The Use of χάρις in John 1:14,16–17: A Key to the Johannine Narrative

Abstract

Interpretation of the Johannine Prologue (John 1:1–18) has long been an area of dispute. One of the unresolved matters is the relationship between the Prologue and the rest of the Gospel. This study of the use of χάρις in John 1:14, 16–17, the only place where the expression appears in John’s Gospel, argues that it should not be translated as ‘grace’, but as ‘a free gift’, and that the author does not communicate a view that the revelation of Jesus Christ replaces the Law. In that light, the bulk of the Johannine narrative tells how God’s gift of Jesus Christ perfects God’s gift of the Law.