PIO412 - The Writings of John
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Section outline
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Course Description
An introduction to Johannine Literature: namely, John’s Gospel, John’s letters and Revelation. We will consider the purpose of each book, its historical context, its distinctive features, its key themes and how to interpret it. We will provide an overview of each work and focus on some important passages. We will discuss how what we have learned should apply to us today individually and as the church.
Course Outcomes:
- To identify the purpose of each Johannine work, its major themes, how best to interpret them, and their distinctive contribution to Christian faith and life.
- To interpret the Johannine writings effectively and to apply what they have learned to their lives and to the church.
- To teach and preach from the Johannine writings within their ministry contexts.
- To grow in their relationship with the Lord and in holiness through the study of the Johannine writings.
Course Weight: 3 ECTS
Lecturer: Philip Richardson prichardson@onemissionsociety.org
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THE GOSPELS: GENRE, PURPOSE, AND JOHN’S DISTINCTIVES
This lecture explains what kind of writings the Gospels are and why genre awareness shapes how we read them. It frames them as historical narratives with theological aims, closest in form to Greco-Roman biography. It compares the Synoptic Gospels with John and highlights what makes John’s portrait of Jesus distinctive. It closes with reasons the Gospels were written and why later “gospels” were rejected as late and unreliable. -
JOHN’S GOSPEL: DISTINCTIVES AND STRUCTURE
The lecture clarifies the syllabus, grading components, and key deadlines. It then compares John with the Synoptic Gospels to show why John’s presentation is so different. It highlights the focus on “eternal life,” selected “signs,” and the seven “I am” sayings that point to Jesus’ identity. It closes by sketching the Gospel’s overall structure and introducing a close reading of John 1:1–18. -
JOHN’S PROLOGUE: THE WORD, LIFE, AND LIGHT
This lecture connects John’s opening to the creation story: “in the beginning,” the Word, and light. It explains the meaning of logos and why it spoke to both Jewish and Greek listeners. It explores Jesus’ identity: the Word is with God and is God, yet lives in dependence on the Father’s will. It traces the core themes—life, light and darkness, and witness—that shape the whole Gospel. -
NICODEMUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN: NEW BIRTH AND LIVING WATER
The lecture places Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman side by side to show how Jesus uses spiritual metaphors. It unpacks “born of water and Spirit” and relates the imagery to cleansing and a new heart promise (Ezekiel 36). It highlights Johannine contrasts—light and darkness, belief and rejection—and the role of testimony in coming to faith. It then introduces the themes of “signs” and the “I am” sayings and sets up discussion of John 6:25–58. -
SIGNS AND “I AM” SAYINGS: BREAD, LIGHT, AND LIFE
This lecture explores John 6, where Jesus calls himself the bread of life and invites people to come to him in faith. It explains the shocking language of “eating his flesh and drinking his blood” as total embrace of Jesus and participation in his saving sacrifice. It highlights John’s recurring misunderstandings and irony, showing how the signs expose either belief or spiritual blindness. It then touches on the themes of light and resurrection and begins the transition to Jesus’ private teaching for his disciples. -
JESUS’ PURPOSES FOR HIS DISCIPLES AND THE PARACLETE
Drawing from John 13–17, this lecture gathers Jesus’ purposes for his disciples: love, obedience to his commands, fruit-bearing, and a life of joy and friendship with him. It explains how these purposes are fulfilled through the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the Paraclete—Helper, Comforter, and Advocate. It clarifies what it means to be “sanctified in the truth”: set apart for God and sent into his service and mission. It closes by showing how John’s passion narrative presents Jesus as knowingly and willingly in control, strengthening disciples to continue his work in the world. -
TRANSLATION, “PNEUMA,” AND THE MOVE TO JOHN’S LETTERS
This lecture explains why a single Greek word can mean either worship or a gesture of respect, and how context drives translation. It explores the meaning range of pneuma (wind/breath/spirit) and why John 3:8 is rendered differently across translations. It then surveys John’s crucifixion and resurrection themes: blood and water, Jesus’ commissioning, and his breathing on the disciples and how that relates to Pentecost. It closes by highlighting shared themes between John’s Gospel and 1 John and introducing group work on identifying doctrinal and ethical errors. -
1 JOHN: FALSE TEACHING AND THE QUESTION OF SIN
This lecture identifies the false teaching 1 John confronts: denying Jesus as the Christ and denying that he came in the flesh, alongside claims of special “insider” knowledge. It also names ethical failures—walking in darkness, hating fellow believers, disobeying God’s commands, and denying sin. It shows John’s response through witness/testimony, the themes “God is light” and “God is love,” and the Spirit’s “anointing” that helps believers discern truth from error. It then tackles the tension between “if we say we have no sin…” and “those born of God do not sin,” relating it to willful or habitual sin versus confession and forgiveness. -
REVELATION’S GENRE: APOCALYPSE, PROPHECY, AND LETTER
This lecture introduces Revelation by surfacing common reactions and assumptions people bring to the book. Using Revelation 1:1–11, it shows how the work blends genres: apocalypse/unveiling, prophecy, and a letter addressed to seven churches. It explains what “apocalyptic” means and connects Revelation to similar biblical material (Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Jesus’ “little apocalypse”). It also clarifies 2 John’s “chosen lady” as a metaphor for a congregation and shows why genre awareness reshapes interpretation. -
APOCALYPTIC LANGUAGE: SYMBOLS, COLORS, AND NUMBERS IN REVELATION
This lecture explains apocalyptic as hope-filled resistance, asking the core question: who is Lord of this world—God or the empire. It stresses that Revelation speaks in pictorial, symbolic language—closer to poetry than science—meant to shape experience, not just provide information. It surveys recurring images (beasts, dragon, horsemen, trumpets, New Jerusalem) and shows how animals can represent empires (as in Daniel 7). It then unpacks the meaning of colors and numbers (e.g., white, red, gold; 7, 12, 144,000, 3½, 666) and cautions against literalism so the symbols can point to real, though transcendent, realities. -
REVELATION AS PROPHECY: MESSAGE, OBEDIENCE, AND INTERPRETIVE APPROACHES
This lecture treats Revelation as prophecy, a label applied at both the beginning and the end of the book (Rev 1; 22). It explains that prophecy is not mainly precise prediction but God’s message that comforts, warns, and calls for obedience. John’s prophetic commission is linked to Ezekiel’s “eating the scroll,” emphasizing internalizing God’s word before proclaiming it. It then compares major interpretive strategies (futurist, historicist, preterist, idealist) and argues for reading Revelation with the first-century context, recurring historical patterns, and final future hope all in view. -
THE SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF REVELATION
This lecture explains why Revelation must first be read in the first-century setting of the seven churches in Asia Minor. It describes the pressure Christians faced from the imperial cult and pagan civic life, affecting social belonging, work, and economic opportunities. It shows why “Babylon” functions as a coded name for Rome and how Revelation offers a prophetic critique of the empire’s political and economic evil. It closes by linking this context to the structure of the seven letters and emphasizing that worship declares allegiance, while “conquering” means faithful endurance in Christ. -
THE SEVEN CHURCH LETTERS: PRAISE, WARNING, AND PROMISE
This lecture summarizes the seven letters in Revelation 2–3. It traces what Christ commends in each church, what he warns against, and where he calls for repentance. It highlights recurring themes: endurance, the danger of false teaching, suffering, and spiritual complacency. It closes by emphasizing the promises “to the one who conquers,” linking the letters to Revelation’s final hope. -
THE HEAVENLY THRONE ROOM AND THE LAMB’S VICTORY
This lecture opens Revelation 4–5 as a throne-room vision where God and the Lamb stand at the center of worship. It shows that Jesus conquers not through force but through sacrificial death—the promised Lion is seen as the slain Lamb. It then surveys the seal visions in Revelation 6–7, stressing that the “sevens” can function in cycles rather than a strict timeline. It explores the imagery of the 144,000 and the countless multitude and calls believers to faithful endurance under pressure and suffering. -
THE FALL OF BABYLON AND THE LAMB’S FINAL VICTORY
This lecture moves through Revelation’s visions in chapters 14–20, holding salvation and judgment together. It focuses on Babylon’s (Rome’s) fall, exposing pride, luxury, idolatry, and unjust economics, and calls God’s people to come out of compromise. It explains Armageddon’s Old Testament background and why it should be read symbolically rather than as a detailed future timeline marker. It then ties the marriage supper of the Lamb, the rider on the white horse, and the debate over the “millennium” to the vindication of the martyrs and God’s final judgment. -
NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH: THE NEW JERUSALEM
This lecture opens Revelation’s final vision (Rev 21–22), where the new creation and the New Jerusalem overlap as both city and bride. It highlights what is gone: the sea as a symbol of chaos, death and tears, night, and even the temple, because God and the Lamb dwell directly with their people. It traces what is present: God’s glory as light, the river of the water of life, and the tree of life whose leaves heal the nations. It ends with a call to worship God alone, keep the book’s words, and live in hope because Jesus is coming soon.
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