1:1The “elder” is John, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples and the writer of the Gospel of John, three letters, and the book of Revelation. For more information about John, see his Profile in John 13, p. 1783. This letter was written shortly after 1 John to warn about false teachers. The salutation “to the chosen lady and to her children” could refer to a specific woman or to a church whose identity is no longer known. John may have written this from Ephesus.
Life Application Study Bible2 JohnChapter 1
2 John 1
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 2156, 2157
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
12 John 1
1MEGATHEMESTHEMETruth
1. Watch out for false teachers
Greetings
This letter is from John, the elder.* am writing to the chosen lady and to her children,* whom I love in the truth—as does everyone else who knows the truth—? because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever. 3Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.
Live in the Truth
44How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded. 5I am writing to remind you, dear friends,* that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. 6Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. 7I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came* in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist, 8Watch out that you do not lose what we* have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. 9Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son. 10]f anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. ‘Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.
2. John’s final words
1212I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete. 13Greetings from the children of your sister,* chosen by God.
Textual footnotes
- 1:7 Or will come. 8 Some manuscripts read you. 13 Or from the members of your sister church.
- 1:14a Greek From the elder. tb Or the church God has chosen and its members. 5 Greek I urge you, lady.
Life Application Notes 3 notes
4:1,2John wrote this second letter (which probably fit on one sheet of papyrus) to warn believers against inadvertently supporting false teachers. The number of itinerant evangelists and teachers had grown by the end of the first century; mixed in with the legitimate missionaries were others who were promoting heretical ideas about Christ and the gospel. Little has changed in two thousand years. Advocates of unorthodox beliefs still exist and still attempt to confuse and deceive the people of God. This letter, 2 John, should serve as a wake-up Call to believers to be alert, to be careful. and to be solidly grounded in the faith. Are you prepared to recognize false doctrine?
1:3,4The “truth” is the truth about Jesus Christ, as opposed to the ties of the false teachers (see 1 John 2:21-23). John refers to truth five times in the first four verses of this brief letter. in contrast to so many in our culture who dogmatically deny truth (“There are no ultimate realities”) or absurdly define it according to personal preference (“Your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth”), John declared the existence of an Absolute. God is that ultimate standard by which all else can be judged. God is true, his words and ways are true, and whatever or whoever contradicts or opposes him is false, deceptive,
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Study feature · page 2156
IMPORTANCE To be loyal to Christ's teaching, we must seek to know the Bible, but we may never twist its message to our own needs or purposes or encourage others who misuse it. To obey Christ fully, we must believe his command to love others. Helping, giving, and meeting needs put love into practice. Don't encourage those who are opposed to Christ. Politely remove yourself from association with false leaders. Be aware of what is being taught in your church.
EXPLANATION Following God’s Word, the Bible, is essential to Christian living because God is truth. Christ’s true followers consistently obey his truth. Christ’s command is for Christians to love one another. This is the basic ingredient of true Christianity. We must be wary of religious leaders who are not true to Christ’s teaching. We should not give them a platform to spread false teaching.
Love False Leaders
Study feature · page 2156
Nene eee ——————————E—EEEEE—E and dangerous. Christian leaders, teachers, and parents must engage now in the difficult but critical battle for truth. To paraphrase a familiar saying: “All that is required for Deception to triumph is for the people of the Truth to do nothing.” Begin an intentional campaign to teach those under your care how to distinguish between truth and error. 1:5, 6 The statement that Christians should love one another is a recurrent New Testament theme. Yet Jove for one’s neighbor is an old command, first appearing in the third book of Moses (Leviticus 19:18). We can show love in many ways: by avoiding prejudice and discrimination; by accepting people; by listening, helping, giving, serving, and refusing to judge. Knowing God's command is not enough. We must put it into practice, “doing what God has commanded us” (see also Matthew 22:37-39 and 1 John 2:7, 8). 1:7. In John’s day, many false teachers (deceivers) taught that spirit was good and matter was evil; therefore, they reasoned that Jesus could not have been both God and man. In strong terms, John warns against this kind of teaching. Many false teachers still promote an understanding of Jesus that is not biblical. These teachers are dangerous because they distort the truth and undermine the foundations of Christian faith. They may use the right words but change the meanings. 1:7 The term translated “deceivers” can also be translated “impostors”; it carries the idea of leading another astray. Notice that the verse refers to “many” such charlatans and pretenders. The great danger of deceitful leaders is that they seem so sincere and believable. They are not easy to spot in a crowd. Usually they are winsome and attractive; otherwise, how would they gather people to themselves? We do not want to become paranoid and
Study feature · page 2157
were to invite them in, such action would show that they were approving of what the false teachers said and did. John is condemning the support of those who are dedicated to opposing the true teachings of God, not condemning hospitality to unbelievers. John adds that a person who supports a false teacher in any way shares in the teacher’s evil work. 4:10 False teaching is serious business, and we dare not overlook it. It is so serious that John wrote this letter to warn against it. Because our world has so many false teachings, we might be tempted to take many of them lightly. Instead, we should realize the dangers they pose and actively refuse to give heresies any foothold.
suspicious about everyone we meet, but we do need to be wise in evaluating the character and conduct of those who would seek to influence people. The way your teachers live shows a lot about what they believe about Christ. For more on testing teachers, see 1 John 4:1. 1:8 To “receive your full reward” refers not to salvation but to the rewards of loyal service. All who value the truth and persistently hold to it will win their full reward. Those who five for themselves and justify their self-centeredness by teaching false doctrines will lose that reward (see Matthew 7:21-23). 1:10 John instructs the believers not to show hospitality to false teachers. They were to do nothing that would encourage the heretics in their propagation of falsehoods. in addition, if believers