The Second Epistle of John
The theme of John's second epistle is of love for each other, obedience to God, and the dangers of becoming entangled with false teachers.
Verses 1-3. From the Elder to the dear Lady and her children, whom I truly love. And I am not the only one. All who know the truth love you, because the truth remains in us and will be with us forever. May God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, give us grace, mercy, and peace; may they be ours in truth and love. (2Jn 1:1-3)
(Notes)
To the elect lady and her children: Perhaps this was an individual Christian woman John wanted to warn and encourage with this letter. Or, the term might be a symbolic way of addressing this particular congregation. (David Guzik)
“The phrase elect lady 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 recognised, her children being the church’s individual members.” (John Stott)
The LORD commanded Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to use the following words in blessing the people of Israel: “May the LORD bless you and take care of you; may the LORD be kind and gracious to you; may the LORD look on you with favour and give you peace.” (Num 6:22-26) (It is the same prayer today.)
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(4) I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, as the Father commanded us. But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I was writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another, and it is this:
Lev 19:18 Do not take revenge on others or remain in hatred towards them, but love your neighbours as you love yourself. I am the LORD.
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(5) And so, I ask you, dear Lady: Let us all love one another. This is not a new command I am writing to you; it is what we have had from the beginning. (2Jn 1:5)
Psa 119:108 Accept my prayer of thanks, O LORD, and teach me your commands.
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(6) And this is love: that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment you have heard from the beginning—you must walk in it. (Be obedient)
And keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes and His commandments, and His judgments and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn yourself to, so that the LORD may establish His word which He spoke concerning me, saying,
‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, then there shall not be a man of yours cut off from the throne of Israel.’ (1Ki 2:3-4)
John again emphasises the importance of obedience.
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(7) Many deceivers have gone into the world, including those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! (More encouragement to stay close to Jesus.)
Jer 14:14 But the LORD replied, “The prophets tell lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I give them any orders or speak one word to them. The visions they talk about have not come from me; their predictions are worthless things that they have imagined.
Isa 24:23 The moon will grow dark, and the sun will no longer shine, for the Lord Almighty will be king. He will rule in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, and the leaders of the people will see his glory. (There are dark days ahead.)
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(8) Be on your guard, so that you keep what we have worked for and receive a full reward. Everyone who does not abide by the teachings of Christ, but goes beyond them, does not have God. Whoever abid7es by the teaching has both the Father and the Son. Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching. (More warnings.)
Psa 119:111-115, Your commandments, Lord, are my eternal possession; they are the joy of my heart. I shall keep your laws until the day I die. I despise those who are not loyal to you, but I adore your law. You are my defender and protector; I trust your promise. Go away from me, you sinful people. I will obey the commands of my God.
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(9-11 Anyone who goes on and does not keep to the teaching of Christ has not God; he who keeps to the teaching has the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you not having this teaching, do not take him into your house or give him words of love. For he who gives him words of love has a part in his evil works.
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Here are the prophets saying to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.’” And the LORD said to me: The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their minds. Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them and who say, “Sword and famine shall not come on this land”: By sword and famine, those prophets shall be consumed. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There shall be no one to bury them—themselves, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their wickedness upon them. (Jer 14:13-16)
The consequence.
And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their land, they defiled it by their ways and by their doings, even as the uncleanness of a woman’s impurity was their way before Me. Therefore, I poured my fury upon them because of the blood that they had shed upon the land and for their idols, by which they defiled it. And I scattered them among the nations, and they were scattered throughout the countries. I judged them according to their ways and according to their doings. And when they came to the nations where they went, they even profaned My holy name in that it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and they are gone out of His land.’ But I pitied My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they were exiled. (Eze 36:16-21)
What I am going to do is not for the sake of you Israelites but for the sake of my holy name, which you have disgraced in every country where you have gone. When I show the nations the holiness of my wonderful name—the name you disgraced among them—then they will know that I am the LORD. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken.
I will use you to show the nations that I am holy. I will take you from every nation and country and bring you back to your land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and cleanse you of your idols and everything else that has defiled you. I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put my spirit in you and see that you follow my laws and keep the commands I have given you. Then you will live on the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from everything that defiles you. I will command the grain to be plentiful so that you will not have any more famines. I will increase the yield of your fruit trees and your fields, so there will be no more famines to disgrace you among the nations. You will remember your evil conduct and the wrongs you committed, and your sins and inequities will disgust you. Israel, I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake. I want you to feel the shame and disgrace of what you are doing. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken.
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(2Jn 1:9-11)
Anyone who does not stay with the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it does not have God. Whoever does stay with the teaching has both the Father and the Son. So then, if some come to you who do not bring this teaching, do not welcome them in your homes; do not even say, “Peace be with you.” Anyone who wishes them peace becomes their partner in the evil things they do. (2Jn 1:9-11)
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Isa 53:1-12 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (2) For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire in him. (3) He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (4) Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (5) But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (8) By oppression and judgment, he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? (9) And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (10) Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge, shall the righteous one, my servant, make many accounted to be righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities upon himself. (12) Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.
May God bless.
