Outline of the First Epistle of John, highlighting its literary-rhetorical features / reassurances:
- Prologue , 1.1-4 “… so that you too may have fellowship with us … that our joy may be made complete.”
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The message introduced, 1.5–2.27 “the one who says …”
- Introduction, 1.5 “God is light…”
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Argument, 1.6–2.25 “if we walk in the darkness … if we walk in the light…”
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Test 1: Sin, 1.6-10 “if we say … if we say … if we say …”
Reassurance, 2.1-2 “if anyone sins …”
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Test 2: Obedience, 2.3-6 “the one who says … the one who says …”
Reassurance, 2.7-8 “a new commandment … which is true in Him and in you …”
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Test 3: Love, 2.9-11 “the one who says …”
Reassurance, 2.12-14 “your sins have been forgiven you …”
[A warning, 2.15-17 “Do not love the world …”]
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Test 4: Truth, 2.18-25
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Statement, 2.18-20 “many antichrists have appeared … they went out from us …”
Reassurance, 2.21 “you know the truth …”
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Test, 2.22-23 “the one who denies … whoever denies …”
Reassurance, 2.24-25 “you have eternal life …”
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Statement, 2.18-20 “many antichrists have appeared … they went out from us …”
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Test 1: Sin, 1.6-10 “if we say … if we say … if we say …”
- Conclusion, 2.26-27 (“His anointing teaches you all things …”)
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The message explained, 2.28–4.6 “everyone who …”
- Introduction, 2.28-29 “He is righteous …”
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Argument, 3.1–4.6 “the children of God … children of the devil …”
Reassurance, 3.1-3 “we are the children of God …”
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Tension 1: Righteousness, 3.4-10
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Explanation, 3.4-8 “everyone who … no one who … no one who … the one who … the one who …”
Reassurance, 3.9 “No one who is born of God practices sin …”
- Conclusion, 3.10 “the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious …”
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Explanation, 3.4-8 “everyone who … no one who … no one who … the one who … the one who …”
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Tension 2: Love, 3.11-24
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Explanation, 3.11-18 “everyone who …”
Reassurance, 3.19-22 “we are of the truth…”
- Conclusion, 3.23-24 “love one another, just as He commanded us.”
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Explanation, 3.11-18 “everyone who …”
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Tension 3: Truth, 4.1-6
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Explanation, 4.1-3 “every spirit … every spirit …”
Reassurance, 4.4 “you are from God, little children, and have overcome them …”
- Conclusion, 4.5-6 “he who knows God listens to us …”
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Explanation, 4.1-3 “every spirit … every spirit …”
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Tension 1: Righteousness, 3.4-10
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The message summarized, 4.7–5.12 “everyone who …”
- Introduction, 4.7-8 “God is love.”
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Argument, 4.9–5.12 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world …”
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Tenet 1: Love, 4.9-21
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Statement, 4.9-14 “He loved us and sent us His Son …”
Reassurance, 4.15-18 “we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment…”
- Conclusion, 4.19-21 “the one who loves God should love his brother also.”
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Statement, 4.9-14 “He loved us and sent us His Son …”
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Tenet 2: Truth, 5.1-12
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Statement, 5.1-4 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God …”
Reassurance, 5.5-10 “the one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself …”
- Conclusion, 5.11-12 “He who has the Son has the life …”
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Statement, 5.1-4 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God …”
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Tenet 1: Love, 4.9-21
- Concluding remarks, 5.13-21
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