A Biblical Vision, Part II: Mastering the New Testament Witness to Christ

Ses s i on 6: The Ep i s t l es : The I nterpretat i on and App l i cat i on of Chr i s t 199

(1) The Gospel of John , written for the purpose of producing faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, John 20.30-31 – Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; [31] but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (2) The Epistles of John to establish and assure those who have believed in Jesus that they indeed possess life in his name, 1 John 5.12-13 – Who ever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. [13] I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (See also fellowship with the Father and Son, 1.3; that our joy might be full, 1.4; that we may not sin, 2.1) (3) The Revelation of John to provide the churches with an understanding of the things to come, Rev. 22.16 – I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. c. John addresses those forerunners of a pernicious movement that was to plague the Church later: Gnostics (Greek, gnosis , “knowledge”) (1) This movement would go on to deny that Jesus was the Messiah (1 John 2.22), that he was the Son of God who came in the flesh (4.2; 2 John 7), who provided salvation for humankind (4.9-14) (2) The epistles of John provide three tests regarding John’s interpretation and application of Jesus for the Church.