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blind", where an allusion to Isaiah 6:10 (quoted in both Matthew 13 and Acts 28) is apparent. The synoptic
Gospels operate under the terms of the New Covenant and consequently the New Covenant memorial feast, known
also as the Lord's Supper, is given a prominent place in them all. It is somewhat surprising, if one does not possess
the dispensational key, to discover that John makes no mention of the institution of the Lord's supper in his gospel!
If, however, the point of view advocated here be correct, then, seeing that before John's Gospel was written the
people of the New Covenant had passed off the scene, it is but right and proper that John should leave the New
Covenant feast unrecorded.
The revelation of the Mystery through the prison epistles of Paul had been made known some years before
John's Gospel saw the light of day, consequently although John did not teach the truth of the Mystery, he need not
have been ignorant of it, and a comparison with the doctrine of Christ, as made by John with the earlier revelation
found in Colossians will show how this twofold ministry could run together, John ministering to the world, Paul
ministering, through his prison epistles, mainly to the Gentile believer.
John 1.
Colossians 1.
The Word
The Image
(No man hath seen God).
of the Invisible God.
The Only Begotten.
The Firstborn.
All things made by Him.
All things created.
His fulness.
All fulness.
The Word made flesh.
The body of His flesh.
Preferred before me.
He is before all things.
He was before me.
He has pre-eminence.
In the record of our Saviour's conversation with the woman of Samaria, John slips in a note of time in order to
indicate that what the Saviour had then said to the woman, had at the time of writing been fulfilled. At the time that
Christ spoke to this woman it was still true that salvation was of the Jews and that Jerusalem was the place divinely
appointed for worship. He, however, revealed to this woman that a day was coming when this would be changed,
saying :
"Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship
the Father".
"The hour cometh (and now is, adds John), when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in
truth" (4:21,23).
John's gospel covers the period indicated by the words "and now is", a phrase repeated in 5:25-28 and
referring to the gift of life which is the central message of his gospel.
The complete structure of John's gospel, both as a whole and in its separate parts can be found in the book
entitled Life Through His Name by Charles. H. Welch, which is an exposition of John's Gospel in its entirety.