John wrote his Gospel
so that his readers would “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing [they] would have life in his name” (20:31). Central to the beloved disciple’s writing
then are aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry which point to His deity. He is one with the Father, united in essence
with Him (1:1 c.f. with 1:18; 5:18).
Therefore, he gives many signs of His deity to the children of men in
order that they may believe (cf. 4:48). Those that are hardened and have not been
given to the Son by the Father, are not interested in His Person and work, and
thus leave Him when the signs are finished and the truth is not embraced
(6:66-69). But those who receive Him,
who believe in His name, are given the right to become children of God (1:12,
c.f. with 6:35).
It has been noted by some[1]
that in His essence of deity Jesus is the antitype of all the Jewish festival
types and is Himself the temple. By
indicating that He is the Lamb of God, Bread of Life, the Light of the World,
and the Good Shepherd, Jesus shows that to believe in the Son is to believe in
God Himself and to obtain eternal life (5:23-24) in the present, even as
eternal life is a future reality as well (11:25). Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb who takes away
the sins of the world. And it is because
He has died and has risen that people from all nationalities who believe in Him
counted as people of God. Jesus
purchased salvation for the world, intercedes for them, and has given them the
Spirit who will bring them through to the end.
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