The Library of New Testament Studies
1 total work
Employing the methodology of social-scientific biblical criticism, the author investigates the pneumatology of John and I John. With particular attention paid to the spirit passages in John, the pneumatology of I John is studied with a view to the development between the two writings, and to what this suggests about the socio-cultural context of the Johannine community. Patron-client relations, and specifically the variation known as brokerage, constitute the primary social-scientific model used, and its explanatory power in elucidating the relationship between God, Jesus, the Spirit--Paraclete and believers is explored throughout the study. The author asserts the spirit in John is characterized as a broker, and that this understanding figures prominently in the theology of the Fourth Evangelist, as well as in the debate reflected in I John.