Until We Meet Face to Face

You can listen to the podcast here.

Last week John provided some harsh instructions to those that might consider entertaining deceivers. Don’t host a false teacher; you would be guilty by association. Stand firm in the truth that you’ve had from the beginning. Don’t be a part of their evil deeds. John now writes the last two verses of this short letter.

2 John 12-13 says, “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. The children of your chosen sister greet you.”

John has so much love. He concludes his letter by saying, “I have many things to write to you.” Some things are great to write down, but might be better to say in person. We know for sure that John sure does love these people. He has so much left to give, so much left to offer, so much more to invest in their lives. It’s almost like regret that John finishes writing. John 16:12, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” There was so much in John’s heart. He overflowed with things he wanted to impart on his readers, but just wasn’t able to write them all down. It’s hard for us to imagine John’s position. Today we tend to write in 140 character snippets. The art of letter writing is quickly disappearing. John’s hope is that he would, “Come to you and speak face to face.” Face to face literally means mouth to mouth. In Nu. 12:8, God and Moses spoke mouth to mouth. He wanted to be with them, to talk to them in person, to fellowship with them, to spend time with them. What exactly was on his mind, we don’t know. Was it of a personal or private nature? Was it too secret that he didn’t want this letter to get into the wrong hands? All we know was that he really wanted to see them.

John provides a great example. Even while we don’t know for sure what John had in mind, we know that he wanted to go to wherever these readers were. You can’t say enough about personal interaction. At this point John has written his gospel and the first letter to the church. Why the longing to see these people in person? Letters are great, but they are no substitute for personal interaction. If we jump to modern times, there is still no substitute for personal interaction. Don’t think that a text message does the same thing. Don’t think sending a message through Facebook accomplishes the same thing as spending time with someone. We are a group of people that was designed by God for fellowship. It is through our common belief in the Messiah that gives us the desire to closely associate with one another. It is imperative for us to connect with one another on an intimate level. The church is a place for learning, for training, for encouragement; a place to be challenged, a place to develop meaningful relationships. It seems as though the church has followed the world and become a place of shallow relationships. Other people are kept at a distance not wanting to get involved in one another’s lives. Some will cite their busyness. Some will say that they’ve done their part; it’s time for other people to get involved.  Some people think they don’t need anyone else. When differences or disagreements arise, there isn’t any discussion or working it out. They just get unfriended on Facebook. But we are the family of God. The reason we’re called family is because you cannot change the relationship between family members. Your kids will always be your kids. Your parents will always be your parents no matter what. Your brothers and sisters will always be your brothers and sisters no matter what they do, no matter how unkind or unloving they are. Families work things out. Families are related by blood. The family of God is related by the blood of Christ. Blood is thicker than water. The bonds of family are stronger than any other, but are they stronger than the bond of Christ? Matt. 10:37, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Nothing is as effective in developing relationships as time spent together. A text message can never substitute for a talk. Writing on someone’s wall can never substitute for the type of fellowship God designed for us through Christ.

So why is it so hard? Why do we find it so difficult to let down our guard? John desperately wanted to spend time with these believers and he longed for the time they would see each other face to face. Is that the way it is for us? We have a common bond in Christ. I got to thinking about this bond and I thought back to the days of high school chemistry and later my nuclear power training in the Navy. Atomic bonding is very cool. Water and salt are two examples of compounds that are held together by a covalent bond. That bond keeps them together. You can heat water with fire and it boils. It turns into steam – still H20. The molecule stays together. You can dissolve salt in a glass of water and the salt influences all of the water. The bond keeps these molecules together. Our bond in Christ is much stronger than that. Were there ever any problems among John’s readers that might strain that bond? There were people that said they didn’t have any sin in 1 Jo. 1:8 and 10. There were people that loved the world in 1 Jo. 2:15. They were prone to deception. They didn’t seem to have a handle on Christian love. There seemed to be some people that said one thing and acted in a way that contradicted what they said. Sure there were problems because there were people, but that didn’t negate John’s very strong bond with his readers.

He was eagerly anticipating a time when they could be face to face because his heart was so full and he wanted their, “joy to be made full.” Full means containing as much as can be held, room for no more, having no empty space. Meeting with John would cause these readers to be completely full of joy. The parallel is the same for us. Spending time with other Christians should fill us up, should encourage us, challenge us, bless us, edify us. The reality is that most Christians that are guarded or cautious are guarded and cautious because they were hurt at the hands of another Christian. Let me say that I understand, I get it. Eph. 4:31, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” Do you want to strike a blow to Satan’s plan; to his deception, to his lies? Love one another unconditionally. Love your neighbor unconditionally. Hurt can run very deep. God’s love and comfort runs even deeper. In Jer. 51:8b, “Bring balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed.” Gilead in the O.T. is the same place where Jesus cast the demons out of the swine in Luke 8. Jesus really is the only One that can heal.

John wants their, “joy to be made full.” Just like when your loved one has been gone, you want them to come home. John knows that they’ll have a great time of fellowship, of getting to know one another better, a time to enjoy one another’s company. John closes this letter by saying, “The children of your chosen sister greet you.” It’s like saying, “Hey, everyone with me says hey!” “Your chosen sister” likely refers to a sister church. Remember John started this letter by saying, “To the chosen lady and her children.” In other words, all your brothers and sisters in Christ. John wants complete joy for his readers and that of course comes through knowing Jesus as the Messiah. But it’s also fellowship with John and other believers.

No one is called out to be a lone ranger. We were designed for fellowship with Christ and with other believers. It’s time for Christians to put the past behind them and focus on what’s ahead of them. The past is passed. It cannot be changed. Let’s be all that we can be in Christ.

Harsh Instructions

You can listen to the podcast here.

The last time we were in 2 John, John spoke of the importance of truth. He said we are to walk in the truth that we’ve had from the beginning. Walking in truth gives the idea of something we are actively engaged in. Truth is our foundation and it gave John great joy to know that people were walking in it. Up to this point, John has been reminding his readers of things they were already doing, things he said in his first letter, and now he comes to the real reason he’s writing this letter.

2 John 10-11 says, “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; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

In v. 10, John takes a different direction than he has in previous verses. In his first letter, John mentioned love 46 times. He talked about loving the brethren as evidence that we have “passed from death into life” in 1 Jo. 3:14. In 1 Jo. 4:7-8 he said, “Let us love one another for love is from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows Him. The one who does not love does not know God for God is love.” Is this a contradiction to what he wrote before?  “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.” This seems to be pretty harsh for John, the disciple that Scripture refers to 5 times as the disciple, “whom Jesus loved.” Some Bible scholars want to throw this verse out claiming that it is unloving. John says, “If anyone comes.” He’s not talking about some hypothetical possibility that people always like to challenge you with. This is a likely scenario; this is a real likelihood in the life of an authentic Christian, so we need to be careful to understand this verse in its context.

As he has broadly said before, he’s talking about anyone – all inclusive. John has been telling them to walk in the truth. The deceivers that have gone into the world are not walking in the truth, are not abiding in the teaching of Christ, and therefore do not have God. John is not talking about a Christian brother or sister, he’s talking about a deceiver – someone intentionally trying to lead you astray. But don’t misunderstand John’s harsh warning and conclude that he has turned unloving. He’s not saying be mean, unkind, or judgmental. He’s not saying don’t try and talk to them and convince them they’re wrong. He’s not saying don’t bother to examine the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul that told Titus, “To exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”  (Tit. 1:9) And Paul didn’t use a do as I say not as I do mentality. Acts 17:2 says, “And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” This was what Paul was about. John is saying of course talk about it, but he’s not talking about something that we can agree to disagree on. You know the old statement, “Okay, you have your Jesus and I can have mine!” He’s talking about essentials. He’s talking about Jesus coming in the flesh. Denying that aspect of Christ denies everything about Christ and His purpose for coming. This is not a secondary, minor doctrine. It is the essential doctrine – everything else sits atop the foundation that is Jesus.

So what do you do?“Do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting.” Don’t give them a platform for their deception. Don’t give them an audience for their false teaching. This doesn’t seem very hospitable. It seems really contrary to John’s life guiding principle of loving others. In fact, it seems to be the opposite. Rom. 16:17, “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.” Gal. 1:8, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” Our responsibility is clear. Yes, love them. Yes, try and persuade them with the truth. Yes, try and evangelize them. Yes, minister to them. BUT: don’t let them stay with you. Back in John’s day, it was quite common for traveling missionaries to stay in the homes of local Christians. Don’t do this. “Do not give him a greeting.” That’s kind of strange. In other words, don’t send them off with your or God’s blessing. Matt. 10:14, “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.” The principle is the same. Don’t look back, don’t change what you believe, don’t compromise. Simply move on in prayer.

But what if we do participate? John says if we do invite them in, if we do fall for their deception, we are guilty by association. “The one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.” If you invite them in, give them a greeting, you would actually be participating in what they are doing. In our society, people often determine what is right and wrong for Christians to do. They define what is right or wrong. They determine what the Christian thing to do or not do is. In the Christian community, we sometimes take this to the extreme of offering grace despite the warning of Scripture. If someone comes with a different gospel, lovingly, but firmly refute it. Don’t worry if some might accuse you of being unkind or unloving. Allowing error to continue is neither kind not loving. Allowing error to continue is detrimental to authentic Christianity, detrimental to the Kingdom, is detrimental to the cause of Christ. Don’t be afraid to stand up for truth. Don’t be timid in defending what you know to be right. There are people that will get into a knock down drag out fight over the superiority of their vehicle yet don’t say a word about the truth that is found in Christ. There are people that will argue over sports or politics, but when it comes to the truth that is found in the gospel of Christ, they will be silent. There are people who will butt into a conversation about the best college team, the best doughnut or the best coffee, but when it comes to religion, they don’t want to offend anyone. Our fight isn’t against the cults, but against the ultimate deceiver, against the one the Bible describes as being a liar from the beginning. Eph. 6:10-20 is an excellent passage describing who our fight is against and how can we be prepared for the battle that is coming, for the battle we are in. I encourage you to take the time to read it.

The Lord has entrusted His battle to us. We are His soldiers. Time is short to engage in the fight for truth. Will you stand with Christ today?

Watch Out!

You can listen to the podcast here.

Last week John spoke of the importance of truth. He said we are to walk in the truth that we’ve had from the beginning. Walking in truth gives the idea of something we are actively engaged in. Truth is our foundation and it gave John great joy to know that people were walking in it. Up to this point, John has been reminding them of things they were already doing, things he said in his first letter, and now he comes to the real reason he’s writing this letter.

2 John 7-9 says, “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. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 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.”

John starts out with the truth about Christ. As we have seen on numerous occasions, truth matters to John. He offers a warning in v. 7 that, “Many deceivers have gone out into the world.” This is a parallel passage to 1 Jo. 2:18-19. Many deceivers have gone out. Many – not a few. Deceive comes from the word that means to deliberately cause someone to believe something that is not true. This is in contrast to those that are walking in truth. Where have they gone? “Out into the world.” That evil system that is set against God. How do we really know they’re against God? They, “Do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.” This is the age old mark of a false teacher, of a deceiver, of a cultist. They attack the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ. Show me someone that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Christ; that does not believe that Jesus is God, and I’ll show you someone that is on the path of destruction. This is common among cults. They attack the cornerstone of our faith. They attack the foundation that is Christ. What you believe about Jesus shapes your theology. What you believe about Jesus influences your beliefs about creation, humanity, sin, and of course salvation. The deceivers of John’s day, like the deceivers of today are dangerous. The people that claim a different gospel than the gospel that centers on Jesus Christ are destructive. Those that claim the Bible is irrelevant for today. Those that claim Jesus is a god rather than the one and only true God. Those that claim all roads lead to heaven. Those that claim there is no literal heaven or hell. Those that claim the body simply ceases to exist after death.

There are many deceivers and they would include the Gnostics which was a growing group at the time. Why was Gnosticism growing? Remember that they believed Jesus never actually became flesh. Flesh was evil and impervious to anything the spirit did so it didn’t matter how the body lived. That’s a convenient way to live a life enslaved to sin yet still somehow believe you’re a Christian. We still see this today, although we probably don’t attribute it to Gnosticism. In our modern, churchy society, we simply redefine sin and redefine the character of God. The big but here is that, “This is the deceiver and the antichrist.” There is an abiding truth that lives in the heart of every believer. There is an influence in this world for good. There is still a chance to win the world for Christ. As long as there is a chance for good to prevail, evil sets itself against Christ, sets itself in opposition to all that is good and pure and holy. John is emphatic: “This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”

John provides a very clear warning in v. 8. He simply says, “Watch yourselves.” In other words, watch out, be on your guard, be careful, be ready. Watch is a verb – a present tense command. There is no time that you can let down your guard. Remember there are many deceivers in the world that want to derail and destroy you and they do it by deception. They say . . . it’s just one time; it won’t hurt anyone; it’s my body; what your wife (or husband) doesn’t know won’t hurt her (him); everybody does it. John says be ready.  Do not be complacent. There will always be a pull to that easy type believism. Have you ever said something like, “I’m surprised they believed something so wrong.” I can’t believe they believed that email. I can’t believe they sent money to that Nigerian prince.

Many people are swayed to untruth because it’s easier. Matt. 24:4, “And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.” Be careful what you hear, including in this place. One caution though. Before you go on a rant or tirade, have your facts straight. If you take exception to something I say I encourage you to come to me. I’d be glad to discuss it, but please do your homework first. I can’t tell you how many people believe things that have no basis, that are grounded in feelings rather than facts. This is in the church and out. “Watch yourselves” John says. Why?  So “that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.” John is concerned that they could lose what they have worked so hard for. Let’s let Scripture interpret Scripture. In Eph. 2:8 Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that  not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” So John is not talking about working for salvation, he’s talking about faithfulness; he’s talking about perseverance, he’s talking about being steadfast as a result of your salvation. He’s talking about all the work in evangelism, in teaching, in gentle pastoral care, in discipling, in mentoring would all be lost if the church does not continue to walk in the truth they received from the beginning. If you watch yourselves, you’ll be ready to combat the deception of those antichrists that are present in the world.

1 Cor. 3:8 says, “Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” In the Christian life, there are rewards to be gained. That’s not why we do things necessarily. We serve because we love God. One of the wonderful things about God is that He rewards us for the things we do in His name. Heaven is not the reward John’s talking about – remember we’re not saved by works, but by grace. John’s talking about walking in it – walking in truth. Because we’re walking in truth, we’re demonstrating that we really belong to Christ. Our lives are filled with the things that matter most to God. We are Kingdom minded; we look at life through the eyes of God. In his gospel, John wrote, “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” (Jo. 4:36) Since we are wrapped up in authenticity, we stand with Christ and are on the alert for deceivers and false teachers.

John offers a very sobering conclusion. This is an all inclusive statement and pretty condemning too. He says, “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.” That’s a pretty broad claim to make. “Goes too far” means to be progressive. It gives the idea of new ways of thinking, of the new things of Jesus Christ and His Father. It is a continual search for the latest Christian trends and fads. It is seeking fresh ideas; always looking. On Paul’s second missionary journey, he came to Athens and met with the same type of people John is talking about. Acts 17:21 says, “Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend all their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.” Remember it was John that said, “I’m not coming to you with a new commandment, but with one that we’ve had from the beginning.” It is the unchanging truth. Heb.13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” We need to take this with a cautionary note. John is not condemning the new. In Gen. 1:28 God’s mandate to Adam and Eve was to subdue the earth. Ps. 115:16, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.” Man’s quest for knowledge is not bad. This quest gave us such things as the wheel, the lever, eyeglasses, electricity, the combustion engine, yellow stickies, and Facebook. The message and teachings of Christ are unchanged, but the method is continuously changing. We have technology and we should use it to spread the unchanging gospel message. “The one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.”    This is a present reality for the authentic Christian. That means living out the principles that are found in His Word. Jo. 7:16, “So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”

Once again, we see the reality of abiding in Christ. Just as we saw in 1 John, being a follower of Christ means you are consistently living out and demonstrating the principles that are found in God’s Word. If you don’t abide in Christ’s teaching, you don’t have the Son and as a result, you don’t have the Father.

An Elder’s Joy

You can listen to the podcast here.

Last week we were introduced to John’s second letter. We saw that the author was John and he was once again, writing to the church. He loved them in truth, and so does everyone who knows the truth. He gives them a nice greeting and now he takes some time to remind them of something they know and sets up his readers for the truth that is to come.

2 John 4-6 says, “I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father. 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. 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.”

John starts out on a positive note. Anytime you’re going to tell someone something difficult, you might want to start off with something positive. If you start off negative, the positive tends to get lost. John kicks it off with, “I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth.”  Find is in the perfect tense. That means either John has come across some people from the church at some point from the time he wrote the first letter to this letter. Or he has talked to someone that has had interaction with these people. They were walking in truth when he saw them and they’re continuing to do so. He was very glad. He was very pleased. It brought John joy to know that there were people of faith that were actually doing the things he thought they should do. Don’t get hung up on the word some. John did not receive a report about everyone. They were, “Walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.”

Truth is from the Greek word aletheia meaning the truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians. This is the same word Jesus used John 14:6 when He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but through Me.” This is the same truth that is referred to as the Gospel of salvation in Eph. 1:13 and Col 1:5. The church of the living God is grounded on this same truth in 1 Tim. 3:15. This is the same truth that we are commanded to rightly divide in 2 Tim. 2:15. The children are walking in the truth – present tense. Isn’t that what we want for our children? We want our kids to remember what we teach them and live out what we teach them. Paul was concerned that his instruction and teaching to the Galatians was in vain because they had gone back to the bondage of the law even though they had been saved by grace. In context though, John isn’t talking about kids even though it’s a good application. He’s talking about children of God. How can they walk in truth? The truth, “abides in us, and will be with us forever.” (2 Jo. 2) What is the truth?

Authentic faith has three characteristics as described in 1 John. Belief in the humanity and deity of Jesus the Christ. Love for God and others. A demonstration of the indwelling of the Spirit of God. They’re walking in the truth. This is what they believe and what they do. Vance Havner, the great 20^th century preacher said, “What we live is what we believe. Everything else is just religious talk.” When you really think about that, he couldn’t be more correct. There are people who talk a good talk, but that’s the extent of it. I’m not talking about church necessarily, but that’s a good barometer. There are people who profess to be Christians that have time for everything except God. They’ll use their jobs as an excuse. They’ll use their children or grandchildren. They’ll talk about needing to rest and relax. After all, you only live once and you need to be involved with all this stuff. That’s one of Satan’s deceptions: you can have it all now and make time for God later. “What we live is what we believe. Everything else is just religious talk.” If we live like we don’t need God, it doesn’t matter what you say. Walking in truth isn’t something you do one day and not the next. Walking is an action word. It means moving forward at a steady pace. It is doctrine, it is Christian responsibility, it is what we do, it is who we are. You’ve heard it said, “Do as I say not as I do?” That’s the exact opposite from what John is saying. He says, “I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.” He’s walking in the truth too. That was God’s command.

John now gives a gentle request. He is setting up the lady for what is to come. He could have made demands. Giving commands was certainly within his authority as an apostle. But he uses a gentle approach. On the surface, it is a simple request. Verse 5 says, “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.” This is nothing new; in fact it’s nearly identical to what he said back in his first letter. In 1 Jo. 2:7 he said, “I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.” This is not a new word. Be careful of the people that are always coming up with a new word, a new revelation, a new way. Some think that old is always bad. It’s got to be new and improved. New formula, new labeling, new packaging all designed to keep it “fresh.” John’s coming at them with a same old same old word that they’ve known about from the beginning. So why say it again? “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.” I think it’s safe to assume that since he is repeating himself, that this local church may not be living up to the commands of God in the area of love.

John provides a pretty good definition of love. “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments.” John’s definition is fundamental. It is foundational to Christian character. It is the cornerstone on which everything else rests. We walk according to what God has told us. It’s not just the ten things, but everything that is found in His word. The word of God is consistent, it is constant, it is applicable for every individual. You can develop statements of faith from it, develop vision from it, you can teach from it, preach from it, encourage from it, challenge people from it, correct people from it, counsel people from it, find financial, marriage, and financial guidance from it, and you can lead people to Jesus from it. “This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.” The command is from the beginning. From the beginning of time, from the beginning of Christ, from the beginning of your Christian walk when you decided that Jesus was the way, the truth and the life. The Gospel is rooted in the truth that was demonstrated when God sent His one and only Son to the world because He loved us. We are to walk in it. What is the it? Is it love? Truth? Mercy? Peace? Can we be more specific? No where in John’s writings does he say walk in love. But he does say walk in truth. As we have seen, truth encompasses the entire word of God which would definitely include love.

This is all part of John’s theme of truth. It’s all a demonstration of his great love for this body of believers. But it’s not just talk. It’s action. John is preparing them for something that is going to be hard to hear, hard to do, but that doesn’t stop John from speaking the truth in love. So what’s coming? We’ll see next week.

The Introduction

You can listen to the podcast here.

Last week we closed the book on John’s first letter. One would think that everything that needed to be covered was covered. But John felt the need to send another letter, probably fairly soon after the first. We don’t know the exact date, but it was sometime around 90 A.D. This is a short letter, just 13 verses and is referred to as a postcard letter, likely written on just one page of papyrus. Did John really write this letter and if so, who did he write to this time and why did he write it? Great questions. We’ll answer these and more as we look at John’s second letter.

I’d like you to read all of 2 John to get a feeling for the context.

Look at the strange greeting. The writer calls himself the Elder. Why not just say his name? This term gives us the idea of the author’s relationship and position with his readers.  When I send an email to my kids, I sign it “Dad.” There are millions of dads in the world so how do they know it’s really from me? Context! They know it’s from me without giving my name because of what is in the email. The idea here is that the recipients of the letter would know who it is simply because he calls himself the elder. For the people he’s writing to, his position is more important than his name. Elder gives us the idea of someone that is old or aged. In the church, the word elder carries more significance. It gives us the idea of authority and leadership, of someone that is an example of Christian character and maturity. Peter says that elders are examples to the flock in 1 Pet. 5:3. In Scripture the word is typically plural and refers to a group of men that are in authority in a local assembly of Christians. At the time of this letter, the elder is at the end of his life and there isn’t a need for him to identify himself. His readers know who it is and by the context of the letter, there is little doubt that it is the Apostle John, the last living apostle. So who is John writing to? He’s writing, “To the chosen lady and her children.” This is a strange way to address the letter, but think about the way you have written letters or sent cards. You might write a letter beginning with, “To my dearest wife [husband].” If Kari gets a letter that says, “To my dearest wife,” I guarantee she’ll know who it’s from. So this letter is, “To the chosen lady and her children.” Look how John describes them. Of the recipients of the letter John says, “Whom I love in the truth and not only I, but also all who know the truth, for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.”     If we think back to 1 John, we know he wrote to the church. He described the church as having fellowship with John and his colleagues because they have fellowship with the Father and His Son. Now here in 2 John, look at the key words that pop out. Love, truth, know, and abide. All were key words in 1 John. He mentions truth four times in the first three verses.

It’s personal for John. Of the people he’s writing to he says, “I love in the truth.” There is an intimate, personal relationship between the author and the recipients. He wants them to know he loves them – present tense. His love for them should motivate them to listen to what he is saying – to what he is about to say. His love for them would pull at their heart strings. When you know someone loves you, you should have a desire to listen to them even when what is said is difficult to hear. The overarching attribute is love. That should be the caveat. If I have to talk to you about something, you should be thinking, I know that Pastor Ian loves me. But how does John love? He loves them in truth. Love means telling people not what they want to hear, but what the truth is. In Eph. 4:15 Paul said, “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” Truth is part of our spiritual growth. There were a lot of things John wrote in his first letter that was hard to hear. We need to look at the evidence rather than what we want to believe and that is often difficult. That’s how we grow in Christ. Remember that John said, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” (1 Jo. 3:18)

You cannot separate love and truth. Truth is the foundation of love. Truth defines love. Truth matters and it really mattered to John. Remember the great words of Jesus in Jo.14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Truth is the cornerstone of our salvation. It is truth that makes us free in Jo. 8:32. It is God our Savior who, “Desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4) Even a small untruth in the church can cause devastating results. Truth is not relative. Truth is not dependant on the individual or the situation. Truth is truth. There are people that try to deceive, that try to challenge the truth, that seek to derail and destroy you. Peter warned that “False prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”  (2 Pet. 2:1) Paul cautioned the Romans by saying, “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.”  (Rom. 16:17) Paul told Timothy to, “Remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines.” (1 Tim.1:3) As long as there are people, there will be error. The only way to combat that error is to know the truth.      Not only does John love them, “But also all who know the truth.” This gives some additional insight into who John is writing to. In his first letter, John said that the words he proclaimed was so that the people he was writing to could have fellowship with John and his colleagues because their fellowship was with the Father and His Son. (1 Jo. 1:3) “All who know the truth.” You’re not born with truth though. Remember that John said he and his colleagues had, “Come to know the truth.” (1 Jo. 2:3) Those that know the truth are the ones that keep God’s commandments. “All who know the truth” would be lumped together in what we call the universal church. People all across the world and across time that have recognized the truth that is found in the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ love the people John is writing to. Remember one of the distinguishing marks of a Christian is the ability to love.

So what? The so what is found in v. 2. It is, “For the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.” There are two things that are really significant in this verse. First, the truth abides in us. As an authentic child of God, the truth lives in you, lives in me. Since the truth is in us, we must be devoted to God the Father and to His Son Jesus Christ. That should mean something. That abiding presence provides for our transformation because we are renewing our mind with the truth. As we live in Christ each day, we equip ourselves with the tools necessary to fight off the false teachers and deceivers that are sure to come. Second, the truth will be us forever. Forever is a long time. That truth is unchanging because its source is God who is unchanging.

A stern warning is found in Jude 17-23. The truth is able to save, able to transform. The truth makes a difference. John closes out his greeting in v. 3. Notice that he says, “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us.” I don’t want you to lose the importance of this simple, yet profound greeting. This is the Christian Triple Crown. Grace – giving us what we do not deserve. Mercy – not giving us what we deserve. Peace – giving us what we need based on His grace and mercy. The word order is significant. God’s grace is always first. Mercy and peace flow out of His grace. “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us.” John is confident because grace, mercy, and peace come, “from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father.” God and Jesus are on equal footing. They are the same and have the ability to offer the same things yet John distinguishes between the two. Blessings flow equally from the Father and the Son. What you receive from the Father, you can receive from the Son. What you receive from the Son, you can receive from the Father. They are the same, yet separate. Any theological premise that does not include the God the Father being equal yet separate with God the Son is faulty. One final piece of importance in this verse. Notice the key words truth and love at the end. They’re at the end indicating the importance. Truth and love cannot be separated. You cannot have one without the other. John is preparing us for what is to come.

If we are to be the church God intends us to be, we must be unwavering in the truth. If this is to be the case, then love must surely follow. Truth should bring unity. Truth is the only way to fight against the falsehood that is so prevalent today – even in Christian circles. So our journey into this short letter has begun.