Christology as a Clue to the Concerns of the Johannine Community

Abstract

Problem: The historical background of the Fourth Gospel. Method: Christology was both a major issue leading to a schism in the Johannine community at the time of the Epistles and a major concern of the Gospel. If the Christology of the Gospel reflects this controversy, then this controversy would form part of its historical context. Procedure: The Johannine Epistles and Gospel are investigated independently to prevent bias. Results: The secessionists confronted by the Epistles espouse a form of docetic Christology, while the Christology of the Gospel is formulated apparently unaware of any problem with doceticism. Conclusions: While the emphasis in the Gospel on unity and love could easily be interpreted against a background of community schism, the different protagonists portrayed in the Gospel, and that its Christology seems to be unaware of a docetic problem, make it unlikely that the historical backgrounds are identical.