Page 27 - April 2026 - Truth & Tidings

the last subject. You will see this in the outline below. He continually interweaves the
themes of Light, Love and Life with each other.
In his Gospel it is Faith; here it is Life. In his Gospel it is Evangelic; here it is Pastoral.
He mentions that he is “writing” to them (1:4; 2:1,7,8,12-14,21,26; 5:13). Only once (in
5:16) does he say, “I say.”
Absence

No Old Testament Scriptures quoted. One allusion to the OT in Cain (3:12).
Arrangement
1. Prologue (1:1-4)
• Reliability of the Message Delivered
• Reality of the Life that Was Manifest
• Relationship Into Which We Are Brought
• Richness of Our Blessings
2. Truth and the Principle of Light (1:5-2:29 – light is mentioned 6x)
• Light and Its Limits (1:5-2:6)
• Light and Love (2:7-20)
• Light and Life (2:21-29)
3. Transforming Power of Love (3:1-5:3 – love mentioned 3x in ch.3 and 24x in ch.4)
• Love and Holiness/Light (3:1-10)
• Love and Harmony (3:11-24)
• Love and Hope (4:1-5:3)
4. Testimony to the Possession of Life (5:4-21 – life and born 13x in these verses)
• Life and Its Three-fold Attestation (5:4-12)
• Life and Its Three-fold Assurance (5:13-17)
• Life and Its Three-fold Affirmation (5:18-21)
- “Beginning” (1:1; 2:7,13,14,24; 3:8,11; 8x with apo or from)
- “Liar” (1:10; 2:4,22; 4:20; 5:10)
- Names of Christ: Word of Life (1:1); Eternal Life (1:2); Son (1:3); Advocate (2:1); Only
Begotten (4:9); Savior of the World (4:14); True God (5:20)
- “We have” – an advocate (2:1); fellowship (1:7); anointing (2:20); seen (1:2); heard
message (1:5); confidence (5:14); petitions (5:15)
- Eternal (6x)
- Pros (Greek) – towards, with (1:2; 2:1; 3:21; 5:14,16,17)
- “Ought” – Greek opheileo (2:6; 3:16; 4:11; 3Jn 8)
- Love mentioned 51 times
- Knowledge, in one form or another, mentioned 41x
- Sin mentioned in each chapter
- Father (12x in 1 John)

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