The Gospel of John is one of the most interesting, and certainly one of the most profound books of the New Testament. On several occasions, I have heard teachers tell me that they could spend years teaching through it, and I have even once heard a pastor say he could spend his entire ministry preaching through the book of John. This gospel also played a significant role in shaping the Christology of the Early Church. Here are a few short quotes from T.E. Pollard's book, Johannine Christology and the Early Church, which I read recently. They demonstrate the importance of John's gospel in the ancient period.

In opposition to the metaphysical monotheism of the Arians, Athanasius sets as the foundation of his theology the New Testament revelation of God as the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, a doctrine which finds its clearest expression and fullest development in St John's Gospel...Athanasius grasps the threefold emphasis of St John on the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ in creation, revelation and salvation...In the theology of Athanasius the common faith by which the church had lived from the beginning, and which found its expression in the scriptures of the New Testament and the rule of faith, namely faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God and Saviour of men, finds its first full development in the Eastern church. This common faith was the faith which Athanasius spent his life in defending against the powerful attacks of a highly speculative theology which found strong support from the imperial court, and it was St John's Gospel which provided him with the most effective and devastating weapons (244-245).

It was St John's Gospel, with the Logos-concept of the Prologue (John 1:1-18), which opened the way fro the misinterpretations of the Christian message as a Word-theology and as a Logos-theology. It was, however, the same gospel that also provided a basis for the refutation of both these misinterpretations and for the establishment of a theology in which Jesus Christ is central as the Son of God who became man for us men and our salvation (319).

I think it is helpful to read the Gospel of John with this historical context in mind, to realize the impact it had on early Christology. Thoughts?