The God of the Gospel of John

Marianne Meye Thompson

• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Year: 2001
• ISBN:
  9781467430616
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

While there are numerous studies of God in the Old Testament, the concept of God has largely been ignored as a subject of inquiry in contemporary New Testament theology. As this superb work by Marianne Meye Thompson shows, however, an understanding of the identity of God is central to the New Testament, particularly to the Gospel of John. Thompson here offers the first comprehensive study of the concept of God in John's Gospel. She shows that one must first grasp the importance of God to John before one can properly appreciate the Gospel's Christology and overarching message. By arguing that John is rightly understood to be a "theocentric" work, Thompson challenges the prevailing theory that John is primarily concerned with Christology. While Thompson uses traditional historical and exegetical approaches to the New Testament and ancient sources, her study is mainly theological in scope. She asks how John portrays God and how, after reading the Gospel, we ought to speak of the identity of God. Unlike many recent studies of John, this one does not try to reconstruct the history behind the text but, rather, tries to fully illumine the theological content of John's message. A seminal study with lasting implications for New Testament theology, The God of the Gospel of John will become a standard text for students of the New Testament.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: The Neglected Factor in New Testament Theology
• 1. The Meaning of “God”
• 2. The Living Father
• 3. The Knowledge of God
• 4. The Spirit of God
• 5. The Worship of God
• Concluding Reflections: The God of the Gospel of John
• Bibliography