The Light Has Come: An Exposition of the Fourth Gospel
Overview
Thousands of books have been written on the fourth Gospel, but few have had the lasting impact of this modern classic by respected missiologist Lesslie Newbigin. Developed over a period of 30 years during which Newbigin led Bible studies as a bishop in the Church of South India, this excellent commentary on John is unique both in its power to prepare pastors and teacher to effectively declare the Word of God to others and in its ability to clearly communicate John’s message to contemporary Western readers.
For more by Lesslie Newbigin, see Eerdmans Lesslie Newbigin Collection (8 vols.).
Key Features
- Insight into the Gospel of John from 30 years of research
- Clearly articulates John’s Gospel to a contemporary audience
- Powerfully prepares preachers and teachers to effectively declare God’s Word
Top Highlights
“‘Church growth,’ if it is genuine, is not a human achievement; it is a gift of God. There is therefore no place for rivalry, for jealousy, or for boasting. Secondly, if the disciples had understood their master they would have known that there could be no question of rivalry between the two movements.” (Page 46)
“First, that to experience the kingship of God as a present reality (not merely a future hope) can only be the result of an act of God himself. It is always a miracle, a mystery, an action ‘from above.’” (Page 37)
“The prophet Ezekiel had pointed out (Ezek. 15) with considerable irony that the wood of the vine is the most useless of all the woods of the forest. You cannot even make a peg from it (Ezek. 15:3). The vine considered simply as a tree is the most useless of all trees. If it does not bear fruit it is fit only for burning. ‘Church growth,’ if it does not mean ‘bearing fruit and growing’ (Col. 1:6), is merely providing fuel for the fires of hell. For—like all the terrible words of warning which are to be found in the Gospels—these words are addressed not to the unbeliever but to the believer, not to the weeds growing around the vine but to the branches of the vine, to those who are part of the visible body of believers.” (Page 199)
“To speak of love apart from obedience would open the way to a purely emotional and sentimental interpretation of the ‘abiding’—a kind of amoral emotionalism into which the bhakti tradition in India has sometimes been tempted. To speak of obedience apart from love would open the way to the slave-mentality against which we shall be warned (15:15; cf. Rom. 8:15) and which—in spite of these warnings—has often infected Christian practice. Contemporary Christian thinking tends to avoid the category of obedience and to speak only of love. That is the way to illusion. Obedience is the test of love; love is the content of obedience. In both, as we shall see, Jesus is our guide and mediator (15:9–10).” (Pages 186–187)
A rather orthodox, pastorally lively reading of the Gospel. Newbigin’s writing is unburdened and accessible to people who do not read much technical theology.
—Christian Century
For those who want a clear, simple, and conservative explanation of the theological significance of the Fourth Gospel, Newbigin has provided a very useful volume. . . . It is lucidly written, well informed, articulately reasoned, and practical for modern Christians.
—Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Here is a person putting together his experience and his scholarship in the church’s service; the result is exposition, that middle ground between exegesis and proclamation that is indispensable to understanding and, hence, to preaching.
—Living Church
- Title: The Light Has Come: An Exposition of the Fourth Gospel
- Author: Lesslie Newbigin
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 1987
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Pages: 281
- Era: era:modern
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. N.T. John › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9780802818959, 1871828317, 0802818951, 9781871828313
- Resource ID: LLS:LGHTHSCFRTHGSPL
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:14:16Z