2Jo 5-6 | KingComments | STEP | . In the two letters addressed to Timothy, thus also to a person, you also came across the words “grace, mercy [and] peace” ( ; ) in the greeting. Only, there it is more a wish, while here it is given as an assurance, ”will be with us”. It is also not something that John determines for the lady and her children only, but also for himself, which you can derive from the word “us”. “Grace” is a wonderful expression of the love of God that gives assurance. God shows grace without being asked for it. Divine love reaches out in grace to people without hope. ”Mercy” has got more to do with the circumstances in which you desperately need God’s compassion. It is the personal compassion of God in your life on earth, providing for personal needs in times of weakness and trials. A direct result of knowing the grace and mercy of God is that you have “peace” in your heart in the circumstances in which you are. These three blessings come from Divine Persons Who are presented in a special way and Who are related to each other in a special way. This is what makes it so rich and solid. The word “from” is read both before ‘God the Father’ and before ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’. This shows the equality of the two Divine Persons. With ‘God the Father’ you feel safe. With ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ – He is mentioned here by His full name – you think of three relationships in which you stand to Him: 1. He is your ‘Lord’, that is the One Who has authority over you; 2. He is also ‘Jesus’, that is the Man on earth Who has redeemed you from your sins ( ); 3. He is also ‘Christ’, that is He in Whom God has found all His pleasure and in Whom you are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places ( ). An extra additional special feature is the designation “the Son of the Father”. That appears only here in the New Testament. This name fully harmonizes with the character of this letter, in which it is all about the most important truth about His Person. The Son is fully God and fully Man and He is also the Eternal Son. The Lord Jesus is the Son of the Father. There is only one Son and only one Father. That is the truth. Everything that contradicts that is a lie. All truth of the letters of John has this truth as a center and starting point. The end of the greeting, “in truth and love”, indicates the relational sphere that is enjoyed between John and the lady and between the believers. There are no dishonest or obscure and deceitful elements in it. Where truth ignores love, the heart grows cold and knowledge is only head knowledge. Where love is at the expense of the truth, it is a love that has got nothing to do with God’s love, but it has degenerated into a human, carnal emotion. . John expresses his great joy over some children of the lady, who, it seems, no longer live at home. It seems that John has met them somewhere else. This testimony of her children must have encouraged the mother too. All her efforts had been focused on convincing them of the truth and to make them walk in it. Her efforts apparently have borne fruit, for now they have moved they show the effect of what they have inherited from home. She must have had just as many worries about her children who live away from home, as Job had long ago ( ). What John is telling her is the reward for her faithfulness of sowing the seed in the hearts of her children. It shows her attitude toward her children. What is previously said does not necessarily imply that the lady had other children who did not walk in the truth. It is said “[some] of your children”. John probably does not know all her children, although he addresses all children in . It is possible that she still has younger children who live at home. Walking in truth means that you daily live in the sphere of the truth, that is what God has revealed of Himself in Christ. Each aspect of your life ought to bear that characteristic. Before John tells the lady to close and lock her door for false teachers, he first speaks of the commandment of love. He puts walking in truth on the same level as the commandment of love. It is not possible to walk in truth if there is no love. It is a “commandment from the Father” which you see fulfilled in the life of the Lord Jesus. The Father determined the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. From His love toward the Father He went the way the Father showed Him. The commandment is one of love and love causes someone to keep the commandments. . Concerning the commandment of love, John has a question for the lady and that is that they also truly love one another in practice. He is not writing to her a new version of the commandment, he doesn’t add anything to it, and he doesn’t change anything about it. Of course it can be better understood and brought more into practice. That is what he is asking the lady. The commandment of love asks for a practical effect that can always be better. You can never say: ‘Now I show enough love, more is not necessary’ (cf. ). This is “not … a new commandment”, for the Lord Jesus has already given it ( ). The Lord indeed calls it a new commandment. That is because it is fulfilled in a new way, His way. It is also new because now it is also possible to be fulfilled by His disciples, for they have Him as their life. It is a new commandment from the beginning, which means from the performance of the Lord Jesus as Man on earth. . The old commandment was imposed on man in flesh and was meant to gain life in that way. The new commandment belongs to the new life, that is Christ. It is not meant to gain life, but to live life. You have new life and you have received the Holy Spirit. Because of that you are able to fulfill the new commandment. You may say that the new commandment is new toward the old commandment in the following aspects: 1. it is not given as a condition to live; 2. it is perfectly practiced in Christ; 3. it is addressed to people who have that new life; 4. these people are in a relationship to God as children to the Father; 5. the standard is new, for loving can happen now ‘as I have loved you’. True love is tested by the fact whether one is walking according to the commandments of God. It can be said indeed that people love one another, but it is only true when it appears that the commandments of God determine their life. To love one another is to deal with one another in accordance with God’s commandment. The love of a Christian is not a feeling in the first place, but a deed of obedience. . The activities of the “many deceivers” who have gone out into the world, make it necessary that the believers walk in truth and in love. Because the lady is hospitable and welcomes workers for the Lord, providing them with food and accommodation, she is warned for these deceivers, who would misuse her kindness. But how she is to find out whether she has got to do with a deceiver, who creeps into households and captivates weak women ( )? Deceivers will not say that they are servants of satan and that they seek to deceive the saints ( ). The apostle is telling her that the deceivers are to be recognized by what they do not acknowledge. Not acknowledging means denying ( ). A deceiver is someone who drags another person on the wrong path. The word is derived from ‘lead into error’ or ‘lead astray’. Deceivers are people who have gone out to destroy Christendom with evil teachings. They confess Jesus Christ, but do “not acknowledge” Him “[as] coming in the flesh”. Coming in the flesh implies that He became flesh when He came, that is, that He became Man and will remain Man forever. Ever since His coming in the flesh His being a Man is just as much included in His Person as His Godhead is included. Denying that the Lord Jesus became truly Man has serious consequences for the faith. If He had not become truly Man, we absolutely never could have been saved. Through a man sin came into the world and therefore only a man could take away sin, which the Man Jesus Christ did. The many deceivers are inspired by “the deceiver and the antichrist”. The spirit of that evil person is active in many persons. Each of the many deceivers personally has a direct connection with the deceiver and the antichrist. A deceiver is a foreshadow and harbinger of that one deceiver and antichrist and is preparing the way for him. Through these deceivers the foundation of the Christian faith is affected. That happens by denying the coming of Christ in the flesh. Now read 2 John 1:3-7 again. Reflection: Why is it important to walk in truth and in love?

‏ 2 John 5-6

Walking In Truth and Love

2Jn 1:3. In the two letters addressed to Timothy, thus also to a person, you also came across the words “grace, mercy [and] peace” (1Tim 1:2; 2Tim 1:2) in the greeting. Only, there it is more a wish, while here it is given as an assurance, ”will be with us”. It is also not something that John determines for the lady and her children only, but also for himself, which you can derive from the word “us”.

“Grace” is a wonderful expression of the love of God that gives assurance. God shows grace without being asked for it. Divine love reaches out in grace to people without hope. ”Mercy” has got more to do with the circumstances in which you desperately need God’s compassion. It is the personal compassion of God in your life on earth, providing for personal needs in times of weakness and trials. A direct result of knowing the grace and mercy of God is that you have “peace” in your heart in the circumstances in which you are.

These three blessings come from Divine Persons Who are presented in a special way and Who are related to each other in a special way. This is what makes it so rich and solid. The word “from” is read both before ‘God the Father’ and before ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’. This shows the equality of the two Divine Persons. With ‘God the Father’ you feel safe. With ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ – He is mentioned here by His full name – you think of three relationships in which you stand to Him:

1. He is your ‘Lord’, that is the One Who has authority over you;

2. He is also ‘Jesus’, that is the Man on earth Who has redeemed you from your sins (Mt 1:21);

3. He is also ‘Christ’, that is He in Whom God has found all His pleasure and in Whom you are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places (Eph 1:3).

An extra additional special feature is the designation “the Son of the Father”. That appears only here in the New Testament. This name fully harmonizes with the character of this letter, in which it is all about the most important truth about His Person. The Son is fully God and fully Man and He is also the Eternal Son. The Lord Jesus is the Son of the Father. There is only one Son and only one Father. That is the truth. Everything that contradicts that is a lie. All truth of the letters of John has this truth as a center and starting point.

The end of the greeting, “in truth and love”, indicates the relational sphere that is enjoyed between John and the lady and between the believers. There are no dishonest or obscure and deceitful elements in it. Where truth ignores love, the heart grows cold and knowledge is only head knowledge. Where love is at the expense of the truth, it is a love that has got nothing to do with God’s love, but it has degenerated into a human, carnal emotion.

2Jn 1:4. John expresses his great joy over some children of the lady, who, it seems, no longer live at home. It seems that John has met them somewhere else. This testimony of her children must have encouraged the mother too. All her efforts had been focused on convincing them of the truth and to make them walk in it. Her efforts apparently have borne fruit, for now they have moved they show the effect of what they have inherited from home. She must have had just as many worries about her children who live away from home, as Job had long ago (Job 1:5). What John is telling her is the reward for her faithfulness of sowing the seed in the hearts of her children. It shows her attitude toward her children.

What is previously said does not necessarily imply that the lady had other children who did not walk in the truth. It is said “[some] of your children”. John probably does not know all her children, although he addresses all children in 2Jn 1:1. It is possible that she still has younger children who live at home. Walking in truth means that you daily live in the sphere of the truth, that is what God has revealed of Himself in Christ. Each aspect of your life ought to bear that characteristic.

Before John tells the lady to close and lock her door for false teachers, he first speaks of the commandment of love. He puts walking in truth on the same level as the commandment of love. It is not possible to walk in truth if there is no love. It is a “commandment from the Father” which you see fulfilled in the life of the Lord Jesus. The Father determined the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. From His love toward the Father He went the way the Father showed Him. The commandment is one of love and love causes someone to keep the commandments.

2Jn 1:5. Concerning the commandment of love, John has a question for the lady and that is that they also truly love one another in practice. He is not writing to her a new version of the commandment, he doesn’t add anything to it, and he doesn’t change anything about it. Of course it can be better understood and brought more into practice. That is what he is asking the lady. The commandment of love asks for a practical effect that can always be better. You can never say: ‘Now I show enough love, more is not necessary’ (cf. 1Thes 4:10).

This is “not … a new commandment”, for the Lord Jesus has already given it (Jn 13:34). The Lord indeed calls it a new commandment. That is because it is fulfilled in a new way, His way. It is also new because now it is also possible to be fulfilled by His disciples, for they have Him as their life. It is a new commandment from the beginning, which means from the performance of the Lord Jesus as Man on earth.

2Jn 1:6. The old commandment was imposed on man in flesh and was meant to gain life in that way. The new commandment belongs to the new life, that is Christ. It is not meant to gain life, but to live life. You have new life and you have received the Holy Spirit. Because of that you are able to fulfill the new commandment. You may say that the new commandment is new toward the old commandment in the following aspects:

1. it is not given as a condition to live;

2. it is perfectly practiced in Christ;

3. it is addressed to people who have that new life;

4. these people are in a relationship to God as children to the Father;

5. the standard is new, for loving can happen now ‘as I have loved you’.

True love is tested by the fact whether one is walking according to the commandments of God. It can be said indeed that people love one another, but it is only true when it appears that the commandments of God determine their life. To love one another is to deal with one another in accordance with God’s commandment. The love of a Christian is not a feeling in the first place, but a deed of obedience.

2Jn 1:7. The activities of the “many deceivers” who have gone out into the world, make it necessary that the believers walk in truth and in love. Because the lady is hospitable and welcomes workers for the Lord, providing them with food and accommodation, she is warned for these deceivers, who would misuse her kindness.

But how she is to find out whether she has got to do with a deceiver, who creeps into households and captivates weak women (2Tim 3:6)? Deceivers will not say that they are servants of satan and that they seek to deceive the saints (2Cor 11:13-15). The apostle is telling her that the deceivers are to be recognized by what they do not acknowledge. Not acknowledging means denying (1Jn 2:22).

A deceiver is someone who drags another person on the wrong path. The word is derived from ‘lead into error’ or ‘lead astray’. Deceivers are people who have gone out to destroy Christendom with evil teachings. They confess Jesus Christ, but do “not acknowledge” Him “[as] coming in the flesh”. Coming in the flesh implies that He became flesh when He came, that is, that He became Man and will remain Man forever. Ever since His coming in the flesh His being a Man is just as much included in His Person as His Godhead is included.

Denying that the Lord Jesus became truly Man has serious consequences for the faith. If He had not become truly Man, we absolutely never could have been saved. Through a man sin came into the world and therefore only a man could take away sin, which the Man Jesus Christ did.

The many deceivers are inspired by “the deceiver and the antichrist”. The spirit of that evil person is active in many persons. Each of the many deceivers personally has a direct connection with the deceiver and the antichrist. A deceiver is a foreshadow and harbinger of that one deceiver and antichrist and is preparing the way for him. Through these deceivers the foundation of the Christian faith is affected. That happens by denying the coming of Christ in the flesh.

Now read 2 John 1:3-7 again.

Reflection: Why is it important to walk in truth and in love?