The Son-Father Relationship and Christological Symbolism in the Gospel of John (Electronic book text)

This volume examines Johannine symbolism in context of the relationship between Jesus the Son and God the Father. The Johannine narrative symbolically portrays Jesus as the Son of God, who is relationally inseparable from his Father. The Son-Father Relationship (SFR) is at the center of the network of Christological symbols in the Gospel of John. The Prologue creatively and symbolically introduces the SFR (Jn. 1. 1-18). The SFR is then developed in the Gospel narrative, through the words and actions of Jesus' teaching ministry. The Gospel's presentation of the SFR culminates in the Prayer (Jn. 17). The narrative development of the SFR not only shapes the literary style of the Gospel, it also acts as a powerful integrative force, giving the symbolic network structure and cohesion. A key feature of this book is the Theory of Johannine Symbolism, which has been specially formulated to reveal the Gospel's symbolic network. The theory explains how Johannine symbols function within the text to form the symbolic network, referred to in this study as, 'John's Christological Symbology'.The Symbology demonstrates how the Gospel creatively and symbolically portrays Jesus as Son of God in close relationship with the Father. John's Christological Symbology fulfills the author's theological purpose stated in 20:31-that hearer-readers believe in Jesus the Christ, as the Son of God, and thereby experience eternal life.