Date of Award

2015

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Theology

Abstract

The history of scholarship that addresses the theological viewpoint of 1Jn has

largely focused on the Christological, ethical, and soteriological aspects of the letter.

While specific attention has been paid to the polemical nature of the text, commentators

have commonly overlooked the importance of the pneumatology espoused by the author

as it contributes to that polemic. Upon exploration of the passages relating the conception

of the Spirit in 1Jn, it becomes evident that the understanding of the eschatological

bestowal of God’s Spirit in 1Jn is unique when compared to other New Testament

conceptions of Spirit bestowal. In an effort to better understand this distinction and

explain why the author of 1Jn accepts such a break from typical understandings of Spirit

bestowal, this dissertation explores possible backgrounds for the partial bestowal of the

eschatological Spirit found in 1Jn. After a review of the current state of scholarship on

1Jn, the preliminary chapters explore the bestowal of the eschatological Spirit to God's

chosen people in Jewish Prophetic, Apocalyptic, and New Testament Literature. The

latter chapters then compare the findings concerning the reception of God's in those texts

to the conception of Spirit bestowal in 1Jn for which I argue, in order to determine the

uniqueness of that depiction across literature contemporary to 1Jn.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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