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A Bible study in 2nd John by Kathy Kearney

This letter was probably written from Ephesus in about 95AD, 20 years after the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem.

In this little letter that packs a big punch, John refers to himself as “the elder.”  He is quite up in years and time for him is drawing to a close.  We see from all John’s letters that he has a great love for the Church, the body of Christ and for earthly church. He expends much energy in alerting them to the truth of the gospel as opposed to the heresies of that time.

Mark Copeland, whose notes and outlines I often use for my Bible studies, observes that one of the greatest contributors to the growth of the early church was hospitality.  There were no church buildings, only homes of believers.  These believers opened their homes to itinerant Christian ministers, and to the local believers as well.  In doing so, they often got “taken in” by heretical teachers who distorted the gospel and preached falsehood.  A lady—the chosen lady, writes to John about this problem.

Some Bible teachers believe that the lady spoken of here, is a veiled reference to the church, but when you realize that all the NT writers referred to people and churches by name, that’s too big a stretch.  Most believe that John is writing to an actual person, a woman for whom he has great love and reverence, and to her children.  This lady has opened her home to passing preachers, and maybe been hostess to some who looked good, but were false teachers.  In her desire to protect the church that meets in her home, she writes to ask John how to avoid being duped by these false teachers.

Verses 1-3:

John expresses the love he has for this lady and for her children—whom he loves in the truth.  Obviously he knows something about her, for he assures her that he not only loves her, but others in her church who also know the truth.  He has doubtless visited this region because he speaks in the third letter of coming.  Perhaps he has been the recipient of this worthy lady’s hospitality himself, and has ministered to the congregation that must meet in her home.

He assures her that this love based in truth abides in them all, and will forever.  So what truth is he speaking of?  “As for you, let that abide in you which you have heard from the beginning.  If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father.  And this is the promise which He Himself made to us, eternal life.  These things I have written to your concerning those who are trying to deceive you.” 1 John 2:24-27.

John refers her to the truth of the gospel he wrote so many years before; that God has sent His Son because she, her children, and others have obeyed the commandment to receive Christ.  The core truth is found in 1 John 3:22, that Jesus is the Son of God, and to deny Him is to deny God.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. . .” John 14:6.  To paraphrase the obvious: the way to live my life is in His truth.

John is so humble.  In verse two, he doesn’t say, “It was good thing you wrote to me since I know all the truth that you need to hear.”  No.  He comforts her with the knowledge that the same truth that abides in him, abides in her, her children, and those believers who meet in her home.  He isn’t lording it over her, as Peter warned elders not to do in I Peter 5: 1-3.  He’s saying they’re all in the same ark—the Ark of Safety which is Christ.

Although the truth might abide in all of us, we must work on learning that truth by being in the Word.  A flower seed contains everything that makes it a flower.  But when is the last time you put a packet of seeds into a vase and said, “Behold such beauty!”  No, flowers need to be planted in good soil, watered, fed and nurtured before they come to maturity.

Jesus, in His high-priestly prayer in John 17:17, asks the Father to sanctify believers through His Word, for His Word is truth. Most Christians who stumble and fall away, usually depart from Bible study at some point.  They either allow sin to separate them from the Word, or complacency, the cares of living or a some other thing intervene in their walk with Christ. It’s important to remember that while we’re learning, we need the fellowship of others who have been walking in truth longer.

Remember, we learn in three ways:

1. directly from the Word
2. through others who are in the Word
3. through the church as it ministers the Word

In verse three he uses the typical New Testament greeting among believers. Grace, mercy and peace.  Without grace there is no mercy, without mercy there is no peace, without peace there is no grace, etc.  It’s like a circle of God’s love that wraps around us.  And it only comes from one place: God the Father through Jesus Christ.

Verse 4:

Makes reference to some who are still walking in the truth.  You can hold Bible studies in your home, and some will continue the walk, others will drift away.  We’ve seen it happen over the years.  In John 6: 65-66, some disciples stopped following Jesus.  If it happened to Him, it will happen to us.  Just make sure it never happens to you!

Years ago, I lived in a neighborhood where most of the moms and dads on the block worked.  This meant their kids came home at three o’clock and ran amok until about 6 o’clock when their folks got home.  Now, you have to understand that I’m not a big children person.  I like them—in their own homes.  I had to love mine (besides, they’re different!  Brighter, cooler, you know!).  Everyday the street was filled with screaming kids.  One day I woke up with such a burden for these momentary “orphans.”  One of the gals that was in my women’s Bible study group was a stay-at-home-mom like me, so I asked her if we couldn’t start a Good News Club through our local Child Evangelism group.

After the terror stricken look subsided from her eyes, she said, “Only if you teach.  Don’t ever ask me to teach.”

“I will teach,” I promised, “if you never ask me to do crafts.”

It was a team made in heaven!  I could talk a blue streak, and Shirley was an excellent artist who saw a Rolls Royce in every discarded bleach bottle.  Me I just saw a discarded bleach bottle.

Tomorrow part 2

Living in the Light

vs.

Dwelling in the Darkness

This letter was written by John the Beloved, so called because he referred to himself as “that disciple whom the Lord loved.”  He was the disciple that leaned against Jesus’ breast during the Last Supper.  John was probably a teenager when he started following the Lord Jesus.  He also had a hot temper.  He and his brother James were quick to pronounce judgment on the Samaritans who refused to hear Jesus.  They asked Jesus to destroy the city.  After this they were called the sons of thunder.  John is also referred to as “the virgin,” not because he never married (at least there is no record that he did), but because of the tender and loving purity of his life.  He and Peter seem to demonstrate the most graphic changes in life after the resurrection of Christ.

He was probably writing this letter from Ephesus to churches in the Asia Minor area.  Some think it was written previous to the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD; however others like Dr. Harry Ironside one of the great theologians of the past think it was written in about 90 AD.  John was actually one of the last New Testament writers.  He didn’t write the gospel until 20 years after the death of Paul, and this epistle was probably written later than that.  One commentator said that many theologians act like Paul’s epistles are the last word to the church, but he felt that John’s letter was God’s saving the best wine for last.

John was an eyewitness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  While his gospel is written to persuade unbelievers that they must believe in Christ for salvation, this precious letter is written to Christians so that they might know their salvation, not only doctrinally but in the practicality of everyday living.  We know that because it deals with fellowship.  Only light can fellowship with light.  We do not fellowship with non-Christians, even though we may have relationships with them as family, friends, business etc.

This letter covers important facets of our walk with Christ, and I noted in particular that it takes in the past, (chapter 1: in the beginning), to the present (chapter 1: these things we write) to the future (chapter 2: 18: the coming of the antichrist).  There is never a time in which we are to relax our guard; we are to be ready and serving always.

John is also writing to combat various forms of Gnosticism.  A mysterious religion that taught that God didn’t create physical matter, just spiritual truths.  So they didn’t believe that Jesus was actually God, or that he had any more power than any of us.  They also taught that the only purity was the spiritual, but that physical life was immaterial, and therefore what the body did was of no consequence.  As long as your spirit was pure, your flesh could do anything it wished.

Gnosticism is still around today, but it has taken on different forms.  Probably the closest thing we have to it is Christian Science, which teaches that God doesn’t deal with the physical, but only the spiritual.  As someone put it, you can’t have anything the matter with you, because  matter doesn’t exist.  It’s all an apparition due to the incorrectness of our spiritual health.

Let’s see how down to earth this small, but powerful letter is, and how it lays to rest the lies and hypocrisy of humanity, and zeroes in on the totality of life with the light and truth of Christ.

Verse 1:

“What was from the beginning.”  John goes back to the beginning.  I think he really means THE BEGINNING.  In the first chapter of the Gospel of John he wrote that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and was God, and that all creation was his work.  But then he brings this great eternal work home by saying he and others have heard this One, have seen this One, handled this One, and known this One.  How startling.  No other religion in all the world claims to have literature written by someone who knew its god, or gods, personally.  Even Joseph Smith only claims to have received his message from an angel.

Someone wrote that Jesus came not only to live life, but to give life.  Here we can reverse the order, he not only gave life as creator, but lived life as a man, so that he could give life to all who would come to him.  And when people today challenge the fact that Christians claim that Jesus still lives, we can point to a historic event: the resurrection; and a personal event: his resurrection in our lives by faith and that he now lives eternally within us as well as eternally at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.  Mind boggling.  But it shows the mastery of Jesus as all life.  He is life itself.  Paul preached to the Athenians in the Book of Acts, that in Him we live and move and have our being.

John refers to Christ again as the Word of Life in this verse.

This makes Christianity different from the religions of the world.  He has been evident physically to these men.  And John passes this record down to followers who will come afterwards.

Verse  2 – 3:

This eternal life, Jesus Christ himself, was made clear, and now it is our privilege to make it clear to you.  No holding back, no special password, or status of education, wealth or position required. Also notice that John doesn’t say that Christianity is just an exclusive club for only the ones who have physically known Christ, but for all those who have come to accept him, we are on equal footing.  There are no prima donnas.  Only one thing: that you believe and accept Christ as the eternal God, and as your Savior.

What is the phrase that tells you that Christ is God in verses two and three?  ANS:  The eternal life that was with the Father (v.2), and now we fellowship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (v.3).

John was the one who recorded the high priestly prayer of Christ in John 17 (Read).  And based upon the intent of that prayer he comes to the crux of the making known what Christ made known to him: that we may have fellowship  with us, and our fellowship is with God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Look at the glory of creation, the stars the heavens, the earth, all it contains, and think how awesome it is that the One who created it all wants intimate, loving fellowship with us.  But he couldn’t have it, we’re sinners, and so he sent His Son, Jesus to pay the price we could not pay.  He became sin that we might become the righteousness of God.

Think of that next time you’re in over your head and can’t make sense of your life and all that’s happening.  This great Creator is your champion now.  What do you have to fear.

Verse 4:

And these things we write. . . John has several reasons for writing this letter, and this seems to be the first one: that our joy might be made complete.

Fellowship is our safety net, and our health promoter.  The more we encourage and receive fellowship the safer the healthier and the more prosperous we are.

Christians who withdraw from fellowship are endangering themselves.  Why do you think some do withdraw?  1) Proverbs 18:1 to have their own way.  2) They are walking in sin and can’t stand the light of those who are walking in righteousness.  3)  Maybe they aren’t truly saved, just found a nice group of people to join with, but when further accountability is expected, they pull away because they don’t really know Christ.  4) Bitterness, grudges, etc.  Imagined or real slights or insults.

Have you ever considered that your greatest moment’s growth, and learning have come from the midst of fellowship; church, bible studies, prayer meetings, one on one sharing?  Proverbs 11:14 says that in many counselors is safety. We need one another, God set it up that way.  Others often point out the very thing we need when we’ve been groping our way along for days or even months.  God sends someone along, and he or she just nails it.

Fellowship with believers affirms our faith and confirms our growth in Christ.  It provides a healthy check and balance for sane living.

But there is one criterion for this kind of fellowship, that we know God.  We cannot fellowship with unbelievers.  We have to draw them into the family through evangelism and prayer and then we can fellowship with them, but not before.

Verse 5:

John brings a message from Christ. God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

Darkness is the absence of light.  When it’s dark it means the light has been withdrawn. However, light is not the absence of darkness.  In this world, the darkness is always present.  That’s why we have sun, moon, stars, electricity, candles, what not.   Without them, our world would be utter darkness.  That’s physical darkness.

But there is also a spiritual darkness and I think the darkness that occurred during the plagues in Egypt was that kind of darkness; it was the darkness of Hell, and it’s the kind of darkness that exists in our hearts before we know Christ.   (READ) Col. 1:12-13 talks of being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the realm of light.  In fact, (READ) Ephesians 1:8 says that we were darkness before we knew Christ, and now we are light in the Lord.

(READ) Matthew 6:21-23, if we are dark inside we even turn light into darkness when we reject it.

Now I said that light is not the absence of darkness. Light overcomes darkness.  John wrote in the gospel of John that Christ was the light that overcomes the darkness.  But where God is there is no darkness, only light.  That’s why heaven will be illuminated by the light that is Christ.  No need for heavenly bodies or street lights, just the Lamb as spoken of in the Book of Revelation.

Now if God is light and there is no darkness in Him, then verse six follows with . . .

Verse 6:

If we say we have fellowship with him and we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Who do we lie to?  (Ourselves, others and God.) Notice the word practice, this speaks of a lifestyle. True the Christian may slip and sin, but he rises again and goes on, because his lifestyle dictates that he walk in God’s light.

How can we know if someone who professes Christianity is not walking in the light?  (You will see no fruits in their life, and no growth.  They will soon drift away.) The Bible says, by their fruits shall you know them.  If they are coming to church and putting on the big show and then you hear or see that during the week they live like the devil.  You can be sure of two things: either they are out of fellowship Christians, or unbelievers.

Verse 7:

But if we walk in the light. . .we have fellowship with God and with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His son, cleanses us from all sin.

This verse is talking about our consciousness of sin and what Christ has done for us by shedding His blood.

When we are saved, our sins are forgiven, all sins, past, present, future.  All are under the blood. As we walk in that glorious awareness, it keeps us in the light.  It doesn’t mean that if I sin, I am no longer cleansed by His blood, it means I hurry back to that redemption thankful that this sin was taken care of on the Cross and I do not have to live in bondage to it one second longer than it takes me to ask his forgiveness.

The crudest example I can give is this.  If I have a bank account with a billion dollars in it, I am wealthy.  If I choose to live like a pauper, it doesn’t nullify the truth that I am wealthy.  My attitude doesn’t do away with my bank account, but it sure dictates how I choose to live.  I can live with a pauper’s attitude and never enjoy the money, or I can live with full enjoyment of the funds that are mine.

It simply  means that as I walk in fellowship with God, I am aware of the blood that has cleansed me from sin. When confronted with sin, I can wholeheartedly choose not to sin because of what Christ has done for me.  If I choose to sin, I don’t lose my salvation, but I lose conscious touch with its joy.

When David sinned with Bathsheba, and he repents in that beautiful Psalm 51 . He says restore to me the joy of my salvation, not restore to me my salvation.

And when I am aware of this cleansing of my own life, I become aware of it in the life of others.  I can come alongside my stumbling brother or sister and pray and reach out a heart of reconciliation and restoration.  Because they too have the same Savior and cleansing.  And I am given the privilege of reminding them that they don’t have to live in sin.

(READ) Colossians 3:12-14 and Galatians 6:1-2. Restore is a medical term meaning to gently set a broken bone.

So part of fellowship has to do with restoration.

Verse 8:

If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  We all have a sin nature, but by faith the Bible says we can acknowledge as dead and live in the power of Christ who has given us a new nature created in His likeness.  If we say we don’t sin or have no sin nature, we’re kidding ourselves.  Remember, he is writing to Christians not non Christians.

If we say we have no sin nature, we get self-righteousness. We belonged to a denomination (we won’t give the name for obvious reasons) who taught that there was a second work of grace available that got rid of the sin nature. That simply isn’t true according to the Bible. They based this on one verse from 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality”. (NASB)  They based this doctrine on the first part of the verse only. Many false doctrines have started this way. Because then we have to believe that we are sinless and perfect.  We are not yet in our heavenly state of existence where we are free from its presence and influence, but we can choose where to set the dial.

I have never gone through a sinless day, have you?  I have unkind thoughts, hasty words, willful desires, and laziness.  I don’t kill anyone, or steal anything, or shoot up drugs or get drunk or cheat on Dewey.  But I am very aware of my SELF love.  I am also aware of Christ in me.  And so I rejoice that there’s nothing I can’t bring to him.

Verse 9:

If we confess (In the Greek, it means to “say the same thing”)  In other words, If I say the same thing as God, Yes, Father, I blew it, I criticized, I gossiped, I lied, I was unkind.  Thank you for your forgiveness through Christ.  But not only that. . .

Thank you that you want to cleanse me from these sins so that I might more fully enjoy you and the freedom you have given me in Christ, so that I might more quickly offer it to my brothers and sisters when they stumble, and not judge them.

Verse 10:

If God says I sin, and I say I don’t.  What am I really saying?  That God is a liar. And I cut myself off from enjoying and walking in His presence.  I am a god unto myself and it’s very lonely business.  So when God says, “Hey, you were wrong.”  Don’t run away and hide.  He pointed it out to you because He loves you.  He isn’t angry, He isn’t going to write  you off and erase your name out of His book of life.  He wants you to be back in fellowship with Him and with His children.  His conviction of sin is love.  And there is no condemnation in it.  Finish with Romans 8:1 This is a book of love.

John says God is two things.  He is light and He is love.  Mercy and grace are characteristics, but light and love are his persona.  And that’s what we’re here to learn about now and forever!

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