John Contemporary Teaching In its simplest form, the message of the Gospel of John is this: Jesus revealed the Father so that by living in faithful response to that revelation we may have the Life that comes from God. Therefore, the Gospel of John calls us: (1) to trust that the highest truth about God, ourselves, and the purpose of life has been revealed by Jesus; (2) to confess our faith in Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of God" (20:31) so that we may be born again, from above; (3) to nourish our new life by feeding on the revelation that has come through Jesus; (4) to maintain the new commandment of love for one another, as He loved us (13:34); (5) to share life and worship in community, as sheep in His pasture or branches of His vine; (6) to be sensitive and responsive to the presence of the Holy Spirit within us and among us; and (7) to bear a true and faithful witness to the world that has not yet accepted its blindness. Only by such a response to the love of God, revealed in the life of Jesus, can we experience life that is marked by the abiding Spirit of God. Our present experience of that life, moreover, is only the beginning of eternal life.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 18:44:14 +0000