John 10:30

Context

During the winter Feast of Dedication, a Jewish festival commemorating the dedication of the Temple, Jesus was walking in Solomon's porch in the Temple at Jerusalem. The Jews pressed him: "If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly" (John 10:22-24). This verse concludes his reply. Jesus first says that his sheep hear his voice and follow him, and that no one can pluck them out of the Son's hand or out of the Father's hand (10:27-29). He then adds this statement. On hearing it, the Jews took up stones to stone him, charging him with blasphemy "because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God" (10:31-33). Jesus responds by citing Psalm 82:6 (10:34-36).

Interpretations

• Classical Trinitarian reading: Most orthodox churches since the Nicene Creed have read the verse as evidence that the Father and the Son are one in essence (the fundamental nature of their being) yet two in person (personal distinction). In Korea, the major denominations, including the Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, Full Gospel, and Anglican churches, hold this reading. The Greek word for "one" (hen) is neuter rather than masculine, and the verb is plural ("we are"). On this basis, the verse is explained as teaching that the Father and the Son are the same being but not one person. Augustine is said to have interpreted the word "one" as refuting Arianism and the plural verb as refuting modalism.
• Contextual reading: Because the preceding verse speaks of the hand that keeps the sheep, this reading holds that the verse's immediate meaning is that the Father and the Son are one in will and power. John Calvin, in his commentary on John, is said to have held that the verse speaks of the unity of power between the Father and the Son rather than of their identity of essence. Calvin himself upheld the doctrine of the Trinity, so this reading is less a denial of the doctrine than a call for caution in the use of proof texts.
• Jehovah's Witnesses' reading: Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Trinity and read the verse as referring to a oneness of purpose and will. They cite John 17:21-22, where Jesus prays that his disciples also "may be one."
• Modalist reading: Those who hold that the one God appears in the distinct modes of Father and Son read the verse as meaning that the Father and the Son are the same person.

Debates and Issues

• Orthodox interpreters argue that the Jews' reaction—taking up stones because they regarded the statement as blasphemy—shows that the saying was understood as more than a mere agreement of will. Jehovah's Witnesses and others counter that Jesus went on to call himself only "the Son of God" (10:36).
• The verse arises within a passage about the unity of the Father and the Son in protecting the sheep. Some therefore observe that quoting it in isolation merely as a doctrinal proof text obscures this flow of thought.
• Korean Bible translations all render the word simply as "one," so the distinction between the neuter and masculine forms in the original is not visible. For this reason, Korean expositions of the Greek text often supply this point.

Perspective: Korean Protestant practiceHow this idea is used in Korean churches, kept from the original Korean article.

In Korean churches, the verse is frequently cited in teaching on the Trinity and Christology (the doctrine concerning who Christ is), and in doctrinal debates with groups that deny the Trinity, such as Jehovah's Witnesses. It is also preached together with the "Good Shepherd" passage of John 10.

Related Passages

• John 10:27-29
• John 17:20-23
• John 14:1-9
• John 8:58
• John 20:28