A Structural Synthesis of 1 John -- By: Jim Townsend
Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 09:2 (Winter 2000)
Article: A Structural Synthesis of 1 John
Author: Jim Townsend
EmJ 9:2 (Win 00) p. 205
A Structural Synthesis of 1 John
Preface
It is generally conceded that the apostle John was headquartered during his later years near the Meander River. Many a first-time reader of the New Testament book of 1 John may have concluded that John’s writing of that book seems to meander about like the nearby river of the same name. Nevertheless, many years ago Robert Law (in The Tests of Life) provided convincing evidence that, far from meandering, 1 John has a decidedly structured substructure and ordered organization to it. Law likened that structure to a winding staircase. Perhaps a more effective analogy would be that of the layout of the Guggenheim (Art) Museum in New York City. This art museum is laid out as a series of spirals. The museum visitor begins to walk gradually upward in a circular fashion, so that she covers the same ground repeatedly, but each time around that ground is covered at a higher level. Similarly, the structure of 1 John is not mere rhymeless repetition, though the author keeps covering the same concerns in a cyclical pattern.
EmJ 9:2 (Win 00) p. 206
Below is the adapted outline of Robert Law for 1 John — covering almost the same ground in three cycles.
Introduction |
(1:1–4) |
Cycle I |
(1:5 — 2:27) |
Doing Right |
(1:5 — 2:6) |
Loving Others |
(2:7–17) |
Confessing Belief |
(2:18–27) |
Cycle II |
(2:28 — 4:6) |
Doing Right |
(2:28 — 3:10b) |