Truth and Love: A Study of 2 John (part 2)

As we continue in our study of 2 John we are reminded that John is writing to a local church, reminding them of the importance of love and truth. He gets more specific this week as he continues.

“I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth…” John has apparently seen the lifestyle of the people in this church. Their obedience brings him joy. Great joy. This lifestyle is habitual and faithful (noted by the use of the term “walking”). We also note that this joy was found in seeing “some” of then walking in the truth. All of the children had not been walking in this way. This should in some ways comfort us in knowing that when God calls us “children” it means he doesn’t expect us to stand on our own right away. It is also comforting to note that he does celebrate progress.

It cannot be escaped that the Holy Spirit through John is highlighting “the truth.” A fixed, body of eternal truth. Relativism is incompatible with a Christian worldview and incompatible with Christian living. We cannot live out truth if truth is not fixed and knowable- “just as you were commanded by the Father.” Truth is knowable because God has spoken.

With this foundation, John continues with his point in writing. “I ask you dear lady” He begins by pointing two things, first that his exhortation is not given without deep care for them. John models what this book proclaims, truth must be declared in love. He notes first his love for the church (the “lady”). Then he declares that what he is going to exhort them in is truth by saying, “not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning.” By this he is saying that he is not writing a new command (though he could, he had the authority to do so), but that this truth is truth which John himself, and this church, knew well. In fact, it reached all the way back to the days of Moses. His command was “that you love one another.” This command reached back into the book of Leviticus, but certainly its echo was fresh in the ears of the disciples from the Lord Jesus. In His last week of earthly ministry He commanded His disciples to “love one another” and that by doing so the world would be “know that they were his disciples.” Love proclaims truth. But, as John points us next, love does not exist apart from truth.

“And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.” John goes so far as to explain how we love- through obedience to God. Love does not exist outside of obedience, and therefore; love can never be without truth. The most loving thing we owe Christians and non-Christians around us is to live an authentic life of obedience to God. 1 John is all about how this plays out in the Christian life. But, this should be the central point we walk away with from these verses in 2 John; “We must love one another in truth…” Loving one another in truth begins by living as an authentic witness in our life. Obedience is not just done to declare our love for God, but our love for others. We must reminder these essentials as we look next at why he so concerned with love: because deception abounds!  See you next week.

Truth in Love: A Study in 2 John (Week 1)

Not sure how I feel about this,
but it will work for this short series. =)

Size matters.  When we are buying clothes, we want clothes of a certain size.  When we are buying food, we want a certain size.  In fact, in the case of the latter, bigger is often better.  I fear we as Christians take this ideal to our Bibles.  The bigger books are not more important.  The bigger books do not contain “deeper truth.”  We often put the shorter books of the Bible on the back shelf for the days we oversleep and need to get our “quiet time” in.  But, if we slow down in these books, and allow the Spirit speak, we will discover God can say much with very little. 

I discovered this recently as I was studying the book of 2 John.  Over the next few posts we will be diving into this wonderful letter from the apostle John.  Today we will introduce it by looking at the author, the audience, and the affection of the letter.

John begins by referring to himself as “the elder.”  A term which obviously would denote age, along with it authority, respect, and wisdom.  John is known to not use his name in his writings (the only time he does is once in the book of Revelation), which I denote as a sign of humility.  In 1 John he remains unnamed, 3 John he is “the Elder” and in the gospel he is “the one whom Jesus loved.”  John seems to desire to exercise his authority, while getting his identity out of the way.

Another important thing to note in his opening is his audience.  “…to the elect lady and her children.”  Commentators are divided on who exactly this lady is.  John MacArthur and Matthew Henry both comment that John is writing to a godly matron (perhaps one who hosts a church in her home) desiring to encourage her in the face of false teachers.  Others argue that John is using the language of a “lady” and “her children” to denote a local church.  Four reasons I take the latter view:

1) John uses the image of the church in feminine terms in his writings (Revelation 21:2).  Also, throughout his first letter John refers to believers as “children.”
2)  It is very odd for John to command a woman and children to “love one another.”  This seems to fit better with the idea of a church.
3) Commentators note that John is using the second person plural throughout his letter.  Thus he is writing to many people who were able to understand his words (and thus “children” could not have been primarily in view).
4) The last verses of 2 John seem to denote children of an “Elect sister” language which fits a church better.  Notice, the children greet the lady, not the sister. 

All this seems to point to the fact that John has the local church in view.

Looking at the author, then the audience, we can jump into the rest of his greeting which is focused on his affection.  He writes of his “love” for the church “in truth” and this love is not simply his, but “also all who know the truth.”  Truth and love are at the heart of John’s message in this letter.  In fact, John is communicating that Christian love is always defined by truth.  One does not exist without the other.  Even when John states the reason for his love, it is “because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever.”  Christian love is not based on social class, or race, or economic level.  Christian love is based on eternal unchanging truth.   We’ll close by looking further at why this is.

First, our relationship to God is based on love and truth.  Look in verse 3.  “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.”  

The little words are important here.  First we must notice that grace, mercy, and peace come from God (both the Father and the Son).  These promises only come by the Father and through Christ.  Without them none of these blessings are yours.  Second, we notice that they “will be with us.”  Future tense.  God’s unmerited favor, his unconditional forgiveness, and his incomparable peace are not simply realities for this moment, but reach forward into every step we take.  Not a moment for the Christian is without access to grace, mercy, and peace.  Thirdly, we must notice the means by which we access these gifts.  “In truth and love.”  The means of truth and love are how we access God’s infinite well of grace, mercy, and peace.  Truth and love are continuous means of accessing the gospel treasures of grace, mercy, and peace.  Truth and love bind us to God, but they also bind us together.

Notice, in closing, verse 1 again.  If the “lady” is the church, and the “children” are the congregation, than certainly all Christians share the same identity together. We are all children together.  Each of us have received grace, mercy, and peace through the Christ, so that we as fellow children can extend grace, mercy, and peace to each other.  We love each other in truth- yes perfectly- but we do so grounded in our identity as children.  This means Christian community should expect imperfection.  It should be the hallmark of Christian community- we haven’t got it all together yet.  Also, notice the sort of commitment this should give us to the local church.  We are children together of God and of “the elect lady” the church.  Sure, mistakes will be made, people may mistake “care” for many other things, but truth stands and unites and love emboldens us to go forward both in our relationship with God, and our relationship together.

Continue with me the next three Mondays as we continue through this amazing letter from John.

"Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified" - A.W. Tozer

"The Pursuit of God" pg 96