I and the Father are One

John 10:30

Excerpt

The statement in 10:30 that “I and the Father are one” has been an important battleground of theology. The first matter to note is that the word “one” here is neuter (hen) and not masculine (heis), so the text is not arguing for a oneness of personalities or personas (to use the Latin concept) but rather something akin to a oneness of purpose and will. The point being made then is that protecting the sheep (Christians) here is a joint task of the Father and the Son. Having made this point, however, it must be stated immediately that there is no intention here of speaking about two separate gods or of asserting the Arian denial of Jesus as God. Such ideas find no support in Johannine Christology. The clear thesis throughout the Gospel from the Prologue (in which the Word is declared to be God, 1:1) to Thomas’s climactic confession (“My Lord and my God!” 20:28) is that Jesus is God.283 No other affirmation would be adequate for John. Moreover, John always presents Jesus as responsible to the Father, as God’s agent on earth. No other perspective on Jesus would be acceptable to the evangelist. More

Borchert, Gerald L. John 1–11. Vol. 25A. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996. Print. The New American Commentary.