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This thesis presents a theological exegesis of prayer in the four canonical Gospels.  The main focus is the theological anthropology of the prayer texts.  This aspect is described through a text-centred analysis of the “ideal pray-er” (<i>Beter</i>), one aspect of the implied audience.  The exegesis discusses the strategies used in the construction of such an ideal with regard to: a) teaching by Jesus; b) paradigmatic and unique aspects of the character of Jesus; c) ideals from the Old Testament; d) play on pre-knowledge; e) narrative progression; f) characterisation; g) eschatology.  As a result of this discussion a description of the ideal pray-er in the Gospels is presented.  Here the material is placed within a wider conceptual framework in a more theological and philosophical discussion.  In all the Gospels, it can be observed that a) prayer is a major way to respond to the Gospel in faith; b) prayer is offered on account of the salvific works of Jesus; c) pray-ers are to address God as “Father”; d) prayer is a sharing in God’s work; e) prayer is seen as a major part of the connection to the people of Israel and to the Temple; f) prayer is an expression of incompleteness and dependence; and finally, following from the previous point g) prayer is an expression of a basic eschatological outlook.  For general Gospel studies it can be seen that the prayer-teaching of John is not substantially different from that of the Synoptics.  Furthermore, the four canonical Gospels are constructed for those already initiated into faith and require accompanying tradition, praxis, and self-involvement for the communication on prayer to be felicitous.

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This thesis investigates several basic issues in Trinitarian theological formulation, in light of and in dialogue with John Calvin’s affirmation of the essential self-existence of God the Son, and the various approaches to endorsing or denying the legitimacy of such ‘autothean’ language in the Reformation and post-Reformation eras. My aim is to explain the historical and theological significance and to explore the constructive implications of Calvin’s ‘complex solidarity’ with the classical tradition in his approach to thinking and speaking of the Triune God, in light of and in dialogue with these debates centring on the bundle of themes – the divine processions and consubstantiality – at the heart of the doctrine of the Trinity. Chapter 1 is a discussion of Calvin’s doctrine of the Trinity in the 1559 <i>Institutes</i>.  In Chapter 2, I take up the controversies that form the context of Calvin’s autothean language, discussing those during his lifetime, first with Trinitarians and then with anti-Trinitarians.  Chapter 3 is my attempt to make theological sense of the historical shape of these debates, as well as the various approaches that arose after Calvin’s time, through offering an account of the role of the doctrine of eternal generation in classical Trinitarian theology. The aim is a faithful interpretation of the significance of the autothean controversies through grasping the complex of assumptions, convictions and claims at their heart, the theological shape of which I go on to consider throughout Chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 6, finally, is an initial foray into some further applications and implications of a Calvinian approach to thinking and speaking of the Triune God according to how he has given himself to be known, at this crucial nexus between Unity and Trinity.

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