Superscriptio

1:1a James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, 

Adscriptio

1:1b To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Salutatio

1:1c Greeting. 

Expansion elements

Divisions (chaps)

1.4-4.13, Jesus the Son of God
1.4-2.18 Superior to angels
3.1-4.13 Superior to Moses
4.14-10.18, Jesus the great high priest
4.14-7.28 Superior to the priesthood of Aaron
8.1-10.18 Superior ministry through the new covenant
10.19-13.17 Call to obedience
10.19-39 Draw near to God
11.1-40 Walk in the way of faith
12.1-13 Persevere in the example of Jesus
12.14-29 Live righteously
13.1-17 Miscellaneous admonitions

1.2-12 Trials
1.13-18 Temptation
1.19-27 Worship
2.1-13 Faith and worship
2.14-26 Faith and service
3.1-12 Tongues
3.1-18 Wisdom
4.1-10 Worldliness
4.11-12 Criticism
4.13-17 Leaving God out
5.1-6 Abusive wealth
5.7-11 Patient suffering
5.12 Oaths
5.13-18 Praying
5.19-20 Reclaiming the fallen

Designated texts

2.14-26 

13.20-21 Doxology
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

13.22 Appeal to listen to words of letter
22 I appeal to you, brethren, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

13.23 Confirmation of Timothy
23 You should understand that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. 

13.24 Greetings
24Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. 

13.25 Benedictio
25 Grace be with all of you. Amen. 

Superscriptio

v.1a The elder 

v. 1a The elder 

Adscriptio

vv. 1b-2 1b to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us for ever: 

v. 1b to the beloved Ga'ius, whom I love in the truth.

Salutatio

v. 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love. 

---

Core elements:
 
 
 
 

Expansion elements:

v. 4b just as we have been commanded by the Father. 

v 4 No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth. 

Divisions (chaps)

1:5-2:6 Godly living
2:7-17 Brotherly love
2:18-27 The Incarnate Christ
2:28-3:10 Righteousness
3:11-18 Brotherly love
3:19-24 Confidence before God
4:1-6 Testing the spirits
4:7-21 Brotherly love
5:1-12 Overcoming the world 

vv. 5-7 To the church
5 And now I beg you, lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. 
6 And this is love, that we follow his commandments; this is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love. 
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the
deceiver and the antichrist. 

vv. 8-11 To the members
8 Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward. 
9 Any one who goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and
the Son. 
10 If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting; 11 for he who greets him shares his wicked work. 

vv. 5-7 To Gaius
5 Beloved, it is a loyal thing you do when you render any service to the brethren, especially to strangers, 6 who have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey as befits God's service.  7 For they have set out for his sake and have accepted nothing from the heathen. 

vv. 8-10 To the church
8 So we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers in the truth. 
9 I have written something to the church; but Diot'rephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge my authority. 
10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, prating against me with evil words. And not content with that, he refuses himself to welcome the brethren, and also stops those who want to welcome them and puts them out of the church. 

vv. 11-12 To Gaius
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. He who does good is of God; he who does evil has not seen God. 
12 Deme'trius has testimony from every one, and from the truth itself; I testify to him too, and you know my testimony is true. 

Designated texts

2:7-17; 3:11-18; 4:7-21

vv. 5-11

vv. 5-12

5:16-17 Sinning
16 If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that. 
17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal. 

5:18-20 Reclaiming the fallen
18 We know that any one born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one. 
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 

5:21 Avoiding idols
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 

v. 13 Greetings
The children of your elect sister greet you. 

v. 15a Peace
Peace be to you.

v. 15b Greetings
The friends greet you. Greet the friends, every one of them. 

Superscriptio

1:1a Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 

1:1a Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, 

v. 1a Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, 

Adscriptio

1:1b-2a To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappado'cia, Asia, and Bithyn'ia,
2 chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: 

1:1b To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

v. 1b To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

Salutatio

1:2b May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 

1:2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 

v. 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 

Core elements:
 

Expansion elements

1:3b-12 By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy.  9 As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls. 10 The prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired about this salvation; 11 they inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory.  12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. 

Divisions (chaps)

1:13-2:10 Holy living
1:13-25 Ideals
2:1-10 Privileges
2:11-3:12 Obligations
2:11-17 Civic
2:18-3:7 Haustafeln
3:8-12 Social
3:13-5:11 Persecution
3:13-4:11 Encouragement
4:12-19 Explanation
5:1-11 Proper conduct

1:3-21 True knowledge
1:3-11 Knowledge & obedience
1:12-21 Trusthworthiness of this knowledge
2:1-22 False teachers
2:1-3 Their coming
2:4-10a Their future
2:10b-22 Their immoral ways and teachings
3:1-18a The Lord's return
3:1-2 A reminder
3:3-10 Certainty of his coming
3:11-18a Call to holiness

vv. 5-7 Divine judgment
5 Now I desire to remind you, though you were once for all fully informed, that he who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; 7 just as Sodom and Gomor'rah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 

vv. 8-9 False teachers' attitude
8 Yet in like manner these men in their dreamings defile the flesh, reject authority, and revile the glorious ones.  9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." 

vv. 10-11 False teachers' actions
10 But these men revile whatever they do not understand, and by those things that they know by instinct as irrational animals do, they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they walk in the way of Cain, and abandon themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error, and perish in Korah's rebellion. 

vv. 12-15 False teachers' character (1)
12 These are blemishes on your love feasts, as they boldly carouse together, looking after themselves; waterless clouds, carried along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars for whom the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved for ever. 
14 It was of these also that Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with his holy myriads, 15 to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness which they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 

vv. 16-18 False teachers' character (2)
16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own passions, loud-mouthed boasters, flattering people to gain advantage. 17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 they said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." 

vv. 19-23 Resisting false teachers
19 It is these who set up divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And convince some, who doubt; 23 save some, by snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. 

Designated texts

4:12-19

2:1-22

vv. 3-23

5:13-14a Greetings
13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.

5:14b Benedictio
Peace to all of you that are in Christ.