The Letters of John (Pillar New Testament Commentary | PNTC)

by Colin G. Kruse

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2000

Overview

This Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC) seeks to clearly explain the meaning of John's letters to teachers, pastors, and general readers looking for a reliable resource for personal study. Colin Kruse introduces the important issues involved in interpreting the Johannine letters, gives verse-by-verse comments, and provides extensive discussion of John's major theological themes, including the real humanity of Christ, atonement, the role of the Spirit, Christian assurance, the meaning of koinonia, Christian love, and eternal life.

Designed both for serious students and for general readers of the Bible, the Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC) volumes seek to make clear the meaning of the text of Scripture as we have it. The scholars writing these volumes interact with the most important, informed contemporary debate yet avoid undue technical detail. Their ideal is a blend of rigorous exegesis and exposition, scholarship and pastoral sensitivity, with an eye alert both to biblical theology and to the contemporary relevance of the Bible.

Key Features

• Provides an introduction to the authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology of the letters of John
• Contains extensive discussion of John’s major theological themes
• Introduces the important issues involved in interpreting the Johannine letters

Contents

Top Highlights

“We might suggest that Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world because his death was sufficient to deal with the sins of the whole world, but that his sacrifice does not become effective until people believe in him.” (Page 75)

“When the author speaks of ‘sin that leads to death’, it is very likely that he has the sin of the secessionists in mind. They are people who deny that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh, and also deny the significance of his atoning death. This would mean that they place themselves outside the sphere of forgiveness, and their sins become sins unto death.” (Page 192)

“‘the love of God’, or, as here, ‘the love of the Father’, is susceptible to a number of interpretations (our love for God; God’s love for us; love which originates with God). But in the present context it is clear that ‘the love of the Father’ means the believers’ love for the Father, because it stands in opposition to believers’ love for the world. What the whole conditional sentence conveys, then, is that if people love the ‘world’, they do not love the Father.” (Page 95)

“By his use of the present tense for the verbs ‘to walk’ and ‘to purify’, the author represents both the walking and the cleansing as ongoing activities. One lesson that may be learned from this second consequence is that walking in the light does not mean that those who do so never sin, but that they do not seek to hide that fact from God.” (Pages 64–65)

“Sometime after the writing of this early form of the Gospel, difficulties arose within this community. Some of the members had taken on board certain beliefs about the person and work of Christ that were unacceptable to the author¹ of the letters and those associated with him. These new beliefs involved a denial that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, come in the flesh (1 John 4:2–3), and that his death was necessary for the forgiveness of sins (1 John 5:6–7). A sharp disagreement arose which resulted in the secession of those who embraced these new views (1 John 2:19).” (Page 2)

Product Details

• Title: The Letters of John
• Author: Colin G. Kruse
• Series: Pillar New Testament Commentary
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2000
• Logos Release Date: 2005
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. Epistles of John › Commentaries; Bible. N.T. 1 John › Commentaries; Bible. N.T. 2 John › Commentaries; Bible. N.T. 3 John › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9780802837288, 9780851117768, 080283728, 0851117767, 080283728X
• Resource ID: LLS:29.67.15
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-05T17:08:13Z

About Colin G. Kruse

Colin G. Kruse (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is senior lecturer of New Testament at Melbourne School of Theology. In the twenty years following his ordination into the Anglican ministry, Kruse gained practical experience in parishes in Australia and the U.S. along with five years of missionary service as a theological lecturer in Indonesia. Besides journal articles on the New Testament, Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Kruse has authored several books including Paul, the Law and Justification and New Testament Models for Ministry: Jesus and Paul. He has also written the Tyndale New Testament Commentary on 2 Corinthians and the Pillar New Testament Commentary titles The Letters of John and Paul's Letter to the Romans.