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Gorman, Michael J. 2018.

Abide and Go: Missional Theosis in the Gospel 
of John

Eugene: Cascade Books.

isbn: 978-15-3261-545-0

Reviewed by John Doss
Rev. John D. Doss, Asbury Theological Seminary, 204 N Lexington Ave, Wilmore, KY 
40390
John.doss@asburyseminary.edu

The print version of the 2016 Didsbury Lectures, Abide and Go presents an 
invigorating, new reading of the Gospel of John as God’s invitation for his peo-
ple to participate with the mission of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In 
Chapter 1, Gorman defines his task of interpreting the fourth Gospel through 
a missional, participationist lens as well as explains his terminology. The heart 
of Abide and Go is Chapters 2-5 in which Gorman presents the findings of his 
missional theotic reading of John. In Chapter 6, which was not originally part of 
the Didsbury Lectures, Gorman responds to the oft-leveled criticism that John 
lacks the ethic of love towards enemies. The concluding chapter summarizes 

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the findings and contribution of Abide and Go as well as offering practical 
implications for Christian spirituality.

Before delving into the meaning of missional theosis, Gorman defines his 
work as “an exercise in missional hermeneutics” (2), which is defined as the 
interpretation of Scripture through the lens of the missio Dei with a view to its 
application for one’s own context. Gorman’s basic claim is that the Gospel of 
John centers on the perichoresis or mutual indwelling of the Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit and invitation for all to participate in this union and mission of 
giving God’s love and life to the world. Much attention is devoted to clarifying 
the controversial term “theosis”, a favorite of Gorman’s. He is careful to clarify 
that this does not mean believers become divine and offers “participation” as an 
alternative for those who remain uncomfortable with it.

In Chapter 2, Gorman presents his missional theotic reading of John’s 
account of Jesus’ public ministry (Chapters 1-12). He begins with the claim 
made by some that the fourth Gospel advocates a sectarian spirituality and 
responds by noting the theme of mission throughout the whole of John. From 
the Prologue’s explication of the Father’s mission in sending His Son, to the 
accomplishment of this mission in the account of Jesus’ works and words, cul-
minating in his death and resurrection, and concluding with the Son’s mission 
of sending his disciples just as the Father sent him, Gorman’s anti-sectarian 
reading of John is one of the major features of Abide and Go. He notes that “the 
Gospel of John is indeed the Gospel of life” (48), yet this theme is implicitly 
missional in that disciples are invited both to participate in God’s love, light, 
and life as well as to go and share it with others.

Gorman moves on to the Farewell Discourse in Chapters 3 and 4, which 
he claims should more appropriately be titled “Mission Discourse” (77). In par-
ticular, he focuses on the foot washing (John 13) and the vine parable (John 
15) as prime examples of missional theosis, which is ironic given that these 
passages are often used in support of a sectarian reading of John. By washing 
the disciples’ feet, Jesus was not only inviting them to the believer’s fellowship in 
his cleansing death and mutual service towards one another, but also commis-
sioning his disciples to go and participate in his cruciform pattern of sacrificial 
love to the world. Similarly, the vine parable is “the most potent symbiosis of 
spirituality and mission in the New Testament” (102). Indeed, the title Abide 
and Go is derived from this teaching (cf. 15:6, 16). Gorman’s innovation of the 
“creeping” or “mobile vine” elucidates the missional nature of this metaphor.

Chapter 4 focuses on a single chapter, Jesus’ prayer, and thus affords Gor-
man the greatest latitude to expound on the text of John 17. In the Lord’s prayer 
for himself (v. 1-5), his immediate disciples (v. 6-19), and his future disciples 



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(v. 20-26), Gorman emphasizes the believer’s participation in the life, the love, 
and the mission of God to the world. Chapter 5 is the conclusion of Gorman’s 
survey of John, focusing on his resurrection account (John 20-21). Here the 
Gospel comes full circle as the disciples are now sent by Christ into the world 
to participate in the missio Dei just as Christ was sent by the Father (20:21). 
Gorman’s exposition of John 20:19-23 emphasizes both the disciples’ participa-
tion in the peace and forgiveness of the Spirit as well as their commissioning to 
go and share this gift with others. He moves on to the miraculous catch (John 
21:1-14) and Jesus’ restoration of Peter (v. 15-19), emphasizing the connection 
between theosis and mission in Jesus’ commissioning of Peter to shepherd his 
flock out of love for him.

In Chapter 6, Gorman responds to the critique that the Gospel of John fails 
to include the emphasis on loving one’s enemies as in the Synoptics. He begins 
with the Johannine theme of God’s love for the whole world, not just the elect, 
and goes on to discuss examples of this love in the life of Christ. In particular, 
Gorman demonstrates how Jesus’ ministry to “a Jew, a half-Jew, and a non-Jew” 
(p. 163) in Chapters 3-5, washing the feet of Judas and Peter (chapter 13), as 
well as his response to Peter cutting off Malchus’ ear (Chapter 18) constitute an 
implicit enemy-love in John’s Gospel. The final chapter of Abide and Go shifts 
to the practical implications of Gorman’s missional theosis for the personal and 
corporate Christian life. Gorman summarizes Chapters 1-6 and then discusses 
his work in light of contemporary Johannine research. Lastly, he provides five 
examples of missional theosis at work in the contemporary church.

With Abide and Go, Gorman the Pauline scholar has made a valuable con-
tribution to the field of Johannine studies. Though he is not the first to expound 
on the themes of mission, participation, and theosis in John, his genius lies in 
his seamless synthesis and brilliant exegesis of these themes in the fourth Gos-
pel. Of course, Abide and Go is not without its weaknesses, chief among them its 
adaptation from a lecture series. The additional work Gorman accomplished to 
transform the lectures into a scholarly monograph must be highly appreciated. 
However, would he, for example, have devoted an entire chapter to enemy-love 
if Abide and Go had from the outset been a written volume? The implicit ethic 
of love for enemies is not a necessary element of missional theosis in John but 
belongs elsewhere (e.g., in a subsequent volume on Johannine ethics). At times, 
Gorman’s missional hermeneutic obscures John’s message, e.g., his claim that 
missional theosis in John is just as “cruciform” as in Paul (128). Such efforts to 
establish uniformity between Pauline and Johannine theology fail to appreci-
ate their unique Sitze im Leben. Finally, Abide and Go is, in Gorman’s own 
words, “primarily text-centered” (180), and thus its implications for personal 



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and corporate Christian spirituality necessitate further elaboration. Indeed, in 
the concluding reflection on the practical implications of his study, only one of 
Gorman’s five examples of missional theosis is a church. Three are faith-based 
organizations, and one is a monastic fraternity, which leaves the reader wonder-
ing how feasibly Gorman’s theology applies to the local church. Nevertheless, 
Abide and Go remains a helpful resource in Johannine studies, particularly as 
concerns the themes of mission and participation, and will hopefully serve as 
an inspiration for further academic research in these areas.