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Why Foreign Mission? 16. John’s Christological Mission Theology: Jesus’ Revelation of the Father

Why Foreign Mission?  16. John’s Christological Mission Theology: Jesus’ Revelation of the Father The first revelation of Jesus in John’s Prologue that I discussed (study 14) had to do with Jesus’ creational revelation of light and life.  The second revelation of Jesus had to do with Jesus’ revelation of grace and truth (study 15).  The third revelation of the Logos in John’s Prologue (Jn. 1.1-18), now presented in this study, is Jesus’ revelation of the Father.  Jesus’ Mission as Revelation of the Father Jesus’ revelation of the Father is related to the first two revelations already discussed from the Prologue.  First, his giving of life is a work that draws Jesus’ into the divine identity of the Father: Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life , and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life .  25 "Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the v

Why Foreign Missions? 15. John’s Christological Mission Theology: Mission as the Revelation of Grace and Truth through Jesus Christ

Why Foreign Missions?  15. John’s Christological Mission Theology: Mission as the Revelation of Grace and Truth through Jesus Christ A second way in which the prologue to John’s Gospel presents the revelation of the Logos or Word is as ‘grace and truth.’ [1]   These two terms occur together only in the prologue (Jn. 1.14, 17), whereas the rest of John’s Gospel often uses the single word ‘ al ētheia ,’ ‘truth’ (or the related ‘ al ēthinos ,’ ‘true’).  Indeed, truth is a theme worth exploring along with ‘witness’ and related, forensic notions in John’s Gospel, as +Andrew Lincoln has done. [2]   Here, however, the focus will be on Jesus’ revelation of ‘grace and truth’ in comparison with the revelation of Moses. The Underlying, Old Testament Phrase for ‘Grace and Truth’ The phrase ‘ charis kai al ētheia, ’ ‘grace and truth,’ is found in Jn. 1.14 and 17.  It is John’s translation of the Hebrew phrase ‘ hesed we’emeth,’ found 13 times in the Old Testament (Gen. 24.49; 47.29

Engaging the Bible in Mission Theology Scholarship: A Multi-Author Book on Bible and Mission

Engaging the Bible in Mission Theology Scholarship: A Multi-Author Book on Bible and Mission Readers of this blog will likely be interested in a multi-author work by the same title: Rollin G. Grams, I. Howard Marshall, Peter F. Penner, Robin Routledge, eds., Bible and Mission: A Conversation Between Biblical Studies and Missiology (Neufeld Verlag, 2008). This publication is the product of a colloquium held at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague that brought together Biblical scholars and missiologists to explore several issues for a Biblical missiology.  The book includes the following authors and articles: +Robin Routledge, ‘Mission and Covenant in the Old Testament’ +Rollin G. Grams, ‘Some Geographical and Intertextual Dimensions of Matthew’s Mission Theology’ +Peter F. Penner, ‘The Use of the Book of Acts in Mission Theology and Praxis’ +I. Howard Marshall, ‘Paul’s Mission According to Romans’ +Corneliu Constantineanu, ‘Reconciliatio

Why Foreign Missions? 14. John’s Christological Mission Theology: Jesus as Light and Life

Why Foreign Missions?  14. John’s Christological Mission Theology: Jesus as Light and Life The previous study noted that John’s theology is a Christ-centred theology.  Thus his mission theology is also a Christological mission theology.  How does this look?  The present study explores the revelation of God in Jesus in John’s Gospel. In the prologue to his Gospel, John calls Jesus the ‘Word’—God’s revelation.  He is the revelation of God in three ways--creation, grace and truth, and God himself: (1) Creation : as creator, the one through whom all things came into being, Jesus is the one who gives life and light to all people (1.3); (2) Grace and Truth : whereas Moses revealed God’s law, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (1.14); (3) Seeing God : whereas Moses did not see God, Jesus—God’s only Son and the one close to the Father’s heart--has made God known (1.18). These themes are developed in the rest of John’s Gospel.  I will look at the first of the

Why Foreign Missions? 13. Presuppositions for a Johannine Mission Theology

Why Foreign Missions?  13. Presuppositions for a Johannine Mission Theology +David Bosch’s Transforming Mission still stands as a significant work in missiology, even though published in 1991. [1]   Its section on Bible and mission is very good, although it has a number of weaknesses.  It barely addresses the Old Testament.  In the New Testament, it covers Matthew, Luke-Acts, and Paul.  In its examination of these New Testament authors, very little work explores the authors’ use of the Old Testament in mission theology, and this is a major deficiency.  So, as a study in the interface between the Bible and mission theology, Transforming Mission has some significant gaps and weaknesses.  One of these is the omission of a study of John’s profound mission theology.  The next few studies work towards filling this omission in Bosch.  In this study, John’s theological  presuppositions will be discussed, particularly with respect to his insistence on a Christological theology and the