2 & 3 John

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
​Series: 2 & 3 John

Rusty's Notes

The false prophet teachers were teaching:

• The material world of matter is evil.
• Christ could not come to the earth in human flesh.
• He came in Spirit and only seemed touchable in human flesh.
• Jesus was not the Son of God.
• Since salvation means deliverance from the physical world, including the physical body, it does not matter how a person behaves in their body.
• Since sin is part of the material world, sin does not exist for the Christian.We (false  prophets) are sinless.
• We (false prophets) have special insight from God’s Spirit to see these deeper truths.

 
GREETING
2 JOHN
1 The elder:

• John is believed to be the author who writes all 3 letters from Ephesus.
• This could have been written to a specific church in the Roman Province since that was John’s main area of ministry.

To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not only I, but also all who know the truth--

• John is likely referring to an entire congregation.
• These children believe in Jesus within a specific local church though it is certainly applicable to all believers.
• All who believe in Jesus have an inborn love for all who love the truth of God’s grace.
• John is writing from this indwelling love for other Christians.
• Unbelievers do not have the same natural agape love for truth because they are incompatible with truth until they have received the Gospel.

2 because of the truth that remains in us and will be with us forever.

• Contrary to the message John speaks to unbelievers (1 John 1:9) John does not hesitate to remind believers that they are in the truth and that the truth, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, lives in them forever.
• They have believed the Gospel and have been perfectly forgiven and cleansed from all sin.
• Because they have believed in the Gospel, they will forever be one with the grace, mercy, and peace offered by God the Father and Jesus Christ.

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.

• Grace is not a buzzword for popular teaching movements.
• Grace is the entire framework of God.
• Because of God’s grace, there is mercy from God.
• God decides to not condemn us even though we deserve it.
• This grace and mercy lead to a peaceful relationship with the Trinity.
• There is no longer enmity between believers and God.
• God is not ticked off.
• This is a reality regardless of our feelings and emotional experiences.

 
TRUTH AND DECEPTION
4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, in keeping with a command we have received from the Father.

• Some of the members of the church were having trouble maturing in God’s grace.
• This is what John means by walking in the truth.
• Notice that these people have already received the command from the Father to believe in the Son.
• This commandment is not new.
• It is God’s pleading for us to believe in His goodness and love and transmit this love to others.
• Love is the defining characteristic of Christians.

5 So now I ask you, dear lady—not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 This is love: that we walk according to his commands.

• John is not referring to the Old Covenant law but rather the command to believe in Jesus and love one another (1 John 3:23).
• These are the New Covenant laws: Believe and love.
• We receive God’s love for us in Christ and transmit it to others.

This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.
7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.

• As with 1 John and the Gospel of John, the apostle is combatting the Gnostic heresy that Christ did not come in the flesh.
• This matters because God’s love was manifested in the flesh in Christ.
• If Jesus was merely an illusion, then God’s love was not truly manifested.
• Jesus Christ died physically and truly in a human sense so that He could defeat the very death that plagues us.
• If we remove that from the Gospel, then we have no Gospel at all.

This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

• The antichrist is evidently not a singular figure according to John.
• The antichrist is a group of people who are rejecting Christ’s humanity.
• We see this also in 1 John (see 1 John 2:18).

8 Watch yourselves so that you don’t lose what we have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward.

• John is talking about the benefit of knowing God’s love in this life.
• He does not want anyone to fall short of understanding God’s love.

9 Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it does not have God.

• There is a difference between being confused about God’s love and being so far from understanding it that one is not truly saved.
• However, John does leave room for people to be so far from the Gospel that they are not saved.
• In the context, this is referring to Gnostics, but John did not want anyone on the fence about Jesus to be deceived into their heresy.

The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.

• True Christians will have an abiding faith in Jesus and consequently will forever be in relationship with the Father and the Son.
• Jesus died and rose again because He wanted us to forever know that He loves us and likes us.

10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and do not greet him; 11 for the one who greets him shares in his evil works.

• John wanted believers to keep a large relational distance from the false teachers.
• This would ensure that they were not deceived by the false teachings.
• John is not talking about distancing ourselves from friends or family members who have rejected Christ.
• He is specifically addressing a group of people who were trying to deceive this church by coming directly to their homes.
• Apparently, there was enough temptation being faced by Christians to warrant this command.[1]
  
  

FAREWELL
12 Though I have many things to write to you, I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister send you greetings.[2]

GREETING
3 JOHN
1 The elder:
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well.

• Could imply that he had been previously ill.

3 For I was very glad when fellow believers came and testified to your fidelity to the truth—how you are walking in truth.

• It is clear that Gaius’ entire life was wrapped up in the truth.
• True living comes from the living truth.

4 I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth.

• It is possible that John is the one who shared initial Truth with Gaius and pointed him to salvation in Jesus.
  
  

GAIUS COMMENDED
5 Dear friend, you are acting faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers and sisters, especially when they are strangers. 6 They have testified to your love before the church.

• In practical ways, he assisted those who were ministering the Word.
• We have no indication that Gaius himself was a preacher or teacher, but he opened his heart and home to those who were.[3]

You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, 7 since they set out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from pagans. 8 Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can be coworkers with the truth.

• Carmel House Man - Ralph Burke – Hockey game
• Ketchup Man – Kevin Andrews
• Panera Guy - William Joyner
• Scott Long – Ravenswood minister
  
  

DIOTREPHES AND DEMETRIUS
9 I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive our authority. 10 This is why, if I come, I will remind him of the works he is doing, slandering us with malicious words.

• Accusing John of false and empty charges.

And he is not satisfied with that! He not only refuses to welcome fellow believers, but he even stops those who want to do so and expels them from the church.

• The church members who received John’s associates were dismissed from the church!
• Again, it was guilt by association.
• Diotrephes had neither the authority nor the biblical basis for throwing these people out of the church, but he did it.
• Whenever a church has a resident dictator in its membership, there are bound to be problems because people who are spiritually minded will not tolerate that kind of leadership.
• The Holy Spirit is grieved when the members of the body are not permitted to exercise their gifts because one member must have his own way.

11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. 12 Everyone speaks well of Demetrius—even the truth itself. And we also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

• Demetrius was a man worth imitating because he had a “good report” (witness) from the church fellowship.
• All the members knew him, loved him, and thanked God for his consistent life and ministry.
  
  

FAREWELL
13 I have many things to write you, but I don’t want to write to you with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

• John had warned that he was going to visit the church and confront Diotrephes, and no doubt both Gaius and Demetrius would stand with John in opposing the “dictator.”
• They were the kind of men who would support the truth and submit themselves to authentic spiritual authority.
• Because they followed the truth, they could safely be imitated by other believers.[4]

15 Peace to you. The friends send you greetings. Greet the friends by name.[5]

[1] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 2 John.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, Warren W. 1996. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, Warren W. 1996. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.