Laws in the Gospel of John

The "Gospel According to John is the fourth of the four New Testament narratives recounting the life and death of Jesus Christ. John's is the only one of the four not considered among the Synoptic Gospels (i.e., those presenting a common view). Although the Gospel is ostensibly written by St. John the Apostle, 'the beloved disciple' of Jesus, there has been considerable discussion of the actual identity of the author. The language of the Gospel and its well-developed theology suggest that the author may have lived later than John and based his writing on John's teachings and testimonies. Moreover, the facts that several episodes in the life of Jesus are recounted out of sequence with the Synoptics and that the final chapter appears to be a later addition suggest that the text may be a composite. The Gospel's place and date of composition are also uncertain; many scholars suggest that it was written at Ephesus, in Asia Minor, about 100 CE for the purpose of communicating the truths about Christ to Christians of Hellenistic background.

"John's Gospel differs from the Synoptic Gospels in several ways: it covers a different time span than the others; it locates much of Jesus' ministry in Judaea; and it portrays Jesus discoursing at length on theological matters. The major difference, however, lies in John's overall purpose. The author of John's Gospel tells us that he has chosen not to record many of the symbolic acts of Jesus and has instead included certain episodes in order that his readers may understand and share in the mystical union of Christ's church, that they "may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name" (20:30). This motive pervades the narrative, as do a kind of mystic symbolism and repeated emphasis on the incarnation. The author begins his account with a pronouncement on the incarnation that clearly intimates Genesis ("In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."). The author continually adds interpretative comments of his own to clarify Jesus' motives. In the narration of certain miraculous deeds, for example, the feeding of the 5,000 (6:1–15), which appears in all four Gospels, John's version is explained as symbolic of a deeper spiritual truth ("I am the bread of life; ..."). Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus openly presents himself as the divine Son of God, not hiding his identity as he does in The Gospel According to Mark. Thus, the author of John's Gospel does not merely narrate a series of events but singles out details that support an ordered theological interpretation of those events.

"Because of its special theological character, the Gospel According to John was considered in ancient times to be the 'spiritual Gospel,' and it wielded a profound and lasting influence on the development of early Christian doctrine." – Encyclopaedia Britannica

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:1

All things were made through the Word, and without the Word nothing was made that was made. – John 1:3

In the Word was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it. – John 1:4‑5

The true Light … gives light to every soul coming into the world. – John 1:9

The Word was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know the Word. – John 1:10

The Word came to his own, and his own did not receive him. – John 1:11

As many as received him, to them the Word gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. – John 1:12‑13

The law was given through Moses, but grace (mercy) and truth came through Jesus Christ. – John 1:17

No one has seen God at any time. The Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared Him. – John 1:18

Whatever the Christ says to you, do it. – John 2:5

The Christos does not commit himself to followers because they believe in him, because he knows all men, and has no need that anyone should testify of man, for he knows what is in man. – John 2:24‑25

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. – John 3:6

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:14

God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16

He who believes in the Christ is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God. This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. – John 3:18‑19

Everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. – John 3:20

He who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. – John 3:21

He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. – John 3:31

He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. – John 3:34

The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. – John 3:35

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. – John 3:36

Whoever drinks of the water that the Christ shall give him will never thirst, but that water will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. – John 4:14

The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. – John 4:23

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. – John 4:24

Your food is to do the will of Him who sent you, and to finish His work. – John 4:34

One sows and another reaps: He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. – John 4:36‑37

A prophet has no honor in his own country. – John 4:44

To the intellectual skeptic: Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe. – John 4:48

[When] you have been made well, sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. – John 5:14

Your Father has been working until now, and you have been working. – John 5:17

The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do; for whatever he does, the Son also does in like manner. – John 5:19

The Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that He Himself does; and He will show him greater works than these; that you may marvel. – John 5:20

As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom he will. – John 5:21

The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son. – John 5:22

He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. – John 5:23

He who hears the Christ's word and believes in Him who sent him has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. – John 5:24

The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. – John 5:25

As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. – John 5:26

The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear the Son of Man's voice and come forth‑those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. – John 5:28

You can of yourself do nothing. – John 5:30

As you hear, you judge; and your judgment is righteous only if you do not seek your own will but the will of the Father who sent you. – John 5:30

If you bear witness of yourself, your witness is not true … the works which the Father has given you to finish—the very works that you do—bear witness of you, that the Father has sent you. – John 5:31‑36

The works that you do in your Father's name, they bear witness of you. – John 10:25

Do not receive honor from men. … How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? – John 5:41, 44/

After a miracle, gather up the fragments [of Divine Substance] that remain; so that nothing is lost. – John 6:12

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life. – John 6:27

This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He sent. – John 6:29

The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. – John 6:33

The Word is the bread of life. He who comes to the Word shall never hunger, and he who believes in the Word shall never thirst. – John 6:35

All that the Father gives you will come to you, and you may by no means cast out the one who comes to you. – John 6:37

You have come down from heaven, not to do your own will, but the will of Him who sent you. – John 6:38

The will of the Father who sent you is that of all He has given you, you should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. – John 6:39

No one can come to you unless the Father who sent you draws him; and you will raise him up at the last day. – John 6:40

It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God." Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to the Christ. – John 6:45

No one has seen the Father, except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. – John 6:46

He who believes in the Christ has everlasting life. – John 6:47

The Word the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. – John 6:48, 51

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that the Word speaks to you are spirit, and they are life. – John 6:63

The world hates anyone who testifies of it that its works are evil. – John 7:7

The Christ's doctrine is not his, but His who sent him. If anyone wills to do God's will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether another speaks on his own authority. – John 7:16‑17

He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the One who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. – John 7:18

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. – John 7:24

He who believes in the Word, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. – John 7:38

He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone first. – John 8:7

The Christ, who is the Word, is the light of the world. He who follows him shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. – John 8:12

You must know where you came from and where you are going. – John 8:14

You judge according to the flesh; the Christ judges no one. Yet if he does judge, his judgment is true; for he is not alone, but is with the Father who sent him. – John 8:15‑16

You are from beneath; the Christ is from above. You are of this world; he is not of this world. – John 8:23

You may do nothing of yourself; but as your Father teaches you, speak these things. – John 8:26

He who sent you is with you; the Father has not left you alone, yet you must always do those things that please Him. – John 8:29

If you abide in the Christ's Word, you are his disciples indeed. – John 8:31

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. – John 8:32

Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. – John 8:34

He who is of God hears God's words; if you do not hear, you are not of God. – John 8:47

As long as you are in the world, you are the light of the world. – John 9:5

If you are blind, you have no sin; but when you say, "I see," your sin remains. – John 9:41

The sheep hear the shepherd's voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them. – John 10:3

The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. – John 10:11

The good shepherd knows his sheep, and is known by his own. – John 10:14

There will be one flock and one shepherd. – John 10:16

The works that you do in your Father's name, they bear witness of you. – John 10:25

Your sheep hear your voice, and you know them, and they follow you. – John 10:27

You must become one with the Father. – John 10:30

It is written in the law, "I said, you are gods." God called them gods, to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken). – John 10:34‑35

If you will believe, you will see the glory of God. – John 11:40

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. – John 12:24

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. – John 12:25

If you serve the Christ, follow the Christ; where the Christ is, there his servant will be also. – John 12:26

The Father will honor anyone who serves the Christ. – John 12:26

Do not say, "Father, save me from this hour." For this purpose you came to this hour. – John 12:27; – John 12:31 [In Gethsemane came the judgment of this world; the ruler of this world will be cast out.]

I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself. – John 12:32

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. – John 12:35

While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light. – John 12:36

He who believes in the Christ, believes not in him but in Him who sent him; and he who sees the Christ sees Him who sent him. – John 12:44

The Christ came as a light into the world, that whoever believes in him should not abide in darkness. – John 12:46

If anyone hears the Christ's words and does not believe, the Christ does not judge him; for he did not come to judge the world but to save the world. – John 12:47

He who rejects the Christ, and does not receive his words, the Word will judge him in the last day. – John 12:48

The Christ did not speak on his own authority; but the Father who sent him gave him a command, what he should say and what he should speak. – John 12:49

The Father's command is everlasting life. – John 12:50

The Christ has given you an example, that you should do as he has done. – John 13:15

A servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than He who sent him; if you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. – John 13:16‑17

He who receives whomever the Christ sends receives the Christ; and he who receives the Christ receives the Father. – John 13:20

The Christ gave us a new commandment, that as he has loved us, that we also love one another. By this all will know that we are his disciples, if we have love for one another. – John 13:34‑35

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in the Christ. – John 14:1

In the Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, the Christ would have told us. He has gone to prepare a place for us. – John 14:2

The Christ will come again and receive you that where he is, there you may be also. – John 14:3

Where the Christ has gone, you know, and the Way you know [the Via Christa]. – John 14:4

Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life." No one comes to the Father except through the Christ. – John 14:6

He who has seen Christ has seen the Father. – John 14:9

The Father who dwells in you does the work. – John 14:10

He who believes in the Christ, the works that Christ did he will do also, and greater works than these he will do. – John 14:12

Whatever you ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, that he will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in the name of Jesus the Christ, he will do it. – John 14:13

If you love the Christ, keep his commandments. – John 14:15

The Spirit of Truth, whom the world neither sees nor knows; but you know, for Truth dwells with you and will be in you. – John 14:17

The Christ will not leave you orphans; he will come to you. – John 14:18

The world sees the Christ no more, but you will see him. – John 14:19

Because Christ lives, you will live also. – John 14:20

He who keeps the Christ's commandments, it is he who loves him. – John 14:21

He who loves the Christ will be loved by his Father, and Christ will love him and manifest himself to him. – John 14:21

If anyone loves the Christ, he will keep his word; and the Father will love him, and They will come to him and make their home with him. – John 14:23

He who does not love the Christ does not keep his words. – John 14:24

The Comforter, the Holy Spirit … will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that the Christ said. – John 14:26

The Christ gave you his peace [eternally], not as the world gives. – John 14:27

Christ is the true vine, and the Father is the vinedresser. – John 15:1

Every branch in the Christ that does not bear fruit the Father takes away; and every branch that bears fruit the Father prunes, that it may bear more fruit. – John 15:2

You are already clean because of the Word which the Christ has spoken to you. – John 15:3

Abide in the Christ … as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in the Christ. – John 15:4

The Christ is the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Christ, and Christ in him, bears much fruit; for without Christ you can do nothing. – John 15:5

If anyone does not abide in the Christ, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. – John 15:6

If you abide in the Christ, and his words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. – John 15:7

As the Father loved the Word, he also has loved you; abide in that love. – John 15:9

Christ has spoken to you, that Christed joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. – John 15:11

This is the Christos commandment, that you love one another as he has loved you. – John 15:12

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. – John 15:13

You are Christed friends if you do whatever Christ commands you. – John 15:14

You did not choose the Christ, but he chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain. – John 15:16

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Christ before it hated you. – John 15:18

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but Christ chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. – John 15:19

If they persecuted the Christ, they will also persecute you. – John 15:20

If they kept the Christ's word, they will keep yours also. – John 15:20

If Christ had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. – John 15:22

He who hates Christ hates the Father also. – John 15:23

The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all Truth; for Truth will not speak on its own authority, but whatever Truth hears Truth will speak, and Truth will tell you things to come. – John 16:13

You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. – John 16:20

Christ has spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when he … will tell you plainly about the Father. – John 16:25

Christ has spoken to us that we might have peace: In the world we will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, the Christ has overcome the world. – John 16:33

God's Word is truth. Truth sanctifies us. – John 17:17

Christ in us, and God in Christ, that we may be made perfect in One. – John 17:23

Christ's kingdom is not of this world. If it were of this world, his servants would fight. – John 18:36

Christ was born, and for this cause came into the world, that he should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears his voice. – John 18:37

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. – John 20:23

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. – John 20:29

Cast your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find. – John 21:6

Feed my lambs. – John 21:15

Tend my sheep. – John 21:16

Feed my sheep. – John 21:17

In youth, self freely dictates its desires to will; in elder years, another's desires override our will. "When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish." – John 21:18

"What is that to you? You follow me." – John 21:22

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