Full Description
The Father and the Son in the Gospel of John share divine equality. But since John is an exclusive monotheist, in the tradition of first-century Jewish monotheism, his is a distinctly Christian version of monotheism (as witnessed elsewhere in the NT). The Son shares the exclusive nature, prerogatives, and devotion of the one true God. The Son is forthrightly called "God" not merely in a representative sense but in an actual (or ontological) sense because he shares the "goodness" (or nature) of God. The Son's usage of the absolute "I am" designation indicates a claim to be Yahweh himself, not merely Yahweh's agent. Thus John's expanded view of God includes two distinct and co-equal members. Along with this eternal equality there exists a functional inequality (or hierarchy) of roles in which the Father lovingly leads the Son and the Son lovingly submits to the Father. Not only does John unfailingly represent this patriarchal relationship in the most positive of terms, but he presents it as prototypical of the Father/children relationship into which humans enter when they become believers in Jesus.Unlike abusive patriarchy, however, the Father's leadership in the divine familial relationship is by no means autocratic or oppressive. He does not domineer over the Son, nor does the Son obey him out of compulsion or servility. On the contrary, they share an unparalleled communion and unity of mind in which the Son willingly follows and defers to the Father within a relationship of perfect love.
Contents
Sample from Table of ContentsChapter(s): 1: Introduction; 2: Subordination and Equality in New Testament Christology; 3: The Son as God's Equal; 4: Sonship and Subordination; 5: The Son before and After His Earthly Life; 6: The Son on Life Support; 7: Equality and Subordination in the Absolute "I am" Sayings and more.
