2 John 1 Study Notes

1 The elder is the self-designation of the aged apostle John. Elders were pastoral leaders of local churches (Ac 11:30; 14:23). John may have had regional oversight, like Titus did under Paul (Ti 1:5). Elect lady is an unusual term of address. It probably refers to a congregation since John often addressed his readers in the plural form (vv. 6,8,10,12; see Introduction). When he used the singular (vv. 1,4,5,13), he was speaking collectively. Early Christians knew themselves to be “elect” or “chosen” by the Lord (Rm 16:13; 1Pt 1:1; 2:9).

2 Truth is a favorite word in John’s Gospel (used more than 24 times) and his epistles (used about 20 times). In John’s epistles, “truth” frequently refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the realm of eternal life that believers have entered through their trust in him.

3 John was confident of the presence of grace, mercy, and peace as tokens of God’s favor. John did not mention the Holy Spirit in the opening of this epistle, and yet he elsewhere makes clear the Spirit’s divinity and his role of calling attention to the Son, Jesus Christ (see Jn 15:26).

4 John had heard good things about the members (children) of this congregation. “Children of God” as a title for Christians is rare elsewhere in the NT but appears in John’s writings (Jn 1:12; 11:52).

5 Just as it takes effort to keep love fresh in a marriage, love in a congregation must be nurtured and protected (now I ask you). Jesus declared that love among believers is a primary means of their witness to the world (Jn 13:35).

6 For John, love was not sentimental affection but an ethical expectation. The definition and standard for love is found in Scripture’s teaching, not personal attraction or preference.

7 In Greek this verse begins with the conjunction gar (“because”). Love and obedience are critical because deceivers always stand ready to mislead and disrupt congregations that grow slack or rebellious. Jesus assumed human form and nature to the full (in the flesh). Some early false teachers taught that Jesus was fully divine but not fully human. John declared in his first letter that many antichrists had gone into the world (1Jn 2:18). They sought to sow seeds of confusion about Jesus’s full divinity and full humanity.

8 It is dangerous to become lethargic in Christian living or to take God’s favor for granted. Assurance should look like diligence, not presumption.

9 There are always new ways to apply Christ’s teaching, but the foundations were established by his coming and the instruction he gave to his followers. John called for dynamic love and creative faithfulness while warning against perverting the apostolic teachings about Jesus.

10 In 3Jn 5-8, John encouraged support for traveling Christian ministers, but this assumed their teachings were true. If they taught falsity, believers were called to discernment and instructed to withhold support from their destructive mission. Saying, “Welcome,” involved more than a mere greeting. It stood for endorsing their false teaching and helping to further their evil works.

11 The believer is not to “condemn himself by what he approves” (Rm 14:22). To give hospitality to false teachers is to approve of them (shares in his evil works).

12 On don’t want to use paper and ink, see note at 3Jn 13.

13 The phrase children of your elect sister probably refers to the congregation in which John served when he wrote this epistle to a “sister” congregation.