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1.5 Revelation in Christ 1 John 1:1–4; Matthew 28:16–20; John 16:12–15 JOHN LANGAN 1 John 1:1–4 1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. Matthew 28:16–20 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, ‘‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’’ John 16:12–15 12 ‘‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’’ The three New Testament passages considered here are all of great Christological and Trinitarian significance. They thus obviously raise issues that have been major points of division between Christians and Muslims. These passages also touch on two themes that are widely discussed in contemporary 37 38 Particularity, Universality, and Finality in Revelation social reflection: innovation and globalization. However, whereas these themes would today be commonly understood in very secular terms, in these scriptural texts we are of course dealing with religious discussions of matters that were to prove determinative of the future development of the Christian community. 1 John 1:1–4 This opening passage of the first letter of John, in which there are many echoes of the prologue of John’s Gospel, seems almost to be anticipating British empiricism in its emphasis on direct experience: ‘‘We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands.’’ Here, however, the concern is with ‘‘the word of life’’ (v. 1). One of the issues addressed both in this passage and also toward the end of John’s Gospel is the connection between the community of those who knew and actually touched the Lord and the community of believers more widely. The Easter stories in the Gospels are nearly always fragmentary; they tell of brief encounters, suggesting the movement of the Lord into and out of the community of disciples. One of these stories, particularly cherished by many Christians, narrates the appearance of the risen Jesus a week after Easter to the disciples gathered together in the upper room and describes Thomas putting his hand into the side of the Lord, to confirm that this is indeed the same Jesus who was crucified. An important point made in that passage is that it is not only those who have seen who are blessed, because ‘‘blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe’’ (John 20:24–29). So there is a fundamental parity between the situation of the believers who were the first witnesses and those who came later. The same message of reassurance is present in this passage from the first letter of John, which speaks of how the revelation experienced by the original witnesses at a particular time in history is opened up to a widening circle...

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