John refers to these false teachers as antichrist and. Johns language and tone emphasizes the focus of his book. John s purpose john has a clear statement of purpose near the end of his gospel. Johns purpose is precisely to enable others to experience the blessedness that jesus has just spoken of, which comes through faith. According to tradition this very special gospel was written at the very end of the first century ad. John writes to provoke faith in jesus, resulting in eternal life. The purpose of johns gospel archive truth for life. Having connected 2 and 3 john, let us now connect these books to the longer letter of 1 john.
Unlike the three synoptic gospels, johns purpose is not to present a chronological narrative of the life of christ but to display his deity. It was written that people might believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that by. Johns gospel confirmed that jesus was yhvh of the jews john 8. Purpose and audience john specifically states his purpose in 20. In the book of john, we find that jesus ministry altogether was approximately 312 years. In john there is a mixture of long meditational discourses on definite themes and concrete events recalling the structure of matthew with events plus discourses. John had two purposes for writing the gospel of john seen in john 20. The purpose of john if this gospel had a specific purpose statement it would be that you may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John s purpose in sharing this miracle, like his purpose in all the others, is to get his reader to believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and by believing might experience eternal life. Written nearly 30 years after matthew, mark and luke, the purpose of john is dramatically evangelistic. One of the overriding themes throughout the new testament is that jesus is.
In the book of john, christ speaks of god as the father over 100 times. Finding identity and purpose participant guide matt williams, sean mcdowell, bruce marchiano, matt williams on. Now jesus did many other signs in the presence of his. If this exegesis is defensible, it may have repercussions on our understanding of the rest of the book, and some of these are briefly and. Clement of alexandria believed that john wrote his gospel to supplement the other three. Johns main purpose is for people to have faith in christ, believe, and receive the gift of eternal life john 20. The gospel of john is a unique perspective of the life of jesus christ. It varies from the other three gospels of matthew, mark and luke also known as the synoptic gospels, by focusing more on spiritual. Book of john overview insight for living ministries.
John clearly stated the purpose of his gospel, these are written that you may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that. John tells us in todays passage that his purpose in writing was so that. This type of vernacular which john uses in his gospel has been used by many. The uniqueness of johns gospel daily mountain eagle. Despite the brevity of 2 and 3 john, many common ideas and phrases are obvious. John s purpose in writing the gospel is made clear in john 20. Almost every commentator on acts maintains its purpose is to tell the story of the birth and growth of the church. The story of the storytellers the gospel of john from. The apostle johns purpose for writing 1 john think theology.
John s gospel is different from the other three in the new testament. False teachers had gone out from the church and had begun to teach another doctrine. Introduction to the gospel of john study resources. The belief in this instance takes on a curious quality and elicits an interesting response from jesus. John sought to strengthen the faith of secondgeneration believers and bring about faith in others, but he also sought to correct a false teaching that was spreading in the first century. Therefore the purpose of johns gospel is to confirm and secure christians in the faith. Biblical literature biblical literature form and content of john. If a man believes a lie, it is true kindness to destroy his. The contents and the structure of this gospel presuppose the readers familiarity with the three synoptic gospels. But these are written that you may believe that jesus is the messiah, the son of god, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The purpose of this paper is to examine an overlooked syntactical unit in john 20. The author of johns gospel is clear about the purpose of the book. The book of john is an eyewitness account of jesus ministry ad 2933 enriched by the authors understanding of jewish traditions and accurate geographical knowledge of palestine. The gospel of john also develops a christology that is unique from the other gospels. While the birth of the church is found in acts though not in the way most think lukes purpose was far different. The gospel of john is a selective, symbolic, eyewitness account of the person and ministry of jesus, written so that you may believe in him as the. Finding identity and purpose dvd bible study covers twelve passages from the book of john that give a fuller understanding of the reason christ gave his life on the cross. Both 1 and 2 john speak of a new commandment 1 john 2. Sessions are taught by professors with specialized areas of knowledge. The conclusion sets out the purpose of the gospel, which is that you may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that believing you may have life in. At the end of the book, john makes his purpose statement clear. Purpose of the epistle it is suggested by those who believe that john in this epistle presented several tests by which a person may reflect on the validity of his salvation that this purpose for. Since the alternative to eternal life is eternal judgment, it is crucial that you know who jesus is and that you put your trust in him as savior and lord. The purpose of johns gospel reformed bible studies.
Im going to use johns purpose for writing as the framework to give an overview of the book. If this gospel had a specific purpose statement it would be that you may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god. The authors purpose is clearly expressed in what must have been the original ending of the gospel at the end of jn 20. This purpose was one that john had in common with the men who wrote the synoptic gospels, but his method for achieving it distinguishes his gospel from the earlier ones. A biblical history the gospel of john is one of four gospels in the holy bible and is the fourth book in chronological order presented in the new testament. Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society.
The book of acts forms a bridge between the gospels and pauls epistles. John reached its final form around ad 90110, although it contains signs of origins dating back to ad 70 and possibly even earlier. The other purpose was to combat various forms of heresies which had crept into the church. If this is true, then john would be writing to people who were not eyewitnesses to jesus. A book of narrative character has a value wholly inde pendent of the name, point of view, or purpose of its author, provided only we have reason to believe that. To accomplish that goal, john presented a riveting and distinctive picture of jesus christ, one in complete unity with the portraits in the other three gospels, but one. The unique purpose of johns gospel luke 1, john 20, 21. Invoking the in the beginning language of genesis 1.
That fact has been recognized since the early church itself. Designed to accompany the dvd study, the gospel of john participants guide provides an outline of the video teaching with room for. Introduction to the 7 signs of the gospel of john a. The gospel of john is probably the book that has been written last of all the books of the bible. In the above verses we see that the purpose of john. John also intended for his gospel to be read by many of the gentiles. The purpose of the first book of john was to encourage christians to love one another because god is love. Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that were not recorded in this book. This is quite evident as john s gospel puts a very large point on calling jesus the son of god and delivering the message to the readers of the gospel that jesus is quite divine and powerful. They were written in order to exhort people to believe in the one of whom the gospels tell. Of the four gospels, johns gospel presents jesus as god most forcefully. These factors suggest that john wrote the book between ad 85 and ad 95. Already by the year 200, john s gospel was called the spiritual. The purpose of this gospel, as stated by john himself, is to show that jesus of nazareth was christ, the son of god, and that believers in him might have eternal life.
Introduction to the gospel of john learn religions. The whole gospel of john is a progressive revelation of the glory of gods only son, who comes to reveal the father and then returns in glory to the father. In the book of john, that we do not see in the other gospels is the conversation of jesus with nicodemus, the conversation with the woman of. That you may believe could also be translated that you may continue to believe. John did not include the nativity story in his gospel. Book of john the evangelistic gospel the book of john stands apart from the other three gospels.
The concluding verses set out its purpose, that you may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that believing you may have life in his name. John was apparently among the first of john the baptists disciples to be introduced to jesus and one of the first four to be invited to be followers of christ. The purpose of johns gospel jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. Biblical literature form and content of john britannica.
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