"This epistle is more remarkable for the spirit of Christian love which it breathes than for anything else. It contains scarcely anything that is not found in the preceding; and out of the thirteen verses there are at least eight which are found, either in so many words or in sentiment, precisely the same with those of the first epistle." (Adam Clarke)
A. Greeting.
1. (2 John 1:1-2) To the elect lady and her children.
1 The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:
a. The Elder: The writer of this book identifies himself as the Elder. Presumably, his first readers knew exactly who he was, and from the earliest times, Christians have understood this was the apostle John writing. i. "John the apostle, who was now a very old man, generally supposed to be about ninety, and therefore uses the term presbyter or elder, not as the name of an office, but as designated his advanced age. He is allowed to have been the oldest of all the apostles, and to have been the only one who died a natural death." (Clarke)
b. To the elect lady and her children: Perhaps this was an individual Christian woman John wanted to warn and encourage by this letter. Or, the term might be a symbolic way of addressing this particular congregation. i. "The phrase is, however, more likely to be a personification than a person - not the church at large but some local church over which the elder's jurisdiction was recognized, her children being the church's individual members." (Stott) ii. "This appears to have been some noted person, whom both her singular piety, and rank in the world, made eminent, and capable of having great influence for the support of the Christian interest." (Poole) iii. John probably did not name himself, the elect lady or her children by name because this was written during a time of persecution. Perhaps John didn't want to implicate anyone by name in a written letter. If the letter was intercepted and the authorities knew who it was written to by name, it might mean death for those persons.
c. Whom I love in truth, and not only I: Whomever the elect lady was, she was loved by all who have known the truth. If we know and love the truth, we will love those who also know and love the truth - the truth which abides in us also lives in others who know the truth. i. We see John quite focused on the idea of truth, as he was in all of his writings. He used the word truth some thirty-seven times in his New Testament writings. ii. This shows that what binds Christians together is not social compatibility or political compatibility or class compatibility. What binds us together is a common truth. This is why truth is important to Christians.
d. Will be with us forever: The truth does not change. The truth will be true forever, and we will have the truth forever in eternity. Many people today think that the truth changes from age to age and from generation to generation, but the Bible knows that the truth will be with us forever.
2. (2 John 1:3) John's salutation to his readers.
3 Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
a. Grace, mercy, and peace: John presents a slightly expanded version of the standard greeting in New
Testament letters. He didn't just wish these for his readers; he confidently bestowed them by saying they will be with you from God the Father.
b. In truth and love: John can hardly write a verse without mentioning these two of his favorite topics. The grace, mercy, and peace God has for us are all given in truth and love. Apart from God's truth and love, we can never really have grace, mercy, and peace. i. "What deep, sweet rhythm of meaning there is in the first three verses of this letter! One reads them over and over again. Oh, that the grace, mercy, and peace, may be with us, from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and in love." (Meyer)
c. The Son of the Father: "The apostle still keeps in view the miraculous conception of Christ; a thing which the Gnostics absolutely denied; a doctrine which is at the ground work of our salvation."
B. How to walk.
1. (2 John 1:4) John's joy to find they are walking in truth.
4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.
a. I was very glad: This is a pastor's heart - to know that his people are walking in truth. While truth is not the only concern of a pastor, it is a great concern; and it is a great comfort for a pastor to see those he loves and cares for walking in truth. i. "The children mentioned here may either be her own children, or those members of the Church which were under her care, or some of both." (Clarke)
b. I have found some of your children walking in truth: John rejoiced because when God's people are walking in truth they also abide in God. The same idea is expressed in 1 John 2:24: Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. Truth is not only important for its own sake, but also our walking in truth shows we are walking with the Lord. i. Trapp on the idea of walking in the truth: "Not taking a step or two, not breaking or leaping over the hedge to avoid a piece of foul way, but persisting in a Christian course, not starting aside to the right hand or the left."
2. (2 John 1:5) The commandment to love one another.
5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.
a. Now I ask you, lady: John was not too proud to beg on such an important matter; not when it came to something as vital in the Christian life as the commandment that we must love one another.
b. Not as though I wrote a new commandment: John knew this was nothing new to his readers (he repeated the theme all through 1 John and his gospel). Yet because it was so essential, it had to be repeated and used as a reminder.
c. That we love one another: The integrity of our Christian life can be measured by our love for one another (as in John 13:35 and 1 John 4:20-21).
3. (2 John 1:6) Showing the love of God.
6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you haveheard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
a. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments: If we love God, we will obey His commandments. We do this not because we think His commandments are heavy burdens, but because we see that they are best for us. They are guides and gifts to us from God.
b. Walk according to His commandments: Real love will walk this way. Perhaps John warned against those who thought the only important thing in the Christian life was a vague love that had no heart for obedience.i. "Perhaps you fail to distinguish between love and the emotion of love. They are not the same. We may love without being directly conscious of love, or being able to estimate its strength and passion. Here is the solution to many of our questionings: They love who obey." (Meyer)
4. (2 John 1:7-9) A warning against the presence and dangers of false teachers.
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.
a. Many deceivers have gone out into the world: John was aware false teachers were a danger to the church in his day. i. "The immediate problem in [2 John] is that of traveling teachers or missionaries. According to Christian ethics all who thus traveled about were to be shown hospitality by Christians in the town to which they came." (Boice)
b. This is a deceiver: John mainly had in mind the danger in his own time, the danger of those who thought that the Jesus, being God, could have no real connection with the material world. They said that He only had an apparent connection with the material world. i. To combat this, John made a plain declaration: we must confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This means Jesus came as a real man in His first coming, but also means He will come as a human being - although glorified humanity, and that added to His eternal deity - a real flesh and blood Jesus will come again to the earth.
c. This is a deceiver and an antichrist: Against this false idea of Jesus, John insists those who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh are the deceivers and in have the spirit of the antichrist. i. John warned us against these antichrists in his first letter (1 John 2:18-23, 4:3). They are those who not only oppose Jesus, but also offer a substitute "Christ." ii. This spirit of antichrist will one day find its ultimate fulfillment in the Antichrist, who will lead humanity in an end-times rebellion against God.
d. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God: There is nothing noble, sincere, courageous, or admirable in a false Jesus. To deny the Biblical Jesus is always to reject the Father and the Son both. John here draws a critical line of truth, over which it is heresy to transgress. i. In our own day, we must deal with modern denials of the Biblical Jesus with the same passion John did in his day. Today, with our "scholarly" denials of Jesus and the historical record of the gospels, it is more important than ever to know who the true Jesus is according to the Bible and to love and serve the true Jesus. ii. "To say no to God's way of revealing himself is to say no to God himself, for he will not let himself be known by men except on his own terms." (Marshall)
e. Transgresses: The word transgresses has the idea of "going beyond a boundary." We never go "beyond" the teaching of Jesus, of who He is and what He has done for us. Any one who thinks we have or should go beyond what the Bible plainly says about Jesus transgresses. i. "There is a true progress in the Christian life, but it is progress based upon a deeper knowledge of the historical, biblical Christ. Progress on any other ground may be called progress, but it is a progress that leaves God behind and is, therefore, not progress at all." (Boice). ii. "When the teaching of the Bible needs to be supplemented by some 'key' to the Bible or by some new revelation, it is a sure sign that 'advanced' doctrine is being put forth." (Marshall)
f. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for: To depart from the true Jesus means you put yourself in jeopardy to lose the things the apostles and other faithful saints worked for. This shows us that it isn't enough for us to start out right, we must finish in faith to receive a full reward.
5. (2 John 1:10-11) Instructions for dealing with the false teachers.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.
a. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine: If someone comes to us, denying the true doctrine of Jesus, and promoting a false doctrine of Jesus, John says we should give no hospitality, no aid, to the ones who promote their own false version of Jesus. To do so is to share in his evil deeds. i. "The words mean, according to the eastern use of them, 'Have no religious connection with him, nor act towards him so as to induce others to believe you acknowledge him as a brother.' " (Clarke) ii. "Suppose the visiting teacher claimed to be a Christian missionary or even a prophet but taught what was clearly false doctrine. Hospitality would demand that he be provided for, but to do so would seem to be participation in the spread of his false teachings. Should he be received or not?" (Boice)
b. He who greets him: John means greets in a much more involved context than our own. In that culture, it meant to show hospitality and give aid. Yet, for the weak or unskilled believer, it is best if they do not even greet (in the sense of speaking to) those who promote a false Jesus (like the Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses). i. These words sound severe, but John has not lost his love. We must consider these three points:
i. This does not mean that we should have nothing to do with those who are caught by the cults. As John indicates, we should make a distinction between those who teach these Christ-denying doctrines (those who bring this doctrine) and those who merely believe the doctrines without trying to spread them.
c. Do not receive him into your house nor greet him: This may also be translated do not receive him into the house. John may be referring most specifically to not allowing these heretical teachers to come into the house where Christians met together. i. "Perhaps, therefore, it is not private hospitality which John is forbidding so much as an official welcome into the congregation, with the opportunity this would afford to the false teacher to propagate his errors." (Stott). ii. "We see how such [false] teachers were treated in the apostolic Church. They held no communion with them; afforded them no support, as teachers; but did not persecute them." (Clarke)
d. Shares in his evil deeds: We are defined by what we reject as much as by what we accept. In this, some are so open minded that they are empty headed. It is wise to keep an open mind on many things; but one would never keep an open mind about which poisons a person might try. You may say yes to all the right things; but one must also say no to what is false and evil. We need to become good at rejecting what should be rejected. i. "They were persons who claimed to be leaders; they were advanced thinkers, they were progressive. The Gnostic teachers of the time were claiming that while the gospel of the historic Jesus might be all very well for unenlightened people, they had a profounder knowledge. Such were to receive no hospitality." (Morgan) ii. In the late 19th Century, the rise of theological liberalism brought forth generations of Christian pastors, leaders, and theologians who denied many of the fundamentals of Biblical Christianity. Though it was a broad and varied movement, at its root theological liberalism thought that Christianity had to re-evaluate all its doctrines in the light of modern science, philosophy, and thinking. They rejected the idea that a doctrine was true simply because the Bible taught it; it also had to be proved true by reason and experience. They believed that the Bible was not an inspired message from a real God, but the work of men who were limited by the ignorance and superstitions of their time. For them, the Bible was not either inspired or supernatural. The importance of the Bible and its message was not in its literal or historical truth, but in its changing spiritual message. iii. Sadly, Germany took the lead in theological liberalism and German philosophers and theologians had a profound impact on British and American Christians. Men like Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and the Tübingen School of Theology, and Adolf Harnack. To promote or support these men or those who believe in or advance their Bible-denying theology is to share in their evil deeds.
C. Conclusion.
1. (2 John 1:12) John anticipates a future visit.
12 Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do sowith paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full.
a. I hope to come to you and speak face to face: We must generally sympathize with John's preference for personal, face to face communication rather than the writing of letters - though we are thankful for this letter.
2. (2 John 1:13) Conclusion.
13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.
a. The children of your elect sister: Telling us that the elect lady (2 John 1) has an elect sister, and that they both have children does little to identify with certainty who John is writing to. Perhaps all it tells us is that if John used the term elect lady as a symbol for the church, he used it rather loosely (saying that she has a sister and children). The most likely idea is that the elect lady (a particular church) had an elect sister - other "sister" churches from which John brings a greeting.
b. The children of your elect sister: This last reference to the elect sister and her children remind us that though we must be on guard against false teachers, the true followers of Jesus are more than just our group. If we allow our desire to defend the truth to make us unloving and intolerant, Satan has won a great victory.
BIBLE.ORG - 2 John 1:1-6 - Cole
If you have a desire to see God's kingdom come, then at times you probably nostalgically think about the New Testament church and imagine, "It must have been wonderful to be a part of the church in that time!" If only we could duplicate that now!
Imagine being a part of a church that had been founded about 30 years previously by the apostle Paul. Timothy had served as a pastor there. After he moved on, none other than the venerable apostle John had shepherded the flock. Wouldn't it be great to be a part of a church like that!
I've just described the church at Ephesus. Most scholars agree that John wrote his first letter to that church (and other churches in that area), sometime around 85-90 A.D. But as we saw in our study of that letter, that church had some difficult problems. False teachers had arisen in the church, who claimed to have deeper knowledge of the things of God. They claimed to have the secret to knowing Christ, but in reality, they denied His bodily incarnation and His deity. They taught many other heretical concepts. Their motive may have been to take some elements of pagan religion and blend them with Christianity, in order to make it more acceptable to the pagan culture (Glenn Barker, Expositor's Bible Commentary [Zondervan], ed. by Frank Gaebelein, 12:296).
When the godly church leaders confronted their errors, these men left the church to form their own churches, taking people with them, resulting in major conflict (1 John 2:19). As in any church split, relationships were strained or severed. People were confused and hurt. Rumors and false allegations circulated. So there was a need for godly leaders to bring the church back to the basics of the faith. Every church needs to be strong in the knowledge of the truth so that the members can avoid destructive heresies. They need to be strong in loving relationships. They need to be holy in their conduct. Without these things, the church will be unhealthy and thus more susceptible to the subtle deception of the enemy.
John probably wrote the short letter of 2 John to a local church as a brief follow-up to his first letter. He repeats many of the same ideas and addresses some of the same problems. Apparently, the false teachers were traveling around, trying to come into the churches under the guise of godly teachers who could take you farther in your Christian faith (2 John 9). But they denied essential truth about Jesus Christ. So John writes this short letter before he could make a personal visit, to warn the church about not receiving these men into their midst. In doing so, he gives us a prescription for a healthy church.
There are two parts: First, for the church to be healthy, she must be sensitive to the life within (1-6). Second, she must be on guard to the dangers without (7-13). We will look at the first part today and the second part in our next study.
For the church to be healthy, she must be sensitive to the life within.
There are two major interpretive problems in 2 John. First, who is "the elder" who writes this letter (and 3 John)? Second, who is "the chosen lady and her children" to whom it is written?
Without going into the scholarly debates, I believe that "the elder" was the apostle John. He was so well known to this local church that he didn't need to mention his given name. The terms "elder," "overseer" (or, "bishop"), and "pastor" ("shepherd") are used interchangeably in the New Testament to refer to local church leaders (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:5, 7; 1 Pet. 5:1-2). John was an apostle, who had authority from Christ over all of the churches. But, he was also a part of a local congregation, where he served as elder. The apostle Peter referred to himself as an elder in this same sense (1 Pet. 5:1). Due to John's age and the fact that he was the last surviving apostle, perhaps the churches nicknamed him "the elder," par excellence. It is a title both of respect and authority.
With regard to the question of "the chosen lady and her children," there are two views. Some think that it refers to a specific woman and her offspring (John MacArthur adopts this view, The MacArthur Study Bible [Thomas Nelson], p. 1946). With this view, the "children of your chosen sister" (v. 13) would be the nieces and nephews of this woman. But most commentators lean toward the view that it is a cryptic reference to a local church and its members. "The children of your chosen sister" would then be the members of another local church. If the church was going through any persecution, referring to it in this cryptic manner would provide some protection if this letter fell into the wrong hands.
We cannot be dogmatic but I think that John wrote 2 John to a local church. The language, especially John's affirmation of love and exhortation to love (1, 5), seems more appropriate to a church than to an individual woman. If it was written to an individual, verse 4 would require that she had several children, some of whom were following the truth. Also, in verses 6, 8, 10, and 12, John addresses his readers in the second person plural, which would point to the members of a local church. The imagery of a church as a chosen lady fits with the church as the bride of Christ. In a similar way, Peter calls the church in Rome, "she who is in Babylon, chosen together with you" (1 Pet. 5:13).
The immediate problem John is addressing in both 2 and 3 John is that of traveling teachers that were circulating among the churches. They were generally received into the church and given hospitality in various homes. But what if the teacher claimed to be a Christian, but taught false doctrine? Should he be received or not? Second John warns against receiving and encouraging such false teachers, whereas 3 John encourages genuine hospitality towards true teachers.
John had recently had contact with some of the members of this church. He commends the church that these members were walking in the truth (v. 4). He is not necessarily implying that others were not walking in the truth, but rather, he was glad that those whom he had met were walking in the truth. In verses 1-6, he gives a fourfold prescription for the life within the church if we want the church to be healthy:
1. The life within the church centers on a personal relationship with the Father through the Son, based on His sovereign grace.
This idea underlies the entire letter, but it is especially obvious in the salutation (1-3). Both in verse 1 and in verse 13, John uses the adjective chosen to refer to these two churches. This does not refer to our choosing God, but rather to His choosing us to be His people. The initiative in salvation lies with God's sovereign choice. When you choose to believe in Jesus Christ, it is because God has first chosen you for salvation. God did not choose us because He saw that we would choose Him or because He saw great potential in us. Rather, He chose us through grace alone. This robs us of any source of pride.
Why does John emphasize God's choice both at the start and close of this short letter? I believe that it is because the reality that God chose us to be His children gives comfort when we are under attack or going through trials. These churches had gone through turmoil when the false teachers caused confusion and division. It would be a comfort to be reminded that God had initiated their salvation and He would complete what He started (Phil. 1:6). The false teachers would not and could not undermine what God sovereignly purposes to do in His church.
The threefold opening greeting (v. 3), "Grace, mercy and peace," occurs elsewhere only in 1 & 2 Timothy. B. F. Westcott (The Epistles of St. John [Eerdmans], p. 225) observes, "The succession 'grace, mercy, peace' marks the order from the first motion of God to the final satisfaction of man." Any relationship with God begins not with our seeking God, but rather with His sovereign grace reaching down to us. As Paul puts it (Rom. 5:6), "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (not, "for pretty good folks who were making an effort to seek God"). Grace is God's unmerited favor to the ungodly who deserve His wrath.
"Mercy" points to God's compassion towards us in our misery that is due to our sin. The focus of God's grace is more towards our guilt and need for forgiveness of sins, whereas mercy is directed towards relieving the devastating consequences of our sins.
"Peace" points to the result of salvation, both to the peace of God in our hearts and to the peace that we enjoy with God because of the cross of Christ. We are reconciled to God because Christ bore the penalty in our place. The cross removed the barrier to fellowship with God, so that now we can enter His presence as His children and know that we are accepted.
John's salutation varies from the usual form of a prayer, "Grace, mercy, and peace be with you." Rather, John emphatically (in the Greek text) states, "Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us." Then, after "from God the Father and from Jesus Christ," he adds, "the Son of the Father, in truth and love."
Each of these variations from the norm reflects something of John's concern in writing this brief letter (Colin Kruse, The Letters of John [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 206; the following observations are from him). The emphatic will be with us reassures his readers that God will not abandon them, in spite of what the secessionists might say. He uses "us" rather than "you" to "reinforce the sense of their community of love." The truth that these blessings come not only from the Father, but also "from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father," brings out the truth of the deity of Jesus, in opposition to the teaching of the heretics. "In truth and love" probably means that these blessings are experienced by those who continue to hold to the truth and practice love for one another, which the heretics failed to do.
The application of John's opening greeting is that being a part of a local church is not primarily a matter of attending services or joining the church, as important as those things are. Rather, it is a matter of coming into a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. To be a part of His church means that you have personally experienced His grace, mercy, and peace through His salvation. And it means that you hold firmly to the truth about Jesus Christ, as we will examine more in a moment.
At times I have encountered people who believe in Christ as Savior and Lord, but they join or remain in a liberal church that denies the need for the new birth and the atoning work of Christ. They do this "to have a ministry" there. Such churches may be a mission field, but they are not really churches at all, in the biblical sense of the word. But the point of missions is to get people out of their pagan religion and into healthy local churches where they can grow and serve. To evangelize people in a liberal church and then leave them there goes against the New Testament teaching on the nature and purpose of the local church. The church is a body of people who have a saving relationship with the Father through His Son because of His sovereign grace.
2. The life within the church is founded on the truth about Jesus Christ.
John is obviously concerned about the truth. He uses that word five times in the first four verses. For John, the concept of truth centers on the person of Jesus Christ. The heretics were deceiving people about the person of Christ (v. 7), saying either that He did not have a real human body, or that "the Christ" came upon the man Jesus at His baptism and left just prior to His crucifixion. These errors went against the person of Jesus that John had seen, heard, and touched (1 John 1:1-4). Wrong views of the person of Christ invariably spill over into wrong views on His work on the cross. If you deny Jesus' true humanity, then He could not be the substitute for the sins of humans. So it is essential to hold to sound doctrine on the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Christianity is not based on the religious speculations of philosophers, but rather upon the revelation of God in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. The apostles spent three years with Jesus and they bear witness in the New Testament to His life, teachings, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. They make it clear that He is God in human flesh. The church of Jesus Christ is, therefore, a community of those who (literally, v. 1) "have come to know the truth." In verse 2 John personifies truth with reference to Jesus Himself, who claimed to be the truth (John 14:6). John says the truth "abides in us and will be with us forever."
Contrary to the current prevalent postmodern philosophy, the New Testament affirms that truth is both absolute and knowable. The truth centers in all that the Old and New Testaments affirm about Jesus Christ. To know Him personally is to be in the truth. This does not mean that you must become a theologian or be able to explain all of the biblical teaching about Christ and salvation in order to get saved. To be saved, you simply must recognize that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and that Jesus is that Savior. Trust in Him and He will save you.
But it does mean that as a believer, you should grow in your understanding of the truth about Jesus Christ and salvation. Sound doctrine on these matters is crucial. The main difference between the Jehovah's Witnesses, who are not saved, and those who are truly saved, centers on the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ. When John talks about "some of your children walking in truth," the word walk implies that truth is something that every believer must continually grow in over time.
So the first mark of a healthy church is that the members know God personally through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The second mark is that they walk in the truth about Christ.
3. The life within the church expresses itself in love.
John is concerned about both truth and love. He uses love four times in these six verses. Truth and love cannot be separated. Liberals set aside truth and make love for everyone the basis of unity, no matter what they believe. On the other hand, some fighting Fundamentalists exalt the truth on even minor issues over love, and thus cause divisions among those who truly know and follow Jesus Christ.
Truth on the essentials of the gospel must be the basis for fellowship and unity. If someone denies the essentials of the gospel, he is not a Christian and we have no basis for true fellowship. As we will see in verse 10, if someone is promoting false teaching, the loving thing to do is not to welcome him as a brother, but to separate from him as someone promoting evil. So our love for others must be discerning (Phil. 1:9).
If someone came to your door who was infected with a highly contagious disease, such as tuberculosis, you would not be acting in love to your family to welcome him to come in and stay with you. Since false doctrine about the person and work of Christ is a deadly, infectious disease, it is not loving to welcome those who are infected with this disease into our church or homes. We will look more at this next week. But, among those who truly know and love Jesus Christ in truth, we must be loving, especially when we disagree over minor issues.
4. The life within the church is maintained through obedience.
John has emphasized truth (5 times) and love (4 times). He also emphasizes obedience. The word commandment occurs 4 times in verses 4-6. As you know, these are the three tests of 1 John: authentic Christianity consists of believing the truth about Jesus Christ, loving one another, and obeying God's commandments.
John says (v. 6) that we are to "walk according to His commandments." These commandments involve the truth (v. 4) and love (vv. 5, 6). When John emphasizes that his readers had these commandments "from the beginning" (5, 6), he means that Jesus Christ gave us these commandments and that obeying them should be basic, first-level Christian teaching. The first thing a new believer should learn is that being a Christian means obeying Jesus as Lord. And, a key commandment of Jesus is that we love one another. As we've seen, biblical love is not primarily a feeling, but rather a matter of the will that can be commanded. It is a self-sacrificing, caring commitment that seeks the highest good of the one loved.
It is a tragedy that many evangelical churches are wracked with dissension because self-centered, power-driven people who profess to know Christ force their way on the church. We will see this illustrated in the case of Diotrephes, "who loves to be first among them" (3 John 9). This is usually done under some "pious" cause: "I'm defending the truth!" But invariably, it is not truth that is essential to the gospel. Power-driven people are motivated by pride or self-will. They need to be confronted with their disobedience to Christ's commandment of love.
CONT'D - 2 John 1:7-13
The word heresy sounds outdated nowadays. It smacks of arrogance, because to accuse someone of heresy implies that I am right and he is seriously wrong. It also assumes that there is such a thing as definable truth and error in the spiritual realm. But in our day, spiritual "truth" is subjective and relative. If it's true for you, that's cool. But I have my own spiritual "truths" that work for me. So who are you to accuse me of heresy?
But before we put heresy in the museum as a relic from the past, we need to think carefully. There is one huge factor that renders heresy a valid concept, namely, the fact that God is and that He has revealed Himself to us through His written Word. If God exists, not as a projection of men's minds, but as the eternal Sovereign Creator of the universe, then He is the ultimate and final standard of truth. And if He has spoken to us in His Word, then as Jesus said, His Word is truth (John 17:17). Either Jesus was mistaken or lying, or God's Word is truth. Any deviation from His Word on core matters, such as the person and work of Jesus Christ or the way of salvation, is heresy.
Several years ago, I read an interesting book by an Episcopalian bishop, Fitzsimons Allison, titled The Cruelty of Heresy [Morehouse Publishing, 1994]. He wrote,
We are susceptible to heretical teachings because in one form or another, they nurture and reflect the way we would have it be rather than the way God has provided, which is infinitely better for us. As they lead us into the blind alleys of self-indulgence and escape from life, heresies pander to the most unworthy tendencies of the human heart. It is astonishing how little attention has been given to these two aspects of heresy: its cruelty and its pandering to sin. (Italics his.)
As we saw last week, the apostle John was very concerned about the truth. He uses the word five times in 2 John 1-4. I believe that John wrote this short letter to a church under the cryptic salutation "the chosen lady and her children." His main concern was false teachers who were traveling around, posing as Christians, but denying core truth about the person of Christ. John calls them deceivers and antichrists (v. 7). The danger was that the churches might welcome these men into their midst and provide hospitality for them. John intended to visit this church in person, but before he came he wrote this short letter to warn them against welcoming these dangerous men.
His letter gives us a prescription for a healthy church. Last week we saw (2 John 1-6) that for the church to be healthy, she must be sensitive to the life within. This involves making sure that all in the church have come to a personal saving relationship with the Father through the Son. It also involves walking in the truth, in love, and in obedience to Christ's commandments. In 2 John 7-13, John goes on to show that...
For the church to be healthy, she must be on guard to the dangers without.
These false teachers originally arose from within the churches, but they had left, showing their true colors (1 John 2:19). Now, they were coming back to recruit followers. Invariably, every false cult that goes under the banner of "Christian" veers from the truth on the person and work of Jesus Christ. They may deny His humanity or His deity or His substitutionary death on the cross for sinners. Every cult denies that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. So false teachings lure us in by appealing to our pride, telling us that we can save ourselves. Since pride is our prevailing sin, we are especially vulnerable. John gives us four ways to be on guard against these dangers without:
1. To be on guard to the danger of heresy, we must be realistic about the deceptive nature of it (v. 7).
Twice John calls these false teachers deceivers (v. 7). They didn't come into the church with nametags identifying them as "John Doe, False Teacher." They didn't have an evil glint in their eyes that warned you, "This guy is evil!" They were subtle and they probably used the Bible to back up everything they said. Their explanation of things seemed to "make more sense" of doctrines that were difficult to understand.
They said, "Doesn't the Bible say that the flesh is bad? Then how could Jesus Christ have come in the flesh? That would make Him evil! So He really didn't come in the flesh. It just seemed that way. What actually happened is, He was just a man who was especially close to God. At His baptism, "the Christ" came upon Him. It departed from Him just prior to His crucifixion. Doesn't that make more sense than this teaching that nobody can adequately explain or understand, that Jesus is God in human flesh?"
If you deny that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, then you also have denied His atoning death on the cross. In order for His death to pay for human sins, Jesus had to be fully human, but apart from sin. For His death to pay for the sins of the human race, Jesus had to be the eternal Son of God. As Bishop Moule once said, "A Savior not quite God is a bridge broken at the farther end."
John here refers to these false teachers as "deceivers" and antichrists (see also, 1 John 2:18, 22). Four main New Testament texts refer to the antichrist, although not all the texts use the term (summarized in Colin Kruse, The Letters of John [Eerdmans/Apollos], pp. 99-100): Matthew 24/Mark 13; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; 1 & 2 John; and, Revelation 12-13. From these passages, we can conclude that there will be an end times, world-dominating figure called "the Antichrist." In Revelation he is called "the beast" and he is given frightening power over all the earth. But before he is revealed, there will be many lesser antichrists. These religious figures deceive people so that they will not believe the truth about Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:9-12).
We need to be careful before we label someone as a false teacher, deceiver, or antichrist. It is a difficult call sometimes, because there are various levels of deception, related to the level of the consequences for those deceived. To be deceived about something related to eternal salvation is most serious, because those who fall for this deception will spend eternity in hell!
Other levels of deception may have serious consequences that fall short of eternal judgment. For example, false teaching may lead couples to divorce when sound teaching could have prevented it. False teaching about child rearing can lead to rigid, legalistic practices that damage children emotionally and spiritually. These are serious matters, because the enemy uses all levels of false teaching to damage people. But the most serious false teaching involves the person and work of Jesus Christ and the way of salvation. We must be on guard to the danger of such deceptive teaching.
2. To be on guard to the danger of heresy, we must watch ourselves, to abide in the teaching of Christ (vv. 8-9).
There are a couple of minor textual variants with the pronouns in verse 8, but the reading of the NASB is probably correct. John urges his readers to watch themselves, "that you do not lose what we [the apostles] have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward." When John refers to "anyone who goes too far" (v. 9), he is probably alluding to the heretics. They claimed to have superior knowledge that could take you farther in your Christian life than the teaching of the apostles could do. John is sarcastically saying, "Yes, in fact the false teachers have gone so far ahead that they have left God behind them!"
"The teaching of Christ" could refer to the teaching that Jesus Himself gave us, or to the teaching of the apostles regarding Christ. But these two are really the same thing. Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things and bring to their minds the things that Jesus had taught them (John 14:26). Jesus Christ is the focus of both the Old and New Testaments. In the New Testament we have the essential apostolic teaching about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation through Him. If someone comes along and claims to have some "new" teaching that cannot be supported by the New Testament, he is not holding to the teaching of Christ. We need to be on guard against any so-called "new" teaching, including the recent "new perspective on Paul."
People who do not abide in the teaching of Christ, John says, do not have God at all. By way of contrast, "the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." Since "the teaching" refers to the truth that Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully divine, John is saying that those who deny these essential truths about Jesus, but claim to know God, are either lying or deceived. You cannot deny the deity of Jesus and have the Father also (1 John 2:23).
John also may have had in mind Jesus' words (John 14:23), "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him." When you embrace heresy, you necessarily abandon close fellowship with the Father and the Son. Orthodoxy is not just a matter of holding to biblical truth, but also of walking in fellowship and obedience. Since false teaching appeals to our pride, especially the pride of superior "knowledge," embracing it invariably means falling into sin. Often false teachers embrace their erroneous views to justify their sinful habits. Embracing the truth would require repentance, which they don't want to do.
Verses 8 & 9 show that there are two categories of people in view. In verse 8, John refers to those who lose part of their reward, but the implication is that they are truly saved. In verse 9 he refers to those who do not have God at all, and thus are not saved. Salvation is God's free, unmerited gift to all that will receive it. It is not a reward for anything (Rom. 4:4-5). As John wrote (1 John 5:11-12), "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."
If you have received God's gift of eternal life in Christ, the Bible teaches that there are rewards for serving Him. Jesus talked about those who have used well what He entrusted to them. They will be rewarded with more at the judgment (Matt. 25:14-28). Paul talks about those who build with wood, hay, and straw, as opposed to those who build with gold, silver, and precious stones. The wood, hay, and straw will be burned and the person will suffer a loss of rewards, "but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:15).
In order to receive the full reward, John commands, "Watch yourselves...." This needs to take place on two levels. On the church-wide level, the elders are charged with guarding the flock from destructive teaching. Paul gives as a requirement for a local church elder that he hold "fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict" (Titus 1:9).
He charged the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28), "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." He went on to warn them (20:30) that even "from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them." He wrote this to the very church that John addressed his first epistle. Paul told Timothy (1 Tim. 4:16), "Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; ..." Again, there is a close relationship between sin and false teaching. If you don't pay close attention to yourself, so that you fall into sin, you will be prone to fall into false teaching.
This means that if you have a desire to be an elder, you must also have a desire to study and know sound doctrine, so that you do not go astray and so that you can keep careful watch over the flock. This is one reason that I have taught the systematic theology course here, to help equip men who have a desire to be elders. If a man does not know the truth well, he will not be able to guard the flock from the many errors that Satan tries to introduce. Elders must be men who continually study God's Word, so that they will not fall into false teaching. Elders must guard the flock.
On the personal level, you are responsible to be on guard for yourself against false teaching. Fathers (and mothers) must be on guard for their children. I am sometimes amazed at the way Christian parents allow their children to be exposed to all sorts of bad teaching, without any word of caution or any discussion about how this teaching contradicts the Bible. They let them watch movies with New Age or pantheistic concepts. Some Christian parents even send their kids to religious schools that teach a false gospel! While we cannot shelter our children from all errors, we must be diligent to teach them biblical discernment.
I'm also amazed at Christians who have no concern for sound doctrine. Some argue that since doctrine is controversial or divisive, we should not study theology. Some even think that studying theology could damage your devotion to Jesus! Years ago, I mentioned to an elder (no longer here) that another pastor and I were reading and discussing Berkhof's Systematic Theology. He said, "Look out! That stuff can be dangerous!" I was dumbfounded! Needless to say, that elder should not have been an elder!
Thus John says that for the church to be healthy, we must be on guard to the deceptive nature of false teaching. We must be on guard for ourselves, to abide in the teaching of Christ.
3. To be on guard to the danger of heresy, we must be careful not to encourage false teachers (vv. 10-11).
Remember, John is the apostle of love, who has just re-emphasized the need for us to love one another (v. 5). But now he says that we should not receive a false teacher into our house or even give him a greeting, because if we greet him, we participate in his evil deeds (which refers especially to his false teaching). If this letter was written to a church, then "house" may refer to the gathering of the church. But it also may have reference to showing hospitality to these false teachers by giving them food and lodging in the homes of Christians.
We need to clarify several things here. First, in that day there were inns, but they were often places of ill-repute, not suitable for the average traveler. So the church would extend hospitality to these traveling teachers. According to the norms of hospitality, the host was not only giving the guest food and lodging, but also providing patronage, guaranteeing the rest of the community that the guest was a worthy person (Kruse, pp. 213, 215-216). If you provided hospitality, you were changing the stranger's status from being under suspicion as an outsider to being a trusted guest.
Thus John says that we should not even give such teachers a greeting. To say, "God bless you," or, "Have a good day," or to call a false teacher, "brother," imparts a blessing or word of encouragement that we should not give. John is talking about those who promote damnable heresies, not to fellow believers who disagree with us over some non-essential doctrines.
As we have seen, there is an inseparable connection between truth and love. Biblical love seeks the highest good of the one loved. If a false teacher is actively involved in deceiving people about the truth, so that they go to eternal condemnation, then we are not acting in love to do anything to encourage such scoundrels in their evil deeds. John Stott observes, "If John's instruction still seems harsh, it is perhaps because his concern for the glory of the Son and the good of men's souls is greater than ours, and because 'the tolerance on which we pride ourselves' is in reality an 'indifference to truth'" (The Epistles of John [Eerdmans], p. 214; the quote within the quote comes from Neil Alexander, The Epistles of John, Torch bible commentaries [S.C.M. Press]). He adds (pp. 214-215), "False teaching ... is not just an unfortunate error; it is a 'wicked work' .... It may send souls to eternal ruin."
Christian leaders especially must be cautious about any behavior that would endorse or encourage false teachers. Sadly, Billy Graham has not been careful over the years about this. He has had those who deny essential doctrines sit on the platform with him at his crusades. No doubt his motive was to try to reach them, but the impression is that he endorses their ministries. I have heard him and other Christian leaders give glowing endorsements to Robert Schuller, who denies the gospel. This is the sort of thing that John is explicitly forbidding.
Should you invite Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons who knock on your door to come inside and talk? If you do, you had better be armed with the truth, because they are well-armed with error! Also, do not say or do anything to encourage them in what they are doing. They are actively recruiting souls for hell, and it would be wrong for you to give them any reason to think that you appreciate what they're doing. I usually tell them, "I am a pastor and I know the Bible well. If you are seeking the truth, I'd be glad to talk with you. But if you're trying to convert me, you're wasting your time and mine." Not many want to talk further!
John's final word is his closing greeting, but it gives us a positive word on how to be on guard to the dangers without:
4. To be on guard to the danger of heresy, we must maintain fellowship with others who are God's elect (vv. 12-13).
John mentions his desire to visit these brethren in person and he sends them greetings from "the children of your chosen sister" (the church from where he wrote). His aim in visiting and speaking with them face to face was "so that your [some manuscripts read "our"] joy may be made full." There is great joy in genuine Christian fellowship, when we share in the things of God with those who have experienced His grace, mercy, and peace (v. 3).
The point is, we don't want to become so paranoid about the dangers without that we cut ourselves off from other churches or individual Christians that love Christ and the truth. If they have come to know Christ in a saving way, then we are members of the same body. We impoverish ourselves and bring dishonor to Christ when we draw the lines of separation too narrowly. We should accept all that Christ has chosen as His own (Rom. 15:7).
I should add that there is a difference between fellowship on an individual level and linking an entire church with other churches. For example, on the individual level, I may have fellowship with a godly Episcopalian. But it would be wrong to link our church with a denomination that endorses homosexual pastors or bishops. So we must pray for discernment in all of these situations.
