John’s Prologue: Jesus’s Unity with the Father
John’s Prologue: Jesus’s Unity with the Father
As argued in the previous post, the Gospel of John begins with a prologue contained in John 1:1-18. John the son of Zebedee uses the prologue as a roadmap to future theological points of interest that he exposits later through historical accounts concerning Jesus’ life and ministry. This series will argue that the theological assertions specified in John’s prologue are connected to affirmations detailed later in his account. The first assertion that was examined was Jesus’s pre-existence. In this post, Jesus’s unity with the Father will be discussed.
John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
In John’s prologue, he states, “And the word was with God” (John 1:1b). John uses the preposition “with” (πρὸς), which denotes spatial proximity or that Jesus was alongside God. Murray Harris explains that when πρὸς is used to describe relationships, it signifies not just proximity, but “active communion.”[1] Jesus also stated, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus was in (and still is in) perfect unity with the Father and the Spirit. Jesus explained that whoever sees Him sees the Father who sent Him (John 12:45, 14:7, 9). Jesus also used the concept of receiving to explain the unity between Father and Son. Jesus stated, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (John 13:20). There is no division between the Father and Son, receiving one is receiving the other. The Godhead is so-linked, that the reverse is also true, for Jesus stated, “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:23).
Likewise, knowing Jesus is synonymous with knowing the Father (John 14:7). Also, Jesus is the exclusive path to the Father (John 14:6). Jesus died on the cross in order to reconcile sinners to God (John 1:29, 3:15-16). In their perfect unity, God the Father sent the Son to save those who will believe in Him (John 3:17). This sending of the Son explains that the two are not only unified in relationship, but in mission. Jesus derives his mission from the Father and is “dependent on him in carrying it out.”[2] Jesus stated that He could do nothing on His own and he sought to carry out the will of the Father (John 4:34, 5:30).
The father and Son are in perfect unity, while at the same time are distinct persons which will be discussed in the next post. The unity in the Trinity provides an example for unity in the church. Unity was such an important necessity that the majority of New Testament authors encourage believers to have unity and to avoid unwaranted divison (Phil. 4:2-3, Titus 3:9-11; 1 Peter 3:8). Jesus’ prayer to the Father included their example of unity, “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11; cf. 17:22).
Notes:
There are more theological assertions made in John’s prologue, but for the sake of brevity the scope has been limited. Each of these additional assertions are worth studying! This is a short excerpt, which has been adapted from a research paper.
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