incarnate.

The leader of the third division of three tribes was the tribe of Ephraim, whose standard was an ox.
Jesus was the sin sacrifice, as were the oxen (bulls). (Lev 4:3, 13)

The leader of the fourth division of three tribes was the tribe of Dan, whose standard was an eagle.
(Nu 2:3-31).
Jesus, of piercing sight into and from the Godhead (Mt 11:27) and
of terrible quickness (1Th 5:2-3; Rev 3:11, 18:8, 10, 17, 22:7, 12, 20).

Tradition assigns the four symbols to the gospels, which proclaim Jesus.

 

[Simona25]

Regarding 'defining' God, John's Gospel itself (1.18) says: 'No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him'.

I also remember that when St. Paul went to preach to the pagan greeks, in Athenes, he started his sermon by pointing to the statue that was raised for an "unknown God" (in the Aeropagus, there were a lot of statues raised for Zeus, Afrodite and other pagan gods) and St. Paul said "it's about that God, that unknown God, that I wish to talk about".

Acts 17, 23: 23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

I think that this verse also could be a point that God is undefinable, infinit, transcendent, boundless. We can say a lot of things about God and still we haven't said enough about Him. Maybe this is the reason why God forbidden people to make images of Himself, because people have absolutely no idea what God is. People tend to limitate God to what they know, making God according to their image, but God is beyond everything (He is through all and above all), He is a mystery. The biggest revelation of God is given by Jesus Christ (who is God of God, true Light of true Light).

 

[faroukfarouk]

I also remember that when St. Paul went to preach to the pagan greeks, in Athenes, he started his sermon by pointing to the statue that was raised for an "unknown God" (in the Aeropagus, there were a lot of statues raised for Zeus, Afrodite and other pagan gods) and St. Paul said "it's about that God, that unknown God, that I wish to talk about".

Acts 17, 23: 23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

I think that this verse also could be a point that God is undefinable, infinit, transcendent, boundless. We can say a lot of things about God and still we haven't said enough about Him. Maybe this is the reason why God forbidden people to make images of Himself, because people have absolutely no idea what God is. People tend to limitate God to what they know, making God according to their image, but God is beyond everything (He is through all and above all), He is a mystery. The biggest revelation of God is given by Jesus Christ (who is God of God, true Light of true Light).

Well, regarding the event in Athens, Paul describes God as 'unknown' because to pagans He was indeed unknown; although the Word of God does reveal Him.

 

[Simona25]

Well, regarding the event in Athens, Paul describes God as 'unknown' because to pagans He was indeed unknown; although the Word of God does reveal Him.

Yes, that's true. But Saint Paul also seems to say that from all the statues that were raised to nominal gods, the greeks actually had a good intuition with that "unknown god".
Anyway, St. Paul proves a lot of spirit and intelligence when he starts his sermon with the unknown god.

 

[faroukfarouk]

All the symbols have wings, so actually, the first symbol is a man, not an angel,
and it symbolizes Jesus, the man, God Incarnate.
All four symbols are of Christ, and are also found around the throne in Rev 4:7,
and in the four faces of the four living creatures in Ezekiel's vision (Eze 1:4-10).

These symbols come from the four divisions of Israel who came out of Egypt in rank and file,
armed for battle (Ex 13:18), a picture of the church militant and soldiers of Christ (2Tim 2:3),
engaged in spiritual warfare (Eph 6:11; 1Tim 1:18; 2Tim 4:7)
to take hold of eternal life (1Tim 6:12), the promised heavenly land (Heb 11:13-16).

The leader of the first division of three tribes was the tribe of Judah, whose standard was a lion.
Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, and is called the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5).

The leader of the second division of three tribes was the tribe Reuben, whose standard was a man.
The Son of God, Jesus, was a man, God Incarnate.

The leader of the third division of three tribes was the tribe of Ephraim, whose standard was an ox.
Jesus was the sin sacrifice, as were the oxen (bulls). (Lev 4:3, 13)

The leader of the fourth division of three tribes was the tribe of Dan, whose standard was an eagle.
(Nu 2:3-31).
Jesus, of piercing sight into and from the Godhead (Mt 11:27) and
of terrible quickness (1Th 5:2-3; Rev 3:11, 18:8, 10, 17, 22:7, 12, 20).

Tradition assigns the four symbols to the gospels, which proclaim Jesus.

It's an interesting point: where does the line exist between Biblical symbols, and tradition surrounding them, which might ostensibly involve some exegesis or linguistic study of Biblical words?

Blessings.

 

[Elin]

It's an interesting point:
where does the line exist between Biblical symbols, and tradition surrounding them, which might ostensibly involve some exegesis or linguistic study of Biblical words?

Blessings.

For the march to the Jordan to take possession of Canaan, Israel was organized into a
marching army (Nu 2:34, 10:14-28) and a military camp of four divisions (Nu 2:3-34).

Each division had its own standard (Eze 1:10; Rev 4:7), on which was a man, lion, ox, or eagle.

Each tribe had its own banner, corresponding in color to the precious stones in the breastplate
of the High Priest (Ex 28:15-21), whose order I suspect corresponded to the tribe order in the march,
where Judah was the lead tribe and the first stone in the breastplate was red (a ruby)--blood of Christ.

The only traditions involved here are the meaning of the symbols, and that is pretty well established
in the correspondence of the OT to the NT, and the applying of those symbols to the gospels.

 

[faroukfarouk]

For the march to the Jordan to take possession of Canaan, Israel was organized into a
marching army (Nu 2:34, 10:14-28) and a military camp of four divisions (Nu 2:3-34).

Each division had its own standard (Eze 1:10; Rev 4:7), on which was a man, lion, ox, or eagle.

Each tribe had its own banner, corresponding in color to the precious stones in the breastplate
of the High Priest (Ex 28:15-21), whose order I suspect corresponded to the tribe order in the march,
where Judah was the lead tribe and the first stone in the breastplate was red (a ruby)--blood of Christ.

The only traditions involved here are the meaning of the symbols, and that is pretty well established
in the correspondence of the OT to the NT, and the applying of those symbols to the gospels.

Very interesting!

Blessings.

 

[Pres19]

Perhaps I should explain what I mean.

John is my favorite gospel, clearly drawing the issue of

belief vs. unbelief (3:18; 36)
true faith vs. false faith (5:46-47),
kingdom of light vs. kingdom of darkness (1:4-9, 3:19-21),
Jesus as the unique Son of God (1:1, 14, 18),
the hardened hearts and enmity of the Jewish leadership for their Messiah (11:49-50),
the rejection of their Messiah by the majority (1:11) and
the reception of their Messiah by a minority only (1:12).

Murderous hatred for the Messiah palpitates throughout (5:18, 7:1, 19, 25, 8:37, 40, 19:6, 15-16).
It's such a clear picture of the Satanic forces arrayed against God's Anointed (8:41, 44)
in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12), to this day.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm about to start studying John I've read a little in the past but yet to dig deep into it. This will come in handy once I start.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Thanks for sharing this. I'm about to start studying John I've read a little in the past but yet to dig deep into it. This will come in handy once I start.

Well, John's Gospel is such a unique piece of the Scriptures that if you read it carefully and prayerfully it is likely to be really, profoundly memorable. I think my life has been changed by John's writings, quite apart of from other books of the Bible.

And the beauty of it is that it doesn't have to be read all in one sitting. Going back to read regularly is a good way to do it also.

Ms. Elin has mentioned some helpful points, too.

Blessings.

 

[faroukfarouk]

John 17 is truly the Lord's prayer. Sublime and challenging content.

The prayer in Matthew 6 is often called The Lord's Prayer, although some Christians call it the prayer that the Lord taught His disciples.

Blessings.

 

[faroukfarouk]

All the symbols have wings, so actually, the first symbol is a man, not an angel,
and it symbolizes Jesus, the man, God Incarnate.
All four symbols are of Christ, and are also found around the throne in Rev 4:7,
and in the four faces of the four living creatures in Ezekiel's vision (Eze 1:4-10).

These symbols come from the four divisions of Israel who came out of Egypt in rank and file,
armed for battle (Ex 13:18), a picture of the church militant and soldiers of Christ (2Tim 2:3),
engaged in spiritual warfare (Eph 6:11; 1Tim 1:18; 2Tim 4:7)
to take hold of eternal life (1Tim 6:12), the promised heavenly land (Heb 11:13-16).

The leader of the first division of three tribes was the tribe of Judah, whose standard was a lion.
Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, and is called the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5).

The leader of the second division of three tribes was the tribe Reuben, whose standard was a man.
The Son of God, Jesus, was a man, God Incarnate.

The leader of the third division of three tribes was the tribe of Ephraim, whose standard was an ox.
Jesus was the sin sacrifice, as were the oxen (bulls). (Lev 4:3, 13)

The leader of the fourth division of three tribes was the tribe of Dan, whose standard was an eagle.
(Nu 2:3-31).
Jesus, of piercing sight into and from the Godhead (Mt 11:27) and
of terrible quickness (1Th 5:2-3; Rev 3:11, 18:8, 10, 17, 22:7, 12, 20).

Tradition assigns the four symbols to the gospels, which proclaim Jesus.

It's interesting and instructive when we can see Christ in all the Scriptures. Paul says to the Corinthians: All the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him, Amen, to the glory of God by us;.

Blessings.

 

[Scary]

Thanks for the invitation here Faroukfarouk

I liked That about John, he had a revelation of Christ Jesus love for him.
Im believing for that kind of love for myself, so I won't be insecure about anything.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Thanks for the invitation here Faroukfarouk

I liked That about John, he had a revelation of Christ Jesus love for him.
Im believing for that kind of love for myself, so I won't be insecure about anything.

Yes, and in John's First Epistle it says: "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4.19).

Blessings.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I'm about to start studying John I've read a little in the past but yet to dig deep into it...

Presley: So how is your reading of John coming along?

Blessings.

 

[Stormie]

I really enjoy ready John's account of what he experienced. I also enjoy reading Peters account as well.

Have a Blessed Day, Stormy

 

[faroukfarouk]

I really enjoy ready John's account of what he experienced. I also enjoy reading Peters account as well.

Have a Blessed Day, Stormy

The various Scripture penmen, as led by the Spirit of God, retained their own personalities and perspectives. Scripture is indeed so rich.

Blessings.

 

[faroukfarouk]

My wife and I have read through John's Gospel together.

It is a book that is so memorable and yet seems to stay so fresh every time that one goes back to it.

 

[Pres19]

Presley: So how is your reading of John coming along?

Blessings.

So far I'm only 2 chapters in.
I had to finish up my other studies first. But I'll get back to ya once I'm a little further in.