Introduction to 2nd & 3rd John

Tomorrow is a day known in the United States as Halloween, but since October 31, 1517, it is known in the Church as Reformation Day.

On that day, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, famously nailed his 95 Theses against the Catholic Church. Originally, Luther only wanted to discuss these matters. He wanted to reform the Church.

However, by God’s providence, this momentous event led to an era that we call the Reformation. Massive changes in political, economic, and societal spheres swept across Europe. More important, though, were the massive changes in the churches.

The churches recovered, or rediscovered, five key doctrines that we hold dearly today. They are called the five solas, sola scriptura, soli Deo gloria, solus Christus, sola fide, sola gratia. Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, by Christ alone, for the glory of God alone.

Thus, through the toil and blood shed by our brothers and sisters, we can stand today and proclaim freely and passionately the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I. The Author—the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved

It is that Gospel to which we turn our attention to this morning, particularly as written and lived by the apostle we know as John. John wrote five books of the New Testament: the Gospel According to John, 1, 2, 3 John, and the Revelation. He was Jewish by birth, fisherman by trade, and a son of thunder with James.

John was called by the Lord Jesus as he was fishing (Matt. 4:18–22). No doubt that day began as many others had, late in the evening preparing their nets and heading out for a night of fishing on the sea of Galilee. But John’s life would change forever, when the lovely Lord Jesus would call out to James and John, while they were in the boat with the father Zebedee. They immediately left their nets and followed Jesus.

John spent about three and a half years traveling with and listening to the Messiah. He experienced the ups and downs with the rest of the disciples, yet John was different. For example, John only speaks three times in the gospel, and only once were they his own words. In Mark 10:35–45; Matt. 20:20–28, John and James ask Jesus to sit by Him on his throne. Or, in John 13:24–25, John, at the encouragement of Peter, asks Jesus who would betray him.

The only recorded speech from John in all the gospels that comes from his own heart is found in John 21:7, when, upon the miracle of the massive amount of fish, John says, “It is the Lord!”

It was later in his life that John wrote his account of the life of Jesus, then three letters (one of which we have already examined), and finally, near the end of his life, the Revelation. It is the letters of 2nd and 3rd John that we will focus on these next two weeks.

Now, let’s take a brief look at the man John.

A. John was a man who was completely overwhelmed by the love of Jesus Christ

When I first read through the Bible, I remember distinctly thinking when I read the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” “Who does this guy think he is?” The nerve of this guy! As I have grown in the grace and knowledge of God, I have shifted my understanding. This was not a prideful phrase that John used to describe himself as if he was more loved than the others. It was a life-altering realization of a biblical truth.

John 13:23 “One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side,”

John 19:26 “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!””

John 20:2 “So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.””

John 21:7 “That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.”

John 21:20 “Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?””

1 John 2:5, 1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” , 1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” , 1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

There are many, many verses that we do not have time to look at this morning. The point here is the John was a man who was completely overwhelmed by the love of Jesus Christ. I love the way C. H. Spurgeon says it,

“That name was a powerful spring of action to him as long as he lived. How could he be false to him who had loved him so? What leagues of journeying could be too long for the feet of that disciple whom Jesus loved? What mobs of cruel men could cow the heart of the disciple whom Jesus loved? What form of banishment or death could dismay him whom Jesus loved? No, henceforth in the power of that name John becomes bold and faithful, and he serves his loving Friend with all his heart.”— C. H. Spurgeon

John was a man completely overwhelmed by the love of Jesus.

B. John was a man who was unshakably sure of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ

We will not spend much time here, but if you look at 1 John in particularly you would easily see this. We will also see this in 2nd and 3rd John. We will elaborate on this more in the next two weeks, Lord willing, but for now let’s highlight a few. 2 John 7–8 “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.”

3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” You walk in the truth because you are unshakably sure about the incarnation of Jesus Christ, that Christ came in the flesh, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, was crucified and killed, lay for three days in the grace, and then rose again defeated sin and death. That is, by the way, the demonstration of God’s love for us. It takes place in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

C. John was a man who passionately obeyed the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ

The phrases “walking in truth,” “know the truth,” commanded, commandments appear through 2 John.

The phrase “walking in truth” “worthy of God” “fellow workers of the truth” and “does good” appear in 3 John.

Listen to John’s view of obeying the commandments of God in 1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” They are not burdensome. Or, to use a good picture, they are not like a bag of cement. Those bags are heavy and difficulty to navigate. When you experience the miraculous love of Jesus, obeying Him is not like lifting those bags of cement up. It is like carrying a book for the love of your life.

II. The Recipients of the Letters- Beloved

There are two primary recipients, though we certainly can apply everything to us together as a church and as individual followers of Jesus. These are people like you and me, people with families and jobs and goals in life. He writes these two letters for the purpose of showing that to love God through loving-obedience allows us to experience the fullness of joy.

The Church— the church will, during this long and arduous journey we call sanctification, need to be reminded constantly of our desperate need to love God through loving-obedience in order to experience the fullness of joy.

Gauis— potentially an elder in a church, an individual whom the apostle John loved. He writes a letter to him specifically, which reminds us that God has a purpose for each of his saints.

By extension, John is writing to us today. Though separated by almost two thousand years, we still need to be reminded of his writings. Which brings us to why John is writing these two letters.

III. The Purpose—to love God through loving-obedience to experience the fullness of joy

What we will see in these two letters is our need, as much as we need air to breath and food to eat, to love God through (or by) loving-obedience. As a result, we will experience the fullness of joy. I take this thought from John’s collected works, as distilled, if you will, in one verse:

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

As we celebrate Reformation Day, as we consider the glorious doctrines the Church recovered, none should trump the wonderful truth that God loves you and that your privilege is to love Him through loving obedience which will result in the experience of the fullness of joy.