2 John 1:1-6 (NKJV) The Elder,
To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, 2 because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 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.
Warren W. Wiersbe:
Be Alert — 2 John
Outline
Key theme: Loving and living the truth
Key verse: 2Jn 1:4
- I. INTRODUCTION — 2Jn 1:1-3
- II. PRACTICING THE TRUTH — 2Jn 1:4-6
- III. PROTECTING THE TRUTH — 2Jn 1:7-11
- IV. CONCLUSION — 2Jn 1:12-13
V1 “The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth…” John is an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He terms himself as an elder, that is, one who has been a growing Christian for a long time. Some understand the words “elect lady” to refer to a local church and “her children” as the members. It seems more reasonable that it refers to a Christian woman whom John knew. Perhaps, she had some questions or John wrote her and her family to be faithful and true. To be faithful and true, we must have a love for the truth (reality). The only source of 100% truth is the Bible. Knowing truth will enable us to love in truth. The truth is the Lord Jesus (John 14:6) and His Gospel (Ephesians 1:13).
V2 “…because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever…” Truth lasts forever, because there is no correction or change. Because it always is and will be, we can have confidence. Jesus is the truth and doesn’t change.
V3 “…Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” The typical greeting. We do wish this for all believers in Christ. Grace—receiving what we do not deserve, as in blessings. Mercy–not receiving what we deserve, as salvation. Peace—with God, with His creation, with Israel, with enemies, etc. God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ—two persons of the Trinity, which is one God in three persons. Jesus is the Son of the Father (Matthew 1:21, John 1:14, and John 1:18 (Textus Receptus and Byzantine texts, for the gnostic tainted critical text has only begotten god. God has never been begotten). The source of grace, mercy, and peace is God Himself. Compare John 14:27, Isaiah 9:6, and Acts 13:33. God’s grace, mercy, and peace is true grace, mercy, and peace given in love. Perhaps, we can extend these things unto others in Jesus’s name.
V4 “I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.” Wuest Word Studies explains: “The expression, “found of thy children” is literally, “found some out of thy children.” The indefinite pronoun is understood here. John ran across some of this Lady’s children in his preaching and administrative itineraries. They were “walking in truth.” “Walking” is peripateō, “to order one’s behavior, to conduct one’s self.” “In truth” is the locative of sphere. Her children were conducting themselves in the sphere of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. That is, their actions and words were circumscribed by the Word of God. Their conduct was governed by the Word of God. This truth is further defined by John as being the commandment received from God as to how a Christian should conduct himself.”
V5 “And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.” Christians need to show family love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We may disagree with them, but treat them with kindness.
V6 “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.” We are Christians who desire and strive with God’s grace to live our life (“walk”) according to the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
We learn:
- Truth is important to God and to us.
- We are to live and speak truth.
- We are to love our Christian brothers and sisters.