Father, Son and Spirit

Description

From the patristic period until today, John’s Gospel has served as a major source for the church’s knowledge, doctrine and worship of the triune God. Among all New Testament documents the Fourth Gospel provides not only the most raw material for the doctrine of the Trinity, but also the most highly developed patterns of reflection on this material—particularly patterns that seek to account in some way for the distinct personhood and divinity of Father, Son and Spirit without compromising the unity of God.

While there have been recent, fine studies on aspects of John’s doctrine of God, it is surprising that none summarizes and synthasizes what John has to say about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In order to fill this gap, Köstenberger and Swain offer a fresh examination of John’s trinitarian vision in this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume.

Part One situates John’s trinitarian teaching within the context of Second Temple Jewish monotheism. Part Two examines the Gospel narrative in order to trace the characterisation of God as Father, Son and Spirit, followed by a brief synthesis. Part Three deals more fully with major trinitarian themes in the Fourth Gospel, including its account of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and mission. A final chapter discusses the significance of John’s Gospel for the church’s doctrine of the Trinity, and a brief conclusion summarises some practical implications.

CONTENTS

Series preface
Authors’ preface
Abbreviations

Introduction: John’s Gospel and the church’s doctrine of the Trinity

Part I: Historical Context
1. John’s Gospel and Jewish Monotheism

Part II: Biblical Foundations
2. God in John’s Gospel
3. The Father in John’s Gospel
4. The Son in John’s Gospel
5. The Spirit in John’s Gospel
6. Father, Son and Spirit in John’s Gospel

Part III: Theological Reflections
7. Christology in John’s trinitarian perspective: Jesus’ filial identity
8. The Spirit who rests and remains on God’s Son and his brothers
9. ‘As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you’: Toward a Trinitarian mission theology
10. The Trinity and John’s Gospel

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index of authors
Index of Scripture references
Index of ancient sources