This book is the shortest book in the Bible. It is written by the disciple John who calls himself ‘the elder’ in the book. 1 John focuses on our fellowship with God, while 2 John focuses on protecting our fellowship from false teaching. John used the word truth 37 times in his writings. The word truth occurs 5 times in this short book; the word love occurs 5 times. Truth and love are inseparable. Truth does not change and it’s what binds believers together.
We live in a time when truth is broken, distorted, and when there is actually very little truth around. Many even deny the existence of any absolute truth. Romans 1:25 - “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator”. John says the truth lives in believers of Jesus. It is truth that makes real love possible even though lying and deception are present in the world. As Christians, the truth lives in us through the Holy Spirit.
2 John 1-3 – John identifies himself as ‘the elder’ referring himself as a leader of the church. He writes it to ‘the chosen lady and her children’. Some think she is a person, but he was probably referring to a church and it’s believers. It was a time of persecution and maybe he didn’t want to mention himself or a particular person or church by name in order to protect them. He also writes about her sister in verse 13, which means a sister church where John attended.
2 John 4-6 – He writes he had great joy to find ‘some of your children walking in the truth’. This tells us that some church members do not walk in the truth. All believers should examine themselves to be sure they do and say what is true. To live in truth we must believe in truth. Jesus is that truth who came to earth as a man. He was God and has always been God. He became a man, died for us and rose to life after 3 days. To live in truth we must be loyal to God and obey God. To live in truth we must love one another and walk in obedience to His commands. If we love God, we will love His people. Love is the test of truth.
2 John 7-11 – John warns about false teachers. There were those who claimed Jesus didn’t come in the flesh just as there are today. He calls such persons ‘the deceiver and the antichrist’. Believers are to watch themselves and have no part in the evil work of such people. These people oppose the Bible’s message and they are not to be trusted.
If any of these false teachers deny the true doctrine of Jesus, John says we should not give them hospitality. If you do, you are sharing in their evil work. This doesn’t mean we can’t have different opinions or that we shouldn’t witness to the unsaved. It means that those that reject the core message of the gospel are to be avoided.
John seems to write a lot about false teachers. They were to problem in John’s day and they are a problem today. There are many deceivers hovering around this world. They cause Christians to doubt and make their lives hard to live for Jesus. It’s important to question everything we see, hear, and read that claims to be ‘Christian’ with the Scriptures. Satan’s greatest weapon is deceit.
2 John 12-13 – John ends his letter by saying he has more to say but wants to meet in person so their joy may be complete. There is always joy when friends meet together. John was eager to enjoy their company.
John’s final verse seems to confirm that the letter was sent from one church to another. He concludes with a statement, “the children of your chosen sister send greetings” referring to the church members where John was located. God chose these people because they believed in Jesus. God has chosen everyone who believes in Jesus. Every Christian is special to God.
Key verse: “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.” – 2 John 6
Principles:
Join me next time for the study of 3 John. Hope to see you here. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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