Page 143 - Advanced New Testament Survey Student Textbook

2 John: Living in Discernment

Introduction to 2 John

2 John fights false teaching in the church. Christians are characterized by their love for one another, and
this love embraces truth and resists evil. Instead of offering hospitality to false teachers, John’s readers
are not to share in their evil deeds in any fashion (2 John 10–11).

Background

Author

In 2 John the author is identified only as “the elder” (2 John 1; 3 John 1). Traditionally, this person has
been understood to be the Apostle John. However, in the early church there was some dispute about
whether the apostle wrote 2–3 John, with some church fathers saying that these letters might have
been written by a church leader whom they called “John the elder.”

Recipient

Second John is addressed to a woman and her children (2 John 1). This could refer to a literal woman,
but it could also be a metaphorical reference to the Church. This would make the “children” members of
a local congregation or a house church within the larger Christian community. The geographical location
of this Christian community is unclear from the text. However, the Apostle John spent his later years in
Ephesus, so if he is the author, the letter might have been sent to one of the churches in that
surrounding area.
Date

2 John was likely written sometime between AD 85 and the early second century. The dating of this
letter depends on its relationship to 1 John and when the events addressed took place.

Themes

The trio themes that stand out in the second letter of John are: standing up against false teachers, with
love, and truth. Love does not involve only positive feelings and acts of service; it requires true
obedience to God—a real and authentic response (6). Living according to God’s commands means
making difficult decisions. In this particular case, it means refusing to show hospitality to people who are
circulating lies about Jesus. In discernment and love, followers of Christ must keep false teachers out of
the Christian community in order to limit their influence and to protect those who might be led
astray. 197
Love requires us to call out lies for what they are. The false teachers John writes about did not remain in
Jesus’ teaching (9) and denied His incarnation (7). Faith must be focused on the real personhood of
Jesus. Even now, it is popular to claim to know God yet willfully ignore what the Bible says about Him.
When confronted with such teachings, John says, we should respond in love but also with the truth. 198

197 Barry, J. D., et al.
198 Ibid

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