The structure of 1 John has defied analysis because modern scholars begin their outline from 1:6 rather than 1:1, excluding 1:1-5 as well as 5:15-21 as irrelevant to their task, which skews and distorts their attempt to discover the outline and argument of the epistle. This paper proposes a viable solution based upon an overarching macrostructure that clarifies the outline and argument of the epistle and provides continuity and progression in its development.
First John’s clarity and uniformity are evident from the creation of paragraphs or sections by the repetition of words that serve as (1) inclusios to frame sections, (2) hinge words that link sections, and 3) parallel words that appear in the first and second halves of a section. A middle verse bears the central idea of a section, summing up the first half of a section and generating a second half that leads into the next section. There are fifteen sections with seven verses each for a total of 105 verses. Section 8 in the middle divides the book into two halves (Sections 1-7, 9-15). Sections 4 and 12 divide the two halves into four quarters (Sections 1-3, 5-7, 9-11 and 13-15), each with the middle section dominant (Sections 2, 6, 10, 11). The four quarters portray God as Light (1:1-2:11), Law (2:19-3:10), Love (3:18-4:14), and Life (5:1-21).
Similarities with the Mosaic tabernacle and its lamps provide a historical and cultural context for 1 John, as do the 52 verses both before and after the middle verse of 1 John (3:14), which reflect the numeric value of the tetragrammaton or YHWH (26×2=52) and the use of the number 52 in Psalms 23 and 92. Parallels with the 375 verses of Proverbs 10:1-22:16 (15 sections x 25 verses) and with the 70 verses of Proverbs 22:17-24:22 (bifid structure of 30 lessons) reflect further OT influence on 1 John.
The fifteen sections of 1 John are remarkably uniform, each standing on its own vertically via the repetition of words, but interconnected horizontally with adjacent sections by key words to support the coherence of the treatise. The middle verse at every level serves like the pylons of a bridge that bear the weight of the argument. The key to understanding this structured treatise is by including the so-called prologue (1:1-5) and epilog (5:15-21) in the outline, not by beginning the outline with 1:6, which skews any hope of identifying the structure 1 John.