Journal: Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Volume: JOTGES 38:75 (Autumn 2025)
Article: The Gospel Of John: Evangelistic Book, Or Something Else?
Author: John Claeys

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The Gospel Of John: Evangelistic Book, Or Something Else?

John Claeys

Tyler, Tx

I. Introduction

In the movie, The Truman Show, Truman is not aware that, since birth, he has been the star of the ultimate reality show. He does not realize that he lives in a large dome, covering several square miles, in which the show’s producer controls the sun, wind, rain, and even ocean waves at the push of a button. A cast of thousands surrounds Truman, but he has no idea that every person in his world is simply an actor. For the show to continue, Truman must remain ignorant of the fact that he lives in an artificial world.

During his thirties, Truman becomes restless and suspicious. Finally beginning to understand his situation, he boards a sailboat in an attempt to leave his artificial world. The producer tries everything, including lying, to keep Truman from escaping this world. But Truman stands at the door to real life. A real, abundant life awaits him, but a competing voice with selfish motives urges him to stay in the artificial world.1

There is a sense in which unbelievers live in an artificial world, experiencing an artificial life—until they listen to the truth. But what is the truth? How does one escape the artificial life of an unbeliever and enter into God’s abundant life? Where should we look for the answer to this question?

There are competing voices proclaiming that they have the answer. If you ask Christians how one can enter God’s life, some say the answer is found in the Gospel of John. Others say that while John has some of the truth, other books of the Bible also show us the way to enter God’s life. Can all these opinions be correct?

In order to decide which view we should believe, we will examine the Gospel of John carefully. Is John’s Gospel the evangelistic book of the Bible, showing us the way to escape this artificial world, or does

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it show a way or part of a way? Is John’s Gospel unique among other books of the Bible, or is it simply one of many that include a saving message? We will discover that the answer to this question is critically important.

II. The Uniqueness Of John’s Gospel

A long-held view among theologians is that John’s Gospel was written to supplement the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).2 However, “there is nothing in the Fourth Gospel [John’s Gospel] that gives any indication that the author intended to supplement the Synoptic Gospels and nothing that would give us any gui...