Second John: Introduction

The first three verses of 2 John contain the salutation of the epistle.

2 John 1 The elder, to the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. (NIV)

Verses 4 thru 6 address the commandment to love one another.

2 John 4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. (NIV)

In verses 7 thru 9, the apostle John addresses the issue of false teachers.

2 John 7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (NIV)

John commands his readers to reject these false teachers in verses 10 and 11.

2 John 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work. (NIV)

The letter closes with verses 12 and 13.

2 John 12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. 13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings. (NIV)

John served at the end of his life as a pastor in the city of Ephesus, which was located in the Roman province of Asia and what is now known as Turkey and was founded by Paul.

It has been the belief of the church throughout the centuries that John wrote His gospel first, his epistles second and finally Revelation just before he died in the last decade of the first century.

Of the writings of John, three of these are headed as epistles or letters but only 2 and 3 John are strictly to be regarded as letters.

2 and 3 John are the length of an ordinary private letter, which could be written on a standard-size piece of papyrus (25 cm. by 20 cm. = 10 in. by 8 in.), and each has the typical form of a letter with a more or less stereotyped introduction and conclusion.

Unlike 1 John, 2 John is a personal letter written to a church in Ephesus.

The Greek text of this epistle contains only 245 words.

It is the shortest book in the New Testament with the exception of 3 John which is the shortest.

Both of these epistles would fit on a single sheet of papyrus, which measured approximately 10 by 8 inches.

The apostle John wrote 2 John to the church in Ephesus regarding the dangers of false teachers who travel from city to city.

No one is mentioned by name in the entire epistle except for Jesus Christ.

At the beginning of the fourth century, Eusebius classified 2 and 3 John as among the “disputed” epistles of John and during the fifth century, the Peshitta (Syrian translation of Bible) included 1 John but not these two epistles.

However, both of these epistles were employed by the early church fathers who paraphrased, cited or interpreted verses or passages from all of John’s epistles.

Even though 2 and 3 John were not universally accepted as part of the canon early in the church’s history, they eventually were considered as part of the canon of the New Testament.

The author of 2 John is anonymous but there can be no question that the author of the Gospel of John is the author of 1, 2 and 3 John as well and church history supports this.

Furthermore, a comparison of the vocabulary and its usage between the Gospel of John and 1, 2 and 3 John indicates that the apostle John wrote all three epistles (cf. 2 John 5 with 1 John 2:7 and John 13:34-35; 2 John 6 with 1 John 5:3 and John 14:23; 2 John 7 with 1 John 4:2-3; 2 John 12 with 1 John 1:4 and John 15:11).

The language, style, theological concepts and thought world of the writer of 1, 2 and 3 John indicates clearly a close relationship with the Gospel of John, which we know was written by the apostle John.

There are very few scholars who deny that the Epistles of John and the Gospel of John are by the same writer.

John was the first cousin of Jesus (his mother was Salome, a sister of Mary; cf. Mt. 27:56; Mk. 16:1; Jn. 19:25), a fisherman, one of Jesus inner circle (together with James and Peter) and “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (Jn. 13:23).

Who was John writing to in 2 John?

2 John could not have been written to the universal church of Jesus Christ since the expression “the children of your elect sister” would make no sense if this was the case because the universal church has no sister!

However, this expression would make sense if John is writing to a house church or congregation in Ephesus, which is supported by the second person plural which appears in verses 6, 8, 10 and 12.

The singular occurs in verse 13 but would appear to be a collective singular in light of the second person plurals preceding it.

Since the epistles have been closely associated with the Fourth Gospel, those who would place the Gospel in the late first century locate the epistles anywhere from A.D. 90–110.

The traditional view that the Johannine writings originated from Asia Minor is sound.

The heresies addressed in the epistles (and perhaps the Gospel) are well-established in this area and further, the Fourth Gospel is traditionally associated with Ephesus.

The literary form of 1 John is unique but the other two Johannine epistles conform perfectly to the pattern of a Hellenistic private letter.

2 John 7-8 indicates that the purpose for which the apostle John wrote 2 John was to warn a house church in Ephesusto not show hospitality to itinerant teachers who reject the incarnation of the Son of God.

This corresponds to the prologue in 1 John (1-4), in which John expresses the fact that he and the other apostles were eyewitnesses of the incarnation of the Son of God.

In both instances John is addressing a problem with an early form of Gnosticism and in particular an early form of Docetic Gnosticism or Cerinthianism, which is named after its most prominent spokesman.

During the first two centuries Christians took the gospel throughout the Roman Empire by dispatching evangelists and teachers.

Christians would welcome these individuals in their home and giving them provisions and money for the journey when they left.

Now, the Gnostic teachers also relied on this practice of hospitality, thus, 2 John was written to instruct a church in Ephesusto have discernment with regards to these itinerant teachers.

If they didn’t they might unintentionally contribute to the propagation of false doctrine, which dishonors the Spirit’s message in the gospel as well as the Father and the Son and would also injure severely the spiritual life of the church.

In verse 10, the apostle John gave explicit instructions concerning these itinerant teachers who rejected the apostolic teaching concerning the incarnation, namely they were not to be shown hospitality.

This instruction does not contradict the apostolic teaching and the teaching of Jesus to love one’s enemies since the Lord Jesus’ conflicts with the Pharisees reveal that His definition of God’s love rejects anything that dishonors His Father (cf. Matthew 23).

So by strongly admonishing this local church in Ephesusin 2 John to not show hospitality to these false teachers who dishonored the Father and the Son by rejecting the doctrine of the incarnation, John was exercising the love of God towards these false teachers.

It was in their best interests to adhere to the doctrine of the incarnation since a sinner can not be declared justified if they reject the incarnation of the Son of God.

Furthermore, if John gave free rein to these false teachers under the pretense of love for God it would not have demonstrated love for God or His children.

These false teachers threatened the relationship between the Father and His children, thus, we can see why John vehemently rejects these false teachers.