This article evaluates a proposed theological trajectory within Johannine pneumatology that was impressed upon me several years ago through a brief yet provocative comment from a well-known ecumenist. I served at the time on the faculty of a seminary in Southeast Asia and was in the final stages of a project that involved an extensive analysis of the overall pneumatology of John’s Gospel.¹For a revised expansion of this PhD dissertation, see Adrian P. Rosen, The Meaning and Redemptive-Historical Significance of John 20:22, StBibLit 177 (New York: Lang, 2022). The seminary was hosting the Pentecostal-Reformed Dialogue that year, so I found myself at dinner with a colleague and two leading members of the Pentecostal side of the Dialogue. One of them, in response to hearing of my current research in Johannine pneumatology, commented that no one had adequately developed the implications of the Paraclete at work in “the world” (a clear allusion to John 16:8–11). This suggestive remark, coupled with the mention of Amos Yong as a possible exception to this lacuna in theological reflection, clearly pointed to the possible—even probable—salvific activity of the Spirit outside of and apart from the church.²The trajectory of the Yongian pneumatological project was evident from Yong’s earliest contributions. See, e.g., Amos Yong, Discerning the Spirit(s): A Pentecostal-Charismatic Contribution to Christian Theology of Religions (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000); Beyond the Impasse: Toward a Pneumatological Theology of Religions (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003); The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005). See also the critiques of this trajectory provided by James R. A. Merrick, “The Spirit of Truth as Agent in False Religions? A Critique of Amos Yong’s Pneumatological Theology of Religions with Reference to Current Trends,” TJ 29 (2008): 107–25; J. David Willoughby, “The Spirit of God and the Religions of the World: A Response to Amos Yong’s Claims,” Themelios 49.2 (2024): 423–33. Such remarks, exhibiting an inclination toward some form or other of inclusivist or universalist soteriology, are hardly infrequent within contemporary theological discourse. But this comment does surface a question deserving careful exploration: What is the nature and extent of the Spirit’s work within the Johannine perspective? In response, this article will elucidate the nature, the focus, the goal, and the extent of the Spirit’s activity in Johannine theology as set forth in John’s Gospel. In doing so, it seeks to contribute to broader conversations regarding christological exclusivism and pneumatological inclusivism. Our survey of Johannine pneumatology divides into three categories: (1) the Spirit’s work in Jesus’s earthly ministry; (2) the Spirit’s work in the believer; and (3) the Spirit’s work through the believer and in the world.

1. The Spirit’s Work in Jesus’s Earthly Ministry

The first category of texts includes John 1:33 and 3:34, both of which point to Jesus’s reception of the Spirit. This reception of the Spirit affects both Jesus and John the Baptizer.

1.1. John 1:32–33

The larger context within which the Gospel of John recounts Jesus’s reception of the Spirit is the testimony of John the Baptizer about Jesus’s messianic identity. This section begins in John 1:19³This testimony is first referenced in John 1:15, but its elaboration comes in 1:19 and following. with the words, “And this is the testimony [μαρτυρία] of John.” The overall focus throughout remains the same: who Jesus is.

In John 1:32–34, where Jesus’s own reception of the Spirit constitutes a central focus, John the Baptizer bears witness to Jesus as both the Spirit-baptizer (v. 33) and the Son of God (v. 34). Bracketing this is the inclusio formed by the Baptizer’s confession of Jesus as the Lamb of God, first uttered in its fuller form in verse 29 (“Behold! The Lamb of God [ἴδε ὁἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ] who takes away the sin of the world!”), then reiterated in shortened form (“Behold the Lamb of God!” [ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ]) on the following day (cf. v. 35) in verse 36. In addition to this, Jesus’s preeminence due to his preexistence is also underscored (v. 30; cf. v. 15).

A couple of things are noteworthy in connection with our topic. First, John the Baptizer’s knowledge of Jesus’s messianic identity (and his consequent ability to bear witness to Jesus as Messiah) comes as the result of his observing the Spirit’s descending and remaining on Jesus.⁴Marianne Meye Thompson, John: A Commentary, NTL (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2015), 48: “The Spirit bears witness to the identity of Jesus; John the Baptist makes it known.” The prior divine revelation received (v. 33) predisposes him to quickly and accurately discern the christological significance of this event. Thus, in relation to John the Baptizer, the Spirit’s action in descending and remaining upon Jesus is decidedly christotelic—that is, faith in Christ, including a cognitive grasp of his person and work, is the obvious goal. The Spirit, through this visible event, elucidates who Jesus is and points to his redemptive work. The Spirit’s witness to Jesus enables John to understand and testify to both who Jesus is (Lamb of God, Spirit-baptizer, Son of God) and what he does (takes away the sin of the world, gives the Spirit). Second, this event—or, more specifically, the action of the Spirit here described—reveals Jesus as the Spirit-baptizer, that is, as the one who will bestow the Spirit upon others.⁵Cornelis Bennema, in “Spirit-Baptism in the Fourth Gospel: A Messianic Reading of John 1,33,” Bib 84 (2003): 35–60, disputes this and posits that the text points to the effects of Jesus’s Spirit-endowed ministry rather than his giving the Spirit. For a rebuttal to Bennema’s argument, see Rosen, John 20:22, 143–44. This action of the Spirit thus points to a christocentric pneumatology in that it reveals Jesus to be the source of the Spirit.

1.2. John 3:34

The principal concern of John 3:31–36 is to establish Jesus’s credentials,⁶Timothy Wiarda, Spirit and Word: Dual Testimony in Paul, John and Luke, LNTS 565 (London: T&T Clark, 2018), 148. and verse 34 highlights that he, as God’s sent one, can speak the words of God. The author grounds this assertion (note the use of γάρ) by clarifying that Jesus’s ability to speak the revelatory words of God stems from his unbounded reception of the Spirit: “For God does not give the Spirit by measure” (οὐ γὰρ ἐκ μέτρου δίδωσιν ὁ θεὸς τὸ πνεῦμα).⁷NA²⁸ omits ὁ θεὸς; but regardless of the textual-critical question, the fact that God, not Jesus, is the intended subject remains clear. See Gary M. Burge, The Anointed Community: The Holy Spirit in the Johannine Tradition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 83–84; Rosen, John 20:22, 168–69. Conversely, some scholars argue in favor of Jesus as the subject: Raymond Brown, The Gospel according to John, AB 29–29A (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966, 1970), 1:161–62; Udo Schnelle, Das Evangelium nach Johannes, 5th ed., THKNT 4 (Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2016), 117; Johannes Beutler, A Commentary on the Gospel of John, trans. Michael Tait (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017), 107. If one were to adopt this interpretation, the strong christocentric focus, while configured differently, would not be weakened. In this case, Jesus would be the source rather than the recipient of the Spirit. While later rabbinic teaching provides possible clarification of the meaning of this statement,⁸See the often-cited statement in Lev. Rab. 15.2: “Even the Holy Spirit resting on the prophets does so by weight, one prophet speaking one book of prophecy and another speaking two books.” Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus, ed. H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, trans. J. Israelstam and Judah J. Slotki, 3rd ed. (New York: Soncino, 1983), 189. C. K. Barrett, in The Gospel according to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978), 226, dismisses the parallel as irrelevant; Max Turner, in The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts in the New Testament Church and Today, revised ed. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 59 n. 8, remains cautious due to the lateness of the rabbinic text. the prophetic nature of the Spirit’s work vis-à-vis Jesus remains clear regardless of whether or not this rabbinic view reflects earlier use of the language of measured portions of the Spirit of prophecy.⁹For further exegetical analysis of this verse, see Rosen, John 20:22, 168–71.

According to John 3:34, then, Jesus’s ability to speak the words of God is a function of his immeasurable reception of the Spirit of prophecy.¹⁰Two opposite interpretive extremes must be avoided in relation to Jesus’s reception of the Spirit. First, some downplay or outright deny that the Spirit empowers Jesus. For example, David Crump argues that, unlike the synoptic portrayal of Jesus’s reception of Spirit-empowerment, John presents Jesus’s reception of the Spirit as functioning as no more than a messianic identity marker. Cf. David Crump, “Who Gets What? God or Disciples, Human Spirit or Holy Spirit in John 19:30,” NovT 51 (2009): 78–89, at 83; “Re-examining the Johannine Trinity: Perichoresis or Deification?” SJT 59.4 (2006): 395–412, at 402 n. 17. Also denying the Spirit’s empowering Jesus in the Johannine perspective, see Marianne Meye Thompson, The God of the Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 160–65, 170–76, 187. The second interpretive extreme, diametrically opposed to the above approach, remains the more troubling and dangerous reading. While some display a propensity to downplay Jesus’s reception of Spirit-empowerment, presumably due to their (admirable) desire to safeguard a proper view of Christology, others overread it in a way that disturbingly diminishes the uniqueness of Christ by reducing him to little more than a pattern of Spirit-empowerment that all believers must aspire to fully replicate in their own contemporary experience. See, e.g., Bill Johnson (Bethel Church, Redding, California), who claims Jesus “laid aside” his “divinity” in the incarnation, lacked “supernatural capabilities” of his own, and “performed miracles, wonders, and signs as a man in right relationship to God … not as God” (When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles [Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2003], 79, 29 as quoted in Jonathan Black, 40 Questions about Pentecostalism, 40 Questions [Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2024], 65). For a helpful and succinct treatment of this issue, see Black, 40 Questions, 63–70. The Spirit’s work here is christocentric in two ways. First, the Spirit enables Jesus’s prophetic speaking of God’s words; that is to say, the work centers on Christ in that it is an empowerment of Christ himself. Second, regarding the content of Jesus’s teaching, the revelatory words of God uttered by Jesus plainly take the person and work of Christ himself as their primary focus, as can be seen throughout the Gospel of John. Thus, this whole matter of the Spirit’s descending upon Jesus to prophetically enable his ministry is christocentric from start to finish. It is, moreover, christotelic in that the goal throughout consistently remains the same: bringing humanity to a point of understanding and decision for Christ.

2. The Spirit’s Work in the Believer

This second category of texts accounts for the majority of pneumatological references in John’s Gospel: John 3:3–8; 4:23–24; 6:63; 7:37–39 (4:10–14); 14:16–20; 14:25–26; 16:12–15; and 20:22. The focal point throughout these texts remains on the Spirit’s work in the life of believers in Jesus Christ.

2.1. John 3:3–8

This passage presents several exegetical difficulties, not all of which need to be decisively resolved for the purpose at hand. Rather, a brief unpacking of the main pneumatological elements should prove sufficient before moving on to trace the christological connections within the larger contours of the pericope and Johannine theology.

The Spirit is first mentioned within this text at John 3:5, which speaks of being born/begotten “of water and the Spirit” (ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος) as the precondition for entrance into the kingdom of God. The parallel with being born ἄνωθεν(“again” or “from above”) as the precondition to see the kingdom of God (v. 3) suggests that further clarification of this same spiritual birth is given in verse 5.¹¹There are several exegetical issues here that, while important, are nonetheless peripheral to the focus of the present essay. These include: (1) whether γεννάωshould be taken to mean “born” or “begotten”; (2) whether the kingdom of God is here understood as a present spiritual kingdom or a future messianic kingdom on the earth; (3) whether ἄνωθενmeans “from above,” “again,” or a combination of these; (4) whether “to see” the kingdom (v. 3) is equivalent in meaning to “to enter” the kingdom (v. 5). These questions are not germane to the present study and thus will not be further analyzed here. For evaluation of these points, cf. Rosen, John 20:22, 148–53. The water most probably symbolizes the Spirit, so that the phrase ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματοςshould be translated “of water, that is,¹²Taking the καίas epexegetical. Cf. Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, 2 vols. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003), 1:550–51. See also Stanley M. Horton, What the Bible Says about the Holy Spirit (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1976), 114; Charles H. Talbert, Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles (New York: Crossroad, 1992), 99; Grant R. Osborne, John: Verse by Verse, ONTC (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2018), 78; Seung-In Song, Water as an Image of the Spirit in the Johannine Literature, StBibLit 171 (New York: Lang, 2019), 130 n. 58. the Spirit.” In support of this, the Spirit is thus symbolized in subsequent passages (7:37–39; cf. 4:10–14), and verses 6 and 8 mention only the Spirit, not water.

Next, John 3:6 underscores that natural human birth produces natural human nature (τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς σάρξ ἐστιν), whereas spiritual birth brought about by the Spirit imparts a spiritual nature (καὶ τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστιν). While John’s Gospel nowhere elaborates on precisely what spiritual characteristics this entails, 1 John does (2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18).

Finally, John 3:8 draws a comparison between the wind and the Spirit (cf. Ezek 37:1–14).¹³Some have attempted reading both occurrences of πνεῦμαin John 3:8 as referring to the Spirit, not as a wordplay pointing first to the wind (τὸ πνεῦμα) and then the Spirit (ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος). For documentation of advocates of such an approach, together with refutation, cf. Rosen, John 20:22, 165–66 n. 176. Even if one were persuaded by this untenable reading of the verse, it would not weaken or obscure the christocentric nature of the passage. The regenerative work of the Spirit is portrayed as inscrutable and mysterious as to its inner workings,¹⁴Herman Ridderbos, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary, trans. John Vriend (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 129; D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 197. See Paul A. Rainbow, Johannine Theology: The Gospel, the Epistles and the Apocalypse (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014), 264: “Like wind, this … birth makes a decisive impact on human experience but comes from beyond human knowledge or control.” not as unpredictable or unrestricted as to where this life-giving function occurs. A careful probing of the surrounding context supports this conclusion.

Quite interestingly, the most narrowly limited context of these statements (i.e., John 3:3–8) does not overtly spell out any sort of christological particularism. Perhaps this helps explain why John 3:8 so often gets leveraged in support of the Spirit’s supposed salvific movement within non-Christian religious milieus. That such a reading constitutes a misconstrued interpretation of this text quickly becomes clear, however, upon a more robust and comprehensive exegetical-theological investigation of the details that are germane to this question. For only if one takes these pneumatological statements in isolation from the broader context of John 2:23–3:21 and the overall scope/sweep of Johannine Christology, soteriology, and pneumatology can such a theological trajectory—that is, one which seeks to obscure the christocentricity of the Johannine pneumatological perspective—appear to sustain any credibility or plausibility at all.

The evidence points toward the christocentric nature of regeneration by the Spirit. The context of the narrative within which John 3:8 occurs makes this both unmistakable and unavoidable. First, one should consider the progression of the narrative leading up to the pneumatological statements here. While our chapter divisions tend to obscure the connections found in the text at this point, one should note how John 3:1 stems from 2:23–25. In these verses, many “believed” (ἐπίστευσαν) in Jesus’s name consequent to the miracles performed in Jerusalem (2:23), but Jesus did not “entrust” (ἐπίστευεν) himself to them “because he knew all [men]” (πάντας) (v. 24), “and because he had no need that anyone should testify concerning man [περὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου]; for he himself knew what was in man [ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ]” (v. 25). John 3:1 then transitions from this general statement about the group, which is characterized in terms of its superficial “belief” and its humanity (ἄνθρωπος), to a specific example in the “man” (ἄνθρωπος, retaining the same emphasis on human nature rather than male gender) Nicodemus, who likewise exhibits this same miracle-based, superficial faith, which remains inadequate to save (v. 2). The crucial point for this study is that true faith in Jesus remains very much in focus in John 3:1–8.

Transitioning for a moment to consideration within the broader Johannine context, the foregoing observation is hardly surprising in light of John 1:12–13, where it is those who receive/believe in Christ who are begotten by God and thus become God’s children. So too, if one were to broaden the scope beyond the gospel to include the epistles, 1 John 5:1 also baldly asserts a direct correspondence between belief in Jesus as the Christ and being begotten by God.

Back in John 3, as the conversation with Nicodemus progresses, Jesus clarifies the necessity of his being lifted up on the cross in order to make possible the bestowal of eternal life, as well as the reality that belief in Christ serves as the precondition for reception of this eternal life (vv. 14–15). As this conversation ends and the author transitions to his own commentary on it (vv. 16–21),¹⁵See Andreas J. Köstenberger, “Lifting Up the Son of Man and God’s Love for the World: John 3:16 in Its Historical, Literary, and Theological Contexts,” in Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century: Essays in Honor of D. A. Carson on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday, ed. Andreas J. Köstenberger and Robert W. Yarbrough (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 142, and esp. 149. See also Cornelis Bennema, The Power of Saving Wisdom: An Investigation of Spirit and Wisdom in Relation to the Soteriology of the Fourth Gospel, WUNT 2/148 (Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002), 168; Edward W. Klink III, John, ZECNT (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 204–5. the focus of the soteriological truths delineated remains decidedly christocentric.

At this point, we can draw rather firm conclusions about the christocentric pneumatology of this passage. Starkly put, this text offers no support for the notion that the Spirit regenerates the non-Christian religious other apart from a conscious conversion to faith in Christ. Rather, the regenerative work of the Spirit here retains its robust christocentric focus.

2.2. John 4:23–24

In the latter portion of Jesus’s dialogue with the Samaritan woman in John 4, he mentions a soon-to-arrive time (vv. 21, 23) in which true worshippers will worship God “in the Spirit and in the truth” (vv. 23–24). Several exegetical points are noteworthy, but some are more germane to our discussion than others. I will first highlight key exegetical questions, then move on to discuss christocentricity. First, scholars are divided as to the precise meaning of ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν(v. 23, which literally translates as “an hour is coming and now is”). Suggested interpretations include: (1) the “hour” is both future and present;¹⁶E.g., Carson, Gospel according to John, 224: “There is an advance on v. 21: not only is the time coming, but it has come. This oxymoron is a powerful way of asserting not only that the period of worship ‘in spirit and truth’ is about to come and awaits only the dawning of the ‘hour’, i.e. Jesus’ death, resurrection and exaltation, but also that this period of true worship is already proleptically present in the person and ministry of Jesus before the cross.” (2) the words καὶ νῦν ἐστιν(“and now is”) are “a narrative augmentation” that reflect the post-resurrection perspective of the author;¹⁷Benny Thettayil, In Spirit and Truth: An Exegetical Study of John 4:19–26 and a Theological Investigation of the Replacement Theme in the Fourth Gospel, CBET 46 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 114: “καὶ νῦν ἐστιν(v. 23) is a narrative augmentation to ἔρχεται ὥραof v. 21 with the worship of the Johannine community in mind—the community where the worship ‘in Spirit and truth’ is already taking place.… This statement of Jesus regarding the hour (4:23) reflects the perspective of the gospel. From the standpoint of Jesus’ historic ministry, the hour was in the future and only from the post-resurrection standpoint of the author and the community, the hour is present.” (3) the words καὶ νῦν ἐστινdo not convey the idea of the presence of the “hour” but rather point to its imminent arrival (cf. νῦν ἐστινin John 12:31).¹⁸For support of this interpretation, see Rosen, John 20:22, 171–73, 121–23. While I prefer the third option, one’s conclusions on this point will not affect the christocentric nature of the Spirit’s work as explained within this passage.

Second, there exist contextual constraints on the meaning of ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ: (1) πνεῦμα ὁ θεός(“God is [qualitatively] spirit”)¹⁹Cf. Rosen, John 20:22, 173, on a qualitative sense as opposed to an indefinite sense (“a spirit”) or a definite sense (“the [Holy] Spirit”). grounds and explains this; (2) regardless of one’s understanding of whether the “hour” is here better understood as present or soon-to-arrive, a salvation-historical progression is inescapable: Jesus inaugurates (either after his glorification or during his ministry) a new spiritual reality. Importantly, this seems to preclude the interpretation that regards ἐν πνεύματιas referring to the human spirit as the intended referent here, with emphasis thus falling upon genuine, internally engaged worship.²⁰J. H. Bernard, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St. John, 2 vols., ICC (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1928), 1:149; Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John, revised ed., NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 239; George Johnston, The Spirit-Paraclete in the Gospel of John, SNTSMS 12 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970), 45; C. John Collins, “John 4:23–24, ‘in Spirit and Truth’: An Idiomatic Proposal,” Presb 21 (1995): 118–21. Simply put, God always required such worship from the heart; this would constitute nothing new. Rather, the text points to worship in the realm of²¹Taking ἐνas conveying a locative sense (“in”) rather than pointing to agency (“by”), which is also possible but less likely, especially in light of the locative sense in v. 21 with which it is contrasted: “in this mountain” (ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ), “in Jerusalem” (ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις). Cf. Keener, Gospel of John, 616. the Spirit whom Jesus will give, and the truth revealed by and embodied in Jesus.

This passage points to the christocentric nature of the Spirit’s work in at least two ways. First, the preceding context of this statement includes the promissory remarks of Jesus pointing to his giving the “living water,” or the Spirit (cf. 7:37–39), to those who ask him (4:10, 14). Jesus himself is the giver of the Spirit and bestows the Spirit upon those who ask him. The text is, therefore, christocentric in that it points to faith in Christ and reception of the Spirit from him. Second, the true worshippers of the Father (v. 23) not only worship in the Spirit but also in the truth (vv. 23–24). The “truth,” within Johannine usage, is christocentric through and through. Consequently, worship “in the Spirit” remains inseparably linked to a warm embrace of God’s redemptive revelation centered in Jesus Christ.

2.3. John 6:63

In the latter portion of the Bread of Life Discourse, Jesus asserts, “The Spirit is the one who gives life” (τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν τὸ ζωοποιοῦν, John 6:63). There is general consensus among scholars that τὸ πνεῦμα here refers to the Holy Spirit. Just as the Father and the Son give life (see 5:21, which employs ζωοποιεῖ in reference to the action of both), so too does the Spirit—thus making the impartation of life a Trinitarian function. Jesus then contrasts this life-giving function of the Spirit with the complete uselessness (οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν²²L&N 35.2 (1:457) explicates ὠφελέωas meaning “to provide assistance, with emphasis upon the resulting benefit.” Cf. the use of οὐκ ὠφελεῖτε οὐδέν at John 12:19. On the emphatic double negative construction, see Morris, Gospel according to John, 340 n. 150; Klink, John, 342. Lidija Novakovic, in John 1–10: A Handbook on the Greek Text, BHGNT (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2020), 226, observes that the two negatives (οὐκ … οὐδέν) “do not cancel but reinforce each other.”) of ἡ σὰρξ (“the flesh”), which here refers to human nature.²³Contra the various proposals that identify ἡ σὰρξ as in some sense or another referring to Jesus’s “flesh.” For example, Rudolf Schnackenburg, in The Gospel according to St. John, trans. David Smith and G. A. Kon, 3 vols. (New York: Crossroad, 1982), 2:71–72, regards Jesus’s “earthly mode of existence” as the referent; Bennema, in Power of Saving Wisdom, 203, reads the term as pointing to Jesus’s death on the cross apart from the revelatory work of the Spirit; see also Turner, Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts, 66. Cf. Rosen, John 20:22, 176, for further elucidation of the problematic nature of such christological readings of “the flesh.” More helpfully, Novakovic, in John 1–10, 225, explains: “ἡ σὰρξ does not refer to Jesus’ flesh but to human nature in general.” The idea is that human nature remains inherently and utterly incapable of attaining participation in eternal life, whereas the Spirit bestows such life.²⁴Whether or not the life-giving work of the Spirit is within the purview of Jesus’s statement here has occasioned some discussion. See Schnackenburg, Gospel according to St. John, 2:72: “6:63a mentions, not the understanding bestowed by the Spirit (cf. 14:26; 16:13), but the giving of life, and it is in this that the flesh is no help.” G. K. Beale, in A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), 570, argues that the Spirit is here envisaged as the agent of the already-not yet resurrection (cf. 6:39–40, 44, 47, 51, 53–54, 58). See J. Ramsey Michaels, The Gospel of John, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), 407–8; Rosen, John 20:22, 177. Conversely, in support of the revelatory function, see Turner, Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts, 66; Bennema, Power of Saving Wisdom, 203–4; Keener, Gospel of John, 1:694–95; Wiarda, Spirit and Word, 141–45. Next, Jesus affirms that his words spoken to those present “are Spirit and are life” (πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ζωή ἐστιν). In contrast to the general agreement relative to the first occurrence of πνεῦμα, scholars posit various construals of the meaning of this second occurrence: (1) Jesus’s words are “the Spirit’s instrument”;²⁵Michaels, Gospel of John, 409 n. 21. (2) Jesus’s words are “Spirit-inspired and life-giving”;²⁶Murray J. Harris, John, EGGNT (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2015), 146. (3) Jesus’s words are “life-giving because they are infused by the Spirit”;²⁷Andreas J. Köstenberger and Scott R. Swain, Father, Son, and Spirit: The Trinity and John’s Gospel, NSBT 24 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 94–95. (4) Jesus’s words “belong to the realm of the Spirit”;²⁸James M. Hamilton Jr., God’s Indwelling Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments, NACSBT (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2006), 142. and (5) Jesus’s words lead to²⁹For a similar use of the linking verb εἰμί with the sense “leads to,” see John 12:50 (cf. NIV). reception of the Spirit and eternal life.³⁰Rosen, John 20:22, 178–79. The final option proves most compelling. As Beasley-Murray aptly explains: “The words of Jesus in the discourse are ‘Spirit and life’—for those who receive them in faith, since they who accept them and believe in the Son receive the Spirit and the life of which he speaks (5:39–40 and 7:37–39).”³¹George R. Beasley-Murray, John, WBC 36, 2nd ed. (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 96. Jesus’s words are the source of the life-giving work of the Spirit for those who are receptive to his teaching. In this light, it becomes evident that the Spirit’s life-giving work is limited to those who hear and accept the words of Christ. While this interpretive option remains the best, in my view, what must be stressed for our present purposes is that all of the proposed interpretations retain the christocentricity of the Spirit’s work.

2.4. John 7:37–39 (4:10–14)

It is the one who comes to Jesus (John 7:37), who believes in him (vv. 38, 39), who will receive the Spirit (v. 39; cf. also 4:10–14, where one “asks” Jesus for the gift). To be sure, scholars have debated several aspects of this text. Most notably, some posit a repunctuation of the text whereby the Spirit flows from within Jesus,³²E.g., Brown, Gospel according to John, 1:320–21; Burge, Anointed Community, 88–93; Keener, Gospel of John, 1:728–30. while others defend the traditional punctuation that places the Spirit within the believer.³³E.g., Juan B. Córtes, “Yet Another Look at JN 7,37–38,” CBQ 29 (1967): 75–86; Turner, Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts, 61–62; “Receiving the Spirit in John’s Gospel,” 29–31; Bennema, Power of Saving Wisdom, 192–95; Rosen, John 20:22, 180–87. If the text portrays the Spirit as located within the believer, the question becomes whether the focus remains on the personal salvific work of the Spirit (cf. 4:10–14), or it shifts to the believer as in some sense the mediating source of the Spirit’s presence to others.³⁴The former view remains more probable. See Cortés, “Yet Another Look,” 79; Carson, Gospel according to John, 324; Ridderbos, Gospel of John, 274; Michaels, Gospel of John, 464–65; Rosen, John 20:22, 188–90. Most importantly for our present purposes, the christocentric focus of the Spirit’s work remains regardless of one’s decisions on these points of exegetical disagreement. The text points to Christ bestowing the Spirit on those who believe in him; there is no salvific movement of the Spirit apart from such belief.

2.5. John 14:16–20

The christocentric nature of the first Paraclete saying is obvious. First, Jesus himself requests that the Father would give the Spirit (John 14:16). Second, the disciples of Jesus are the recipients of the Spirit (v. 16). Third, the title “Spirit of truth” (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, v. 17) doubtless retains the same christocentric orientation for “truth” that prevails throughout other parts of John’s Gospel. Fourth, the “world” cannot “receive” the Spirit because it neither sees nor knows him (v. 17). Fifth, Jesus assures the disciples, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (v. 18). The best interpretation of this understands it as a prediction of Jesus’s post-resurrection appearance when he imparts the Spirit to them (20:22).³⁵E.g., Keener, Gospel of John, 2:974; Rosen, John 20:22, 207–13. Even if one interprets this as a spiritual coming of Jesus at Pentecost,³⁶E.g., R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1943), 1001–2; William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel according to John, 2 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1953–1954), 2:279–80; Frederic Louis Godet, Commentary on the Gospel of John, 2 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1969), 2:281–82; George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, revised ed., ed. Donald A. Hagner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 330. however, the christological focus remains unmitigated. In light of these details, this text inextricably links the Spirit’s work to the person of Christ and clearly limits this pneumatic activity to the disciples of Jesus.

2.6. John 14:25–26

In contrast to his teaching while present with his disciples (John 14:25), Jesus predicts in verse 26 that the Paraclete will perform the twofold function³⁷Conversely, some scholars regard the “teaching” and “reminding” as synonymous. See, e.g., Brown, Gospel according to John, 2:650–51; Klink, John, 640. Against this, positing two distinct yet closely related activities in this verse, see Wiarda, Spirit and Word, 124–36. While I regard the exegetical evidence as firmly on the side of two distinct yet related activities, the more important point for this study remains that one’s acceptance of the alternative interpretation would not remove the christocentric nature and focus of the Spirit’s work in John 14:26. of both teaching them all things (ὑμᾶς διδάξει πάντα) and reminding them of all that he had told them (ὑπομνήσει ὑμᾶς πάντα ἃ εἶπον ὑμῖν) before his departure. The christocentric nature of the Paraclete’s work is lucid enough. First, the Father sends the Spirit in Christ’s name (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὃ πέμψει ὁ πατὴρἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου, v. 26). Second, the disciples of Jesus are the obvious recipients of the Spirit. Third, the content of the Paraclete’s revelatory ministry exhibits a decidedly christocentric focus: he not only reminds them of things that Jesus had taught them but also teaches them all things—presumably meaning all things that they need to know relative to Christ and the gospel. Thus, as David Turner observes, “The Spirit’s christocentric ministry is both retrospective and prospective.”³⁸David L. Turner, “The Doctrine of the Future in John’s Writings,” in Eschatology: Biblical, Historical, and Practical Approaches, ed. D. Jeffrey Bingham and Glenn R. Kreider (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2016), 211–26, at 222; cf. Thompson, John, 316.

2.7. John 16:12–15

The fifth and final Paraclete saying expands on the content found in the second saying (John 14:25–26). While some details remain subject to debate,³⁹As exhibited, for instance, by the diversity found among scholars in interpreting “the coming things” (τὰ ἐρχόμενα) in John 16:13. For a brief survey of options, cf. Rosen, John 20:22, 237–38. the fact that the Paraclete’s work is decidedly christocentric may be easily established. Several features are notable. First, the Paraclete will fill out and complete Jesus’s teaching to the disciples (16:12–13); thus, the pneumatic revelation within the passage’s purview exhibits direct continuity with the teaching delivered during the earthly ministry of Christ. The Spirit’s teaching is christologically anchored. Second, he is again called the “Spirit of truth” (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, v. 13; cf. 14:17; 15:26). Third, he will “guide” the disciples into “all truth” (ὁδηγήσει ὑμᾶς εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, 16:13). Such referencing of “truth” within Johannine theology doubtless evokes the overall christological shape of the conceptualization of truth throughout John’s Gospel. In this light, J. H. Bernard correctly suggests “all the truth” means “all the truth about Christ and His Gospel.”⁴⁰Bernard, Gospel according to St. John, 2:510. So too, Eskil Franck, in Revelation Taught: The Paraclete in the Gospel of John, ConBNT 14 (Lund: Gleerup, 1985), 74, interprets “truth” here as “the divine revelation which ultimately is concerned with the Word that became flesh, with Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and with the consequences of these events.” Fourth, he will not speak on his own authority (οὐ γὰρ λαλήσει ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ, v. 13).⁴¹See Craig S. Keener, “Sent Like Jesus: Johannine Missiology (John 20:21–22),” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 12.1 (2009): 21–45, here at 37. Cf. Harris, John, 278. As W. Boyd Hunt rightly observes:

The fact that the Spirit guides into further truth is balanced by the statement that he does not speak on his own authority. Both truths are basic. The Spirit speaks, he does not simply repeat what Jesus has already said. Yet the Spirit’s speaking is always a witness to Christ. The Spirit is self-effacing, he points to Christ.⁴²W. Boyd Hunt, “John’s Doctrine of the Spirit,” SwJT 8.1 (1965): 45–65, at 57.

Fifth, he will glorify Christ (vv. 14–15). From start to finish, the Paraclete’s ministry here remains self-effacing and christologically focused, and only the disciples of Jesus directly receive or benefit from the pneumatic revelation in view.

2.8. John 20:22

This passage clearly portrays the life-giving work of the Spirit in unmistakably christocentric terms.⁴³This text has given rise to a surprising array of interpretations, the analysis of which extends well beyond the scope of this article. For further elaboration and evaluation of these views, see Rosen, John 20:22, 5–55; and “Interpretive Questions Related to the Gift of the Spirit in John 20:22,” JETS 68 (2025): 285–97. Jesus himself imparts the Spirit—and this only to those who believe in him. John employs the verb ἐνεφύσησεν(“he breathed/blew on”), found only here in the NT. In so doing, he not only conceptually links this event back to John 3:8 and Ezekiel 37, but he also roots its significance in Genesis 2:7, where the LXX uses the same verb to describe YHWH’s breathing life into Adam. Thus, the disciples receive the life-giving work of the Spirit. This experience of the disciples was unique in that they were here transitioned into life under the new covenant, and in that Jesus was physically present as he bestowed the life-giving work of the Spirit under the new covenant.⁴⁴For a more detailed summary of this theological understanding of the impartation of the Spirit on Resurrection Day, see Rosen, John 20:22, ch. 6. Believers in subsequent times obviously do not experience such a covenantal transition as they move from the old era to the new, nor do they receive the Spirit directly from the physically present, resurrected Jesus. However, the decidedly christocentric elements of this reception—consisting of (1) Jesus himself bestowing the gift of the Spirit, and (2) giving this gift only to those who consciously receive him in faith—remain the same for all believers (cf. 7:37–39; 4:14).

Noteworthy at this juncture, however, is that the christocentricity of John 20:22 remains even if one prefers one of the many alternative proposed interpretations (e.g., the view that Jesus’s action here is anticipatory of reception of the Spirit on Pentecost, or views that regard this reception of the Spirit as other than life-giving). The two crucial points remain indisputable despite divergent interpretations regarding the specifics of the so-called insufflation: (1) Christ bestows the Spirit, and (2) only believers in Jesus Christ receive the Spirit.

3. The Spirit’s Work through the Believer and in the World

This final category includes John 15:26–27 and 16:7–11. The focus here primarily falls upon the Spirit’s work in relation to unbelievers, but it does include Spirit-empowerment of Christ-followers for effective witness.

3.1. John 15:26–27

The third Paraclete saying links the Spirit to Christ in several ways. First, it is Christ himself who “sends” the Spirit (v. 26: ὃν ἐγὼ πέμψω ὑμῖν, “whom I will send to you”). Second, it is the disciples of Jesus who receive the Spirit (v. 26: ὃν ἐγὼ πέμψω ὑμῖν, “whom I will send to you”). Third, the Spirit is characterized as “the Spirit of truth” (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας), which most probably points to the Spirit as the communicator of truth. As previously stated, the truth within Johannine usage retains a strongly christocentric focus throughout its frequent occurrences. Fourth, the Spirit testifies concerning Christ (v. 26: ἐκεῖνος μαρτυρήσει περὶ ἐμου); that is, the content of the testimony centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ.⁴⁵Rightly, Wiarda, Spirit and Word, 113–14, who cogently argues in support of περὶ ἐμοῦ pointing to the Spirit’s witness “about” Jesus; wrongly, Felix Porsch, Pneuma und Wort: Ein exegetischer Beitrag zur Pneumatologie des Johannesevangeliums, FTS 16 (Frankfurt: Knecht, 1974), 271, who regards περὶ ἐμοῦ as meaning “für Jesus”; and Brown, Gospel according to John, 2:686, who translates it as “on my behalf.” This affirmation explicitly articulates the christocentricity and christotelicity of the Spirit’s work in bearing witness to Jesus. Fifth, the Spirit’s witness is portrayed as in tandem with the witnessing activity of the disciples (v. 27), who are qualified for this task as a result of their firsthand experience of the historical ministry of Jesus (ὅτι ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐστε, “because you have been with me from the beginning”; cf. 1 John 1:1–3; Acts 4:19–20). Sixth, this testimony of the Spirit occurs following his being sent to the disciples (John 15:26). The Spirit comes to/is sent to the disciples and bears witness to Christ along with the disciples in the context of the unbelieving world’s rejection of Christ and persecution of his followers (15:18–25; 16:1–4).⁴⁶In support of interpreting the Spirit’s witness as positive testimony about Jesus directed to the unbelieving world with an evangelistic goal, see Wiarda, Spirit and Word, chap. 7; Rosen, John 20:22, 221–24. Conversely, Porsch, Pneuma und Wort, 271, interprets the Paraclete’s testimony as “an inner witness” (ein inneres Zeugnis) serving to strengthen the disciples’ “threatened faith in Jesus” (bedrohten Glauben an Jesus). Brown, Gospel according to John, 2:698, reads this as the Spirit’s prosecution of the world aimed at proving its guilt. By implication, the Spirit undergirds and empowers the witness of the disciples, advancing his own witness concerning Christ through the apostolic proclamation and in cooperation with this preaching of the gospel.

3.2. John 16:7–11

The fourth Paraclete saying expands on the content introduced in the third saying (John 15:26–27)⁴⁷Barrett, Gospel according to St. John, 482. and, as such, it retains the same christocentric and christotelic focus.⁴⁸For a more in-depth exegetical analysis of this text, see D. A. Carson, “The Function of the Paraclete in John 16:7–11,” JBL 98 (1979): 547–66; John Aloisi, “The Paraclete’s Ministry of Conviction: Another Look at John 16:8–11,” JETS 47 (2004): 55– 69; Rosen, John 20:22, 228–35. Several points are noteworthy for the present study. First, just as in 15:26, so also here the Advocate comes to/is sent to the disciples (16:7), but the work described is directed toward the world (vv. 8–11).⁴⁹Contra Brown, Gospel according to John, 2:712: the Paraclete’s proving “the world’s guilt is directed to the disciples, but the forum is internal.” More helpfully, see Wiarda, Spirit and Word, 117–19. Second, the Spirit’s convicting/convincing work relative to the unbelieving world (ἐκεῖνος ἐλέγξει τὸν κόσμον περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ περὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ περὶ κρίσεως, v. 8) is christotelic; that is, the Spirit’s work aims at conversion—the awakening of conscious faith in Christ. Third, the Spirit’s convicting work is christologically grounded from start to finish (cf. the ὅτι-clauses [i.e., because-clauses]⁵⁰Some regard these as explicative rather than causal. E.g., Ridderbos, Gospel of John, 532 n. 167; Schnackenburg, Gospel according to St. John, 3:129. throughout vv. 9–11). Fourth, the Spirit’s work is christocentric in that he comes to and works through the disciples—those who already believe in Christ.

4. Conclusion

In conclusion, Johannine pneumatology (as found in John’s Gospel) provides no support for vague, speculative musings regarding the Spirit’s salvific and regenerative movement either within non-Christian world religions or apart from a conscious belief in Christ and his cross-work on our behalf. Rather, when one gives careful exegetical attention to the text, it becomes clear that John’s view of the Spirit’s work is decidedly and firmly anchored in his christological particularism (cf. John 14:6). Within the Johannine theological perspective, there can be no salvific, spiritual life bestowed by the Spirit apart from conscious faith in Jesus the Messiah (cf. 20:30–31).

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