2 John is the shortest book of the Bible by verse count, a single page from “the elder unto the elect lady and her children.” John rejoices that some of her children are “walking in truth,” reminds her of the old commandment “that we love one another,” and defines love plainly: “this is love, that we walk after his commandments.” Then he warns her about the deceivers “who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh,” and tells her not to open her house to them. Truth and love, in this letter, are never separated.
A study in 2 John · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 12 min read
Whom I Love In The Truth
“The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.”
2 John 1:1-4
John does not give his name. He calls himself simply “the elder,” the old man, and everyone who read the letter knew who he was. The last living apostle did not need a title.
Who was “the elect lady”? Some read the phrase as a figure for a local church, with its members as “her children” and a sister congregation as her “elect sister” (verse 13). Others take it as a real Christian woman and her family. Ellen White took the second view, describing the letter as written “to a helper in the gospel work, a woman of good repute and wide influence” (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 554). Either way, the message fits: a Christian household, a centre of faith and hospitality, which needed both encouragement and a warning.
Count the word “truth” in these four verses. It appears five times. John loves her “in the truth,” along with “all they that have known the truth,” “for the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us.” Truth here is not only a set of correct beliefs. It is the living reality of God revealed in Christ, who called Himself “the truth” (John 14:6). It “dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.” And the greeting joins it to love: grace, mercy and peace come “in truth and love.”
“I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth.” Walking in truth means living out what one believes. Nothing gave the old apostle more joy. Notice, too, the quiet word “of”: some of her children, not all. A faithful mother can do everything right and still grieve over a child who has not chosen the way. John rejoices over the ones who have.
That We Love One Another
“And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.”
2 John 1:5-6
John repeats the theme of his first letter: “that we love one another.” It is not new. It is “that which we had from the beginning,” the command Jesus gave at the Last Supper (John 13:34).
“Christians are all members of one family, all children of the same heavenly Father, with the same blessed hope of immortality. Very close and tender should be the tie that binds them together.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 550
Then John defines love, and his definition would surprise many today. “This is love, that we walk after his commandments.” Love is not merely a warm feeling. It is a way of walking, and God’s commandments mark out the path. The first four teach us how to love God, and the last six how to love our neighbour (Romans 13:8-10). A love that sets God’s law aside is not the love John means. And the commandments point back to love: “This is the commandment… ye should walk in it.” Love and law describe the same road.
Many Deceivers Are Entered Into The World
“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
2 John 1:7-11
Now comes the reason for the letter. “Many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” These were the same false teachers John warned about in his first letter (1 John 4:1-3), travelling from church to church and denying the real incarnation of the Son of God. “This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
“Look to yourselves.” Error is a danger even to those who have begun well. John does not want his readers to “lose” what has been built in them, but to “receive a full reward.” And he gives the test again: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.” The word “transgresseth” means to go too far, to run ahead. The false teachers claimed to have moved beyond the simple apostolic gospel to something higher. John says that anyone who goes beyond the doctrine of Christ leaves God behind.
“The epistles of John breathe the spirit of love. It seems as if he wrote with a pen dipped in love. But when he came in contact with those who were breaking the law of God, yet claiming that they were living without sin, he did not hesitate to warn them of their fearful deception.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 554
Then the practical instruction: “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.” In the first century, travelling teachers depended on believers’ homes for food and lodging, and churches met in houses. To welcome a false teacher was to give him a platform and send him on his way with the church’s blessing. That is what John forbids. He is not telling Christians to be rude to unbelievers, or to refuse kindness to someone in need. He is telling them not to sponsor the spread of a false gospel. “He that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
“‘You must have charity,’ is the cry heard everywhere, especially from those who profess sanctification. But true charity is too pure to cover an unconfessed sin. While we are to love the souls for whom Christ died, we are to make no compromise with evil.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 554
The apostle of love is also the apostle of truth. Love without truth becomes sentimental tolerance of anything. Truth without love becomes hard and harsh. John holds them together, and so must we.
“The apostle teaches that while we should manifest Christian courtesy we are authorized to deal in plain terms with sin and sinners; that this is not inconsistent with true charity.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 555
Face To Face
“Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.”
2 John 1:12-13
The letter is short because John hoped to visit. Some things are better said in person. “I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.” Christian fellowship is not only a matter of right doctrine on paper. It is people who love each other and long to be together.
And that is a small picture of a greater hope. For now, believers know God through the written word, His letter to us. One day we will see Him “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12), and then our joy will be full. Until then, the elder’s counsel to the elect lady is His counsel to every Christian household: walk in truth, love one another, and do not open the door to anything that denies the Christ who came in the flesh to save us.
