Second Epistle of John

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The Second Epistle of John (normally just called 2nd John or 2 John) is a book of the Bible New Testament. It is the 63rd book of the Bible, and the shortest, weighing in at a mere 13 verses. As such, it is short enough to include here in its entirety:

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us for ever:

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

I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.

Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in 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; for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.

Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.[1]

It is addressed to "the elect lady," and closes with the words, "The children of thy elect sister greet thee;" but some would read instead of "lady" the proper name Kyria. Of the thirteen verses composing this epistle seven are in the First Epistle. The person addressed is commended for her piety, and is warned against false teachers.

Naturally, another interpretation is possible. In the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, the writer speaks of a woman and a dragon. The dragon plots maliciously against the woman and one of her children, but is frustrated in his attempts to do them harm. In anger he then pursues the rest of her children.

Verse four of 2nd John reads, "I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth." It may be the woman of portent from Revelation to which this epistle is addressed.

The language of this epistle is remarkably similar to 3 John. It is therefore the scholarly consensus that the same man wrote both of these letters, although it has been doubted that he also wrote the Gospel of John, the First Epistle, or the Book of Revelation.

Also significant is the clear warning against paying heed to those who say that Jesus was not a flesh-and-blood figure: For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This establishes that, from the time the epistle was first written, there were those who had docetic Christologies, or who believed that Jesus was allegory, or not real whatsoever. I.e. this establishes the possibility of the presence of gnosticism at the dawn of Christianity, or, as claimed by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy amongst others, indicates that Jesus was a purely mythical figure from the start.

The vehemence with which such anti-corporeal attitudes are condemned in the letter also indicates that those holding such a position were sufficiently vocal, persuasive, or numerous enough to merit rebuttal in this form.

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

[edit] Simple Exposition

The Second Epistle of John

This short epistle may only have taken a few minutes to pen but its message and importance are of abiding value. As with 3 John, it insists on the truth as being of paramount importance. The difference of emphasis between these two is that the 2nd warns the faithful against the reception of those who do not bring the truth, whereas the 3rd encourages believers to receive and help on those who teach it. For John, truth mattered. Doctrinal rectitude was not regarded as an unimportant theological triviality. To John it was vital. Vital issues were at stake and he desired that the recipient might not scruple to maintain what was due to the Lord.

‘The elder’ (Verse 1) John is not writing as one of the apostles, although they were the highest authority on earth in the assembly. By describing himself thus he suggests the moral features of elders. Paul had previously written about the importance of speaking things that become sound doctrine, that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience (Titus 2:1-2).

John had grown old in Christ’s service and his life was consistent with being Christ’s servant. He would write with due respect to a mother. Discretion is shown in not naming her,1 especially as the contents of this letter were destined to become public. John expresses his holy affection along with that of all who rejoice in the truth. His love for her and her children was regulated by truth. 1Unlike the 3rd, this epistle has no personal names, which to my mind is in keeping with the one whom it addresses.

‘The elect lady’ (Verse 1) This is an individual Christian. If it were an assembly, as some have suggested, we would expect a precise parallel in the last verse, a greeting from church to church. We should not imagine that the recipient of this letter was called Electa or Kyria. There is no indication in the New Testament that anyone bore these names. Election under the dispensation of grace is directed to individuals, not to companies. Election is personal: we are not chosen in bundles.

‘For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever’ (Verse 2) The Spirit of truth will abide in us forever. His truth is not subject to the vagaries of time. It is unchangeable and unalterable. There is no development. It is not subject to an evolutionary process. The truth is ‘the faith which was once delivered unto the saints’ (Jude 3b). This indwelling truth within the believer is the great preservative against error.

‘Grace be with you, mercy, and peace’ (Verse 3) The source of grace, mercy2 and peace is God alone. The Father and His Son are brought before us. This relationship is made known to us for our blessing, enjoyment and adoration. The Son is the One in whom the truth displays all its glory. The enjoyment of the love of God rests on the revelation of the Son of His love. 2The inclusion of mercy in the greeting is consistent with the Spirit’s usage in Paul’s writings and suggests again that the letter was to an individual and not to an assembly.

Verses 4-6 John was much encouraged to see some of the sister’s children walking in truth, though sadly not all her offspring walked thus. God’s Word regulated their pathway: ‘as we have received a commandment from the Father’. In his 1st epistle he gives us what this was: ‘And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment’ (1 John 3:23). Paul touches on this in Colossians 2:6: ‘As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him’.

The writer urges the elect lady to continue in what was original. The apostles had enjoyed Christ from the beginning. Continuance in Divine truth was essential for a walk that pleased God. Some Christians consider that a commandment must necessarily involve what is legal. It would be well if such thoughts were discarded as a mistake. The Lord Jesus speaks of commandments and it is He who gives them a character wholly distinct from the law. May we be given grace to walk in ways pleasing to God.

Verse 7 To walk in the truth is imperative, in the face of the multitude of deceivers who traverse the world. They do not confess Jesus Christ who came in flesh. It was not just a matter of whether there was incarnation. The point John makes is in relation to all the truth concerning Christ’s Person. The work of these deceivers was a moral falsity — a deceit that was also a substitute for the Truth: an abstract idol. Would they tolerate a true or a false Christ?

Verses 8-11 The sister and her children are addressed here in verse 8. They were to exercise unwavering firmness about all the truth concerning Christ’s Person. John wanted his converts to ‘stand fast in the Lord’. As the Philippians were Paul’s joy and crown, so he did not want to lose his reward3 (Phil. 4:1). There is a reward and a crown of glory for the labourers. These were the fruits of his service. Present service rendered among the saints as unto Christ will have a reward in the ‘world to come’. Are we currently labouring in the light of the judgment seat of Christ? 3Some editors render 2 John 8 ‘... that ye lose not ... which ye have wrought’, etc. The ‘we’ may embrace his correspondents.

Verse 9 The transgression referred to in verse 9 is really turning aside from, or going beyond, what God has revealed. There is no development of the truth as to Christ’s Person. We are bidden with the first recipients of this letter to continue in ‘that which we had from the beginning’, but the deceivers did not abide in the doctrine of Christ. They had new ideas, but Christians have been instructed otherwise (Eph. 4:20). We live in a tolerant world, but God’s Word is plain and uncompromising. ‘To the law and to the testimony: If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them’ (Isa. 8:20): here in 2 John we read, ‘... hath not God’. But the one who abides in the doctrine of Christ has a wonderful privilege: ‘he hath both the Father and the Son’4. 4The enjoyment of rest is based on the knowledge of this blessed relationship. See Matthew 11:27-29.

Verses 10-11 The likelihood of a deceiver arriving at the sister’s house was anticipated by John. The test of fellowship was the doctrine of Christ. It is the same today. The great touchstone is Christ, His Person and His work. The message that the false teachers of today bring, like that of their counterparts of old, is always short of vital truth in relation to God and the revelation of His Son. The important thing was that they brought ‘this doctrine’. There was really no room for neutrality as to Christ’s Person. They had to come with sound doctrine.

‘Receive him not’ These are unattractive words to the carnal man. The Ephesians were to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11). It may have been a distressing duty but she, and we, must show unwavering firmness regarding all the truth of Christ. The perilous character of the last days enhanced the imperative. The silly women referred to in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 stand as a salutary warning. This elect lady would doubtless heed the elder’s instruction. Her home, the sphere of her responsibility and service, would not be defiled with what was contrary to Christ. ‘... neither bid him God speed’: even the briefest encounter could help on the deceit of Satan.

Verses 12-13 It appears that John was impressed with the urgency of the situation. The need for this brief epistle was evidently occasioned by the expected imminent arrival of a deceiver. The other matters would wait for a hoped-for visit. The joy of mutual fellowship with like-minded souls going on in the truth is not only the privilege of an apostle in the first century. We too may still know something of this wonderful fellowship in our own day.

In conclusion we should observe the following salient features of the epistle:

The false doctrine was denial of the truth of Christ come in flesh. John, however, writes in a general way (verse 9). Satan was even then undermining the truth.
A Christian woman having the Word of God — this letter — was capable of judging the doctrine of one coming to her house. She was responsible to do so. Inexorable rigour was to be maintained if the doctrine concerning Christ’s blessed Person was touched. The door was to be firmly shut on whoever falsified the truth.
The semblance of love which does not maintain the truth but accommodates itself to that which is not truth, is not love according to God. The true test of love is maintenance of truth. The Holy Spirit, who sheds God’s love abroad in our hearts, is the Spirit of truth. Truth and obedience are essential factors in the expression of true love.
The foundation of Christianity is Christ Himself; I must have Him. My faith must cling to Him alone. I may not be able to refute the false teachers, but my faith cleaves to the Lord with purpose of heart.

by Edwin Cross