2nd John

The letter entitled 2nd John carries a very personal tone as "the Elder" writes to a woman that he clearly knows quite well and thinks highly of. He is concerned with the potential influence of those who are opposed to the truth and love that defines a christian. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:06

Hello and welcome back to Cultivating Growth. I want to thank you all for joining us again this week. This is our second episode of the month as we work our way through the small one-chapter books of the New Testament. Last week we were in the book of Philemon, and today we'll be covering the book of 2 John. And so with that, let's get right to it.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Well, John, anytime you spend some time in studying from the epistles in the New Testament, regardless of their size. A lot of them start in very similar kinds of ways, and I think it's always good to kind of begin by thinking about a couple of questions right right out of the gate. Who wrote the book? Who did it, who was it written to, maybe the timing context you're able to pick up, you know, certainly through a lot of Paul's writings for sure. And, you know, sometimes it's it's important to do so. And we talked about that specifically last week when we were, you know, talking about that, you know, that tiny little book of Philemon, 2 John that we'll talk about today, is even smaller than what Philemon was. But even in that book, you know, you're able to kind of pinpoint Paul as writing a very personal, intimate letter, you know, to Philemon. You have the background, you you kind of get all the characters in play, and you've got a pretty clear picture about what's happening. And now you have this little book here in 2 John, and uh, maybe like Philemon, and certainly like 3 John, less like Jude, which we'll talk about in a couple of weeks, the this still has kind of a personal, intimate feeling to it. 3rd John will as well. It is is made specifically mentioned who that letter is written to. We'll talk about that next week. And this letter has that feel a little bit, even though there is a little bit more question. A name isn't specifically given like Philemon was or like Gaius will be next week. But it is given to us here that it is a a letter written to an elect lady. And uh there is certainly some conversation about is this a specific lady or is it a specific church? For me, it it the letter makes so much more sense if this is a specific person that this uh letter is written to. John isn't specifically mentioned by name here, but the writing and the words, especially truth and love, which is a big part of what this letter is, fits with his other writings. It's certainly grouped uh here with first, second, and third John, and I think there is something to say about that. But I think maybe, you know, just to kind of start kind of out of the gate, you know, kind of your thoughts on that, and maybe the importance of that this is still a pretty personal and intimate letter where there's still some personal things kind of said, but yet he does get to a point in the letter, much like we saw from Paul last week with Philemon.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Yeah, I think, you know, I think it's generally accepted that yes, John is the author of both second and third John, even though he's not specifically identified in such a way. The the theme of what he's writing about, the words that he uses, the way he chooses to compose the letter, it certainly seems to fit. And certainly even within the context of what's being written in these letters, it also seems to fit. These are established churches that he's writing to and Christians that he's writing to, most likely a little bit later on in the first century than maybe some of the earlier epistles would have been. And so certainly there is evidence to support that he he is the author of these letters. And then to your point about them being fairly personal in the way they're constructed and and to whom they're written, I I think there is something that is important. Even though John doesn't give this lady and her children a name, I think certainly they would have known who it was being written to. There wouldn't have been any confusion among them, which probably points to the fact that they knew one another quite well. Maybe they worshiped together, or perhaps John had just been in the region so frequently, he was very familiar with them. There's just a high level of familiarity that maybe as we read it, we kind of have some questions and there's some confusion around, okay, who's this actually being written to? And we have to remind ourselves that confusion wouldn't have existed in the first century, they would have been very clear as to whom this was written. And so for us, I think we can kind of then look at, okay, well, what is this letter all about? And I think you hit on it earlier. It is consistent with so much of what John has written and will write. He is focused on the truth, he's focused on protecting the truth, he's focused on protecting the church from outside influences. And as I read this, you know, this very short letter, one of the things that I came away with is John, an elder, is seeing deception start to creep into the Lord's church. And that is something that has to be guarded against. There has to be an urgency with how that is dealt with, and that is going to be a theme that we'll talk about next week in 3 John as well. Because when when that is seen, truth must be stood up for. And and that is such a simple thing to say, but the practical application of that is really a challenging one for first century Christians to implement. It's a challenging one for us to implement because there takes a level of village uh vigilance as you look around and see that, and then decide how you're going to act. And I think that's what John's encouraging them to do here is to be careful about these deceptive deceptive people that are trying to work their way in.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Yeah, I mean, this is a relatively short letter, uh, just fifteen or thirteen verses, excuse me. And if you read it, the one thing that's going to, you know, come out pretty quickly and easily is the amount of times that truth and love are both made mention of. It seems like fifty times each. I mean, it is it is there. Not just in his admonition, which he will share, but even in his introduction. I mean, he makes mention of truth and love. Truth and love, truth and love. And, you know, kind of as you're going through, you know, this letter, i uh different from when we talk a couple of weeks about Jude, and Jude is about uh false teachers and and how to handle you know those kinds of things in a very specific, you know, kind of way. When I read this letter, it it almost comes across as John is forward and Jesus. It is a they are love, right? We've got to love one another, and we've gotta we've gotta love God, we've gotta love uh our enemies, we've gotta, we've we've gotta love. That's a big part about what being a Christian is. We've got to walk in love. God and Jesus, they walked in love. We need to walk in love. I mean, that's a big part of what all of this is about. And so now I think John is trying to get to this idea of, well, what does that look like when it comes to people looking to do damage? When it looks when it comes to people who are false teachers. Do we compromise in in some capacity because we are to walk in love? Do we ignore in some capacity because we are to walk in love? Do we give a pass in some capacity because we are to walk in love? And so what John, I think, is doing in this short letter is he's coupling, you know, the idea of walking in love and in truth together. And, you know, the point that he's going to make is hey, you you you can't walk in love and compromise because then you're not walking in truth. You cannot walk in truth and be evil and nasty. Then that's not walking in love. You you've got to be able to do both of those things together, and I think that's a big part of what this short letter is all about.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Yeah, I have underlined in my Bible, I underlined it, I underlined all the times he uses the word truth, and then I also underlined all the times he uses the word commandment, because that's also one that shows up four different times in this very brief letter. And I think when you start to look at truth and love and the commandments that come from God, what John is going to do is he's going to put those in stark contrast then between those who are the deceivers. God wants us to stand for and in his truth, his love, his commandments. The deceivers that are going to come into the world are opposed to that. And I think that's the contrast that he's making as he gets that. You know, there's sometimes in in the New King James, John uses the word antichrist in verse 7, and there's big trigger. I think it's actually quite simple. It is not that. They are anti-Christ. They are opposed to Christ. What does Christ stand for? Truth, love, and the commandments from the Father. Those who are going to be opposed to that are anti-everything that Christ stands for. And that that is, as a Christian, that clarifies in my mind what it is I need to be looking for when I try to identify the deceivers who may try to work their way into my life or work their way into the church. Are they opposed to the truth and the love and the commandments that come from God? If they are, they are anti-everything I'm about. Right. Because I am a Christian. I am I am in the blood of Jesus Christ, and if they are opposed to that, then they are deceivers, and I have to be careful with that, and I have to be able to identify that. And I think that's that's really the the challenge that is placed before this elect woman and us as we read this letter is when we look at truth, love, and commandments, can we identify those who are opposed to it? And if we can, what do we do when we see that?

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Because those that are opposed to it are looking to do destruction, they're looking to do damage, they're looking to cause problems. And so I think that's why he says in verse 8, look to yourselves that we don't lose those things that we've worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. He's making the point that, you know, these deceivers, these who are against or anti-Christ and his things, if you bring them into your world, they're going to cause problems for you. And so I think that's why then he's able to say in verse 10 if anyone comes to you and he does uh not bring this doctrine, don't receive them to your house or or greet them. Now we can take that physically, you know, not pulling, but you're not letting them into your world in any capacity. Why? Because they are apt to pull us away because they stand against Christ and we stand for Christ.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

And I think that verse 10 is a really important one. As a father, I look at that verse and I'm like, okay, I have a I have a responsibility to protect my children from those who would try to deceive them and from those who are opposed to everything that our family is about. I have to protect my children and protect my wife and protect my home from those kinds of influences. And so I have to take seriously who we let into our home and and the potential influences that they bring with them when they come into our home. And so, yeah, there's a physical reality about that as a as a parent, as a husband, that we have to take seriously. And then also the the perhaps the more spiritual aspect of it about you need to keep them away. These are not these are not people who uh you want to bring close to you, who are open to having conversations and want to learn more about Jesus. That's not who's being talked about here. These aren't people who are just confused or uncertain or agnostic in some way. These are people who are opposed to what you claim to stand for. When that is identified in someone, you have a responsibility to put up barriers between you. Not because you hate that person or want ill towards them, but because you have a responsibility to protect yourself and those under your charge. And their influence is so dangerous that you may need to take physical steps to limit interaction with these kinds of people so that their influence doesn't creep into your home.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Yeah, because then you have, I mean, the scary end of that sentence that we've been reading in verse 10. I mean, the sentence concludes in verse 11, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. And, you know, listen, we we that we don't want any we don't want any part of that. And so he's trying to encourage and admonish uh this this lady and her her children who are doing well to continue to do so, who are walking in truth and love to continue to do so. And just as a reminder that uh there is danger out there, and because of that, we've got to be looking out for it.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Yeah, and I think this letter, the way it wraps up, uh, you know, goes back to kind of what we were talking about at the beginning, having many things to write to you. I do not wish to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you and speak to you face to face that your joy may be full. I think that again speaks to one, the care that John has for this individual that he's writing to, but also the familiarity. And so to kind of bring sir full circle to where we began, I think the way John wraps up this letter makes me think number one, they probably live in the same region. Number two, they know each other quite well. And number three, there is more to this conversation. He wants to have it face to face. And that is uh, I think a comfort to me as well when I think about maybe the the hard challenge placed before us with how we deal with this. There, this is a nuanced conversation that needs to continue on, and and John's actually going to continue on a little bit of these things in third John. Right. But but the way this letter wraps up is just a reminder to me that John's speaking to someone that he knows and he cares a lot about, and it's it's a comfort to me to know that the same conversations that we have today were being had in the first century.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Well, we'll close with that um with that idea, and as we think about uh this book and the importance of walking in love and walking in truth, we'll close out with verse six from 2 John that says, This is love, that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it if you would take just a second to subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you're listening and rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus as widely and effectively as possible. Thanks again for joining us this week, and we'll talk to you again next week.