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THE KING’ S BUSINESS
the .FatheUEthis equals 1:1-18.' (2) “I am come into the world”—equals 1 :19- 19:42. (3) “ I leave the world to go to the Father”—equals cc. 20 and 21. The two great thoughts contrasted in the gospel, namely, faith and unbelief, .are found in 1:11, 12. If we consider vv. 2-13 o f c. 1 a parenthesis, then the three prom inent parts of, the gospel are found as fol lows : The W ord was in the beginning, and was God (1 :1 ). (2) The W ord 1 became flesh (1:14). . (3) The Word received, and rejected (1:11, 12). A GOSPEL OF WITNESS One way in which John seeks to accomp lish his object o f proving that Jesus Christ is the Son o f God is by producing the tes timony o f witnèsses whose evidénce was then—and should be now—deemed suffi cient to attest the validity o f all the claims o f Jesus. The testimony o f seven special witnesses is introduced. An examination o f this testimony and evidence is abso lutely necessary to a thorough understand ing o f this gospel. I. The Witness of John the Baptist. This is introduced first in order because o f the important place John the Baptist occupied in the divine economy. He was the prophesied forerunner o f Christ (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi' 3 :1 ); was held in high esteem by the Jews, being considered by some to be the Christ (John 1:19-28; Mat thew 21:25, 26) ; was eulogized in the very highest terms by Jesus as being the greatest man born o f woman (Matthew 11:7-14; John 5 :33-36) ; occupies a large place in the gospels (cf. e. g. Luke 1-3), particu larly in John’s gospel (cf. 1:15-39; 3:23- 36; 5:33-36; 10:41); doubtless led the apostle John, the writer o f the fourth gos pel, to Christ (John 1 :35-42)—this may be the reason why John is never called “thé Baptist” to distinguish him from the apos tle John, in this gospel as in the other gospels, the writers o f which needed to distinguish between them. John did not need to thus distinguish, for there was but one other John beside himself, and that was the Baptist. Here is a hint as to
believing ye might have life through His name” (20:30, 31). To present Jesus Christ as the Son of G od; as the God-man; as God manifest in the flesh; to present the deity o f Jesus Christ. | The very plan o f the gospel seems .to keep this purpose in mind. Setting aside the Prologue (1:1-18), and the Epi logue (c. 21), the body o f the, gospel falls into two nearly equal parts, viz.: 1 :19-c. 12, and cc. 13-20;. the first beginning-with the statement “the only ■begotten God” (1:18, Am. R. V, mdrgin), and ending with the statement “My Lord, and my God ("20 :28). John seeks to present the claims o f Jesus upon the people by setting forth in the simplest form and manner thóse manifestations o f the glory o f the incar nate Son o f God which elicited faith from those who beheld these “ signs” (20:30, 31) which He did in the presence o f them all. To the Apostle'it seems a reasonable thing to believe that the presentation o f the same evidence will produce similar results in the lives o f those who read his gospel. Two general thoughts run throughout the Gospel o f John —faith and unbelief. These two thoughts determine the structure o f the book, the main purpose o f which is to set forth the self-manifestation of Christ to the world, and,- at the same time, to show the |effect o f such presentation. The fourth general division o f the gospel emphasizes this fact. In the first division ' —the Self-Revelation o f Jesus to the World —we have the beginnings and growth of both faith and unbelief, but principally of unbelief. In the second división—the Self- Revelation o f Jesus to His Disciples— special emphasis is laid upon the develop ment o f faith. In the third division—the Climax and Triumph o f Unbelief—we see, as it were,, unbelief triumphant in the cru cifixion of Christ. In the fourth division . ^_the Climax and Triumph o f Faith we see faith triumphant as manifested in Christ’s resurrection and victory over all His enemies. The synopsis o f the whole gospel may be seen in 16:28: (1 ) “ I came forth from
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