2 John 1-3-John's Greeting (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)
Doctrinal Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday March 19, 2023
Second John: 2 John 1-3-John’s Greeting
Lesson # 2
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. (NIV)
“The elder” is the adjective presbuteros (πρεσβύτερος), which refers to the apostle John who does not employ his name but this designation of himself which is in keeping with not identifying himself by name in his gospel and is the same self-designation he uses in 3 John.
This word signifies his apostolic and pastoral authority in the church and indicates that the readers were familiar with John.
“Lady chosen by God” is a figurative expression for a particular house church which the apostle John was familiar with and had taught in the past.
This would indicate that the members of this particular church which the apostle John was familiar with and taught in the past was elected in eternity past by God the Father to have an eternal relationship and fellowship with the Triune God (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:3-4).
This expression describes the Father in eternity past as having called or chosen them out from the earth’s inhabitants who are enslaved to the sin nature and the devil and his cosmic system.
“And her children” describes specifically who the apostle John is writing to since “Lady chosen by God” describes the Christians John is writing to as a corporate unit whereas “her children” describes them as individuals.
“Her children” is referring in a figurative sense for the spiritual children who composed the church which the apostle John is writing to in this epistle.
The verb agapaō (ἀγαπάω), “love” refers to the function of God’s love in the life of the apostle John and means “to divinely love.”
This is indicated by the fact that John is speaking of the love which resides in the character and nature of God and was reproduced in the apostle John by God the Holy Spirit when he obeyed the Spirit inspired command of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 13:34 to love one another as He loved John during His First Advent.
This divine love was reflected by John towards his readers in the past and was doing so when he wrote this epistle to them in order to warn them about false teachers.
The noun alētheia (ἀλήθεια), “truth” and refers specifically to the Spirit inspired command of the Lord Jesus Christ to love one another as He loved since John is speaking in the context of exercising God’s love towards his readers which is accomplished by obeying this command.
It is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), “in,” which is a marker of means indicating that John is telling his readers that he divinely loved them “by means of” the truth.
This indicates that the Holy Spirit produced the love of God in the apostle John when he exercised faith in the Spirit inspired command of the Lord Jesus Christ to love one another as He loved John and which command is truth.
“And not I only, but also all who know the truth” is an emphatic correlative clause expressing in emphatic terms that the love of God John exercised toward his Christian readers in Ephesus was not limited to himself.
“All who know the truth” refers to an experiential knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 to love one another as He loves since John is telling his readers that he is not the only one who divinely loves them.
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. (NIV)
This time the noun alētheia (ἀλήθεια), “the truth” is a reference to the Trinity.
The Spirit is identified as “the Spirit of truth” in John 15:26 and 16:13, the Father is called “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16) and the Lord Jesus Christ is the truth of God since He is the Word of God incarnate (John 1:14; 14:6).
Each member of the Trinity permanently indwells the Christian (Father: Ephesians 4:6; 1 John 4:15; Son: Romans 8:10; Colossians 1:27; Spirit: Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20).
Therefore, when John says that he divinely loves his readers because of the truth he means that he loves them because of the indwelling presence of the Trinity since each member of the Trinity is truth and permanently indwells the Christian.
This word is the object of the preposition dia (διά), “because of,” which is a marker of cause indicating that John divinely loved his readers “because of the truth,” i.e. because of the Father, Son and Spirit who indwell both John and his Christian readers forever.
It also teaches that the indwelling presence of the Trinity gives the Christian the capacity to obey the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 to love one another as He has loved, is loving and will forever love each and every Christian and which command is the will of the Father.
“Which lives in us and will be with us forever” refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit residing in John and the recipients of this epistle forever indicating that they will experience the indwelling presence of the Trinity forever.
In verse 2, John resumes his thought that he loves his readers with the love of God by means of the truth by also informing them that he divinely loves them because of the truth which resides in both he and his readers.
John is recalling his Lord’s teaching in His Upper Room Discourse and is in fact, telling his readers that truth is a personal possession of the Christian in the sense that the Father, Son and Spirit who as to their divine nature, are truth indwell each and every church age believer permanently.
The fact that the Trinity will permanently indwell John and his fellow Christians forever is the reason why they have eternal life and will experience it forever.
2 John 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)
“Grace” is the noun charis (χάρις), which is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross.
It refers to the means by which grace might be received, namely through the mind and thinking of Christ, the Word of God, which is inspired by the Spirit of God.
The Spirit, through the communication of the Word of God to the believer reveals God the Father’s grace policy to the believer.
In fact, the prepositional phrase at the end of this verse ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, which means “by means of truth” makes this explicit.
Here grace is put for the Word of God which effects grace.
Therefore, the Spirit of God speaking through the communication of the Word of God to the believer’s human spirit regarding the will of the Father is the means by which grace is received by the believer.
“Mercy” is the noun eleos (ἔλεος), which means “compassion” in the sense that John’s Spirit inspired instruction in this epistle is a reflection of the Father and the Son’s concern for those who John identifies as “the elect lady,” who are in serious need with respect to being exposed to false teaching.
“Peace” is the noun eirēnē (εἰρήνη), which refers to the peace of God that is produced by the Spirit in and among believers.
The Spirit does this when believers obey the instructions that He guides John in issuing them in this epistle and specifically, if they obey his teaching concerning false teachers.
“Will be with us” indicates that the Father and the Son will permit the grace, compassion and peace originating from them to exist in the state of being among the recipients of this epistle by means of truth.
“From God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son” indicates that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are the source of this grace, compassion and peace that are expressed through the instructions in this epistle and appropriated by faith in these instructions resulting in obedience.
As was the case the first time the word appeared in 2 John 1, the noun alētheia (ἀλήθεια), “truth” refers specifically to the Spirit inspired command of the Lord Jesus Christ to love one another as He loved since obeying this command results in divine-love.
It is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), “in” which is a marker of means indicating that John is telling his readers that the Father and the Son will permit the grace, compassion and peace originating from them to exist among John and the recipients of this epistle “by means of” the truth.
This indicates that the Holy Spirit will produce the love of God in the apostle John and the recipients of this epistle when they exercise faith in the Spirit inspired command of the Lord Jesus Christ to love one another and which command is truth.
The conjunction kai (καί), “and” is a marker of result meaning that it introduces the noun agapē, “divine-love” which is the result of John and his readers obeying truth and specifically the command to love one another as the Lord loved them.
The noun agapē (ἀγάπη), “love” means “divine-love” since it refers to the love of God reproduced in the life of the Christian by the Holy Spirit when they exercise faith in the Word of God and specifically faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 to love one another as He loves.
The Holy Spirit through John is instructing the recipients of this epistle that the Father and the Son will permit the grace, compassion, and peace originating from them to exist among each and every one of them by means of truth, which in turn will result in the manifestation of God’s love among them.
The Father and the Son will permit the grace, compassion and peace originating from them to exist in John’s life and the lives of the recipients of this epistle if they conduct themselves by means of the truth of God’s Word which in turn produces love for God and one’s fellow human being.