Annotations for 2 John

1 The elder. This is probably the apostle John. The title can refer either to an old man, an older person deserving respect, or a church leader. the elect lady. This may be a specific person, or the phrase may be a figurative description of the local church.

4 walking in truth. This phrase means having an authentic relationship with God. Our walk with the Lord, if genuine, must be based upon His word.

6 his commandments. God’s love is the basis of His desire for our obedience, and it is the reason He has revealed His will in His word. We prove our obedience to Christ by demonstrating love toward one another. Love is an unlimited resource readily available to us, and it is tremendously effective in furthering the work of Christ.

7 come in the flesh. These words refer to the Incarnation, the fact that Jesus is the God-man. The humanity of Jesus provides a test by which false teachers can be identified. The Gnostic heresy, against which John wrote in 1 and 2 John, included a denial of the physical body of Christ. People who deny the physical reality of Jesus are not Christians, but antichrists.

8 Look to yourselves. Being seduced by false teachers is one way that Christians can lose their reward at the judgment. With this is mind, John writes that the reason to guard against deceivers is our own desire not to lose our reward at the judgment seat of Christ.

9 transgresseth. This phrase has the strong sense of running too far ahead. Departure from Christ into doctrinal error indicates that a person does not have God.

10 this doctrine. Jesus is completely human and completely divine. A Christian should not only refuse to receive false teachers in the sense of supporting them while they visit the community, a Christian should also avoid appearing to endorse their teachings. The proper response to deceivers is to reject them as unbelievers. This shows how seriously we should take the Scriptures and how careful we should be in evaluating the teachings of everyone.