HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422 Page 1 of 12 Original Research Divine fellowship in the Gospel of John: A Trinitarian spirituality Author: This article investigates how Trinity features are presented in the Gospel of John and how the 1 Dirk Van der Merwe early Christians experienced the Trinity in their daily lives. The immanence and ‘lived Affiliation: experiences’ of the divine are fostered by how the immanence of the divine is expounded in 1Faculty of Theology, terms of the familia Dei: God as Father, the Logos as Son of God, believers as Children of God North-West University, and the Spirit-Paraclete as the one who constitutes the family and educates the children in the Potchefstroom, South Africa family. Therefore, in this article, the familia Dei will be the facilitating hermeneutical principle Corresponding author: used to examine the divine fellowship as well as the ‘lived experiences’ and immanence of the Dirk Van der Merwe, divine in early Christian everyday living. John’s reflection on perichoresis lies embedded in a
[email protected] ‘fellowship’ perspective. The divine fellowship is investigated from the four perspectives of how the divine is identified in John: life in thefamilia Dei, love in the familia Dei, unity in the Dates: Received: 06 Jan 2019 familia Dei and glorification in the familia Dei. Accepted: 22 May 2019 Published: 30 Oct. 2019 Keywords: Trinity; Divine-Fellowship; Familia Dei; Identity; Love; Life; Unity; Glorification. How to cite this article: Van der Merwe, D., 2019, Introduction ‘Divine fellowship in the Gospel of John: A Trinitarian From the beginning of the early Church onwards, the early Christians embraced decisively spirituality’, HTS Teologiese exclusive monotheism and the veneration of Jesus.