The God of the Gospel of John

Rating:
Summary: Who is God in John?
Review: Thompson is a master scholar, elucidating the concept and experience of God in the Gospel of St John. She posits that God the Father is the main subject of the gospel, and taht only in relation to the Father is Jesus properly understood as the one who is "with God" and "is God". An interesting analysis of the Paraclete reveals that the Spirit is not some sort of replacement for the risen Christ, but one of the Father's "two hands".

This is really a needed work. She is right in stressing the fact that approaching God by means other than the Father can distort John's purpose. For he uses Jesus as the person who revales the face of the Father to us. There is a tendancy in exegesis to hold orthodox positions (i.e., that Jesus is actually God equal to the Father) for the wrong reasons, thus leaving orthodoxy open to criticisms that really are unfounded. Thompson's book is a needed corrective in this regard. Enjoy this great book!

Thompson's other great books, The Promise of the Father and The Incarnate Word are really worth looking into. For another defense of Christ's full divinity, see Jesus As God by Harris (although he may need THompson's corrective in a few places, but those are places for you to find!).