Not to treat John as Scripture is itself a form of eisegesis, and it is a disobedient hearing of the text’s own claim and of the God by whom it was authored. In short, the divine identity of Scripture must be both the ground and the guide of a properly theological reading of John.
The Gospel of John has long been recognized a masterful theological writing, often paired with Romans as one of the most theological books in Scripture. Some of the earliest commentators in the church recognized the significant theology presented by the Fourth Gospel, giving it the title, “the Spiritual Gospel.” It is one thing, however, to describe John as a theological book, and quite another to prescribe how John is to be read theologically. The latter is the goal of this short essay. In order to read the Gospel of John theologically, one must read Christianly, canonically, confessionally, and creatively. We shall address each of these aspects in turn.
Reading John “Christianly”
First, reading John theologically requires that it be read Christianly. This aspect of reading John aligns itself to a doctrinally-derived understanding of the divine nature of Scripture. In short, it is to read with Christian presuppositions and principles. In contrast to minimizing or denying John’s divine origin or submit it to human procedures and perspectives that render mute its God-breathed words, reading Christianly means receiving John as the very words of God. To read John as part of Christian Scripture is to place it in a much larger communicative context than simply the first-century context in which it took on its literary “flesh.” Even more, “‘Scripture’ is a shorthand term for the nature and function of the biblical writings in a set of communicative acts which stretch from God’s merciful self-manifestation to the obedient hearing of the community of faith” (Webster, Holy Scripture, 5). Not to treat John as Scripture is itself a form of eisegesis, and it is a disobedient hearing of the text’s own claim and of the God by whom it was authored. In short, the divine identity of Scripture must be both the ground and the guide of a properly theological reading of John. The divine identity of Scripture must be both the ground and the guide of a properly theological reading of John. Click To Tweet
Reading John “Canonically”
Second, reading John theologically requires that it be read canonically. This aspect of reading John aligns itself to a doctrinally-derived understanding of the literary context of Scripture. To speak of “canon” is not simply to refer to the collection of biblical books, but to further explain Scripture’s function and identity. According to its function as canon, John cannot be treated as if it were a single unit. Without denying that the Gospel took on literary “flesh” in the context of a particular historical author and audience, as the Word of God it was always intended (doctrinally) to be read as part of a collection (the Bible). Since John makes up one of many parts of God’s intentional communicative Word, then it must be viewed as functioning cooperatively with the rest of God’s Word. This in no way denies that the Fourth Gospel had value and meaning for its particular historical context, only that its meaning is so tied to its larger canonical context that the latter extends and even explains the former. John is fully capable of singing a solo, but is heard best and most clearly when read as part of the full canonical choir of God.
