The Characterization of God in the Fourth Gospel

Abstract

Characterization is one of the aspects within a narrative text that may be used by the implied author as part of an overall textual strategy. In the Fourth Gospel, this strat egy is aimed at guiding the implied reader deeper into faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, thereby sharing eternal life. If the characterization of God in the Fourth Gospel is analysed from the perspective of the implied reader, the following pattern can be indicated: In the prologue, God is characterized primarily in terms of his rela tionship to Jesus, whereas the possibility of a unique relationship between God and human beings is also mentioned. In Jn 1.19-12.50, the characterization of God is dominated by a characterization in terms of his relationship to Jesus. In Jn 13.1- 17.26, God is characterized much more often in terms of his relationship to human beings, although he is never called the Father of the disciples. In the last section of the Fourth Gospel, 20.17 constitutes the climax of the characterization of God when, towards the end of Jesus' hour of glorification, he is called the Father of the disciples for the first time. In this way the implied author shows that God's Fatherhood is extended, via Jesus, to human beings. However, in order for this to happen, it was necessary that Jesus should be 'glorified'.