The Trinity in John by WM Henry

Well-written, encyclopaedic study of John's gospel with much to commend  

The Trinity in John - A Study in Relationships
By W.M. Henry
The Open Bible Trust
ISBN: 978-1-78364-174-1
Reviewer: Pieter Lalleman

 
The Open Bible Trust is a publisher with a dispensationalist background, and W.M. Henry is the author of several of their books. The present book is a solid study of what John’s Gospel tells us about the Lord Jesus (chapters 1-2), about the relationship between Father and Son (3-5) and about the Holy Spirit (8-9). Henry also has much to say about the relationship of the believers with Father, Son and Spirit.

The title of the book is potentially misleading because the actual concept of the Trinity occurs only in a few places.

The author has used some good and reliable sources, like Barrett and Kostenberger, but he has missed potential sources such as Bauckham and Rainbow. Using Richard Bauckham’s recent studies could have given some of the discussions, such as that of the ‘I am sayings’, more dynamics.

At the end of the chapters the book includes ‘Reflections’ which are not very different from the rest of the text, and questions for further study.

Henry offers solid studies and much food for thought. His book is well-written but its encyclopaedic character makes it rather sturdy and less suitable just for reading through. Its dispensationalism shines through on page 205, where the author writes about “the end of Acts, when Israel was set aside”. (The New Testament tells us about the faithfulness of God to Israel, and that the Church still consists of Jews and Gentiles.)

But apart from this, the book does justice to John’s Gospel and has much to commend it. 

The Revd Dr Pieter J. Lalleman teaches Bible at Spurgeon's College