Paul and John in Harmony: A Theological and Historical Exploration

by Michael J. Gorman

224 pages, Hardcover

Published April 14, 2026

About the author

Michael J. Gorman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar. He is the Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University. From 1995 to 2012 he was dean of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.

Gorman specializes especially in the letters, theology, and spirituality of the apostle Paul. He is associated with the "participationist perspective" on Paul's theology. His additional specialties are the book of Revelation, theological and missional interpretation of Scripture, the gospel of John, and early Christian ethics. Gorman was born and raised in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, graduating from Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in French from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. He received the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy cum laude in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was also a teaching fellow in New Testament and an instructor in New Testament Greek. He has also been a visiting professor at Duke Divinity School, Regent College, Carey Baptist College (New Zealand), Wesley Theological Seminary, and two theological schools in Africa. Gorman has led several study trips to Greece/Turkey/Rome and to France/Switzerland. A United Methodist, Gorman is an active layperson and a popular teacher at colleges, seminaries, churches, and conferences representing many traditions. In the mid-2010s, despite still being a Methodist, Gorman began teaching in a Roman Catholic context. His older son, Rev. Dr. Mark Gorman, is a pastor and theologian who is also on the faculty of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.

Gorman is the author of nearly twenty books and more than sixty articles on Biblical interpretation and on ethics.

Reviews

[Scott Kohler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Gorman's main scholarly interests come together in his newest book. Paul (the subject of most of his work, including the so-good-they-had-to-put-them-out-in-second-editions Cruciformity and—my personal favourite—Apostle of the Crucified Lord) and John (the focus of his worthwhile Abide and Go) meet in these pages to compare notes on such key themes as mutual indwelling of Christ and the believer, Christian life as participation in the life of the Triune God, and the interconnections between Christ’s saving work and Christian spirituality.

The basic approach of the book is straightforward. Gorman begins by surveying the scholarly landscape about the question of John and Paul’s relationship, laying out the various explanations scholars propose for the things they have in common. The three basic approaches are:
- Independence: both came to their positions based on various background elements available to each;
- Unidirectional influence: either Paul or John more or less directly influenced the other;
- Mutual influence, or “interfluentiality”: this position posits connections between them and their circles that made an impact on both writers.
The heart of the work is a close look at the theological/spiritual ideas and idioms the biblical writers share, centred around key passages in each author, with greatest prominence accorded to Philippians 2:5-11, long referred to by Gorman as “Paul’s Master Story,” and John 13, the footwashing narrative that he suggests might be “John’s Master Story.” He explores the way Paul and John conceive of Christ’s person and work as well as the response of the Christian. Finally, he returns to the historical question: along which lines did the influence run? Provocatively but cautiously he suggests that John influenced Paul, which would mean a major rethinking of the dating of the New Testament documents.

Paul and John in Harmony is subtitled A Theological and Historical Exploration. It could also be called an “exegetical exploration” because of how much space is given here to biblical citations, interconnections between the words and thought of Paul and John, and the close readings of how various passages fit in the thought-worlds of each. This is where the book might be most helpful to readers. Certain nuggets arise from his reading of the Johannine and Pauline texts that are valuable regardless of the historical question of their relationship. Among these nuggets, I would mention two that stood out to me: the “residential rhetoric” of Paul and John that not only places the believer “in Christ” but also contrasts this new “location” of our lives with our previous location “in s/Sin”; and the crucial importance of recognizing the language of “believing into Christ” (the Greek preposition eis which is often treated by translations as though it were interchangeable with en (“in”)). Holding onto that “into” with its idea of movement or transfer into a place of commitment that will characterize our lives “in Christ” from that point onward is, Gorman suggests, highly important in our readings of both John and Paul.

For readers familiar with Gorman’s other work, much of this book will feel familiar. The insights of his earlier books on Paul and John are here placed side-by-side and brought into conversation with one another. What they gain in this process is a helpful sense that New Testament theology, and indeed a “biblical” approach to theology (as opposed to “biblical theology” in the narrow sense), can be heard as the speech of complementary voices, even if these voices continue to sound with different timbres or sing harmonious notes in the same choir.

As for the historical questions and his proposal of Johannine influence on Paul… I guess my response is, “Sure, that sounds plausible.” Gorman rightly points out the relatively thin grounds on which much New Testament dating has been proposed by scholars. He gives us a picture of an early Christian community that is as convinced of Jesus’ divine origins and purpose as the Gospels and Acts suggest that this community in fact was. And he invites us, sensibly, to recognize that in this early Christian community, one writer or church leader may not have existed in a bubble away from every other writer and church leader. But will Paul and John in Harmony convince scholars to open up the questions about dating the Gospels that would be necessary to support his historical proposal? As he says, this book merely makes gestures in that direction. It’s an exploration, but further digging or travelling will be needed to come to any new “assured results.”

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a biblical scholar or an expert on the Ancient Greek language. Nor have I read any of the plethora of books cited in this exploration of similarities between the writings of John and Paul. While I had to look up the meanings of a few technical terms, I found this book to be overall easy to understand in its hypothesis that John influenced Paul’s writings. A clear case is made by looking at their uses of certain words in their arguments that have similar layouts such as Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John 13 and Paul’s famous discourse on kenosis in Philippians 2.

What isn’t mentioned in this book is the inspiration of the Spirit as described in 2 Timothy 3:16 or the fact that John and Paul would have met when Barnabas introduced him to the disciples in Acts 9. Also, Jesus commanded the disciples in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples, teaching them to obey everything He commanded. Paul’s knowledge of the gospel would have come directly from the disciples’ teaching. While that might not explain similarities in grammar and syntax, it would explain harmonious soteriological understandings. Not to mention the explanations Jesus gave to the two on the road to Emmaus or the forty days He spent with various disciples before the ascension.

I did enjoy this book and felt I got a better understanding of some of the theological teachings of John and Paul, particularly the in-into-in aspect of salvation. I would recommend it to serous students of the bible.

Family friendly.

Thanks to NetGalley and Baker Academic & Brazos Press. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul and John in Harmony
A Theological and Historical Exploration
by Michael J. Gorman

Book Review:
Rating: ★★★★☆

Thank you, #NetGalley , #MichaelJGorman author, and # publisher, for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Main Narrative and Comparison:

Most people think Paul and John wrote about different versions of Christianity. Michael Gorman’s book shows they actually share a "perfect harmony". He weighs their different writings side-by-side to show they carry the exact same message.

Gorman compares Paul’s letters about Jesus’ humility to John’s story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. He shows that both authors give equal weight to the idea that being a Christian means living a life of service, like Jesus did.

The book compares Paul’s focus on faith vs. John’s focus on abiding in God’s love. Gorman proves these aren't different ideas; he sees Paul and Johns ideas as two sides of the same coin.

Conclusion:

It’s a great pick for any church member who wants to see how the New Testament fits together. It turns an academic comparison into a practical guide for living like Jesus. It loses one star because some chapters get a bit academic, but the message into how Paul and John support each other is eye-opening.

It's a great look at how the Bible’s two biggest voices can sing the same song and still be in harmony.

#NetGalley
#PaulandJohninHarmony
#MichaelJGorman
#BakerAcademic

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[Alex Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read Cor Benema's book on Mimesis in Early Christianity and came to this same conclusion that Gorman has come to (mine was far more speculative and far less researched).

Paul is influenced by John. Paul is a Johannine theologian.

This book is tremendous. I'm really intrigued by the very early dating of John and Paul's potential usage of John's gospel account in developing his own theology.