The Theological Themes of the Gospel of John and the Point of John Chapter 1 A Scene from the Chosen

1. Based on the required readings and videos for the week, what are the two main themes of the gospel of John? Describe them briefly.

The central theme of the gospel of John is the "eternal Son of God has come in the flesh," and John wrote this gospel in order "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:31, NKJV). We also see in John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The Greek word "logos" also means wisdom, reason, action, and also word, and these all represent divine wisdom, divine reason, divine action, and the divine word of God.

The second central theological theme of the Gospel of John is the Trinity. In his gospel, John is entirely on point with the Persons of the Holy Trinity and their relationships: The Trinity are three persons in one nature, the Father is unbegotten, and the Son is only begotten (John 1:18, John 3:16-18), and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (John 15:26)

John 1:18: No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten [a]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 3:16-18: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 15:26: "But when the [c]Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

The Greek word for Helper, "parakletos," refers to the Holy Spirit, which means Comforter, Advocate, and Counselor.

2. Based on your reading of John 1, what is his "big point" in this first chapter of his account of Jesus? Be clear and thorough in your answer.

The significant point is that John feels in the gaps when we look into Genesis 1, the creation narrative at the beginning of the Bible. In Genesis 1, "In the beginning God created heaven and earth," and we see in John 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John goes on to tell us that He (The Son Of God, Jesus) was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made, so we see that John is making the point that the Word is God, and that Jesus is God and through Him all have life. John also points out that the Word became flesh and dwelt among and by living among us (John 1:14); this reveals the Father in the flesh. We can see what John is trying to portray, what he and others witnessed in their walks with Jesus when he was still here on earth. John was extremely close to Jesus, and we can see by the first chapter that John is giving information that only someone who would have been that close to our Lord would have had the details to write what he wrote. It was mentioned above as one of the significant theological themes. Still, John wrote in his own words that his gospel was written so that readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31). Breaking down the gospel of John is something that takes time and there is much more to this gospel, but the points John makes are solid. He points out and emphasizes multiple truths about our Lord Jesus. John captures the works of our Lord Jesus Christ in his gospel beautifully.

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