OVERVIEW: Maintaining a pure confession of faith is of the utmost importance. Many deceivers are causing scandal (POLYCARP, BEDE). Doctrinal errors are a sign of the end of time and must be regarded as the work of the antichrist who is opposed to both the truth and the love that can only be found in Christ. We should not think that if we reject the coming of Christ in the flesh we can receive the full reward that is given to the saints (OECUMENIUS). John refutes those who assert either that the Son is not God or that he is inferior to the Father (BEDE, OECUMENIUS). Anyone who understands that Jesus Christ really did come in the flesh will believe his promise that he is coming again (OECUMENIUS). Right doctrine and clean living are two sides of the same coin, and Christians must stay away from people who lack either or both of them. Association with false teachers is forbidden (TERTULLIAN, AMBROSE, HILARY OF ARLES). Those who make friends of people who speak falsely about God and who even eat with them do not love the Lord who made them and who feeds them (BASIL). You are not to waste time in disputing with them (CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA) or even greeting them (IRENAEUS, DIDYMUS).
MANY DECEIVERS. POLYCARP OF SMYRNA: Let us be zealous for that which is good, refraining from occasions of scandal and from false brothers and those who hypocritically bear the name of our Lord, deceiving empty-headed people. LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS 6.1
DECEIVERS HAVE GONE OUT. BEDE: This verse might apply to a wide range of heretics. It may refer primarily to those who believed that Christ was incarnate but who understood this in the wrong way by denying some aspect of it. Perhaps they rejected the idea that his flesh was real or that his soul was as ours. Or perhaps they refused to accept that he was truly divine, or that his Father was really God or that the Holy Spirit was really Almighty God. John may even be referring to those Jews who, rejecting any link between Jesus and God, deny that Christ has come in the flesh but are waiting for the antichrist, to their own damnation. ON 2 JOHN.2
JESUS CHRIST IN THE FLESH. OECUMENIUS: One ought to add “whoever does not believe this” before the final clause, in order to make the transition from the plural to the singular easier to understand. Here John is speaking in the first instance about the second coming of Christ, not about the first one, though it is clear that whoever denies his second coming has denied his first coming also. Someone who thinks that he really did come in the flesh will certainly believe the promise that he made while he was in the flesh, to the effect that he is coming again. COMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN.3
DO NOT FALL AWAY. HILARY OF ARLES: Here John is warning people not to fall away into heresy or to revert back to the Old Testament law once they have received the New. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN.4
WIN A FULL REWARD. OECUMENIUS: What if someone were to say: “So what if I do not believe that Christ is coming in the flesh. I have lived a life of good works, so why can I not be rewarded for these insofar as they are in accordance with what is godly and religious?” To this the apostle replies that no one should think that if he rejects the coming of Christ in the flesh he can receive the perfect reward which is given to the saints, or be regarded as a worshiper of God, because someone who does not remain in his teaching does not have God to begin with. COMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN.5
HAVING THE FATHER AND THE SON. BEDE: Note how carefully John phrases this. He says that those who do not abide in Christ’s teaching do not have God, whereas those who do have both the Father and the Son. By this he demonstrates that the Father and the Son are One and refutes the lie of those who assert either that the Son is not God or that he is inferior to the Father. ON 2 JOHN.6
THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. OECUMENIUS: How can a person who rejects the divine self-revelation be regarded as a worshiper of God? He is not a worshiper at all but an atheist. However it is important to note that this is his own fault. It is because he has withdrawn himself from the knowledge of God which is common to all creatures that he has fallen into this state. The apostles on the other hand had the right teaching and preached it, so that anyone who accepts them receives it as well and thus possesses both the Father and the Son. COMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN.7
ASSOCIATION FORBIDDEN. TERTULLIAN: Although we ought to be seeking at all times, where ought we to seek? Among the heretics, where all is foreign and opposed to our truth, with whom we are forbidden to associate? ON THE PRESCRIPTION OF HERETICS 14.12.8
AVOID SUCH PEOPLE. AMBROSE OF MILAN: Since it is written that we should avoid such people, how can we not assume that someone who associates with Arians is also an exponent of their heresy? SYNOD LETTERS 40.9
TABLE FELLOWSHIP REFUSED. HILARY OF ARLES: Here you see an example of excommunication in the New Testament, both from table fellowship at home and from table fellowship in church. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN.10
SHARING IN WICKED WORK. IRENAEUS: By wishing that we do not even give them a welcome, John, the Lord’s disciple, made their condemnation even stronger. AGAINST HERESIES 1.16.3.11
DO NOT WASTE TIME IN DISPUTE. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: John forbids us to greet such people or to offer them hospitality, which in the circumstances is not at all unkind. But he also warns us not to argue or dispute with people who are unable to handle the things of God, lest we should be taken away from the true doctrine by clever arguments which have the appearance of truth. Furthermore, I think that it is wrong to pray with such people, because during times of prayer there is a moment for greeting and sharing the peace. ADUMBRATIONS.12
THOSE WHO SPEAK FALSELY. BASIL THE GREAT: It is obvious that those who make friends of people who speak falsely about God and who even eat with them do not love the Lord who made them and who feeds them. Instead of being content with that food they are led away into blasphemy against the one who feeds them. CATENA.13
SEPARATION REQUIRED. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: Anyone who dwells in the doctrine of the gospel and who acts according to its teaching will separate himself from those who think and act differently. COMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN.14