2 John New Testament

John’s final two letters (2 and 3 John) are the shortest documents in the NT. 2 John is only 245 words in length, and it has been called a “postcard epistle.”

What is the purpose of 2 John? In his first letter, John stated that false teachers “went out” from the churches in Asia Minor (1 Jn. 2:19). These proto-Gnostic teachers must’ve been travelling from house to house in order to distort the faith of these genuine Christians. These men were set on “deceiving” the believers in these churches (1 Jn. 2:26; 3:7). The purpose of this letter is to tell house churches to guard themselves from proto-Gnostic false teachers.

(1:1) “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.”

“The elder” (presbyteros) could refer to a person who was older in age or a person who was a leader in the church. Based on the content of the letter, the author is a leader in the church. Moreover, he was “so well known to those he was writing to that the title ‘elder’ immediately identified him.” This fits with John of Zebedee who was has been the traditional author of this letter.

“Whom I love in truth; and not only I.” Everyone who was a believer loved this church. Moreover, Barker comments, “The author is speaking in clear contrast to the heretics. They do not have the truth nor do they know what it means to be in the community of love.”

“All who know the truth.” John uses the word “truth” four times in the opening three verses. These people who “know the truth” stand in contrast to the false teachers who are spread throughout the region.

(2 Jn. 1) Who is the “chosen lady”? This doesn’t refer to a romantic relationship with a woman because he calls her “chosen” also says that “all who know the truth” love this woman. There are two central options. First, John could be figuratively referring to the Church in general or a church in particular. The NT authors often depict the church as a woman (Eph. 5:29ff; Rev. 19:7; 21:2). Others argue that this refers to a literal woman. Since other letters are written to individuals, then so is this one. Moreover, the “chosen lady” has a “sister” and “children” (v.13). Even if John is writing to a literal woman, this woman would communicate to the church she leads. So, either way, John is writing to a church that he knows well.

(1:2) “For the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:”

“For the sake of the truth.” This is John’s thesis statement. John was writing to this group about the subject of the truth and because of the truth. He claims that the truth “will be with us forever.” Hodges comments, “This is an astounding statement, especially since it was made more than 1,900 years ago! So many of the religions and cults of the Greco-Roman world of John’s day have now passed off the scene and are mere historical memories. Yet Christianity, which must have seemed like a minor superstition to most of the cultivated citizens of the Roman Empire, has endured through the centuries and continues to be with us today.”

(1:3) “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.”

In this context, the “peace” Jesus offers is inner peace—a peace in our troubled hearts. Jesus promised, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).

It’s interesting that John places “truth” before “love.” In our postmodern age, people usually reverse these two concepts. But without truth, our love with atrophy and die.

The Thesis: Love and Truth (vv.4-6)

(1:4) “I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.”

John apparently had met some of the believers from this group, and he was happy to see them walking with Christ (1 Jn. 3:23).

(1:5) “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.”

“Not as though I were writing to you a new commandment.” Akin writes, “John does not have a new word for this congregation. This sets him apart from the “deceivers” of v. 9, who boast of something more, something new. John is not one who believes old is always bad and new is always better. Truth is truth regardless of its age, for all truth ultimately finds its source in God.”

“Love one another.” John felt the need to repeat the command to love over and over. A late tradition states that the elderly John would hobble into churches in Ephesus and repeat this message over and over. For instance, Jerome writes, “When he was living at Ephesus in his extreme old age, and was with difficulty carried into the Church in the arms of his disciples, nor could find breath for many words, he would say nothing time after time but, ‘Little children, love one another’” (Jerome, Commentary on Galatians, 6.10). We are honestly not sure how reliable this historical tradition is, but it fits with what we know of John from his writings.

(1:6) “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.”

Instead of giving them a new and novel insight on how to run the church, John points back to the basic teaching of love.

The Antithesis: False Teachers (vv.7-11)

Akin is correct when he writes that “the elder now comes to the heart of his message. This pericope confronts a docetic heresy, an incipient or proto-Gnosticism that denied (or radically reinterpreted) the cardinal doctrine of the incarnation.” These false teachers were rejecting the humanity of Christ (cf. 1 Jn. 2:18-27; 4:1-3).

(1:7) “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.”

Are there “many deceivers” or is there “the deceiver” and “the antichrist”? It could be that these many deceivers have their origin in the Deceiver (Satan). It’s similar to John’s point in 1 John 2:18, where he writes, “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.” There are many “antichrists” (i.e. false teachers) in every age, but they will culminate in the Antichrist.

Jesus was “sent” by the Father to teach the world (Jn. 7:29; 8:42; 13:3; 17:18; 20:21), but these false teachers have “gone out” (exēlthon) into the world as well. John mentioned this phenomenon in his first letter (1 Jn. 2:19). These men were set on “deceiving” the believers in these churches (1 Jn. 2:26; 3:7). Stott comments, “The implication is that as the apostles were sent forth into the world to preach the truth, so these false teachers had gone forth to teach lies, as emissaries of the devil, the father of lies.” These are “Satan’s missionaries on assignment.”

(1:8) “Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.”

“Watch yourselves” (blepō) implies that there is danger in what he’s about to write. There is danger in becoming complacent in going through perfunctory motions. A traffic cop walks up to the window of a car frequently. But he needs to stay alert because he never knows when the person will have a gun and intend to kill him. Similarly, we need to stay alert in our interactions with false teachers who can rip apart the church.

“Do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.” We can’t lose our salvation, but we can lose spiritual rewards. An investor might make money on a stock for ten years, but the stock could plummet, and she could lose it all. Similarly, a believer could walk with Christ for ten years and rack up spiritual rewards, but if she walks away from God, she could lose these rewards later. Hodges notes, “Unlike many contemporary preachers and expositors, the apostle does not connect the dangers of false doctrine with the loss of eternal life. John knew and affirmed that there can be no loss of eternal life (cf. John 6:35-40). But loss of reward figures clearly in his thinking.”

The term “lose” (apollumi) means “to cause or experience destruction… ruin, destroy” (BDAG, p.115). This implies that our rewards can be lost. On the other hand, the NT also speaks to our rewards being permanent (Heb. 6:10; Mk. 9:41). Perhaps, some rewards can never be lost (e.g. 1 Thess. 2:19-20), while others can.

(1:9) “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.”

Doctrine matters! If you deny a doctrine like the incarnation of Christ (v.7), you are not a Christian (1 Jn. 5:12). Hodges argues that John is still thinking of eternal rewards here, given the context (v.8). Furthermore, John uses the term “abide” which means to remain in Jesus’ teachings. Under this view, John is not threatening believers with damnation, but with a loss of reward. It would be similar to seeing believers suffering “shipwreck” with regard to their faith (1 Tim. 1:19-20). However, the loss referred to here is the loss of God himself (“…does not have God”). This sounds like the person misses out on eternal life. This is not the loss of salvation, but rather, this refers to “anyone” who rejects Christ.

“Goes too far.” They were exceeding Scripture—not learning secret knowledge about God. Stott comments, “John refers sarcastically to their claim. They had indeed ‘run ahead’. They had advanced so far that they had even left God behind them!”

(1:10-11) “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.”

Does this mean that we can’t allow a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness into our home when they knock on our door? This refers to giving them an “official welcome,” rather than merely offering “private hospitality.” Since the early church met in “houses” (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; 1 Tim. 3:15; Phile. 2), this likely refers to “receiving an itinerant preacher in the assembly of a house church.” After all, this is addressed to a church—not an individual. The “you” is plural—not singular. Thus, welcoming a false teacher communicates that the church approved of their false doctrines in house churches (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phile. 2).

Moreover, ancient Christians would practice hospitality to itinerant teachers, as well as give them financial aid. Thus, John is saying that they are “not to provide support and aid (e.g., a place to stay and money) to anyone who is spreading false teaching and disseminating error.”

“Participates in his evil deeds” (koinōneo) confirms the theory that this is referring to fellowship with false teacher. The practice of allowing false teachers into one’s home was a practical imperative for the time, but the timeless principle is to refrain from accepting false teachers in general. One application of this might be to allow a false teacher to teach at your Bible study, carrying on like nothing is wrong. Another might be to share a stage at a conference with a false teacher, which would imply that you agree with his or her views. If a false teacher comes to a time of Christian fellowship to learn, this should be welcomed. However, if he comes to teach, this is out of bounds.

John refers to the teaching of these men as acts of “evil deeds.” This is why these people shouldn’t be welcomed into fellowship. While this imperative is quite strong, Barker comments, “The statement is all the more remarkable since it comes from the ‘apostle of love.’” Because truth and love are so vitally intertwined, it is right to stand up for the truth. Barker continues, “We today can only be grateful that the infant church took heresy regarding the person of Christ seriously. Christianity stands or falls with its Christology. From the human point of view, if John and other apostolic leaders had tolerated the ‘antichrists’ who denied the basic truth of the Incarnation, the church might never have survived. We today are the beneficiaries of the spiritual discernment and moral courage of John and others like him.”

(1:12) “Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full.”

There is something better about meeting face to face, rather than writing a letter. In our modern age of email and social media, we can still bear witness to this truth.

(1:13) “The children of your chosen sister greet you.”

If this is a literal woman, then this would refer to her literal “sister” and literal “children.” However, if this “chosen lady” refers to the church, then this could refer to a neighboring church.