The concept and activity of ‘obedience’ in the Gospel of John

Dirk G Van Der Merwe

doi:10.4102/ve.v43i1.2367

Abstract

The concept and activity of obedience can be regarded as fundamental to human existence as well as to Christian religion. The focus of this study was to investigate the occurrence of this concept in the Gospel of John. Of the two well-known Greek nouns ὑπακοή and ἀπειθέω (translated as ‘obedience’), and the two related verbs ὑπακούω and ἀπειθέω (translated as ‘obedient’), only ἀπειθέω occurs once (3:36) in the Gospel of John. The verb τηρέω has been used several times and not consistently translated because of diverse literary contexts. The objective of this study was to point out how the Gospel of John is filled with the obedience concept and how it was implied from different perspectives. The following themes associated with obedience will be discussed: (1) obedience to God as Father, (2) the essence of obedience – to love, (3) various expressions of obedience, (4) the ability to obey, (5) Christian obedience is to become like Jesus and (6) the rewards of being obedient.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The concept and activity, ‘obedience’, are understood as a virtue fundamental to human existence, as well as fundamentally essential and important for the Christian religion. This article investigates the occurrence of ‘obedience’ in the Gospel of John. To experience God’s blessings and enjoy God’s communion, God should be obeyed.

Highlights

This study approaches the concept of obedience as a person’s will to comply with an instruction, invitation, proposal or laws of authority and custom
In terms of concept and activity, obedience is understood as a virtue fundamental to human existence, as well as fundamentally essential and important for the Christian religion
No formal academic publications have been found on the concept of obedience in the Gospel of John

Summary

Introduction

This study approaches the concept of obedience as a person’s will to comply with an instruction, invitation, proposal or laws of authority and custom. Secular and religious societies across many cultures and eras seem to accept that obedience is an indispensable custom: a custom to be respected and observed in our homes, workplaces and communities to which we belong. This is probably because of the omission of the noun (obedience) and the verb (obedient) in the Greek text. According to the semantic dictionary of Louw and Nida (1996:467–470), there are 18 semantic-related variants to the term obedience. It seems as if the noun ὑπακοή and the verb ὑπακούω (see Heb 5:8–9) are the most familiar literary vocabulary for the translation of obedience, but do not occur in the Gospel of John.. The most frequently used verb for obedience in the Gospel of John is τηρέω, sometimes differently translated because of the literary context. Even though the

Objectives

Conclusion