Johannine Theology

In this magisterial synthesis, Paul A. Rainbow presents the most complete account of the theology of the Johannine corpus available today. Both critical and comprehensive, this volume includes all the books of the New Testament ascribed to John: the Gospel, the three epistles and the book of Revelation.

While not proclaiming a definitive position on the question of authorship, this work seeks to shed light on the theology common to all the New Testament authors. John’s root beliefs concerning God, humanity, sin, the world, and the significance of the Christ-event on eschatology unite the examined books with the rest of the New Testament canon. The Johannine corpus also highlights the important areas of christology, soteriology and ecclesiology in a manner that is worth exploration.

Organizing John's ideas by the main characters around whom they revolve, the Johannine universe consists of persons divine and human, and their relationships with each other. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, faithful believers and the rest of the world are the main cast of characters that make up the rich set of writings considered in this exhaustive analysis.

• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• 1. Introduction
• 2. The Revelation of God (The Father)
• 3. The World
• 4. God’s Self-Revelation in Christ’s Person
• 5. God’s Self-Revelation in Christ’s Work
• 6. The Revelation of the Father in the Son by the Spirit-Paraclete
• 7. The Believer and the True God: Coming to Christ
• 8. The Believer and the True God: Abiding in Christ
• 9. Disciples of Christ in Community
• 10. The Community of Christ’s Disciples in the World
• Bibliography
• Index of Authors
• Index of Subjects
• Index of Principal Scripture Passages