Lesson for August 16, 2020
The Book of II John
Chapter 1:1-13
Verses 1-4
“The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth, for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.”
It is interesting that John does not refer to himself as an apostle in this letter, rather the elder. It seems that this letter was written to either a specific woman in a church where John had ministered or to a specific local church where “lady” refers to that church. Whichever the case, it was a time of apostate false teachers, such as the Judaizers, traveling to various regions, entering local churches and preaching their false messages. This letter was written as a warning of inviting these false teachers in to their fellowship and allowing them to deceive the congregation.
The Greek word for elder is “presbuteros,” which means elderly or advanced in age. It is used spiritually for a spiritually mature believer and for a pastor-teacher. We know that John had the gift of apostleship and pastor-teacher from both the Gospel of John, the book of I John and the book of Revelation. So, we can conclude from the use of the word elder that this a letter from the heart of the pastor and not necessarily from the perspective of his office on apostle. It was a warning but in a very kind and caring way. There is no harshness in his words, but he makes his point clear.
The Greek word for chosen is “ekelktos,” which means elected, picked out, selected or chosen for privilege. It is a reference to the Doctrine of Election. Election is the plan of God for believers only, whereby He chooses or selects certain things to be true. The question that must be answered to clearly understand this doctrine is “What are these things that God chooses for the believer?” Please notice that it is not God choosing a person for salvation as some teach; rather it is God choosing certain things to be true of the believer. An unbeliever must still use his volition to choose to believe in Christ or to reject Christ. (Ephesians 1:4)
Church Age believers have been chosen by God for a service. This service is to be Royal Family of God, the royal family of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every person who believes in Christ during this dispensation becomes Royal Family of God. As royalty, it the responsibility of each believer to fulfill his election by the execution of the Christian Way of Life. (II Thessalonians 2:13-14)
Whom I love in truth expresses John’s love for this family of believers in a unique way with this phrase. Love in truth is virtue-love based on the virtue a believer has developed in their soul from the study of Bible doctrine. Truth always supersedes love in the Christian Way of Life. If the believer’s love is based on anything other than the truth from God’s word, it is not virtue-love. Virtue-love is the way that God loves us. Virtue-love is both impersonal love and personal love resident in the soul of the believer.
And not only I, but also all who know the truth, for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. Love for our fellow-believers is commanded and especially for those who love truth like we do. If a believer does not love truth, then it follows that he will not be part of a fellowship of believers where accurate Bible doctrine is being taught. Notice that John tells us that Bible doctrine resident in our souls will be with us forever, which means throughout all eternity.
Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Grace is all that all is able to do for believers on the basis of what Jesus Christ did on the Cross. Mercy is putting that grace into action on the behalf of the believer. Peace is spiritual prosperity, which may or may not include material possessions. God’s desire is to pour out blessing into the life of believers. But we must have the capacity to receive those blessings through the study and application of Bible doctrine. No capacity equals lesser blessings from God because He will never give more than we can handle. The source of all blessing for believers is God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Blessing from any other source is temporal at best. Blessing from God is eternal. Notice how grace, mercy and peace are administered, by means of the intake of Bible doctrine (truth) and virtue-love (personal love for God and impersonal love for others).
I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth. Once again, this could be a reference to the children of a specific women or believers in a local church. The important thing is that John found some believers who were advancing in their spiritual lives according to the commands of God to do so. It is not only God’s desire for us to advance spiritually, it is a command.
Verses 5-13
“Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which 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, that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full. The children of your chosen sister greet you.”
Matthew 22:37-39 is the answer Jesus gave to the Pharisees when asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?” The answer was to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. This lady or local church obviously knew this commandment but had forgotten how it is applied. Walking in doctrine is walking in love according to John. Walking without the application of accurate Bible doctrine (according to the commandments) is not love. This person or church had been sincerely exhibiting what they considered to be Christian love without applying the other pertinent doctrines related to the doctrine of love. Apparently, this lady or the local church was giving shelter and welcoming these apostate false teachers into their local fellowship. John warns against the danger of this practice. As matter of fact, John tells them that they are actually participating in the evil deeds of these false teachers. As believers, it is our responsibility to recognize false teaching and false teachers and avoid them, do not greet them, do not participate with them and certainly do not welcome them into your home or fellowship.
The apostate false teachers are those that reject or distort the truth of the Word of God for selfish motives. These teachers are called false, which is the Greek word “pseduo.” They represent themselves as true in order to gain entrance into a ministry. Peter says they come in covertly, like a spy would infiltrate an organization. Some of these unbelieving teachers deny the deity of Christ and deny the saving power of the Gospel. (II Peter 2:1)
These false teachers have deliberate motives, which include monetary greed, sensual pleasures, luxurious lifestyles, power, and fame. They actually train themselves in the art of greed and lust. The Bible says that they use fabricated words of flattery with promises of prosperity in order to extort money and material possessions. They are members of the “mutual admiration society,” pretending to admire certain people in order to gain acceptance. They literally make merchandise, the Greek word “emporeuomai,” of the unsuspecting, unstable, spiritually weak believer. (II Peter 2:3,14,15,18; Jude 11,16,18)
They play upon the emotions of the duped believer since they themselves are ruled by their emotions. These false teachers have no substance in their message, they scoff at the truth and will not accept the authority of Biblical doctrine. They bring with them into these ministries destructive, self-willed, erroneous opinions that lead to divisions and the formation of sects. It is, of course, impossible for them to bring in accurate doctrinal information from God’s Word, since they are unable to learn truth. These apostates are so arrogant they even reject human authority and speak evil of persons in authority over them in order to carry out their own agenda.
The Bible says that these false teachers live a lifestyle of the “rich and famous,” while turning the grace of God into lasciviousness (a license to sin). They are arrogant souls, in love with themselves, in love with money and love to brag about it. Conceited, unholy, lovers of sensual pleasures, they cannot be appeased. They are rash in their speech, lack self-control, especially over their emotions, and cannot be trusted. With everything they have accumulated, they are nevertheless ungrateful and callous to human affection, they do not honor their parents and are haters of anything good. We are commanded to avoid these blasphemers of truth. (II Timothy 3:2-5; II Peter 2:2,12, 13,14,19; Jude 8,16,18)
The followers of the apostate teachers are those who allow themselves to be seduced. They are those who reject truth and believe the fabricated lies of the false teachers. Peter tells us that many will follow their evil ways, so it should come as no surprise when these ministers of Satan “pack the pew.” The pivot (remnant according to grace) has always been a small elite group of believers that refuse to compromise accurate Bible teaching. The others that follow after the “about to” ministers (God’s about to do this or that, but never seems to get around to doing it), have become enemies of the Cross of Christ and partakers in satanic activity. They have been enticed by words of flattery, which promise wealth and physical healing from a “fairy god mother” type of god. (II Timothy 3:6, 4:3-4; II Peter 2:2,3,14,18; Jude 12,16)
As a result of being seduced, they become slaves to the idea that God is going to bless them with houses, cars, money, the perfect job, family harmony and healing of the body. Failure to seek truth from the Word of God leaves them with only Human Viewpoint Thinking and its resultant misery and bewilderment. They cannot understand how God can allow them to suffer so much and why He doesn’t wave His “magic wand” and fix all their problems (after all they prayed about it!).
The followers of the apostate teachers fail to take responsibility for their own decisions and actions, entering into the arrogance of self-justification, self-deception and self-absorption. Because of their instability from lack of Bible doctrine in the soul, they are easily lured away into apostasy themselves. Like a fisherman catching a fish, these false teachers entice the weak believer, not only into taking the bait, but paying for it! But no one has an excuse before God for being seduced by false doctrine.