I find it ironic that John 3:16 has become such a cherished passage by Christians, yet it is clearly Gnostic in origin.
Teeple's theory, which I generally agree with, is that the Gospel of John as we have it contains the work of four writers, an original writer, which he terms S for the Source, who was Gnostic in nature, G a secondary Gnostic writer, E a proto-orthodox Editor and R a final proto-orthodox revisor.
Teeple has John 3:13-16 and 19-21 as coming from the Gnostic source, with 17-18 being an insertion of the Editor. I'm not sure about this myself, but that's what Teeple has.
The irony of this passage is that it really only makes sense if God the Father is saving the humanity from the Creator.
The concept here clearly has to do with ransom theory, but God cannot be giving his son as a ransom to himself. If God is saving the world, he has to be saving it from someone. It could be that God is saving the world from Satan, but other parts of John, such as John 8, indicate that this is not the case. God the Father is saving the world from the God of the Jews.
Its amazing how misunderstood this passage is.
Teeple's theory, which I generally agree with, is that the Gospel of John as we have it contains the work of four writers, an original writer, which he terms S for the Source, who was Gnostic in nature, G a secondary Gnostic writer, E a proto-orthodox Editor and R a final proto-orthodox revisor.
Teeple has John 3:13-16 and 19-21 as coming from the Gnostic source, with 17-18 being an insertion of the Editor. I'm not sure about this myself, but that's what Teeple has.
John 3:
13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’
13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’
The irony of this passage is that it really only makes sense if God the Father is saving the humanity from the Creator.
The concept here clearly has to do with ransom theory, but God cannot be giving his son as a ransom to himself. If God is saving the world, he has to be saving it from someone. It could be that God is saving the world from Satan, but other parts of John, such as John 8, indicate that this is not the case. God the Father is saving the world from the God of the Jews.
Its amazing how misunderstood this passage is.
Statistics: Posted by rgprice — Thu Jul 18, 2024 5:57 am
