I tend to believe that the recipient, “the chosen lady”, is likely a cryptic way to address a local church, as John ends the letter with “the children of your chosen sister send their greetings”. This is the basis on which we shall study this letter:
(1) John purposely uses the literary tool of repetition to show his emphases. Read the introductory address in vv. 1-2:
a. How many times is the word “truth” used?
b. Each time that the word appears, a different aspect of the truth is mentioned.
- What or who is the truth that lives in us forever? (Jn. 14:6)
- What then is meant by to “love in the truth”?
- What is meant by to “know the truth”?
(2) In his greeting, what emphasis does he put on who Jesus is?
(3) While his Prologue in the gospel (Jn. 1:14, 17) emphasizes truth and grace, what is the emphasis here in the greeting? (v. 3) Why?
(4) With this emphasis in the greeting, John now turns it into an admonition (vv. 4-6).
a. What is the admonition (or command) which is both old and new that has already been given in 1 John? (1 Jn. 3:11)
b. In giving this command, John used the words “walk” and “walking” a few times: What is he trying to emphasize? (vv. 4, 6)
c. In asking us to “walk”, he mentions both the walking in truth, and the walking in love. Is there a difference?
d. Can we walk in love without truth and vice-versa? Why?
(5) Truth twisted (vv. 7-11)
a. What kind of heresy did the deceivers preach in John’s time? (v. 7)
b. How does such a heresy nullify the work of atonement accomplished by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross? (Heb. 2:14)
c. According to John, who are these deceivers? (v. 7)
d. How would one lose what the Apostles have worked for? (vv. 8-9)
e. What if we hold on to the teaching of the Apostles? (v. 8b and v. 9b)
- What is meant by being “rewarded fully”? (v. 8b)
- What is meant by having “both the Father and Son”? Can the two be separated? (Jn. 10:30)
f. How should we deal with such deceivers and teachers? Why? (vv. 10-11)
(6) How might you put love in action today?
“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” (2 Jn. 6)
In this short letter of 2 John, John is writing to someone he calls “the lady chosen by God”. He does not mention her name, and in his closing greetings, he sends greetings on behalf of the “children of your sister, who is chosen by God”. Again, no name is mentioned.
If the the lady is a person, she would obviously be very dear to John. For him to write a letter to her and not mention her name would be rather rude. The same is true of her sister, if she is also a person. Therefore, it is certainly logical to assume that John is addressing a church dear to him in a cryptic way, and perhaps with the looming or increasing persecution that the Christian churches are facing, it is only prudent for him to do so.
The situation of the church is both good news and bad news: Some of them are “walking in the truth” (v. 4). The implication is that some are not and thus John needs to admonish them with the word in vv. 4-6. The reason for so doing is “because deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.” (v. 7)
The admonition is that they should both walk in the truth and in love. In today’s Scripture Reflection I asked the questions: “Can we walk in love without truth and vice-versa?” and “Why?”. I am sure you have already thought about it and have come to some solid answers to the question. But allow me simply to leave you with the following thought:
- Love is the reason why we walk in the truth — in obedience to His commands (v. 6), and
- Only by knowing the truth who is Jesus Christ can we love (1 Jn. 4:19).