Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the greatest thinkers on love. The focus of his mystical theology, generally characterised by the union of man with God, is the union with and the love for God. He was, however, not only a great thinker on love for God but also on love for neighbour. Bernard's famous doctrine, the theory of ‘Four Degrees of Love’ in De Diligendo Deo, clarifies his idea of loving one's neighbour. This idea can be marked by the structure of continual growth from a low level to a high level of love for neighbour. According to the doctrine, this growth of love for neighbour synchronises with the growth of love for God. Therefore, love for God and love for neighbour are considered equal relationships, neither is superior nor inferior in ‘the order of love’, because both types of love originate from the same source or cause, charity.

Applying narrative critical reading to the passage John 4:1-42, this paper argues that the basic message of the narrative is twofold. The author closely weaves together his ideological point of view concerning Jesus’ true identity (Christology) and the message concerning discipleship as the basic structure of the narrative.

An analysis of the plot, setting, characters and characterizations in the narrative shows that the author places Jesus at the center of the narrative as the one who takes the initiative to reveal his own identity. The narrator employs various narrative devices (irony, misunderstanding, etc.) not only to reveal Jesus’ true identity but also to help the reader to grasp the author’s view concerning the ideal characteristics of followers of Jesus.

This twofold message of Christology and discipleship form the basic structure of the tapestry of the Johannine narrative into which the author weaves various Johannine motifs.

Luther interpretiert fides Christi in zweifacher Weise, grammatisch gesehen benennt er einen aktiven und einen passiven Aspekt. In aktiver Weise ist Christus als Subjekt im Besitz der Wahrheit. Dabei wird fides aus der Perspektive Christi als Wahrheit interpretiert. In passiver Weise glauben wir an Christum als Objekt. Dabei wird fides aus unserer Perspektive als Glaube interpretiert. Die Wahrheit Christi und unser Glaube an Christum werden in fides zusammengeführt. Eben darin, d.h. in der Präsenz Christi in uns, besteht die Realität von fides. Luther verweist dazu auf das hebräische Wort „emunah“, das ebenso Wahrheit wie auch Glauben bedeutet und somit ein sehr breites semantisches Feld besitzt. Basierend auf dieser sprachwissenschaftlichen Erkenntnis kommentiert Luther den Begriff fides Christi in seiner „Psalmenvorlesung“, „Galaterbriefvorlesung“ und „Römerbriefvorlesung“.