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Jan Van der Watt
Fakulteit Filosofie, Teologie en Religie, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Keywords:
Salvation, Faith, Born from above, Soteriology of John, Opponents in John
Abstract
Salvation in the Gospel of JohnSalvation is a dominant theme in John. Jesus was sent by his Father to this world to bring eternal life. It is argued in this article that the idea of salvation in John is developed against the backdrop of the Christological conflict between the Johannine group and the ‘Jewish opponents’. The basic question in this conflict may be formulated as follows: ‘Where and with whom is God?’ Both groups claimed that God is on their side, but based on the claims and actions of Jesus John argues that God is on the side of Jesus. He is the one who has and can mediate true life. Both the full acceptance of the mission and person of Jesus (faith) as well as the divine gift of a new identity (born from above/again) work in tandem to result in what can be called salvation. This leads to the resocialization of the believer into the family of God.
