In "conversation" with Andrew Murray Jr on Johannine Spirituality

God’s presence in Christ’s absence in the Fourth Gospel

Authors

  • Elna Mouton Stellenbosch University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2022.v8n3.a12

Abstract

For Andrew Murray Jr (1828–1917), John 15 was significant for understanding believers’ unification in Christ. Imagining a conversation with him, the essay explores experiences of Jesus’ presence and absence in the Fourth Gospel [FG]. References to God’s presence are characterised by the transferral of “temple” imagery to both Jesus and the Johannine community as the dwelling place where God’s “tabernacling” presence is experienced (1:14; 2:13–22; 14:1–6). These images, distinctive of the ‘household’ dynamic of the FG (1:12–13, 18), are reflected in Jesus’ engagement with his disciples (Jn 13–17) as mutual indwelling between God and them. Amidst his
departing words (13:33; 14:2) and his followers’ disillusion and grief (13:36–38; 14:1, 27; 16:20–22), Jesus invites them to “remain/dwell” in him/his love (15:4, 9), waiting upon the Counsellor whom ‘the Father’ will send in his name (14:26; 16:7, 13).

Downloads

Published

2022-05-17

How to Cite

Mouton, E. (2022). In "conversation" with Andrew Murray Jr on Johannine Spirituality: God’s presence in Christ’s absence in the Fourth Gospel. Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 8(3), 243–256. https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2022.v8n3.a12

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 3 (2022): Stellenbosch Theological Journal

Section

General Articles (articles from all theological disciplines)

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Elna Mouton

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Please note that erroneous copyright information is given in the PDFs before Volume 9, 2023.