THE OBTRUSIVE KNOCK on my front door came on a Saturday mid-morning. I was lazily enjoying my day and half-resented the interruption. When I opened the door, there stood two young men in white dress shirts—clean-cut, all-American guys with smiles on their faces and bicycles parked on the sidewalk in front of my house. “Good morning! We are out visiting for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. May we talk to you?” Kindly but firmly I responded in the negative. I further told them that Mormonism was a cult and that they were teaching false doctrine concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ. I urged them to repent of their false doctrine and turn to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who alone paid the price for their sins on the cross and who alone was the way, the truth, and the life. It became immediately apparent they weren’t accustomed to this kind of rejoinder. They made one final attempt to weaken my resolve, but to no avail. They returned to their bicycles and pedaled down the street, probably shaking their heads at the poor deluded soul they had just encountered. Some people might consider my response to these two Mormon missionaries as less than hospitable. They would be correct! In fact, I was merely practicing what John teaches all Christians to do in this letter of 2 John. False doctrine is serious business because eternal souls are at stake. In John’s day false teachers sought to infiltrate the church and peddle their false doctrine. John resisted them sternly and teaches us today to do the same.
Greeting (vv. 1–3)
John began his first letter in a rather unusual way and without a formal salutation as was customary at the time. He begins this second letter with something of a more formal opening (vv. 1–3), but still in a very unusual way. John calls himself “the elder,”1 and the church to whom he writes he calls “the elect lady and her children.” So strange is this opening that some have suggested John was actually writing to a woman, a matron, and her children. But it is better to interpret “elect lady” as a reference to a particular local church, probably somewhere in Asia Minor. In his first letter John often spoke of his readers as “children.” Such symbolic usage is probably his strategy here. If the word translated “lady” refers to an individual, then it would be stretching credibility to suppose that she had a sister by the same name who is mentioned in verse 13 as well: “The children of your elect sister greet you.” It is highly unlikely that this is a reference to literal children of a literal sister. Personification is John’s way of writing about the church and her members.
John speaks of his love for the Christians to whom he writes. He loves them intently as evidenced by his choice to use the emphatic first-person pronoun in Greek. His use of the phrase “in truth” (v. 1) can be taken in two ways. He may mean something like “whom I love genuinely or truly.”2 Or he could be speaking of the truth of the gospel. He includes all believers with him when he says, “and not only I, but also all who know the truth.” When John uses the word “know,” he intends to convey an experiential aspect to it as well. They not only “know” the truth, but they have believed the truth as well. His readers had come to the point where they had committed themselves to the validity of the gospel as “truth.” The truth here is ultimately the truth of the gospel, which means the truth about Jesus and all it entails. The essential content of Christianity is conveyed in this notion of “truth.” John says the truth “abides” in us and “will be with us forever.” Here John is personifying the truth to refer to Jesus or perhaps the Holy Spirit who indwells every Christian and who will be with us eternally. Christians who truly possess the truth, which is eternal life through Christ who is the truth, are eternally secure based on Christ’s abiding presence in his children forever. Furthermore, Christians who possess God’s truth are equipped to fend off all false doctrines, as John will make clear in this letter.3
John continues his introduction in verse 3 by invoking that great Christian triumvirate of “grace, mercy, and peace.” “Grace” describes all that God has done for us in Christ that we did not deserve. “Mercy” is God not giving us all we do deserve! “Peace” is the resulting state we have with God and with others that results from the application of God’s grace and mercy to our lives. These three Christian graces from God “will be with us.” John associates himself with the group he is addressing. The source of these wonderful gifts is God himself, who is the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ. Here John firmly identifies and locates Jesus in the Godhead as “Son” to God the Father. Notice the human name “Jesus” and the divine title “Christ,” meaning “Messiah.” These Christian blessings have come to us “in truth and love.”4 “Truth” is an attribute of God’s character expressed in his Word and his gospel, and “love” is the divine motivation for all God does for those who are his children. John is referring to true belief in Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, and the spirit of genuine love that belief generates.5
Love One Another (vv. 4–6)
After his introduction (vv. 1–3), John’s letter is composed of three paragraphs (4–6, 7–11, 12–13). Basically what John is saying to us in this letter is: know the truth, walk in the truth, and abide in the truth. In verse 4 John expresses his joy over the fact that “some” of the believers (“your children”) are faithfully living out the Christian life, which is what “walking in the truth” means. Apparently, prior to writing, John had encountered some of the members of this congregation, perhaps in their travels. When John says “some,” we might infer that some of the members of this congregation were not remaining faithful. But more than likely John means to refer to “some” of the congregation whom he had encountered. Actually it is John’s next statement that lets us in on why John is so happy about things. These believers were behaving Christianly: “just as we were commanded by the Father.” For John, nothing can take the place of obedience (“walking in the truth”) in the Christian life.
Love and obedience always go together in the Christian life. Hence John asks his readers to “love one another” (v. 5). He reminds them that this is “not . . . a new commandment” but one that has been around “from the beginning” of the gospel. John’s definition of love is certainly different from most of our modern definitions, which celebrate feelings and sentimentality. Love is more than mere feelings; it is an act of the will. That is why John teaches us to live our lives according to God’s commands as revealed in his Word. The word “commandments” (v. 6) is an active proposition entailing that we must do something, namely, obey the commands. The metaphor of “walking” is a good way to describe living the Christian life. The phrase “according to” paints the picture of the old balance scale. John’s point is that our behavior should balance out with what God says our behavior should be. Once again John appeals to the fact that this command to love one another finds its source in Jesus himself who taught it to his disciples.6 Since this command is “from the beginning,” John considers it foundational for our Christian conduct.
Correct belief and correct behavior always go together. The Biblical teaching is that right behavior should always follow right belief. Only when we know what we believe and why we believe it will we be in a position to behave it! Ephesians 4:1 is the hinge verse connecting the doctrinal section of Paul’s letter (chapters 1–3) with the application section (chapters 4–6): “I, therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” In Philippians 1:27 Paul writes, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Notice Paul’s use of the word “worthy” in both places. The meaning is, “Let your behavior balance out with what the gospel says your behavior should be.” Paul and John use the same concept of balance to express how our conduct should be commensurate with the gospel.
Watch for Impostors (vv. 7–11)
With verse 7 John shifts to another topic: false teachers and their false doctrine. False teachers and false doctrine is serious business. A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.7 John calls them “deceivers,” a descriptive term that identifies their activity. These deceivers are deniers! They deny the incarnation of Jesus. They have gone out into the world carrying their false doctrine with them. Christian ethics called for Christians to show hospitality to traveling teachers and missionaries when they came to town. But what if the traveling missionary or teacher was a false teacher? John’s second letter shows this had become a problem in the early church.8 Their threat to John’s readers was serious, and so John could not wait for a proposed visit but must address the situation with urgency, as implied in verse 12. We are to be on our guard against false teachers and their teaching, and we are not to help or encourage false teachers in any way.
Second John could be an emergency application of the teaching the apostle had already given in 1 John. Denial of the incarnation of Jesus constituted the essence of the false doctrine John combated in both letters. The specter of an incipient form of Gnosticism9 troubled some of the churches. One of the key false doctrines that Gnosticism propounded was a dualism between matter and spirit. Hence Jesus, in his pre-incarnate state, could not become a man according to this false teaching. This cuts straight to the heart of Christianity, and John wastes no time exposing it as false doctrine. John marks each one of these false teachers as a “deceiver” and “antichrist.”10 The word “antichrist” means “against Christ” or “in the place of Christ.” John does not mean that any one of these false teachers is the personal Antichrist spoken of in Revelation as the final world ruler who opposes Christ just before his second coming. Rather, any and all false teachers partake of the character of the final antichrist. The spirit of Antichrist is already at work in the world preparing for the final unveiling of the Antichrist during the time of the Great Tribulation spoken of in Revelation. The rise of religious liberalism since the Enlightenment, the humanization of God, the deification of man, the growing acceptance of universalism all seem to be paving the way for a coming world dictator. The Bible’s inerrancy and authority is routinely denied among many, especially in the mainline denominations. The amazing thing about it is that all of this is done under the guise of a larger conception of God! From the perspective of liberal Christianity, it is conservative, orthodox Christianity that has an anemic, restricted view of God and religion. This is the spirit of antichrist.
Verses 8–11 constitute a paragraph with three main propositions. Verse 8 commands us to self-watch so that we may not lose something but rather “win a full reward.” The use of the command “watch yourselves” is the translation of a Greek word used often by Jesus in the Gospels to warn the disciples of deceivers, as well as by Paul and the author of Hebrews. The present imperative stresses the need for us to be on constant guard. Complacency may lead us to a false sense of security, thinking we are beyond the seductive nature of false teachers and their teaching. There is a textual question in verse 8 that may impact how we interpret this verse. In each of the three verbs, there is a question whether the first-person plural (we) or second-person plural (you) should be used. The specific question is whether the verse should read “what you have worked for” or “what we have worked for.” The evidence is about equally split, and so neither reading can claim priority.
Three possible interpretations exist for verse 8. First, some see John teaching that it is possible for a genuine believer to lose his or her salvation. Second, others think John is teaching, based on the context of verse 9, that those who don’t continue in sound doctrine give evidence they were never genuinely converted in the first place. Third, it is possible that John is referring to loss of rewards for genuine believers. John Stott captures the essence of this approach: “The thought is not of their winning or losing their salvation (which is a free gift), but their reward for faithful service. The metaphor seems to be taken from the payment of labour, since reward (misthos) is a workman’s wage (as in Mt. xx:8; Jn. iv:36; Jas. v.4).”11 Since the larger context of the New Testament, including John’s writings, indicate that those who are genuinely converted cannot lose their salvation, option one is incorrect. Options two and three are both possible. If the term “full reward” refers to final salvation, then option two may be correct, especially in the light of what is said in verse 9. However, the full New Testament teaching concerning rewards indicates that there are rewards for believers that extend beyond the reward of eternal salvation, which is the heritage of all believers. This is borne out by a study of the usage of the Greek word translated as “reward” throughout the Greek New Testament. For an example, notice what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:14. Sometimes the reference is to eternal salvation, and sometimes the reference is to rewards believers will receive in Heaven for their earthly service. This latter option may be John’s meaning in verse 8.12
Verse 9 informs us that those who depart from the fellowship and do not abide in sound Christian doctrine give evidence by their actions that they were never truly converted. Conversely, those who do abide in sound doctrine have true salvation. The one who “goes on ahead” and “does not abide in the teaching of [about] Christ” does not possess a relationship with God; hence he is unsaved. The phrase “goes on ahead” refers to advancing beyond the clear teaching of the gospel into the territory of false doctrine. The false teachers John is referring to considered themselves progressives, advanced thinkers. Progress in the Christian life is commendable. Growth in spiritual maturity is the order of the day. However, progressive thinking beyond gospel truth leads to untruth and is condemned for the error that it is.13 This appears to be John’s way of saying that they were never saved in the first place (compare 2:19), not that they were genuinely saved and then lost their salvation because they did not remain in orthodox doctrine. Those who abide in sound doctrine give evidence of a genuine salvation experience.
Once again John connects the Father and Jesus the Son in such a way as to teach that one cannot know God without knowing his Son, Jesus. As John records Jesus saying in his Gospel (14:6), Jesus is the only way to God, and “No one comes to the Father except through me.” The exclusivity of Jesus as the only true way of salvation is taught clearly by John here in this letter as well as in his Gospel. There is no place here or anywhere in the New Testament for universalism14 (all will be saved) or inclusivism (an implicit faith response to general revelation apart from knowledge of Jesus can bring about salvation).15 All of us know someone, whether at school, work, or another venue, who believes that in the end everyone is going to Heaven. Likewise, all of us know someone who believes that people can experience salvation without knowledge of Jesus Christ. Such beliefs are part and parcel of the current cultural atmosphere. The problem is, such beliefs are directly contradicted by Scripture. If universalism is true, why go out of your way to tell others about Jesus, whether they live across the street or halfway around the world? If inclusivism is true, why not tell people that all that matters is that they respond in some generic way to God based on his revelation of himself in nature? These false doctrines are very popular today, sadly even among some Christians.
In verses 10, 11 John instructs us on how we should respond when false teachers come to our home attempting to persuade us of their errant ways. First, we are not to receive them into our house. Second, we are not even to give them “any greeting,” for in doing so we are at that point “taking part in [their] wicked works.” Notice, it is bad enough to believe false doctrine, but those who do also engage in “wicked works” in disseminating such false doctrine. Some may think that to refuse to invite visiting false teachers into your home ranges from, at the very least, inhospitable to, at the most, downright rude. But if you will think about it for a moment, you can see the unwisdom of inviting them into your home. If you do so, when the false teacher knocks on your neighbor’s door down the street, he can say, “Well, your neighbor, Dr. Allen, just a few doors down, let me in, and we had a wonderful talk!” My disobedience could lead to someone else’s spiritual destruction.16
According to the Barna Research Group, current statistics on the question of absolute truth are alarming, even shocking. From a random pool of just over one thousand adults in the United States, one-third of all adults (34 percent) believe that moral truth is absolute and unaffected by the circumstances. Slightly less than half of the born-again adults (46 percent) believe in absolute moral truth.17 No doubt a similar if not higher percentage would say they do not believe in absolute doctrinal truth.
Yours Sincerely, John (vv. 12, 13)
Verse 11 concludes the body of the letter. Basically John has made three primary appeals to his readers: 1) continue to love fellow Christians, 2) guard against false teaching, and 3) reject false teachers. These three commands flow directly from John’s emphasis on “love” and “truth” in verses 1–3. “Love” and “truth” should ever be our watchwords! Love will always be the result of those who obey the truth.
John draws the short letter to a close in verses 12, 13. He has much to write but declines to do so because he would rather communicate with them face-to-face (literally in Greek, “mouth to mouth”) rather than in writing. Written communication is sometimes prone to being misunderstood. In face-to-face conversation the hearer has an opportunity to question the speaker to make sure there is no misunderstanding. John’s stated reason for his desire to speak face-to-face is “so that our joy may be complete.” John not only wants to teach the truth, he wants to personally fellowship with those to whom he is currently writing, as such close fellowship and face-to-face communication would complete his joy and the joy of those who accompany him. Distance sometimes makes written communication necessary. But no amount of smiley faces attached to a sentence in an email can take the place of the warm smile of a human face. Ink cannot put an arm around someone’s shoulder and console, encourage, or rebuke. There is no substitute for personal Christian fellowship. We all need each other in the local church!
In verse 13 John signs off his letter much the same way as he began it by sending greetings to them from “children” of a sister church whom he refers to as “your elect sister.” As in verse 1, notice that John’s use of the word “elect” does not refer to individual election, but to corporate election as he views the local congregation as a whole to be an elect body.
False teachers along with their teaching should never be accepted, encouraged, or endorsed by Christians. We should never engage in fellowship with false teachers, no matter how affable or sincere they may be. As John says, their works are “wicked” (v. 11). Our priorities should be “truth and love” (v. 3). Our response to problems with false teachers and false teaching should be resistance. Truth and love, like the right and left ventricle of the heart, function as the circulatory system of the church. When the two are functioning freely, the body of Christ is healthy.