Walking in Truth/Walking in Love

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 2 John

1 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,

2 for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 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.

4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.

5 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.

6 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.

7 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.

8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.

9 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.

10 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;

11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

12 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.

13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.

Introduction:

Good morning. We are continuing our study of John’s Epistles. 2 John, 3 John, Jude, & Philemon are considered NT postcards in comparison to the lengthy letters penned by Luke, John and Paul.

Why do we tend to write letters or notes? Sometimes we write just to let someone know that we are thinking of them. We write to acknowledge thanks or appreciation of kindness shown. We write a note to quickly bring someone up to speed on what’s happening with us; or to invite them to a party. We might write to let them know we care.

2nd John (written by the Apostle John), was not delivered by the postal service. (Benjamin Franklin didn’t invent the post office until thousands of years later.) No, this letter was likely carried by hand from visitors. The Apostle John would have penned this personal note and sent it by trusted carrier. The church was not protected from abuse or persecution, so the carrier would have been taking a great risk in delivering this personal note.

No, this letter was likely carried by hand from visitors. The Apostle John would have penned this personal note and sent it by trusted carrier. The church was not protected from abuse or persecution, so the carrier would have been taking a great risk in delivering this personal note.

For this reason, the contents of this note should be of great interest to the church today. John could have just told his visitors, “Tell everyone hello for me...” or he might have said, “Make sure to tell everyone thus and such...” But instead, John wrote his own words so nothing would be misconstrued. He took the time to pen carefully articulated thoughts, choice words. Possibly the encouraging words were sent to the same recipient as his first epistle, but we can’t be certain.

Let’s take a close look at this postcard:

Main Body:

Greeting

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 2 John

1 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,

2 for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 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.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 2 John

1 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,

2 for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 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.

4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.

5 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.

6 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.

7 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.

8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.

9 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.

10 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;

11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

12 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.

13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.

John uses the term ‘elder’ instead of his personal name. Now what we know about John, he doesn’t like to use his name. Revelation is the only book that identifies John as the author. But scholars agree that the Gospel of John and these three epistles were written by the Apostle John.

An elder is both a position and a descriptor. John is “The Elder” as he at this time is the only living Disciple. It refers to his position in the church as a spiritual leader full of wisdom. It also describes him because at this time he is advanced in age (probably in his 80’s or 90’s). John wants to encourage the recipient of this postcard regarding their walk in faith.

Greeting

The recipient is “the chosen lady and her children”. Much speculation has been discussed as to whom “the lady” and “children” are. Whether they are literal or figurative leaves little bearing on the remainder of this note. They could be actual individuals meeting in the home of a prominent female leader of the early church and the children could represent her own family; or figuratively speaking the lady could represent the Church and her children the members of that congregation.

The question is not “who is the lady and her children” the question is what does John say to her? John tells her of his love for her “in truth”. Truth and Love are reoccurring themes in each of John’s epistles. In the first three verses John uses the term (aletheia) truth 4x but with differing meanings.

He says we know both of us the message of ‘truth’ that is the Gospel, but we also know who is “The Truth” Jesus Christ. Knowing the Truth and what that truth does within the life of the Believer makes all the difference. John’s love for Jesus is expressed in his love for those who know his Savior. As we walk through life our life is to be an expression of the truth that lives within us.

So as we walk we will have grace, mercy and peace that flows from the Father, in truth and love. GRACE = the love and favor shown by God toward believers. Gods Riches At Christs Expense. / MERCY = God’s tolerance in his relationship to humans. Not Receiving That Which We Deserve / PEACE = the sum total of blessing give by God in his grace and mercy. Peace That Passes All Understanding./ There is no counterfeit, no substitution for that which comes from the Father.

This all adds up to the concept of well being through salvation. Ultimately what John is encouraging (and the recipients would easily understand this) is that the salvation we have received will ultimately bring wholeness into our lives. These will be ours John says. See, right in the beginning of the note, John encourages the people, and us, that whatever is going on in your life, whatever has been, what will be, ultimately is grace, mercy and peace - You will be whole, because of your salvation.

Understand that our salvation isn’t a one time event that we look back upon at a given date and time. Our salvation is the beginning of our continued salvation. See, we are saved and in the Father’s dominion the moment we give our life over to Jesus Christ, but our salvation will be complete when we stand before the Father in heaven. Here John is telling us: You are saved yes, but this is not all there is, this right now, is only a very small portion of what will be. You will be made whole.

We see that John addresses those who know the truth and love in the truth. The kind of love John speaks about here is agape love. Agape love is a love that is a selfless sacrificial love that we as humans cannot generate; We have seen that agape love is given to us from God. Here, we see that agape love does not operate in a vacuum. Agape love exists, John says along with the truth.

Truth & Love

John has shown us that truth is not just an abstract concept, like Pontius Pilate asking Jesus Christ, “What is Truth?” For John the truth signifies what is ultimately real, and in the end, for John, this means God himself. This is not a speculative truth, but a truth that, is practical, a truth that is hands on, a truth that involves an intimate and ongoing relationship with God. A truth that eschatologically will be truth with us, forever.

Truth, the implication here is that the honest believer’s goal is to stay with the truth, while the dishonest (who are not really believers at all) have their own agenda. John has shown in the book of 1 John that the fact is, either you believe or you don’t. John is well aware that our Christian walk can become ineffective if we misunderstand spiritual life.

John is well aware that our Christian walk can become ineffective if we misunderstand spiritual life.

I have run into a number of people who have their own unique spin on spiritual life. They walk through life gathering various thoughts and experiences, taking in this and that, and then come to a personal conclusion about spiritual life. One of the most common conclusions folks seem to come to is essentially this: Understanding God is so complex and so beyond us, that we cannot even hope to grasp the spiritual world - so all we can do, is try the best we can. Their conclusion is, that if you and I try the best we can, what more can be asked of us?

Sounds reasonable. I mean the best I can do, is the best I can do, how can God ask me to do any more than my best? The best I can do is give it my best shot.

Now that may sound like a reasonable conclusion, BUT, where exactly in Scripture do we see any of the Prophets or the Apostles or Jesus for that matter, even insinuating that all we need to do is the best we can? Keep looking, and looking, because its not in the Bible. Doing the best I can may sound like a reasonable idea but it is not Christian nor is it biblical. What does doing the best I can mean anyway? If you chase that phrase, “doing the best I can” long enough you will find that it defies any definition and in the end means - nothing.

If you are guiding your life by the philosophy, “I’m doing the best I can”, you are not living Christianity - you are living what in the end will be a very empty philosophy.

What does the Apostle John say we are to do?

Take a look at verse 4, we are not told to do the best we can, instead, God the Father has commanded us to walk in the truth. John has defined the truth in 1 John and he defines it again, in the negative, in verse 7. There in verse 7 John reminds us that deceivers have come to teach us what sounds Christian, and what sounds reasonable, but it is not Christian or reasonable - and it is not Christian or reasonable because the teachers deny that Jesus has come in the flesh.

This is John’s definition of truth: Jesus has come in the flesh.

Now if you remember from our study of 1 John that this is more than saying I believe in Jesus. “Jesus coming in the flesh” means much more than a person saying, “I believe in Jesus” it is a theological understanding of who Jesus is and it is based upon stressing the fact that the incarnation of Jesus is a historical fact.

The incarnation of Jesus was not temporary. In other words, Jesus didn’t start out human, then God entered into him. No, Jesus was always God, the second part of the Trinity, who became human.

In the flesh means that humanity and God were truly united in Jesus, Jesus is fully human and fully God.

John goes so far as to say that anyone who welcomes a false teacher shares in the work of the false teacher. (Verse 11) In John’s day that meant welcoming a false teacher into the church. If a teacher was welcomed into a local church this would by association indicate that the teacher’s work was acceptable. In our day, it is pretty much the same thing. If we welcome a teacher here, people will assume that what the teacher teaches, we agree with.

When John says in verse 9, “those who run ahead”, John is referring to the teaching of the false teachers who had been trying to influence the church. Running ahead means a reworking of who Jesus is. So anyone who says Jesus is something other than God who came in the flesh, is a person who has ruin ahead. This would be people who say that Jesus is just a prophet, as Islam claims, or that Jesus is a god among many gods, as Mormonism claims, or that Jesus is one of many avatars as the new age movement claims.

Redefine Jesus, and you redefine your way out of Christianity.

Don’t let people redefine who Jesus is in your life.

All this said, what is John trying to get at for us this morning? Why should John be so worried about the church if those in the church cannot lose their salvation?

For example, if the members of the church, who are truly Christian, listen to the false teachers and believe their false information about who Jesus is, the true Christians will not lose their salvation, they just don’t have things exactly right. Who has everything exactly right? So what’s the big deal, they still are Christian?

Well, let’s jump back the verse one. When John speaks of walking in the truth, this is equivalent to walking in the light. In 1 john chapter 1 John gave us the powerful illustration of walking in the light. He told us that if we take our eyes off of Jesus Christ we venture out into the shadows, and eventually end up in the dark, then we cannot see where we are going. Remember, when he spoke of being in the dark, John meant being in the dark spiritually. Not being able to see or understand God’s direction in your life.

John told us that eventually we will not be able to hear the Holy Spirit - and then the Christian life then becomes very frustrating.

Here John directly tells us that if we receive unsound teaching. It hurts our relationship with God. Unsound teaching isn’t just more information, it affects our spiritual life, it affects our understanding of who God is and how God relates to us.

Then John goes further. In verse 8 John tells us “Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” John is not speaking of losing your salvation here, rather John is speaking of heavenly rewards.

See not only does accepting false teaching hurt our relationship here on earth, but somehow it has eternal results as well. The bible does not reveal exactly what it means when it speaks of rewards in the afterlife and John doesn’t give us details here. But what John does indicate is that if we accept false teaching we will hurt our relationship with God now and later.

So what does John tell us to do, so that we can stay away from spiritual darkness?

Truth & Love

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 2 John

4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.

5 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.

6 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.

7 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.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 2 John

4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.

5 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.

6 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.

John is pleased that he has seen the members of the church walking in the truth, but John encourages them to not only walk in the truth, but in the truth and love. Let’s look at what John means by that.

John is pleased that he has seen the members of the church walking in the truth, but John encourages them to not only walk in the truth, but in the truth and love. Let’s look at what John means by that.

John has shown us that truth is not just an abstract concept, like Pontius Pilate asking Jesus Christ, “What is Truth?” For John the truth signifies what is ultimately real, and in the end, for John, this means God himself. This is not a speculative truth, but a truth that, is practical, a truth that is hands on, a truth that involves an intimate and ongoing relationship with God. A truth that eschatologically will be truth with us, forever.

Truth, the implication here is that the honest believer’s goal is to stay with the truth, while the dishonest (who are not really believers at all) have their own agenda. John has shown in the book of 1 John that the fact is, either you believe or you don’t. John is well aware that our Christian walk can become ineffective if we misunderstand spiritual life.

I have run into a number of people who have their own unique spin on spiritual life. They walk through life gathering various thoughts and experiences, taking in this and that, and then come to a personal conclusion about spiritual life. One of the most common conclusions folks seem to come to is essentially this: Understanding God is so complex and so beyond us, that we cannot even hope to grasp the spiritual world - so all we can do, is try the best we can. Their conclusion is, that if you and I try the best we can, what more can be asked of us?

Sounds reasonable. I mean the best I can do, is the best I can do, how can God ask me to do any more than my best? The best I can do is give it my best shot.

Now that may sound like a reasonable conclusion, BUT, where exactly in Scripture do we see any of the Prophets or the Apostles or Jesus for that matter, even insinuating that all we need to do is the best we can? Keep looking, and looking, because its not in the Bible. Doing the best I can may sound like a reasonable idea but it is not Christian nor is it biblical. What does doing the best I can mean anyway? If you chase that phrase, “doing the best I can” long enough you will find that it defies any definition and in the end means - nothing.

If you are guiding your life by the philosophy, “I’m doing the best I can”, you are not living Christianity - you are living what in the end will be a very empty philosophy.

What does the Apostle John say we are to do?

Take a look at verse 4, we are not told to do the best we can, instead, God the Father has commanded us to walk in the truth. John has defined the truth in 1 John and he defines it again, in the negative, in verse 7. There in verse 7 John reminds us that deceivers have come to teach us what sounds Christian, and what sounds reasonable, but it is not Christian or reasonable - and it is not Christian or reasonable because the teachers deny that Jesus has come in the flesh.

This is John’s definition of truth: Jesus has come in the flesh.

Now if you remember from our study of 1 John that this is more than saying I believe in Jesus. “Jesus coming in the flesh” means much more than a person saying, “I believe in Jesus” it is a theological understanding of who Jesus is and it is based upon stressing the fact that the incarnation of Jesus is a historical fact.

The incarnation of Jesus was not temporary. In other words, Jesus didn’t start out human, then God entered into him. No, Jesus was always God, the second part of the Trinity, who became human.

In the flesh means that humanity and God were truly united in Jesus, Jesus is fully human and fully God.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update 2 John

8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.

9 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.

10 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;

11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

John goes so far as to say that anyone who welcomes a false teacher shares in the work of the false teacher. (Verse 11) In John’s day that meant welcoming a false teacher into the church. If a teacher was welcomed into a local church this would by association indicate that the teacher’s work was acceptable. In our day, it is pretty much the same thing. If we welcome a teacher here, people will assume that what the teacher teaches, we agree with.

John goes so far as to say that anyone who welcomes a false teacher shares in the work of the false teacher. (Verse 11) In John’s day that meant welcoming a false teacher into the church. If a teacher was welcomed into a local church this would by association indicate that the teacher’s work was acceptable. In our day, it is pretty much the same thing. If we welcome a teacher here, people will assume that what the teacher teaches, we agree with.

When John says in verse 9, “Anyone who goes too far”, John is referring to the teaching of the false teachers who had been trying to influence the church. "Going too far” means a reworking of who Jesus is. So anyone who says Jesus is something other than God who came in the flesh, is a person who has gone too far. This would be people who say that Jesus is just a prophet, as Islam claims, or that Jesus is a god among many gods, as Mormonism claims, or that Jesus is one of many avatars as the new age movement claims.

Redefine Jesus, and you redefine your way out of Christianity. Don’t let people redefine who Jesus is in your life.

Don’t let people redefine who Jesus is in your life.

All this said, what is John trying to get at for us this morning?

For example, if the members of the church, who are truly Christian, listen to the false teachers and believe their false information about who Jesus is, they just don’t have things exactly right, why does it matter? Who has everything exactly right? So what’s the big deal, they still are Christian?

Well, let’s jump back the verse one. When John speaks of walking in the truth, this is equivalent to walking in the light. In 1 john chapter 1 John gave us the powerful illustration of walking in the light. He told us that if we take our eyes off of Jesus Christ we venture out into the shadows, and eventually end up in the dark, then we cannot see where we are going. Remember, when he spoke of being in the dark, John meant being in the dark spiritually. Not being able to see or understand God’s direction in your life.

John told us that eventually we will not be able to hear the Holy Spirit - and then the Christian life then becomes very frustrating.

Here John directly tells us that if we receive unsound teaching. It hurts our relationship with God. Unsound teaching isn’t just more information, it affects our spiritual life, it affects our understanding of who God is and how God relates to us.

Then John goes further. In verse 8 John tells us “Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” John is speaking of rewards, temporal and eternal.

See not only does accepting false teaching hurt our relationship here on earth, but it has eternal results as well. Temporally speaking, the rewards of living a godly life brings peace. A honest, humble servant of God is rewarded with a good name and reputation.

The bible does not reveal exactly what it means when it speaks of rewards in eternity and John doesn’t give us details here. But what John does indicate is that if we accept false teaching we will hurt our relationship with God now and later.

So what does John tell us to do, so that we can stay away from spiritual darkness? Walk in Truth and Walk in Love. Truth and Love walk hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.

To walk in truth is to remain in truth. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit, apart from Me you can do nothing. () Believe that Jesus (God the Son) came in the flesh to redeem mankind.

Truth and Love walk hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.

To walk in Love is to share the Agape love of God that He has lavished upon us. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ()

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.()

Finally, stay away from false teachers. Don’t stray from the path of righteousness. they will hurt your relationship with God. Check everything you hear to the Word. If you have questions, ask and research. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ()

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.()