Doctrines. 29:55 – The gospel of John develops the theme of Jesus as the Revealer of God the Father brought new life to all who believed in Him. John emphasizes this with four major doctrines.
One. Jesus, in whom the eternal Word, logos, of God became flesh was revealed to us and He revealed the character of God as the heavenly father.
Two. As the unique Son, He made it possible for all who believe in Him to become children of God. God’s children are born from above and live by means of the living water and the bread from heaven. They are virtually related to Jesus as sheep to the shepherd or branches to the vine. Only those who respond in faith can see that Jesus is the revealer and giver of life. In that sense, we are all born blind. Unfortunately, there are many who choose to remain blind. The holy Spirit, Counselor, or Paraclete allows the followers of Jesus to continue to experience His presence after His death. Jesus went to prepare a place for His own and promised that He would come again to be with them through the Spirit. The Spirit reminds us that Jesus taught all things. He inspires witness and mission. The risen Lord is already with His own with the presence of His Spirit within them. This is the indwelling of the Spirit.
Three. As the children of God guided by His spirit, the church is to be reorganized by its love and its unity. The oneness of the church was described as a unit of Spirit. We will be one with one another because we are one with the Father just as Jesus was one with the Father. The new community of believers will be persecuted by the world because of its faith. Nonetheless, it will continue to work of God’s redemptive revelation of bearing true witness gather other believers and feeding them with Jesus’s Word. This Word, which is the revelation that came through Jesus is the living water and it is the bread from heaven that sustains the life of all of God’s children.
Four. One of John’s distinctive teachings is that hope for the future is already being realized. We do not have to wait for the coming of Jesus to experience His presence. His Spirit is already within us. We do not need to wait until the end of time to see God’s judgement. Judgement is already being determined by our response to God. We do not need to wait for the resurrection to experience the new life. Eternal life begins when believers are born from above. We have already passed from death into life. While this was the dominant emphasis of John’s teaching, the gospel John wrote still speaks of the future day of judgement. John revealed how God grants His people the experience of a life that has its origin, power, and end in Him. Jesus came to earth to reveal this life and enable others to share in Him. Those who respond in faith to the Word of God in Jesus the life which Jesus had promised.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).