2 John: Jesus Is The God In The Flesh
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2 John: Jesus Is The God In The Flesh
2 John 1:4-11 (ESV)
4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.
5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
6 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.
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,
11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
One of the students of the renowned Rabbi, Ben Jochai, came to him one day and asked him, "Why did not the Lord furnish enough manna to Israel for a year all at one time?" With this question, the teacher said, "I will answer you with a parable. Once there was a king who had a son to whom he gave a yearly allowance, paying him the entire sum on the fixed date. It soon happened that the day on which the allowance was due was the only day of the year when the father ever saw his son. So the king changed his plan and gave his son day by day, that which was sufficient for the day; and then the son visited his father every morning. How he needed his father's unbroken love, companionship, wisdom and giving! Thus God dealt with Israel and deals with us."
This response is so accurate, and it's consistent with the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples on the Lord's Prayer. It says, "Give us this day our daily." Jesus did not teach us to ask for our annual bread or monthly bread; we need to acknowledge our need for God every day. This truth is what it means to have a true relationship with God.
With God desiring to establish relationship with us, humans, He recognized that the only its possible is for Him to allow His Son, Jesus Christ, to become a man and be the means to connect us to Him. Unfortunately, even after He came, there are still many people who would reject Him. Humans through the years came up with so many excuses to reject Him. Certainly, one effective way is through false teachings to distort the truth about Him.
Last Sunday, when we studied 1 John, I tried explaining to you the prominent false teaching affecting the churches almost the end of the first century, which was Gnosticism. This teaching emphasizes that human beings contain a piece of God (the highest good) because of their soul and spirit. However, humans are sinful because their material bodies are polluted by sin. The idea of Gnosticism resulted in two wrong teachings:
If Jesus Christ is God and Holy, then He did not have a human body. He existed only as a spirit.
If Jesus possessed a human body, then He was a sinful being and not God.
As we come to 2 John, with the presence of Gnosticism, John presents Jesus as the God in the flesh to counteract the false teachers. With the same background, the writing of 2 John will also fall on the same dates as 1 John, which is 85 -95 AD.
But before we break down our main text, let's take some time identifying the addressee of this letter. If you read verse 1 – "The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth," John as the "elder" addresses this letter to the "elect lady and her children" Who possibly was the elect lady and her children? Bible scholars are divided in identifying them. First, some believe that she was a literal woman who owned the house where the church was meeting, and the children were her children. Others believe that the phrase "elect lady" is used by John in a figurative sense to refer to an existing local church, and the children are the members of the church. Personally, I prefer the earlier interpretation because, as much as possible, I take the literal interpretation if it makes sense already. Of course, whoever are the book’s recipients is clear that they are followers of Jesus Christ, whom John wants to instruct and guide.
Although 2 John is only one chapter, it doesn't mean that it is less important. On the contrary, when you study this chapter, you will realize that the three critical exhortations here are very much applicable to us today. Let’s examine together the three exhortations:
I ABIDE IN THE TRUTH
During this time, when there were enemies of Jesus Christ who are trying to twist the truth about Him, John will encourage his readers to abide in the truth. The word truth will be used five times (5X) in the book, and right at the beginning of the chapter, he mentioned it twice. Let's go back to verse 1, "The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth,"
Out of this short verse, first, we should not miss two realities about the truth:
A. The Bond of Truth
Going back to verse 1, John said, "The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth." With these words, we can establish that John took the time to write this mother and her children because of his bond with them. This bond that ties them together is predicated on the truth they have believed. Of course, this bond is the same bond that ties all of us together in our community of faith.
B. The Body of Truth
The second part of verse 1 reads, "but also all who know the truth," This phrase shows that John doesn't only love this specific family (elect lady and her children), but also everyone who shares in this knowledge of the truth. The question now is: What is this truth? In this day and age, when people no longer believe in absolute truth, is there really the truth that we need to acknowledge?
In the New Testament, there are two truths we need to accept and believe:
1. The Written Word
Jesus Himself referred to the Word of God as the truth in John 17:17 (ESV):
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Today, we are all being bombarded with so much information, and it's hard to determine which of them are true or lies. But, with God's Word, we are assured that all the information we are getting is the truth.
2. The Living Word
The second truth we need to be familiar with is Jesus Christ Himself. He said clearly in John 14:6 (ESV):
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Our Gospel in the Bible is Jesus Christ; He is the truth, and without Him, there is no eternal life. For Satan to lead people astray, he only needs to twist one fundamental fact about Jesus Christ. What is this perversion? John directly mentions it in verse 7, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist."
During the time of John and even today, every false teacher will deny that Jesus Christ came into the flesh. Both the Jews and the Gnostics deny that the Almighty God became a human being to die on the cross to take away the sins of the world. Please take note that anyone who denies this truth is an "antichrist." In other words, they are against Jesus Christ.
C. The Behavior in the Truth
Now, let's add one more reality about this truth, which we find in verse 4, "I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth." The apostle John rejoices with the elect lady because her children are walking in the truth. What does it mean to walk in the truth? It simply means that our behavior as believers is consistent with the Word of God and the life of Jesus Christ. Just a side comment, I believe John was on target to commend the elect lady for her children walking in the truth. Parents, your greatest commendation before God will come when your children are walking according to the truth!
II ABOUND IN LOVE
After the emphasis on truth, the apostle John provided a balanced perspective by also talking about love. Christians who need to affect the world should live their lives within a good balance of truth and love. John hinted about this 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."
Notice the last part of the verse, "in truth and love." Evidently, just as the word truth is repeated 5X, so is the word love is repeated 5X in 13 verses. This vital balance between truth and love is also conveyed by Paul in Ephesians 4:15 (ESV)
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
Why should we always aim to speak the truth in love? I like how Dr. Warren Wiersbe explains why this balance is necessary. He said:
"Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy."
So, Christians cannot just emphasize truth without being loving, or else they would end up being judgmental and condemning all the time without having compassion for sinners. But, on the other hand, believers cannot only talk about love without truth because they would be tolerant of everything without any solid convictions in their lives. And so, we should seek to live balancing truth and love at all times.
Now, speaking of abounding in love, John plainly urges them to love one another. Listen to verses 5 -6, "And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 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."
As the church confronts the problem of false teachers, why is there a significant need to be committed to building a loving community? I believe the answer to this question can be found in the words of Jesus Christ in John 13:34-35 (ESV):
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
With these words from Jesus Christ, the world will know that we belong to Him when we love one another. Therefore, when the church continues to practice this love within its community, it will set them apart from the false teachers. Why? Apparently, false teachers were not conscious of fulfilling this command according to verse 8, "Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the father and the son."
Again, God's people will set themselves apart from false teachers when they go out of their way to care for and love others. Let's be more practical. How do you express love within our church community? Here are some great suggestions:
Pray for one another (1 Samuel 12:23)
Serve one another (Galatians 5:13-14)
Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32)
Honor one another (Romans 12:10)
Build up one another (Romans 14:19)
Show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
The New Testament is filled with "one another" Scriptures, which will help us get some specific ideas on maintaining love within our church community. Would you consider doing them? We would be a more powerful testimony for Jesus Christ when we commit ourselves in fulfilling these “one another” activities.
III AVOID FALSE TEACHERS
The third important exhortation in the book is found in verses 10-11:
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,
11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
Indeed, Christians should be loving, and part of showing love to others can mean showing hospitality or opening your home even to strangers at times. During the first century, there were many itinerant prophets who would visit churches and share God’s Word. Unfortunately, this was use by the Devil to sow division to churches because of some false teachings.
Due to this practice, John sets some boundaries in terms of hospitality. The apostle John explicitly commands the believers not to be hospitable to false teachers or even greet them because by doing so, they become partakers of their wicked works.
Now, you might be thinking that this instruction is too much, but let me give you at least two reasons this is appropriate:
A. False Teachers are "Antichrists" (v.7)
Since they are antichrists, associating with them can undermine the Gospel of Jesus Christ and lead you and your loved ones astray.
B. False Teachers Can Rob You of Your Rewards
This danger is stated in verse 8, "Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward." In other words, if we fall into the traps of these false teachers, we can end up losing some of the eternal rewards we can receive out of our faithful walk with Jesus Christ.
Now, some Christians are tempted to let them come in thinking they might win them to Jesus Christ. But verse 11 is written for our complete protection. If they bring the false Gospel, we don't even have to bother entertaining them in our homes. It is safer this way.
As I close, I trust and pray that we genuinely appreciate Jesus Christ for becoming a man so that He could be our Savior. At the same time, we also need to watch out because many false teachers are deceiving many and are destroying churches. In BCI, we need to do our best to protect our church from false teachers. Lastly, we also need to win more people for Jesus Christ. It would be tragic if allow these false teachers to surpass our effort and lead more people astray, than us leading people to find life in Christ.
-Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana