2 John 10-11: Rejecting False Teachers Exegesis and Exposition of 2 John 10-11 2 John 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. (NASB95) In verse 10, the apostle John employs a first class condition in order to persuade the recipients of this epistle to obey the prohibition to not receive into their house church those who reject the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. He then defines specifically what means by not receiving them into their house church by telling his readers that they were not to welcome those who reject his apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Then, in verse 11, the apostle explains why they were not to welcome those teaching false doctrine regarding the person of Jesus Christ. They were to not to welcome these false teachers because by doing so they would be aiding and abetting those who are against Jesus Christ as demonstrated by their rejection of the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. This explaination makes clear that when John prohibited his readers to welcome these false teachers, he meant that they were not to encourage these false teachers who demonstrate hospitality to them or financially aid them. 2 John 10 2 John 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting. (NASB95) Protasis of a First Class Condition If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching is composed of the following: (1) conditional particle ei (εἰ), if (2) nominative masculine singular form of the indefinite pronoun tis (τις), anyone (3) third person singular present middle participle form of the verb erchomai (ἒρχοµαι), comes (4) preposition pros (πρός), to (5) accusative second person plural form of the personal pronoun su (σύ), you (6) conjunction kai (καί), and (7) accusative feminine singular form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος), this (8) articular accusative feminine singular form of the noun didachē (διδαχή), the teaching (9) emphatic negative particle ouk (οὐκ), not (2) third person singular present active indicative form of the verb pheromai (φέροµαι), does bring. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1
Asyndeton Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the apostle John is employing the figure of asyndeton, which means that he is not using a connective between the command here in verse 10 and his last statement in verse 9. He uses this figure in order to solemnly emphasize with his readers the importance of this prohibition he is issuing in verse 10 since if obeyed it will protect them from those teaching false doctrine and would be an act of divine love towards these false teachers. It would also honor the Lord Jesus Christ since these false teachers were opposed to Jesus Christ by rejecting His incarnation. This figure emphasizes with the reader the seriousness of this situation they are facing and how essential it is that they obey this prohibition. Ei The conditional particle ei introduces a protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument. It is employed with the indicative mood of the verbs erchomai, comes and pheromai, does bring to explicitly convey a protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument. However, the apodasis is introduced implicitly meaning without a structural marker, thus we will insert the word then into our translation before the apodasis statement in order to account for this. The idea behind the first class condition is not since but rather, if-and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that, then... This would encourage the reader of this epistle to respond and come to the writer s conclusion in the apodosis since the reader would already agree with the writer with regards to his statement in the protasis. Therefore, the apostle John is employing the first class condition as a tool of persuasion with his readers who would respond to his protasis. In the protasis, John presents the reality of those rejecting the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Then, in the apodasis he issues a prohibition in light of this reality. John issues one prohibition. He prohibits the recipients of this epistle to not receive into their house church these false teachers. Then, he explains in detail what he means by this. He does not want them to communicate with these false teachers for the purpose of attempting to welcome them into the fellowship of their house church. Here the protasis is if and let assume that it is true for the sake argument that anyone does come into the presence of any one of you but never accepts the apostolic teaching concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ that He is the God-man. The readers of this epistle would acknowledge that this is the case. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2
They would acknowledge that some are rejecting the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ since John already pointed out to his readers in verse 7 that this is the case, which has prompted him to write this epistle in the first place. The apodasis is (then) do not receive this person into your house church. Specifically, do not communicate in order to attempt to welcome him. The basic relation that the protasis has to the apodasis is evidence-inference. The evidence is that there are some who reject the apostolic teaching concerning the teaching of the person of Jesus Christ. The inference from which John makes an induction about the implications that this evidence suggests, is that his readers are not to receive this person into their house church. Specifically, they were not to communicate for the purpose of attempting to welcome them. Tis The indefinite pronoun tis introduces a member of the human race whether a Christian or a non-christian without further identification. It speaks of any member of the human race without exception and distinction. John s use of tis here indicates that this first class conditional clause is presenting a spiritual axiom or eternal spiritual truth, which his readers are to practice. The masculine form of the word indicates that these false teachers were in fact men. Tis is functioning as a nominative subject meaning that it is performing the action of the verbs erchomai, comes and pheromai, does bring. Erchomai The verb erchomai means to enter in the sense of arriving at a particular location. Here it is used with reference to an itinerant teacher who rejects the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ that He is the God-man. It refers to these individuals entering into the presence of John s readers in Ephesus. The present tense of the verb is a gnomic present, which is used to describe something that does take place. This indicates that John is saying that if anyone does at any time come into the presence of any of his readers and does not adhere to the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Christ, then his readers are not to receive them into the fellowship of their house church. That this is a gnomic present is indicated by the fact that it is used with a generic object, namely tis, anyone. The middle voice of erchomai is a deponent middle meaning that though it has a middle voice form it has an active meaning indicating that any individual in the 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3
human race as the subject performs the action of the verb coming into the presence of the readers of this epistle. The indicative mood of the verb is conditional meaning that it is employed with the conditional particle ei in order to form the protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument. Su The plural form of the personal pronoun su means all of you and is referring to the recipients of this letter who resided in a house church in Ephesus and speaks of these Christians as a collective whole or corporate unit. The personal pronoun su is used in a distributive sense meaning any one of you without exception regardless of race, gender or social status. This would indicate that John is warning his readers that if any one of them is approached by these false teachers who do not adhere to the apostolic teaching about the person of Jesus Christ then they are to not receive them into their house church. The word is the object of the preposition pros, which denotes these false teachers coming into the company of or into the presence of the recipients of this epistle. Kai The conjunction kai is adversative meaning that it is introducing a statement which stands in contrast with the last statement in verse 9. In this verse, John instructed his readers that those who conform to the standard of teaching concerning the person of Christ, this one is as an eternal spiritual truth experiencing fellowship with both the Father and the Son. Now, here in verse 10, he speaks of anyone never accepting the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the contrast is between these false teachers who reject the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ and those who do obey this apostolic teaching. Thus, John is telling his readers with this word in verse 10 that if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that anyone does come into the presence of any one of you but never accepts the apostolic teaching, then they are not to receive these people into their house church and specifically they not to communicate for the purpose of attempting to welcome them into the fellowship of the church. Didachē The noun didachē refers to the content of the apostles teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ, which was passed down orally and in written form to 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4
pastors in the church and was communicated to the body of Christ. It refers to instruction concerning the person of Jesus Christ. It refers to Christian doctrine or in other words a set of truths or practices to be learned and obeyed concerning the person of Jesus Christ. That this word refers to the apostles teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ is indicated by the immediate demonstrative pronoun houtos, this which is referring to the standard of teaching concerning the person of Christ in verse 9. The articular construction of the noun didachē is anaphoric meaning that the word was used in the previous context in verse 9 and is retaining the same meaning here in verse 10. Pheromai The verb pheromai means to accept in the sense to recognize or acknowledge as true. The verb is emphatically negated by the emphatic negative particle ouk, which means never. Together these two words indicate a false teacher who never accepts the apostolic teaching. The present tense of the verb is a customary, or stative present, which is used to signal an ongoing state. This indicates that John is saying that if anyone come into the presence of any of his readers but exists in the state of never accepting the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Christ, then his readers are not to receive them into the fellowship of their house church. The active voice is stative as well indicating the same thing as the present tense. The indicative mood of the verb is conditional meaning that it is employed with the conditional particle ei, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument in order to form the protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument. Apodasis of a First Class Condition Do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting is composed of the following: (1) negative particle mē (µή), not (4) second person plural present active imperative form of the verb lambanō (λαµβάνω), do receive (5) accusative third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), him (6) preposition eis (εἰς), into (7) accusative feminine singular form of the noun oikia (οἰκία), house (8) conjunction kai (καί), and (9) present active infinitive form of the verb chairō (χαίρω), do give greeting (10) dative third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), him (11) negative particle mē (µή), not (12) second person plural present active imperative form of the verb legō (λέγω), which is not translated. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5
Lambanō The verb lambanō means, to receive in the sense of permitting someone to enter one s home. The verb s meaning is negated by the negative particle mē, which means not. These two words deny any idea of the recipients of this epistle receiving into their house church any one who never accepts the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ, namely that He is the incarnate Son of God. The second person plural means all of you referring to the recipients of this epistle as a corporate unit. The present imperative form of this verb in this prohibition has the force of a general precept. This kind of prohibition does not make any comment regarding whether the action is going on or not. Therefore, this prohibition indicates that John is commanding his readers to not receive anyone into their house church who does not accept his apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. There is nothing in this epistle or the rest of Scripture which would indicate that the recipients of this epistle were welcoming these false teachers or not. Thus, it must be a new prohibition which is necessary in light of the situation in Ephesus which his readers were facing at the time of writing. If there was evidence that he had issued this prohibition in the past, then the present imperative in this prohibition would denote the cessation of an act that is already in progress. Thus, John would be telling his readers stop welcoming these false teachers. However, there is no evidence that this was the case. Thus, it appears John was addressing a brand new threat to the church in Ephesus, which was not present when he was last with them. Autos The third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos means him referring to an unidentified male who never accepts the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ but instead rejects the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This pronoun is functioning as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb lambanō whose meaning is negated by the negative particle mē. Oikia The noun oikia is in the singular and means home, house since it refers to a building consisting of one or more rooms, which serves as the meeting place to worship the triune God for the recipients of this epistle. The word is the object of the preposition eis, which means into since it is a marker of an entrance into a 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6
particular location and is referring to a false teacher entering the house church in which the recipients of this epistle met to worship the triune God. Kai This time the conjunction kai means specifically since it is epexegetical meaning that it is introducing a statement which explains in detail the previous prohibition that the recipients of this epistle were to not receive into their house church anyone who rejected the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. It is introducing a prohibition which denies any idea of John s readers of communicating a welcome to these people. Legō The verb legō means to communicate with referring to conveying a welcome to someone. Its meaning is negated by the negative particle mē, which means not. These two words deny any idea of the recipients of this epistle communicating in order to welcome those who reject the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ, namely that He is the incarnate Son of God. The second person plural means all of you referring to the recipients of this epistle as a corporate unit. The present imperative form of this verb in this prohibition has the force of a general precept. This kind of prohibition does not make any comment regarding whether the action is going on or not. Therefore, this prohibition indicates that John is commanding his readers to not welcome anyone into their house church who does not accept his apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. There is nothing in this epistle or the rest of Scripture which would indicate that the recipients of this epistle were welcoming these false teachers or not. Thus, it must be a new prohibition which is necessary in light of the situation in Ephesus which his readers were facing at the time of writing. If there was evidence that he had issued this prohibition in the past, then the present imperative in this prohibition would denote the cessation of an act that is already in progress. Thus, John would be telling his readers stop welcoming these false teachers. However, there is no evidence that this is the case. Thus, it appears John was addressing a brand new threat to the church in Ephesus, which was not present when he was last with them. Chairō This term is found as far back as Homer in the eighth century B.C. and means to enjoy a state of happiness and well-being, to rejoice, to be glad. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7
Liddell and Scott list the following classical meanings: (1) to rejoice at, take pleasure in a thing, to express one s joy in laughter, to delight in. (2) with negative, especially with future (3) frequently in imperative as a form of greeting, hail, welcome, at the beginning of letters as a mark of respect. (4) at leave taking, farethee-well. (5) to dismiss from one s mind, put away, renounce in comforting, be of good cheer (6) glad, joyful (7) joined with another verb, safe and sound, with impunity (8) astrologically of a planet, occupy the position appropriate to another of its own (pages 1969-1970). It appears 76 times in the Septuagint and translates 10 different Hebrew terms: (1) `ahev, love (Prv. 17:19). (2) gil, rejoice, be glad (Prov. 2:14, Joel 2:21; Zech. 9:9). (3) `alaz, exult (Ps. 96:12 [95:12]). (4) `alliz, rejoicing person (Is. 13:3). (5) ranan, sing (Zeph. 3:14). (6) sus, rejoice, be glad (Is. 66:14; Lm. 1:21; 4:21). (7) samach, joyful, rejoicing (Ex. 4:14; 2 Kgs. 11:20; Ez. 7:12). (8) sameach, joyful, rejoicing (1 Kgs. 8:66; 2 Kgs. 11:14). (9) simchah, gladness (Jer. 7:34). (10) shalom, peace (Is. 57:21). The word most frequently translated by chairō is samach, to rejoice, be glad, to take pleasure in. There is no clear distinction between the usage of chairō and that of euphraino, the Hebrew equivalent of which is also predominately samah. The two words are often synonymous (Lm. 4:21; Prov. 29:6; Est. 8:17; 9:27). Chairō covers both the subjective emotion and the objective cause of joy. It comes closest to the Hebrew shalom and in fact is used to translate this in Isaiah 48:22; 57:21. The verb serves to describe eschatological joy, rejoicing over ultimate sanctification and prosperity during the Millennial dispensation (Joel 2:21, 23; Is. 66:10, 14; Zech. 10:7). Chairō appears 74 times in the New Testament and means to rejoice, to be glad, to be content. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition: (1) to be in a state of happiness and well-being, rejoice, be glad (2) in imperative, a formalized greeting wishing one well, also in indicative, to use such a greeting (Page 1075). The New Thayer s Greek-English Lexicon: (1) To rejoice, be glad (2) To be well, to thrive; in salutations, to give one greeting, salute (pages 663-664). The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised: (1) To rejoice, be glad, be joyful, be full of joy (2) A term of salutation, hail! (3) To greet (4) An epistolary formula, health (page 433). Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains: (1) To enjoy a state of happiness and well-being to rejoice, to be glad (25.125). (2) To employ a formalized expression of greeting, implying a wish for happiness on the part of the person greeted hail, greetings (33.22). 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8
Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Chairo, to rejoice, is most frequently so translated. As to this verb, the following are grounds and occasions for rejoicing, on the part of believers: in the Lord, (Phil. 3:1; 4:4); His incarnation, (Luke 1:14); His power, (Luke 13:17); His presence with the Father, (John 14:28); His presence with them, (John 16:22; 20:20); His ultimate triumph, (8:56); hearing the gospel, (Acts 13:48); their salvation, (Acts 8:39); receiving the Lord, (Luke 19:6); their enrollment in Heaven, (Luke 10:20); their liberty in Christ, (Acts 15:31); their hope, (Rom. 12:12) (cf. (Rom. 5:2; Rev. 19:7)); their prospect of reward, (Matt. 5:12); the obedience and godly conduct of fellow believers, (Rom. 16:19), RV, I rejoice (KJV, I am glad ); (2 Cor. 7:7,9; 13:9; Col. 2:5; 1 Thes. 3:9; 2 John 4; 3 John 3); the proclamation of Christ, (Phil. 1:18); the gospel harvest, (John 4:36); suffering with Christ, (Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 4:13); suffering in the cause of the gospel, (2 Cor. 13:9) (1st part); (Phil. 2:17) (1st part); (Col. 1:24); in persecutions, trials and afflictions, (Matt. 5:12; Luke 6:23; 2 Cor. 6:10); the manifestation of grace, (Acts 11:23); meeting with fellow believers, (1 Cor. 16:17), RV, I rejoice ; (Phil. 2:28); receiving tokens of love and fellowship, (Phil. 4:10); the rejoicing of others, (Rom. 12:15; 2 Cor. 7:13); learning of the well-being of others, (2 Cor. 7:16). The term denotes the following in the New Testament: (1) Greeting (Mt. 26:49; 28:9; Lk. 1:28; Acts 15:23; 23:26; Jm. 1:1; 2 Jn. 1:10-11). (2) Homage (mocking Christ) (Mt. 27:29; Mk. 15:8; Jn. 19:3). (3) Normal human emotional response in the soul (Mt. 2:10; 5:12; Lk. 1:14; 6:23; 10:20; 13:17; 15:5, 32; Lk. 19:6; 22:5; 23:8; Jn. 16:20, 22; 20:20; Acts 8:39; 11:23; 13:48; 15:31; 1 Cor. 7:30; 13:6; 16:17; 2 Cor. 2:3; 2 Cor. 7:13, 16; Col. 2:5; 1 Pt. 4:13; Rev. 11:10). (4) Production of the Spirit (Jn. 4:36; 8:56; 11:15; 14:28; Acts 5:41; 11:23; Rm. 12:12, 15; 16:19; 2 Cor. 6:10; 7:9; 2 Cor. 7:7; 13:9; Phlp. 1:18; 2:17-18; 3:1; 4:4, 10; Col. 1:24; 2:5; 1 Thess. 3:9; 5:16; 1 Pt. 4:13; 2 Jn. 1:4; 3 Jn. 3; Rev. 19:7). (5) Goodbye (2 Cor. 13:11). In 2 John 10, the verb chairō means to welcome in the sense of receiving gladly someone into one s presence and fellowship or companionship. Therefore, John is prohibiting the recipients of this epistle from welcoming these false teachers who denied the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The infinitive form of this verb is an infinitive of purpose which is used to indicate the goal or purpose of the action or state of its controlling verb, which in our context is the second person plural present active imperative form of the verb legō, which means to communicate. Therefore, John is prohibiting the recipients of this epistle from communicating with those rejecting the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ for the purpose of welcoming them. The present tense is a conative present which portrays the subject as attempting to do something. Thus, it indicates that John is telling the recipients of this epistle 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9
that they are not to communicate with these false teachers for the purpose of attempting to welcome them. Autos Once again, we have the third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos means him referring to an unidentified male who rejects the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. However, this time it is functioning as a dative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verbs chairō, do give greeting and legō (λέγω), which is not translated. It is not put in the accusative case since John wants to emphasize with his readers that he does not want them to have any personal contact with these false teachers. Translation of 2 John 10 2 John 10 If, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that anyone does at any time come into the presence of any one of you but never accepts this teaching and we agree there are those who don t then, all of you do not receive him into the home. Specifically, all of you do not communicate for the purpose of attempting to welcome him. Exposition of 2 John 10 The apostle John in verse 10 employs a first class conditional clause in order to issue the recipients of this epistle a prohibition to not fellowship with those who were rejecting the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. In the protasis, he presents the reality of those rejecting the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Then, in the apodasis he issues a prohibition in light of this reality. John issues one prohibition. He prohibits the recipients of this epistle to not receive into their house church these false teachers. Then, he explains in detail what he means by this. He does not want them to communicate with these false teachers for the purpose of attempting to welcome them into the fellowship of their house church. This prohibition in 2 John 10 is directly related to the fellowship of the house church, which the recipients of this epistle helped to compose. By welcoming these false teachers into the fellowship of their house church, they would be aiding and abetting these false teachers. They would be giving them a place or a platform to propagate their false teaching, which misrepresents who Jesus Christ is and calls the Holy Spirit a liar since the Holy Spirit inspired the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ, that He is the God-man. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10
During the first and second centuries, many Christians were displaced from their homes because of various persecutions in the Roman Empire. Hospitality was to be shown to these individuals. Our Lord spoke of hospitality towards strangers and in particular toward Jewish believers during the Tribulation in Matthew 25:35. The apostle Paul mentions it in Romans 12:13 as a function of the royal family honor code. The writer of Hebrews 13:2 commands members of the royal family of God to be philoxenia, hospitable. By doing so, some believers such as Lot and Abraham entertained the angels. Abraham entertained the pre-incarnate Christ in Genesis 18:1-22 and Lot entertained only the two angels in Genesis 19:1. In the first century, born-again believers met in homes and not in large buildings as they do today, therefore, the pastor-teacher had to be willing to open his home to strangers, who were unbelievers and needed the gospel, and to believers who needed the Word of God taught to them. In the first century, there was a great need in the church to provide shelter and food to visitors who had been uprooted from their homes because of persecution. Furthermore, in the ancient world there were few motels or hotels, most of which were very undesirable. In the Roman Empire, inns were many times places of ill repute and travelers, whenever possible, stayed with friends, thus, the New Testament emphasizes hospitality to strangers. Romans 12:13 All of you continue to make it your habit to contribute to the saints needs. All of you continue to make it your habit to eagerly seek out opportunities to practice hospitality. (Author s translation) 1 Peter 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint. (NASB95) Since believers are members of the body of Christ according to 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 3:6 and Colossians 3:15 of which body, Christ is the head according to Ephesians 4:15, 5:23, Colossians 1:18, then when believers practice hospitality towards one another, they are in fact doing it to Christ (Matthew 25:40). In 2 John 10, the apostle John is not instructing his readers to discontinue the practice of Christian hospitality to individuals whether believers or non-believers but rather he simply does not want them to aid in any way those teaching false doctrine and rejecting the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. This interpretation is clearly indicated John s statement in 2 John 11, in which he tells his readers the reason for the prohibition in 2 John 10. By welcoming these false teachers into the fellowship of their house church, John s readers would be participating in the evil deeds (teaching false doctrine about the person of Jesus Christ) of these false teachers. 3 John 5-8 helps to understand what John requires of his readers with this prohibition in 2 John 10. In 3 John 5-8, the apostle John teaches the recipients of this epistle to demonstrate God s love towards itinerant teachers of the gospel by sending them on their way in a manner worthy of God by aiding them financially and materially. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11
3 John 5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth. (NASB95) These verses indicate that when John issues this prohibition in 2 John 10, he does not want his readers to financially aid the false teachers as they would those who faithfully taught the gospel by adhering to the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. They are not to provide financial or material aid to those teaching false doctrine. They were only to provide these things for those who were faithfully adhering to the apostolic teaching concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Yarbrough writes John is not talking about personal friends, exchange students from another country and perhaps of other faiths, international students at the local university to which your church is trying to reach out or non-christian family members. This verse has generated untold angst (expressed perhaps independently of 2 John already in antiquity; see Did. 11.1-2) in the form of misguided conviction regarding the propriety of showing hospitality to non-christians. That is not John s subject here. When he writes do not receive him into your home and do not exchange [Christian] greetings with him, he has in mind aiding and abetting people who are undercutting apostolic doctrine and leadership as represented by John. Such figures are evidently seeking entrance into already established church circles, and even personal residences, to convince the unwary of new and different teaching about Christ and salvation. An analogy today would be Jehovah s Witness, Mormon, or other missionaries who seek to spread quasi-christian views. While there is no call to be uncivil to them, to receive them in the sense of endorsing their teaching, giving them financial support and offering them personal encouragement makes no sense when their teaching clearly rejects historic Christianity. In John s house-church setting, to receive opponents of Christian belief into your home meant granting to them and their doctrine the honor and respect that are due only to true Christian faith and practice. 1 By issuing this prohibition in 2 John 10, John is instructing the recipients of this epistle to exercise discernment when dealing with itinerant teachers since not all were serving Jesus Christ but rather some were serving the devil. Furthermore, if the recipients of this epistle obey John s prohibition they would be operating according to God s love since it would confront the false teachers with their error, which in turn could lead to repentance. If they do not obey this prohibition, they 1 Yarbrough, Robert W., 1-3 John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; pages 351; Baker Academic, A Division of Baker Publishing Group; Grand Rapids, Michigan; 2008. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12
would not be exercising God s love towards these false teachers since it would encourage them in their sin of teaching false doctrine regarding the person of Jesus Christ. If they obey this prohibition, they would be demonstrating love towards the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ since they would be attempting to stop the lies which misrepresent who the Son is. This misrepresentation dishonors the Father who sent His Son into the world to become a human being to save sinners. If they do not obey this prohibition, they would not love the Father or the Son since it would show a lack of concern for the honor of both. By obeying the apostle John s prohibition in 2 John 10, the recipients of this epistle would operate in God s love towards those false teachers who were not Christians since these individuals can never be justified if they possess an inaccurate understanding of who Jesus Christ is. If they repent and obey the apostolic teaching that Jesus is both God and man, then their faith in Jesus Christ will result in God the Father declaring them justified. If they don t acknowledge that Jesus Christ is not only the Son of God but also a sinless human being, there is no need to have faith in Him for eternal salvation since only a person who is both God and man can reconcile sinful humanity to a holy God. Therefore, by not welcoming these false teachers into the fellowship of their house church, the recipients of this epistle would exercise God s love towards these false teachers since it would confront them with regards to their sin, which if they repented from will lead to the exercise of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Also, by obeying the apostle John s prohibition here in 2 John 10, the recipients of this epistle would operate in God s love towards those false teachers who were Christians since these they can never experience fellowship with God by believing and teaching a lie about the God of truth. By obeying this prohibition, they would be administering church discipline to these apostate Christians. The purpose of such discipline was to restore them to fellowship with God and the fellowship of the church. That some of these false teachers were Christians is indicated by several factors. First of all, the fact that John did not want his readers to be deceived by these false teachers and thus requests that they live by means of the truth by obeying the command to love one another makes clear that this was certainly a possibility. If it was not possible for a Christian to be deceived by false teachers so as to reject the incarnation after first believing in it, which they would need to in order to get saved, then John would not have written this epistle in the first place. The fact that he does makes clear that a Christian who has been saved through faith in Jesus Christ can be deceived so as to reject the incarnation. Those believers who were deceived so as to reject the incarnation would not lose their eternal salvation (Romans 8:1, 38-39; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15) but rather would lose rewards if they did not repent (1 John 2:28). 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 13
These deceived believers who were now rejecting the incarnation were disobeying the apostolic teaching concerning Jesus of Nazareth and were thus out of fellowship with not only the Trinity but also with those believers who were obedient to this teaching. Whether they were non-believers or believers, they were dishonoring the Lord Jesus Christ by adhering to this false doctrine that He did not become a human being since it misrepresents who He is. John is concerned for the house church in Ephesus he is writing to here in 2 John. He wants to protect them from this false doctrine since if they are deceived, they will be out of fellowship and could lose rewards or not receive a full reward as he mentions in 2 John 8. The solution for those believers who had been deceived is the same for all sin, namely the confession of sin to be restored to fellowship and obedience to the apostolic teaching in order to maintain that fellowship. The solution for the non-believer is to believe in the person of Jesus Christ in order to be saved and declared justified by God, which would require them to acknowledge that Jesus of Nazareth is both God and man. Christianity is of course based upon the person of Jesus Christ and thus to deny His sinless humanity or deity is to attack the foundation of the Christian faith. Excursus: Discernment Divine love must be accompanied by discernment. Discernment refers to the capacity to perceive clearly and hence to understand the real nature of something. It is concerned with practical matters like speaking (10:14; 11:9; 12:23; 22:12) and general prudence and discernment concerning how to live rightly in relationships. Discernment can be referred to as tact and the ability to understand relationships and situations with a view to practical action. Tact is a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense and is the skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations. Discernment refers to the faculty to discern, discriminate, and have acuteness of judgment and understanding in any given situation. We must learn discernment from the Holy Spirit who teaches us discernment by making the Word of God understandable and guiding us in its application. Spiritual discernment refers to the ability to separate, distinguish between what is God s will and what is evil in any given situation (Hebrews 5:12-14). Spiritual discernment refers to the power or ability to grasp and comprehend what is obscure to the soulish man. It stresses accuracy in reading character or motives and the Holy Spirit provides the believer with this ability as the believer obeys the Spirit and follows His guidance and direction that appears in the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 14
spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a critic of thoughts and intents of the heart. (NASB95) The Lord Jesus Christ provides us a perfect example of an individual with perfect discernment. The impeccable human nature of Christ in hypostatic union was perfectly accurate in reading the character and motives of people in His life not because He was always utilizing His divine omniscience but rather it was because He was always obedient to the guidance and direction of the Spirit. In the Gospel of Matthew the Lord Jesus Christ s demonstrates perfect discernment in handling a difficult and delicate situation with the Pharisees (Matthew 22:15-22). In Matthew 22:15-22, the Lord Jesus Christ in His impeccable human nature demonstrated perfect discernment in that He tactfully handled this difficult confrontation with the Pharisees. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated the keen sense of what to say to the Pharisees and what not to say to them so that He would not give offense to the Roman civil authorities that were occupying Judea at this particular time. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated the ability to understand the real nature of the Pharisees question, which was designed to trap Him. The Lord Jesus Christ accurately read the character and motive of the Pharisees question and the Holy Spirit provided Him with this ability since He always obeyed the Spirit and followed His guidance and direction, which was in accordance with the Word of God. The Lord Jesus Christ exercised the faculty to discern, discriminate, and had acuteness of judgment and understanding of the character and motives of the Pharisees. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated the ability to grasp and comprehend and the power to understand what was obscure to the soulish mind of His audience that were witnesses to this confrontation with the Pharisees. The Lord Jesus Christ loved the Pharisees with the love of God but He was not gullible and He taught His disciples not to be gullible and therefore, we too as Christians are not to be gullible as we go into the world proclaiming the Gospel. Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. (NASB95) Christians must exercise discernment for not everyone is a sheep and some people are dogs or hogs and some are wolves in sheep s clothing. We Christians are the Lord s sheep but this does not mean we should let people pull the wool over our eyes. As God s people, we Christians are privileged to handle the holy things of the Lord. He has entrusted to us precious truths of the Word of God and we must regard them carefully. Only a fool would give pearls to a pig. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 15
Matthew 7:6 Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (NASB95) While it is true that we are to present the Gospel to every creature, it is also true that we must not cheapen the Gospel by a ministry that lacks discernment. Even Jesus refused to talk to Herod (Lk. 23:9) and Paul refused to argue with people who resisted the Word (Acts 13:44-49). We as Christians must be able to judge the character and motives of people in our lives as our Lord did, but not to condemn them but to minister to them. The reason for judgment, then, is not that we condemn others, but that we might be able to minister to them. 1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. (NASB95) One of the most foolish statements I have ever read is, Love is blind. Love is not blind but rather is discerning and does not close its eyes to the truth, to reality, to sin (Heb. 12:6). Hebrews 12:6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES. (NASB95) Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. (NASB95) What a horrible thing it would be if love truly were blind and had no discernment. Christian love must operate according to truth. Love is discerning. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated His discerning love for the Pharisees by rebuking severely (Mt. 23:13-16). His rebuke was designed to bring them to repentance and to believe in Him for eternal salvation. He did not want them to go to the Lake of Fire, just as the Lord does not want any one to go there. Paul showed his discerning love for Peter by rebuking him for his hypocrisy in Galatians 2:11-16). Discerning love has its eyes wide open to how things are, as well as to how things ought to be. In Philippians 1:9, Paul prayed that the Philippians divine love might be accompanied by discernment. Philippians 1:9 Now, this I make it a habit to pray that your divine-love might continue to flourish yet more and more by means of a total discerning experiential knowledge. (Author s translation) Experiential knowledge is the noun epignosis which refers to personally encountering the agape, divine love of the Lord Jesus as it is revealed by the Spirit in the pages of Scripture through the process of fellowship and being affected by that revelation in the sense that it conforms us to the image of Christ. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 16
We know this is an experiential knowledge of God s love in and through Christ since the believer s agape, divine love for God and people originates from God s self-sacrificial love for us as expressed by the Lord Jesus Christ at the Cross. 1 John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us. (NASB95) Discerning is the noun aisthesis, which refers to the capacity to understand the real nature of any given situation and to apply accurately agape, divine-love to that situation. The noun aisthesis, discerning refers to the ability to separate, distinguish and choose between what is God s will and what is evil. It refers to the faculty to discern, discriminate, and have acuteness of judgment and understanding of the character and motives of people. The word refers to the ability to grasp and comprehend and have the power to understand what is obscure to the soulish man. Excursus: Church Discipline One of the most controversial subjects in the Word of God is that of church discipline. Too often, it has not been practiced in many churches which has resulted in disastrous consequences in the sense that it has destroyed the testimony of these churches before the world. Unfortunately, many churches describe their legalistic bullying of other Christians, who did not fit their non-biblical requirements for a Christian, as church discipline. This too has produced disastrous consequences resulting in damaged souls who have been abused by these hypocritical, self-righteous people. Because of this abuse, many churches don t even attempt to practice it. Wiersbe writes Church discipline usually goes to one of two extremes. Either there is no discipline at all, and the church languishes because of disobedience and sin. Or the church officers become evangelical policemen who hold a kangaroo court and violate many of the Bible s spiritual principles. (Wiersbe, W. W.; The Bible Exposition Commentary; Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books; 1996) However, the teaching of the Word of God says it must and should be administered by the church when appropriate circumstances call for it. The Bible teaches when and who we are to discipline. The Lord has ordered the church to administer discipline to those who are living ungodly lifestyles and who are habitually living in rejection of the Word of God. It is to be administered for the spiritual well-being of these individuals who are living in apostasy. Church discipline is based upon God s holiness and is patterned after God s discipline of the church. Failure to administer church discipline when it is called for demonstrates a church s lack of awareness or concern for God s holiness. Church discipline is taught in Matthew 18:15-18, Romans 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2:6-11; Galatians 6:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-16; 2 Timothy 2:23-26; Titus 3:10; 2 John 9-11. 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 17
The purpose of church discipline is always restoration and not revenge. The purpose of this discipline is to deliver the offender from sinful patterns of behavior and not to drive him or her away from the fellowship of the church. The church s attitude is to be one of love and gentleness (Galatians 6:1-3). J. Hampton Keathley III commenting on church discipline writes, (1) The discipline of the church is first patterned after the fact that the Lord Himself disciplines His children (Heb. 12:6) and, as a father delegates part of the discipline of the children to the mother, so the Lord has delegated the discipline of the church family to the church itself (1 Cor. 5:12-13; 2 Cor. 2:6). (2) Discipline is further based on the holy character of God (1 Pet. 1:16; Heb. 12:11). The pattern of God s holiness His desire for the church to be holy, set apart unto Him is an important reason for the necessity of church discipline. The church is therefore to clean out the leaven of malice and wickedness from its ranks (1 Cor. 5:6-8). A failure to exercise discipline in the church evidences a lack of awareness of and concern for the holiness of God. (3) Church discipline is to be patterned after and based on the divine commands of Scripture (1 Cor. 4:6). We have numerous passages of Scripture which both command and give us God s directives on the how, why, when, and where of church discipline. Again, a failure to exercise this responsibility demonstrates a lack of obedience and belief in the authority of the Bible (1 Cor. 5:1-13; Matt. 18:17-18; Titus 3:10; 2 Thess. 3:6-15; 1 Tim. 5:20; Gal. 6:1). (4) Another basis for the necessity of church discipline is the testimony of the church in the world (1 Pet. 4:13-19). The world observes the behavior and life of the church. When the church acts no differently than the world, it loses its credibility and authenticity (1 Pet. 2:11-18; 3:8-16; 4:1-4). (Church Discipline, pages 1) Keathley lists the purposes for administering church discipline (1) To bring glory to God and enhance the testimony of the flock. (2) To restore, heal, and build up sinning believers (Matt. 18:15; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; Heb. 12:10-13; Gal. 6:1-2; Jam. 5:20). (3) To produce a healthy faith, one sound in doctrine (Tit. 1:13; 1 Tim. 1:19-20). (4) To win a soul to Christ, if the sinning person is only a professing Christian (2 Tim. 2:24-26). (5) To silence false teachers and their influence in the church (Tit. 1:10-11). (6) To set an example for the rest of the body and promote godly fear (1 Tim. 5:20). (7) To protect the church against the destructive consequences that occur when churches fail to carry out church discipline. A church that fails to exercise discipline experiences four losses: The Loss of Purity: Church discipline is vital to the purity of the local body and its protection from moral decay and impure doctrinal influences. Why? Because a little leaven leavens the entire lump (1 Cor. 5:6-7). This is the rotten apple problem or the snowball effect. An illustration of this is the Corinthian church which showed a lack of concern for purity. They neglected the responsibility to discipline and suffered as a 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 18
result. Their insensitivity to one moral issue may have led to their compromise on other issues. Laney writes, The Corinthians engaged in lawsuits, misused their liberty, profaned the Lord s Supper, neglected the primacy of love, failed to regulate the use of their gifts, and questioned the resurrection. Failure in church discipline in Corinth could be compared to a snowball tumbling downhill. The Loss of Power: Sin in the life of the church grieves the person of the Holy Spirit and quenches His power. If sin remains unchecked by the loving application of church discipline in a body of believers, the Holy Spirit must abandon such a church to its own carnal resources. The unavoidable result will be the loss of the Lord s blessing until the sin is dealt with. The defeat of Israel because of the sin of Achan in Joshua 7 illustrates the principle. This is just as true for the church today, especially when we know certain things exist but ignore them or simply look the other way because it is difficult to deal with or because it involves one of our friends and we do not want to risk causing problems in the relationship. The Loss of Progress: A church that refuses to practice church discipline will see its ministry decline. The church may want to grow and reach out and it may try all kinds of stop gap measures, promotional campaigns, and programs in an attempt to turn things around, but if there is sin in the camp, it will all be to no avail. See Revelation 2:5 and 3:16 for illustrations of this principle. The Loss of Purpose: As His ambassadors to a lost and dying world, God has called the church to be a holy people, a people who, standing out as distinct from the world, proclaim the excellencies of the works of God in Christ (1 Pet. 1:14-16; 2:9-15). If this is to occur, we must be different from the world and church discipline helps us to both remember and maintain that purpose. One of the recurring judgments against the church today as demonstrated in various polls taken across the country is the fact there is little or no difference between the church and the secular world when it comes to attitudes, values, morals, and lifestyle. We have lost our sense of purpose. (Church Discipline, pages 1-2) How We Are To Discipline Church discipline should be administered by those who are in fellowship with God and are knowledgeable of the Word of God and filled with the Spirit (Galatians 6:1). It must be done with an attitude of humility, gentleness and patience, always looking to ourselves that we too might not be tempted (Galatians 6:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:24-25). It must be done impartially (1 Timothy 5:21). Those who are disciplined are to be warned and must be appealed to in love (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15; 1 Timothy 5:1-2; Ephesians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:2). 2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 19