2 John
THE SUPREMACY OF LOVE
2 JOHN 1-6
Love is a soil in which falsehood cannot grow.
Neither contents nor tradition give any idea of the date of this short letter, or of its recipient. The style suggests a date near that of 1 John. If that is so, the worsening position of the church in the Roman empire would explain its essential anonymity.
“The elder” (v.1; see also 1 Peter 5:1): John is not claiming apostolic authority. “The elect lady”: the position might explain the omission of the name, but contrast 3 John 1. The use of the same term in verse 13, however, suggests strongly that a personified local church is intended. This is strengthened by his statement that all who know the truth share his outlook. “The truth” (v.2) is, of course, Christ (see John 14:6). “Grace” (v.3) is God’s free covenant love; “mercy,” or better, “compassion,” is his understanding of the church’s position and weakness as it faces the increasing hostility of the Roman power; “peace” is the inner quiet from having all the resources of God at one’s disposal.
“Some of your children” (v.4): this otherwise strange remark becomes clear, if we understand it to mean that John had met some of the recipient church’s members when they were on their travels. In this case it does not imply that the others had lapsed. John was living at a time when false teachers were rife, and so the churches were making their first steps towards tighter organization and formulation of doctrine, to exclude them. John approves, but he sees the danger. So he urges that first things be placed first, ie love. Where there is true love, false teachers will find themselves ignored. We are to walk in love (v.6): love is “to be your rule of life” (NEB). Since it is God’s love that John is writing about, it is neither weak nor sentimental. It will not compromise nor call evil good, nor false true.