2 John: Faith and Fellowship Lesson Scripture: 2 John HCSB

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1 November 16, John: Faith and Fellowship Lesson Scripture: 2 John HCSB Memory Verse Though I have many things to write to you, I don t want to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to be with you and talk face to face so that our joy may be complete. 2 John 12 Dig Deeper? You can do additional reading and research on 2 John using the Intervarsity Commentary at and Step by Step through the Week Monday: Begin your week of study by praying that the Holy Spirit would reveal God s truth to you and provide the wisdom you will need to obey God s word. Read and meditate on the 2 John. What words, phrases, or ideas stand out to you? What truth(s) could the Lord be revealing to you? Reread the passage. What is God teaching you about fellowship with Him and/or other believers? Reread the passage. What do you need to be praying for based on the truth God has revealed to you? Tuesday: Read 2 John 1-3. If possible, read the passage in two or three different versions of the Bible. Multiple versions are available at Observe: 2 John 1-3 Who wrote this letter? To whom was it written?

2 Truth is the key word in this passage. What does John (the Elder) say about the truth? What do the Father and the Son give to believers? Examine: 2 John 1-3 TRUTH: The apostle John s writings identify Christ with the truth: The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known (John 1:17-18 NRSV). In testimony before Pilate, Jesus declared: For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice (John 18:37). God is the truth; and since Christ shares in the truth of God, He is full of grace and truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6); He is the true Light and the true Vine (John 1:9; John 15:1). In the Gospel of John, the activity of the Holy Spirit is associated with the activity of Jesus in so far as truth is concerned. When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning (John 15:26-27). John emphasized the appropriation of the truth by disciples. In Jesus' high priestly prayer, He prayed: Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth (John 17:17-19). Followers of Christ are of the truth (John 18:37). This knowledge of truth is not simply head knowledge. It is a matter of receiving Christ (John 1:11-13). This acceptance of Jesus and receiving of the truth is accompanied by walking in the truth or in the light (2 John 1:4; 3 John 1:3-4; 1 John 1:7). It is in light of this understanding of truth that John can speak of doing the truth (John 3:21; 1 John 1:6). (Adapted from Holman Bible Dictionary) Based on the information above, supply the meaning of the truth (in your own words) for verses 1 and 2: I love all of you in and not only I, but also all who have come to know because of that remains in us and will be with us forever.

3 Apply: 2 John 1-3 How can you spiritually encourage a brother or sister in Christ this week? Wednesday: Read 2 John 4-6. If possible, read the passage in two or three different versions of the Bible. Multiple versions are available at Observe: 2 John 4-6 Locate the instances of the word command. What does John tell us about this command? What words or phrases describe the importance of the command? What ideas in this passage also occur in 1 John? (if needed, review 1 John) Examine: 2 John 4-6 WALK: Many times the verb translated "walk" is present tense in the Greek of the New Testament, which means that the writer is referring to a continued mode of conduct or behavior. In fact, the infinitive "to walk" can be translated, in a Hebraistic way, "to live." Such a use is common in the Old Testament and the writings of Paul and of John, but is not found in those of Peter or James. Throughout the New Testament, the verb "walk" is qualified in various ways to ensure that the reader understands what correct Christian living or conduct is and what it is not. Christians are not to continue to walk in darkness (1 John 1:6; 2:11). What John means is that Christians should not continue living in ignorance of divine truth, an ignorance that is associated with sin and its evil results. Along with this, their walk should not be characterized by craftiness and cunning (2 Cor 4:2) or by such sins as immorality,

4 impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed: sins, the writer says, which used to characterize their continual living before salvation (Col 3:5-7). To the contrary, Christian living should be characterized by newness of life (Rom 6:4), good works (Eph 2:10), love (Eph 5:2), wisdom (Col 4:5), truth (3 John 4), and obedience to the light received from the apostle (1 Thess 4:10). The standard of victorious Christian living is stated two different ways by the apostle Paul. His dominant theme in Romans 8 is that the Christian is not to continue walking "according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit" (v. 4; see also vv ). The sinful nature in this expression is not bodily, material flesh but that ethical flesh, which refers to the sin dwelling in the Christian, as referred to in Romans 7:17, 20, 21, 23. It is the nature of humankind, apart from the supernatural influences of the Holy Spirit; and this corrupt sinful nature, the core of which is selfishness, must not govern our conduct. In other words, Paul writes that the Christian should not live in accordance with the age to which this world belongs (Eph 2:2).The mature Christian will walk in accordance with the Holy Spirit's leading (Rom 8:4) via the Lord's commands given to him in the Scriptures (2 John). This leading is not some ethereal, mystical kind of guidance but comes in the form of clear "Thou shalts" and "Thou shalt nots." From both the Old and New Testament references, it is clear that the metaphorical or figurative use of the English verb, "walk," refers to conduct or behavior which, it is insisted, should support one's verbal testimony. The metaphorical use of the word "walk" in the Bible refers to the way in which an individual lives or conducts his or her life; and regularly, the Christian's walk will be in stark contrast to that of the unbeliever's. Why is following the command to love one another essential to walking in the truth? Apply: 2 John 4-6 What are some examples of Christian love you have seen among the believers at Wedgwood? Thursday: Read 2 John If possible, read the passage from a different version of the Bible. Observe: 2 John 7-12 Who are the people John describes in these verses?

5 Compare what he says here with 1 John 2: What are the similarities? What are the differences? What words, phrases, or statements describe John s relationship with the believers? Examine: 2 John 7-12 INCARNATION: The Latin verb incarnare means to make flesh. When we say that Jesus Christ is God Incarnate, we mean that the Son of God took on a fleshly, bodily form (John 1:14). However, when this happened in the womb of Mary, Jesus earthly mother, He did not stop being deity. Although Jesus became fully human (Heb 2:17), He retained His status as God (John 1:1, 14). How Jesus is able to be both man and God simultaneously is one of the great mysteries of Christianity but is nevertheless a test of orthodoxy (1 John 4:2; 2 John 1:7). Jesus has two distinct natures, divine and human. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me (John 14:11). The Bible clearly teaches the deity of Christ by presenting His fulfillment of numerous Old Testament prophecies (Isa 7:14; Ps 2:7), His eternal existence (John 1:1 3; John 8:58), His miraculous virgin birth (Luke 1:26 31), His miracles (Matt 9:24 25), His authority to forgive sin (Matt 9:6), His acceptance of worship (Matt 14:33), His ability to predict the future (Matt 24:1 2), and His resurrection from the dead (Luke 24:36 39). The writer of Hebrews tells us Jesus is superior to angels (Heb 1:4 5) and angels are to worship Him (Heb 1:6). The Bible also teaches the Incarnation Jesus became fully human by taking on human flesh. Jesus was conceived in the womb and was born (Luke 2:7), He experienced normal aging (Luke 2:40), He had natural physical needs (John 19:28) and human emotions (Matt 26:38), He learned (Luke 2:52), He died a physical death (Luke 23:46), and He was resurrected with a physical body (Luke 24:39). Jesus was human in every way except for sin; He lived a completely sinless life (Heb 4:15). When Christ took on the form of a human, His nature did not change, but His position did. Jesus, in His original nature of God in spirit form, humbled Himself by laying aside His glory and privileges (Phlp 2:6 8). God can never stop being God because He is immutable (Heb 13:8) and infinite (Rev 1:8). If Jesus stopped being fully God for even a split second, all life would die (see Acts 17:28). The doctrine of the Incarnation says that Jesus, while remaining fully God, became fully man. (Michael Houdmann, gotquestions.org) Why is it necessary to believe Jesus came in the flesh (verse 7)? How would the gospel change if this were not true? For additional help, consult the InterVarsity commentary on verses 7-11 as well as the information above.

6 Apply: 2 John 7-12 Do you have friends who follow a teacher who goes beyond Christ s teaching? How could you confront them face to face about this problem in a redemptive way? Friday: Read 2 John and the following devotional by F.B. Meyer: Here is a solution to many difficulties, and given so easily and naturally by this beloved elder to the elect lady and her children. He had been laying much emphasis on truth, and combining truth and love in an exquisite unity. Probably we can never love perfectly, till we are perfectly true. If you examine yourself in the feelings of distance and dislike which you have towards some individual, it is almost certain that you will come on some want of transparency and sincerity in your dealings with him. It is also the case that if we put away all insincerity, and want of consecration, as between us and God, we shall come to love God more perfectly. What deep, sweet rhythm of meaning there is in the first three verses of this letter! One reads them over and over again. Oh that that grace, mercy, and peace, may be with us, from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. The difficulty that you feel is that you do not love enough. You would like to love with a strong, undying flame, burning steadily towards Jesus Christ, cleansing you with its heat, constraining you with its love. But perhaps you fail to distinguish between love and the emotion of love. They are not the same. We may love without being directly conscious of love, or being able to estimate its strength and passion. Here is the solution to many of our questionings. They love who obey. It is recorded of Dr. Chalmers that when a Scotch girl applied to be admitted to the sacrament, her testimony was so halting that it seemed as though she must stand back; but as she was leaving his room she turned back and said, I canna speak for the Lord Jesus, but I could dee for Him.