Studies in the Theology of John
by
LEON MORRIS
WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.
Copyright © 1989 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505
P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morris, Leon, 1914–
Jesus is the Christ: studies in the theology of John / by Leon Morris.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8028-0452-5
1. Bible. N.T. John—Theology. 2. Jesus Christ—Person and offices—Biblical teaching. 3. Jesus Christ—History of doctrines—Early church, ca. 30–600. I. Title. BS2615.5.M67 1989
226′.506—dc19
89-30624
CIP
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In writing this book I have made use of my contributions to the Festschriften for Bo Reicke and G. E. Ladd. In Chapter 2 I have embodied most of my article “The Relation between the Signs and the Discourses in John,” published in Volume II of The New Testament Age, edited by William C. Weinrich; I am grateful to the Mercer University Press for permission to use this material. And in Chapter 3 I have made use of my article “The Jesus of Saint John,” originally published in Unity and Diversity in New Testament Theology, edited by Robert A. Guelich; I express my indebtedness to the William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company for permission to use it here.
2. The Relation between the Signs and the Discourses
IN 1976 I HAD THE HAPPY EXPERIENCE OF BEING GUEST professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Among other things I was asked to teach a class in Johannine Theology. This proved to be one of the most stimulating classes it has ever been my privilege to teach. I do not know whether my students learned anything, but they certainly taught me a lot. And they did more. They instilled in me the desire to write something on the theology of John. Throughout the years I have had the pressure of other commitments and have not been able to get round to it. But now, after all too long a time, I want to pay my tribute to my class of 1976 and to express something of what I have learned from the teachings of John.
It would have been possible to take in all the Johannine writings and say something about what most modern writers see as the Johannine school. But that would have involved discussion of questions of authorship and the like, and I do not care at this time to be sidetracked into such questions, important though they undoubtedly are. This book is simply a series of essays concerned with some of the teachings of our Fourth Gospel. I have not tried to make it exhaustive, and doubtless many of my readers will think of things that I should ...
|
About Jesus Is the Christ: Studies in the Theology of JohnMore than simply a series of chapters on the theology of John’s Gospel, Jesus Is the Christ relates each of John’s teachings to his declared aim, expressed in John 20:30–31: “Jesus did many other signs before his disciples, which have not been written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” Each chapter in Morris’ book takes up some facet or aspect of John’s expressed aim. For an age still asking the question “who is Jesus?,” Leon Morris argues convincingly that John’s entire Gospel was written to show that the human Jesus is the Christ, or Messiah, as well as the Son of God. But it is Morris’ firm conviction that John’s purpose was evangelical as well as theological—that is, John wrote his book so that readers might believe in Christ and as a result have eternal life. |
| Support Info | jesusisthechrist |