Marks RLGN301 ResearchPaperFinal ProfSnow

"Title of Paper"
"Student's Full Name"
"Course # and Description (e.g., ENGL 100: Introduction to English)"
"Month Day, and Year"

1
It is generally accepted that the Gospel of John proclaims Jesus as Lord and God, One
with the Father. There are, however, those who challenge this view. Recently, Peter Nagel
(2019) pointed out that Jesus is not regarded as Theos in the Gospel of John. He refutes the
classical understanding of the texts that Jesus is One with God. He does not regard both the
Logos of John 1:1-2 as references to Jesus. Theological views of Jesus in John are often
understood as that he is One with God.1 Early in the twentieth century, scholars such as Wilhelm
Bousset marginalized such a high confession of Jesus as “Lord and God” with the argument that
such confessions were made in the latter part of the first century among Gentile Christians who
had been polytheists confessing many gods and many lords before confessing Jesus as Lord and
God. Larry Hurtado, among other scholars in the latter part of the twentieth century, dismantled
this argument because the author of John is clearly a Jew writing to monotheistic Jewish
Christians for whom there is only one Lord and God, namely, Yahweh.2
The Fourth Gospel shows the stark contrast of response between true belief and rejection
of truth, between the kingdoms of light and darkness. In John’s Gospel, knowing this “Word”
that “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) is more than mental assent—rather, it is a
knowing trust that leads to greater life in and with God.3 For the Scripture states, “So the Word
became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And
we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (Holy Bible, New Living
Translation, John 1:14). Differences, however, exist among those who emphasize that an early
high Christology is being reflected in the Gospel of John. For example, Richard Bauckham
argues that writers like John are seeking to identify Jesus within the mystery of the one God
1
Pieter Verster, “The Divinity of Christ in the Gospel of John,” Pharos Journal of Theology, no. 104(5)
(November 2023), doi:10.46222/pharosjot.104.58.
2
Charles A Gieschen, “The YHWH Christology of the Gospel of John,” Concordia Theological Quarterly,
85 No 1 Jan 2021, p 3-22, January 1, 2021.
3
Cara L. T. Murphy, “John,” in Approaching the New Testament: A Guide for Students (Nashville, TN:
B&H Academic, 2022), 74.
2
Yahweh, so they have a Divine Identity Christology that includes Jesus within the mystery of
Yahweh.4 Jesus's "I am" statements identify Him as God and connect to Old Testament themes.
Unique to John’s Gospel is Jesus’s use of the I AM statements. Drawing his audience
toward Old Testament parallels of Yahweh’s self-naming in Ex. 3:14, Jesus aligns himself with
this same divine nature. For the Scripture states, “God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say
this to the people of Israel: “I AM” has sent me to you” (Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
Exodus 3:14).
In John, we see Jesus with “I am,” (4:26; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:13, 19; 18:5–6, 8), and seven
more times he combines this declaration with a predicate-adjective qualifier: “I am the bread of
life” (6:35), “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5), “I am the gate” (10:9), “I am the good
shepherd” (10:11, 14), “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25), “I am the way, the truth, and
the life” (14:6), and “I am the vine” (15:5). These statements invite the modern reader into a
reflection of how they are walking in discipleship with Jesus, the great I AM, who through his
incarnation has become “flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14).5
4
Charles A Gieschen, “The YHWH Christology of the Gospel of John,” Concordia Theological Quarterly,
85 No 1 Jan 2021, p 3-22, January 1, 2021.
5
Cara L. T. Murphy, “John,” in Approaching the New Testament: A Guide for Students (Nashville, TN:
B&H Academic, 2022), 75.
3
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incarnation has become “flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14).5

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