02 — The Fourth Gospel
The Gospel according to John, the writing on which John’s title “the Theologian” most directly rests: its distinctive character among the four, its structure of “signs” and discourses, its self-witness to an eyewitness author, and the towering Prologue (John 1:1–18) that proclaims the eternal Logos through whom all things were made, made flesh and dwelling among us. These files set out the Gospel as a whole and then dwell on the Prologue that gave the Church its language for the Incarnation.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle and Evangelist)
Among the four Gospels the Fourth stands apart — “the spiritual Gospel,” as Clement of Alexandria called it (in Eusebius, HE 6.14.7) — soaring where the Synoptics narrate, theological where they are episodic, and reaching back before creation to the Word who was with God and was God. It is from this Gospel above all that the Church drew the word Theologos for its author: the one who spoke most exaltedly of the divinity of the Word. This section examines the Gospel’s character, sources, and self-witness, and then turns to the Prologue, the eighteen verses that, more than any other passage of Scripture, shaped the Christology of Nicaea and the conciliar age.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Gospel of John | The “spiritual Gospel” (Clement in Eusebius HE 6.14.7); its structure (the Book of Signs, the Book of Glory), its seven signs and “I am” sayings, its high Christology, and its closing claim of eyewitness authorship (John 21:24). |
| The Logos and the Prologue | John 1:1–18: the eternal Word with God and as God, the Word as agent of creation, the Word made flesh (1:14), and the Prologue’s decisive role in the Church’s Christology and the Nicene confession. |
See Also
- The Beloved Disciple — the author who conceals himself in his own Gospel
- God Is Love — the theology the Gospel and Epistles share
- Behold Your Mother — the scene at the Cross unique to this Gospel
- Christology — the conciliar afterlife of the Logos-doctrine
- Holy Scripture — the Gospel within the canon
References
- The Gospel according to John (cited by chapter and verse).
- Clement of Alexandria, in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 6.14.7. Trans. NPNF II/1.
- Westcott, B. F. The Gospel according to St. John. London: John Murray, 1881.
- Brown, Raymond E. The Gospel according to John. Anchor Bible 29–29A. Garden City: Doubleday, 1966–70.
- Bauckham, Richard. The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.