"Instruction for the Early Church was the Main Purpose of John's Discourses" - Examine and Assess this Statement with Reference to Any Two "I am" Discourses.

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13CA                                     24th November 2003

“Instruction for the Early Church was the Main Purpose of John’s Discourses.” Examine and Assess this Statement with Reference to Any Two “I am” Discourses

 

Instruction for the Early Church is an important function of the discourses in John’s Gospel. Indeed, the scholar Bultmann describes the discourses as sermons because the discourses instruct the Early Church in the beliefs of Christianity. The discourses instruct Early Christians in John’s Christology as the divine and human nature of Jesus is emphasised. For example, in the True Vine Discourse, Bultmann points out that Jesus’ absolute vine nature links him with the divine; Jesus is not is not like a vine, he is the vine. In the Resurrection and the Life Discourse Jesus points out that through him, and only through him can people access eternal life “he who believes in me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

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It was important for the Early Church to stress Jesus’ divine authority in his relationship with God. In the Resurrection Discourse Jesus is called the “Son of God”, in the True Vine Discourse Jesus links directly himself with God: “everything that I have learned from my Father I have made known to you”. This is linked to the theme of Jesus being eternally with God, illustrated in the Prologue “The Word (Jesus) was with God and the Word was God.” Barrett states that in John’s Gospel, there is no access to God independent of Jesus. Jesus is medium through ...

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