john

• The author of the gospel of John is understood to be John the Apostle, one of the sons of Zebedee
• Certain papyrus fragments dated around AD 135 require the gospel of John to have been written, copied, and circulated before then
• The gospel of John was most likely written between AD 85-90
• The purpose of writing the gospel of John is to encourage belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and to bring about eternal life through faith in His name
• John's purpose is not to present a chronological narrative of the life of Christ but to display His deity
• John emphasized Jesus Christ as "the Son of God," fully God and fully man, contrary to a false teaching about the "Christ-spirit"
• The gospel of John includes only seven miracles, called "signs," to demonstrate the deity of Christ and illustrate His ministry
• The gospel of John introduces Jesus Christ as "the Word" (Logos) who was involved in every aspect of creation and later became flesh to take away sins as the spotless Lamb of God
• The gospel of John includes spiritual conversations like Jesus' talk with the Samaritan woman and His meeting with Nicodemus to explain salvation through His vicarious death on the cross
• The last nine chapters of the gospel of John focus on the final week of Jesus' life, His preparation of the disciples for His death and ministry after resurrection, and His sacrificial death on the cross to pay for our sins
• The gospel of John portrays Jesus as the God of the Old Testament through the seven "I Am" statements of Jesus