2 John

Lesson 1 w/Answers2 John 1:1-13

Bible

In this lesson, we will take a brief look at John’s second letter, 2 John. A short letter, containing only thirteen verses, John’s second epistle encapsulates all the themes from his first letter, 1 John.

John continues to stress that love is a central theme in pleasing God and obeying Jesus. We cannot walk as true Christians, i.e., as followers of Christ, without love being at the center. In this letter, he also warns us of false teachers and teachings that threaten the Church (even today). John’s teachings are timely, and even though we may see this as a short chapter in a large collection of writings that make up God’s Holy Word, we should recognize its importance— as indeed it is an integral part of God’s Word that He chose to impart to us. If it wasn’t important, God wouldn’t have included it.

So, let’s read 2 John and consider the following:

Specifically, consider how John opens this letter: he is addressing it "to the lady chosen by God and to her children," (2 John 1:1). The use of the terms "lady" and "her children" was a common writing method for referring to the church and her members. As we will observe in this letter, John is writing from another church, i.e., "the children of your sister, who is chosen by God," referring to his church at the moment and her members.

  1. What principles can we see in the church today that stem from this "lady" and "sisters" designation?
    1. ANSWER 1: We can see that the church is "chosen" by God. It is not manmade, and it is not a physical building. Rather, it is a collection of fellow believers—members who come together to do God’s Will.
    2. ANSWER 2: We can also see the concept here of "sister" churches, which demonstrates to us that, as a local church body, we sre not alone. We have sister churches helping in the work and supporting us, just as we support other churches as their sisters.
    3. ANSWER 3: Finally, we see that God is in control. He chooses where to establish a church body and draws those He has chosen to it. Nothing that a church does which is in the will of God is built by man or run by man. God is our head, Jesus the Christ is our Savior, and the Holy Spirit is our teacher. Members join to serve Him, and not the other way around.
  2. What does John mean in verse 2 John 1:4 by the phrase "walking in the truth?" How can we know that we are walking in the truth, and what does it mean to walk this way? (See also John 14:6 and 1 John 1:6.)
    1. ANSWER: We can only "walk in the truth" if (1) we know what the truth is and (2) we are obedient to the truth that God has made known to us. John 14:6 states, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." In contrast, we can also determine what not walking in the truth looks like. 1 John 1:6 asserts, "If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth."
  3. John then gives us a direct link between love and walking in the truth. What does he teach us in 2 John 1:5-6? (See also 1 John 5:2-3.)
    1. ANSWER: He tells us that we are to love on another, and he further instructs us that in order to do this, we must, "walk in obedience to his commands,"—and more specifically, "his command is that you walk in love." The conclusion is that we cannot "walk in the truth" if we are not walking "in love." In 1 John 5:2-3, John wrote, "This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands." [NIV]
  4. John has stressed the importance of walking in truth and love, because the church to whom he is writing is being threatened by false teaching. What does he say is happening at that church in 2 John 1:7? (See also Colossians 2:9.)
    1. ANSWER: The church was being influenced by "many deceivers" who were teaching that Jesus was not actually human, but rather an image of a human, and that he could not be both human and God. Colossians teaches us that Christ is indeed both God and man, but the false teachers at that time—and even false teachers of today—were (and are) denying that Jesus, the Christ, was God as man. In doing so, they were also denying the existence of the Trinity. All of this runs counter to everything that John had taught the church.
  5. In 2 John 1:7, how does John refer to the false teachers, and do we have any with us today?
    1. ANSWER 1: He calls them "deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ coming in the flesh." He also calls them an antichrist. John is not implying that they are the Antichrist of the End Times, but rather that they are agents of the devil, opposed to Christ. As such, they appear to teach the truth when in fact they are teaching lies.
    2. ANSWER 2: Clearly, we have many deceivers, false teachers, and antichrists among us today. One example is the current "Christian progressive" movement that is gaining wide spread popularity, as well as its "deconstructive" approach to establishing one’s faith and spiritual foundations. The essence of their teachings is that the established church doesn’t know the real truth; it only knows the dogma that it forces on its members. Accordingly, everyone can have their own "Christian" belief system. You don’t need the established church. In effect, progressives question everything in the church and compromise all of it in the name of "truth" and "faith."
    3. ANSWER 3: Another example of deceivers and false teachers is any "Christian" faith or body of believers that either does not recognize Jesus as the "only" son of God, or one which teaches that Jesus is not the son of God, but rather that he is a good person, teacher, or prophet, and so on.
  6. What measure does John tell us that we can use to determine if someone is actually walking in the truth or whether they are attempting to deceive us? (See 2 John 1:10.)
    1. ANSWER: He tells us directly that we can identify deceivers, false teachers, and antichrists, by their teaching; specifically, "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching," (emphasis mine)—i.e., that Jesus did indeed come as God in the flesh (2 John 1:7)—then we will know that they are liars and deceivers. In order for us to be capable of doing this, it is incumbent on all of us, the followers of Christ, to know what the truth is. It is the only way that we, like John, will be able to spot the deceivers.
  7. What does John teach that we are to do when we come across such a deceiver? Are we to reason with them and convince them to change their teaching? How are we to deal with such a person? (See 2 John 1:10-11.)
    1. ANSWER: John is presenting in these two verses something that distinguishes our "church" today from the church of his day: intolerance. John tells us, "do not welcome them" and "do not take them into your house." New Testament writers did not share the modern minds’ approach of being highly tolerant to religious differences. In today’s world, John’s instructions seem rigid, inflexible, and harsh. Of course, the modern inclination is to accept anything and anyone, i.e., that nothing is to be excluded. This is a great part of the problem in the church today. Our challenge in this modern era is to be just as committed to the truth and aware of the dangers of religious error as the apostles were during the early days of the church. Being tolerant, bending, compromising, and considering alternative truths breeds the kinds of heresy that John was warning them about. We are to have absolutely nothing to do with those who introduce compromise and false teaching into the church as though it was truth. John makes this very clear. It may sound harsh, but the Bible is clear: there is black and white, there is truth and falsehood, and there are absolutes that must be understood and followed if we are to "walk in the truth."

Let’s commit anew to becoming and being followers who walk in the truth, abhorring compromise, and driving out those who would deceive us with their false and compromised doctrines—because we know that they are driven by man’s thoughts and not God’s commands.

Have a great week everyone, and thanks for studying with us.

In Christ,

Wes

[2021]

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