Adesola Akala – Glory in the Gospel of John
In our conversation, we spoke about the theme of Glory in the New Testament. In the preamble to his gospel, John declares of the Son, the Word made flesh, “We have seen his glory”. We explored what this glory means in relation to God, to the early witnesses of Christ, and to us today. Enjoy.
Adesola Akala teaches New Testament at WTC. She is a Fellow at St John’s College, Durham University. She holds a BA in History, an MA in Biblical Literature, and a PhD in New Testament from Asbury Seminary, KY. She is the author of ‘The Son-Father Relationship and Christological Symbolism in the Gospel of John’ (London: T&T Clark, 2014). Sola has also convened two conferences on the glory of God and is currently editing a volume of essays for publication entitled, New Horizons for a Theology of Glory. Sola’s church ministry spans decades of local and international preaching and teaching, aimed at facilitating biblical literacy, theological understanding, and spiritual maturity.
Episode 15 Outline:
- Start-01:31 – Introduction.
- 01:31-05:38 – Welcome to Adesola and 3 questions.
- 05:46-18:18 – To start, could we define the word ‘glory’ in a biblical context? When we open John’s Gospel, the prologue presents us with numerous symbols – how will John be using these throughout his gospel? What prominence does John give to the Father-Son relationship we see in terms of God’s self-revelation?
- 18:26-28:06 – How does John flesh out throughout his gospel, how people have ‘seen’ the glory of the Father revealed through Jesus? When Jesus prays for his disciples in John 17:22, and says: “The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one”, what does that participation look like?
- 28:15-34:42 – How can we continue to participate in the story of God’s glory and how can we see God’s glory revealed in and through us to the world around us?
- 34:51-End – Close and further information.
