Second John: 2 John 12-13-Final Greetings From John and Another Church

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. (NIV)

2 John 12 Even though I am able to communicate in writing many other subjects to each and every one of you, I by no means want to with paper and ink. But rather, I am absolutely certain and confidently expect to arrive in the presence of all of you, that is, to speak face to face in order to cause our joy to exist in a maximum state. (Pastor’s translation)

“I have much to write to you” indicates that even though John possessed the ability to communicate various doctrinal subjects in writing to the recipients of the epistle, he by no means wanted to do this but rather he wanted to communicate these things in a face to face manner.

“You” is the plural form of the personal pronoun sumeans “all of you” and is referring to the recipients of this letter who resided in a house church in Ephesus and speaks of these Christians as a collective whole or corporate unit.

“Much to write to you” is referring to many other subjects, which John wanted to communicate to the recipients of this epistle in a face to face manner rather than by a letter, which are in addition to the subjects he communicated in this epistle.

“I do not want to do so with paper and ink” is emphatic and denotes that John by no means wanted to communicate in writing to the recipients of this epistle many other subjects.

“Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face” is marking an emphatic contrast between John’s refusal to write to the recipients of this epistle many other subjects, and his confident expectation of speaking with them with regards to these subjects in a face to face manner.

“I Hope” is the verb elpizō (ἐλπίζω), which means “to confidently expect” something to take place indicating that John “confidently expected” to arrive at the location in which the recipients of this epistle were geographically located and communicate with them in a face to face manner.

“So that our joy may be complete” presents the purpose of John speaking in the presence of the recipients of this epistle.

This refers to the recipients of this epistle experiencing joy which is produced in them by the Holy Spirit communicating the Father’s will for their lives through the apostle John teaching them face to face.

The noun chara (χαρά), “joy”contains a figure of speech called metonymy of the effect where the recipients of this epistle experiencing fellowship with God is a cause for joy for both John and them.

Here we have the effect for the person producing it, thus John’s readers will produce joy in his life and in their own lives by listening to his apostolic teaching in a face to face manner.

John’s happiness or joy is two-fold: (1) Personal (2) Professional.

Personal happiness or joy for the believer is primarily based upon obedience to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the teaching of the Word of God (Jn. 4:34-36; 15:11; 17:13; Rm. 15:13, 32; 2 C. 1:24; 7:4; Phlp. 1:25; Col. 1:11; H. 10:34; 12:2; Jm. 1:2; 1 P. 1:8; 1 Jn. 1:4).

John’s professional happiness is related to his spiritual gift rather than his own personal spiritual life (2 C. 2:3; 7:13; Phlp. 1:4; 2:2; 4:1; 1 Th. 2:19-20; 3:9; 2 Jn. 1:12; 2 Jn. 4).

His professional happiness was based upon the fact that his readers were experiencing fellowship with God.

However, the failure of John’s readers to experience fellowship and thus do the will of God would not destroy his own personal happiness, which he acquired by being obedient to the will of the Father, which is revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God.

“Complete” is the nominative feminine singular perfect passive participle form of the verb plēroō (πληρόω), which means “maximum” since it is a Greek idiom for joy that is filled to the brim and continues to stay full to the point of overflowing.

Therefore, this word denotes the joy of the recipients of this epistle and John existing in a maximum state as a result of John teaching the recipients of this epistle in a face to face manner.

3 John 13 echoes 2 John 12.

The apostle John’s mention of maximum joy in 2 John 12 echoes the mention of maximum joy in 1 John 1:4.

Here in 2 John 12, the apostle John emphasizes with the recipients of this epistle his desire to teach on many other subjects in a face to face manner rather than communicate these things in writing.

He tells his readers that by teaching them in a face to face manner it would cause his joy and their joy to exist in a maximum state.

Written letters were considered an inferior substitute for personal presence or for a speech, and writers sometimes concluded their letters with the promise to discuss matters further face-to-face.

The contents of 1 John give us a good idea as to what John was planning to teach the recipients of 2 John when he was in their presence.

2 John 13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings. (NIV)

2 John 13 The children belonging to your elect sister give their regards to you. (Pastor’s translation)

“The children” is the noun teknon (τέκνον), “children,” which is referring to the individual Christians who composed the house church and whose greeting the apostle John was passing along to the recipients of this epistle.

The personal pronoun su (σύ), “you” is referring to the recipients of this letter who resided in a house church in Ephesus and speaks of these Christians as a collective whole or corporate unit.

The conclusion of this tiny epistle anticipates the apostle John returning to teach the recipients of this epistle.

Evidently, he felt his personal presence and leadership was essential in light of the presence of the false teachers in Ephesus.

John closes by passing along greetings from one church to another.

He is passing along to the recipients of this epistle, greetings from another house church which he identifies as “your sister, who is chosen by God.”

The individual members of this sister church are called “the children” which expresses the close relationship that existed between the two churches.

It denotes that they shared the same relationship with the triune God through faith in Jesus Christ, which served as the basis for fellowship between the two.