R E V I E WS

through His death and resurrection: “It is at the cost of life

Light in the Gospel of John that he gives life. The ‘abundant life’ that he gives is life
The Light Has Come: An Exposition of the Fourth Gospel, through death. He is the life only because he is the resur-
by Lesslie Newbigin. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Pub- rection from the dead” (138).
lishing Co., 1982
Although the themes of life and truth are not fully devel-

T his review examines Lesslie Newbigin’s classic The

Light Has Come, a full-length exposition of the Gospel
of John. In Light Newbigin identifies four major themes
oped in Light, great emphasis is placed on the final theme
of glory. Newbigin even says, “To interpret the word
‘glory’ is to interpret the whole Gospel” (224). His deepest
which are traced throughout the Gospel: life, light and analysis of this is found in the exposition of the Lord’s
darkness, truth, and glory. His greatest emphasis is on the prayer in John 17:
theme of light and darkness and their relationship to each
other. Particular attention is given to the light of the witness “Glory” is plainly one of the fundamental words of the Bi-
of Jesus in the darkness of the world, both in biblical times ble. It expresses that which is—so to speak—constitutive of
and today. The general conclusion is that “the light shines in God’s being and nature, and at the same time it denotes
the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5). the honor which ought to be paid to God. But—and this is
what the whole Gospel tells us—these two meanings are
Light sees the Gospel of John as hinging on the theme of mutually bound together because the glory of God as it is
light and darkness. It presents the entire structure of the revealed in Jesus is seen not in seeking honor but in giving
Gospel in terms of this theme. John 1 through 12 shows honor. The word “God” does not mean a monad seeking
the light being rejected by those claiming to see. Chapters honor for itself.…The glory of God is a reciprocal relation-
thirteen through seventeen show us Jesus alone with those ship: it is something forever freely given.
who have turned to the light. The ultimate triumph of the
light over the darkness is revealed in the narrative of the The purpose of this manifestation in the midst of history
Lord’s crucifixion. Finally, in the last two chapters we see (“on earth”) of the eternal glory of God in heaven is—as we
the multiplication of the light into many witnesses who shall see—the communication of this glory to those who be-
continue His commission. An important element of the lieve, making them partakers of the divine glory (vv. 22f.). It
book is the spontaneous judgment brought upon those is “to bring many sons to glory” (Heb. 2:10). (225-226)
who turn away from the light to withdraw deeper into the
darkness. In the first section this is portrayed as the The treatment of the entire Gospel of John in Light is gen-
erally deep and enlightened. Newbigin repeatedly empha-
terrible paradox of human existence…in its most piercing sizes that anecdotes from the oral tradition concerning the
reality. “Religion” in its purest and loftiest form is found life of Jesus have been arranged according to divinely in-
to belong to the area of darkness. Not those who are spired doctrine that we might believe and have life in the
blind, but those who confidently say “We see” are found Son. Seeing this doctrinal thread throughout the Gospel
to be in the realm of darkness. (7) also contributes to the recognition of the connection be-
tween John 14 and John 15. Light does not place the many
Newbigin’s comments are insightful and incisive. abodes in the Father’s house into a religious fantasy of
heaven, but instead connects them to Christ as our way into
In developing the themes of life and truth, Newbigin notes the Father and to His house as the condition of mutual
that God’s life is the light of the world and therefore the abiding portrayed by the vine in John 15. This uncommon
source of truth. He states, “The life of God given to men view of the Father’s house has much to commend it.
in Jesus—in his life, death, and resurrection and in the
coming of the Spirit—is at the same time understanding of Such an understanding is undoubtedly possible because
how things truly are. It is participation in the truth.…for Newbigin recognizes the importance of the Spirit to the be-
the life of God is also the light of truth” (3-4). According lievers’ life with and understanding of the Lord. The Lord is
to Newbigin we receive this life through the gift of faith, not merely the man Jesus who was on earth in Palestine two
for “the gift of life is linked to the perception of who Jesus thousand years ago. The Gospel is not just a memorial to
is” (38). Jesus’ gift of life to us is only accomplished someone long gone. “The disciples of Jesus have no need of

52 Affirmation & Critique

such memorials. Their master does not belong to the past. A sacramental view is espoused throughout the book, par-
They have with them the living Spirit who is the Spirit of ticularly in the exposition of John 3, 6, and 15—17.
the Father and who is also the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit Regeneration in John 3 is defined primarily in terms of the
whose presence is the foretaste of the coming glory” (210). sacramental doctrine of baptism instead of as receiving the
It is in this Spirit that we can know and understand the life of God through faith in Christ. John 6 is seen primarily
depths of this Gospel and the reality of the Lord. as it relates to the Anglican doctrine of the Eucharist. The
result is a limited interpretation which hinders the exposi-

O ne particular teaching in Light is, however, quite dis-

concerting. Light seems less than orthodox in his view
of the Divine Trinity. In the discussion of John 5, it states,
tion from delving into the depths of this rich chapter. This
view may account for the scanty development of the theme
of life throughout the entire book despite the fact that life is
“The unity of Father and Son is not one of ‘equality’ but of identified as the first major theme. Indeed, the divine life ac-
love and obedience. Jesus is utterly dependent upon the Fa- tually is the light that has come (1:4), and is thus the source
ther, and precisely because this is so Jesus is entrusted with and foundation of the light.
the fullness of the Father’s power both to give life and to
judge” (66). Light even seems to question the Nicene defini- The comparitive lack of development of the theme of life
tion concerning the consubstantiality of the Triune God, in relation to the theme of light and darkness is perhaps
asserting, “The total unity between Jesus and his Father is the greatest shortcoming of Light. Minimal attention is
not to be understood as equality but only as love and obedi- given to the all-inclusive Christ as life coming to meet all
ence” (67). It seems that Light’s view of the Trinity inclines human needs, the Christ who is introduced through the
too far to the side of the three, while neglecting the scrip- many signs in John 1—12. The principle of life and the
tural truth that God is indeed one. goal of life revealed in John 2 are not even touched upon
in Light. Christ as life to us (ch. 14), Christ as the Shepherd
In discussing the nature of the Triune God, Light frequently coming that we may have abundant life (ch. 10), and the
says that God is not a monad. This strong preconception Spirit becoming in us rivers of water of life (7:37-39) are all
means that the many profound passages in John concerning crucial points concerning the theme of life which are sub-
the essential oneness of the Triune God are not fully ex- ordinated to the theme of light and darkness and are not
pounded in Light. The balance of John 1:1, “And the Word given the attention they deserve. In conclusion, a more
was with God, and the Word was God,” which points to thorough development of the crucial theme of life and a
the truth that God is at the same time plural and singular, is more balanced presentation of the truth about the Divine
not mentioned. “I and the Father are one” (10:30) is ex- Trinity would make this good study of the Gospel of John
plained in terms of Jesus and the Father being one only in into a better exposition of that Gospel. For this, the reader
action. Light also ignores 14:15-20 which shows that the would do well to consult the Life-study of John and the
first Comforter, the Lord Jesus, eventually becomes the sec- Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John by Witness Lee.
ond Comforter, the Spirit, who is in us for our experience
of Christ in resurrection. Nor is the crowning revelation
concerning the oneness of the Triune God in John 17 developed. by Teresa Liu and Editors

The Spirit’s Work to Enlighten Us

As indicated by the parable of the seeking woman [Luke 15:8-10], the Spirit’s work is to enlighten us inwardly. As
this seeking woman, the Spirit enlightens our inner being little by little in a fine careful way. The Spirit enlightens
our mind, then our emotion and will, and then our conscience and our entire heart. It is in this way that the Spirit
“finds” us. As the result of the Spirit’s finding us through enlightening us, we wake up and come to ourselves and
realize how foolish it is to stay where we are [Luke 15:17-18]. We do not wake ourselves up; on the contrary, we
are awakened by the enlightening of the seeking Spirit. This seeking, enlightening, and finding of the Spirit take
place…in our heart. This results in repentance, which is a change in our mind that produces a change in the direc-
tion of our life. The fact that the Spirit’s finding us takes place within the “house” of our being reveals that we were
lost in ourselves. We were lost in our mind, will, and emotion.…Therefore, the Spirit finds us in ourselves. We can
testify of this from our experience. When the Spirit enlightened our mind, emotion, will, conscience, and heart,
then we began to repent. This repentance resulting from the enlightening of the Spirit is altogether an inward mat-
ter. No human being and no angel are able to do such a subjective work in us. This can be done only by the
penetrating Spirit, for the Spirit is able to penetrate the depths of our being to enlighten us and expose us.

Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke (299)

January 1998 53