Page 80 - General Epistles (James through Jude) Textbook

Study Section 15: Brief Discussion of Introductory Matters and Contents
for 2 John, 3 John, and Jude

15.1 Connect.

A child who does well in what he does and says generally receives heartfelt praises from his
parents. But that child who does not do well in what he does and says generally receives verbal
discipline. Abel was commended by God for doing something that pleased God. Cain was
condemned by God for doing something that displeased God (Gen. 4). The Apostle John is
doing the same thing in both 2 and 3 John. He commends and condemns others.

Many people refuse to accept the beliefs of others. For example, king David did not allow Goliath to
continue to defy the “armies of the living God” (1 Sam. 17:26). In villages, members of the community
are not allowed to defy beliefs, values, and cultural norms. But the greatest example ever of struggling
on behalf of others is embodied in Jesus Christ Himself. He struggled for you and me so that our lives
after our lifetime should be secured. This would allow us to live eternally. In a similar fashion, Jude is
calling us to struggle on behalf of the truth, the Gospel. Let’s dive into this section and find what the
authors say on the issues raised above.

15.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to identify and describe the recipients of the second letter
according to John.

2. The student should be able to understand and explain on whether or not Diotrephes was a
Christian.

3. The student should be able to evaluate and describe the purpose Jude had in mind for writing the
letter according to Jude.

15.3 Brief Discussion of Introductory Matters and Contents for 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

nd
2 John.

For more information on the author, provenance, and date, refer to the introductory matters
for the first letter according to apostle John.

Audience (Recipients).
To whom did apostle John write his letter? Going by the information emanating from 2 John and the rest
of the books of the Bible, it is claimed that the readers are “the chosen lady and her children whom I
161
love” (2 John 1). Others argue that a chosen lady could refer to a “local congregation.” That this “lady”
is loved by “all who know the truth” “makes more sense if she is a church than a private individual” (2
John 1). It is noted that in history, “Israel and the church are regularly personified in the feminine
162
gender.” I am more inclined to a “local congregation” as a reader of this epistle because “chosen” (2
163
John 1; cf. 2 John 13) appears to suggest a spiritual family more than a physical family.

79