I. Introduction Living in the Truth August 16, 2015 2 John 1:1-4 Last Sunday we finished our study of 1 John, so it seemed right that we study the two short epistles letters, that John wrote around the same time: 2 nd and 3 rd John which, as a point of interest, are the shortest books in the New Testament. As you remember, John had two purposes in writing 1 st John. First, he warned about false teachers 1 John 2:26 says, I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. And, second, He wrote to assure believers, Christians, of the certainty of their salvation 1 John 5:13 says, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. These same thoughts are found in 2 nd and 3 rd John as well turn to 2 John. Rather than rushing through these verses in one setting, this morning we ll look at just the first 4 verses where we see the greeting which includes the author, recipient and a salutation that are typical in a Greek letter followed with a commendation. II. The Greeting A. First, the Author Rather than giving his name, the author simply calls himself, The elder. This word really has two meanings. It can mean a senior citizen, referring to age many of us here could call ourselves, the elder. Or the elder could be a title, referring to an office in the church, i.e. a minister or a teacher. That this elder is the Apostle John who is around 90 years old and a minister of the church at Ephesus is seen by the similarities with 1 st John. For one example, look at verse 5 again: And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. Now listen to 1 John 2:7: Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Most likely the Apostle John wrote 2 John from Ephesus at about the same time or shortly after he had written 1 John, i.e. ~A.D. 90-95. B. Recipients Next John addresses the recipients: the chosen lady and her children. Some Bible scholars believe that the chosen lady refers to a local church and that her children are the believers who fellowship in the church. Others take the view that this is an actual woman and her children, whom John knew personally. This is the view I am going to consider. Some scholars are concerned that part of this letter is addressed to an individual (verses 1, 4-5, 13) and part of this letter is addressed to a group (verses 6, 8, 10, 12). This individual could be an individual woman or a particular church, 1
the group could be the woman and her children or the believers of the church. 2 nd John could be interpreted either way it is appropriate for individuals as well as the church as a whole. C. Salutation In the first 4 verses of 2 nd John, the greeting and commendation, John used the word truth five times. Truth is the key word of 2 John. John knew that there were false teachers who were spreading error lies, untruths. In verse 7 John called such people deceivers and antichrists. Unlike other people, John wasn t about to say that all supposed religious teachings are true in one way or another and that we should not be critical just as long as people are sincere. On the contrary, there is a great difference, a deadly difference, between truth and error. Error must not be tolerated. Some people, like many today, believed that there is no such thing as absolute truth. They argued that there is no religious truth religion is merely a personal preference, like one s taste in art, music, or literature. This is a lie. There is truth that leads to salvation. III. Truth That Leads to Salvation According to God, His Word is truth in John 17:17, Jesus said, Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. According to John 14:6, Jesus Christ is the truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth in John 14:16-17a Jesus said, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. Salvation comes from faith in the truth in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul wrote, But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. This is the truth Paul wrote of in 1 Corinthians turn to 1 Corinthians 15:3-6. This is the truth that leads to salvation. A. The Truth unites believers. In the first 4 verses, John gave four features of living in the truth the 1 st feature is: the truth unites believers. In verse 1, John wrote, The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth-- and not I only, but also all who know the truth. Christians don t just know the truth in their heads, they also love in the truth. Christians deep love agape love for one another flows out of their shared commitment to the truth. The truth causes believers to love one another. As John wrote in 1 John 5:1, Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. Christians can have no real communion with those who reject the truth of the gospel they share no common spiritual life with them. But the truth of God unites true believers 1 Peter 1:22 says, Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. This is the first feature of living in the truth: the truth unites believers. 2
B. The Truth lives in believers. Verse 2 says, because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever. The truth that unites believers lives in the believer. This is the 2 nd feature: the Truth lives in believers. Romans 8:9 says, You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. When one accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, comes and lives in the believer. Because of the Spirit s indwelling living in the believer Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that we have the mind of Christ. Turn to 1 John 2:20-21, 27. If Christians listen to the Holy Spirit teaching them from within reminding them of Jesus words (John 14:26), they will be able to determine if a teaching is false or true. It s because of the truth they have inside God s Words and the Holy Spirit, that believers will be united with fellow believers. C. The Truth blesses believers. Grace, mercy, and peace, from verse 3, are familiar New Testament terms. God s grace is God giving the sinner what he doesn t deserve there s an acrostic that goes like this: Grace is God s riches at Christ s expense. God s mercy is God NOT giving the sinner what he does deserve. Finally, peace is the result of God s outpouring of both grace and mercy turn to Romans 5:1-2. These divine blessings come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father s son. God isn t at war with lost sinners; it is sinners who are at war with God Romans 8:17 says, The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Concerning God s attitude, in 2 Peter 3:9 Peter wrote, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world. Like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, God waits with open arms for the sinner to come back to him. When sinners repent and are reconciled to God by faith in Jesus Christ, they experience the blessings of grace, mercy, and peace. This is the 3 rd feature of living in truth: the truth blesses believers. It is significant that John emphasized Christ s identity His deity by joining the Lord Jesus Christ with God the Father because some false teachers were denying Jesus deity. To make certain that his readers didn t miss that emphasis, John added the Father s Son. It is impossible to separate the two. If God is the Father, then He must have a Son Jesus Christ is that Son. 1 John 2:23 says, No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. There are those today that claim that Jesus is the son of God in the same way all of us are God s sons we are all made in the image of God and that when He claimed to be God s Son, He 3
was not really claiming to be God. This is a lie turn to John 10:30-33. The Jews knew what Jesus meant when he called Himself the Son of God and claimed equality with God. Christianity stands or falls on the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ. If He is only man, then He cannot save us, no matter how gifted or unique He might be. If He is not God come in human flesh, then the Christian faith is a lie not truth. But Jesus is God and He is the truth. The truth blesses believers with grace, mercy, and peace. D. The Truth controls believers. Finally, the fourth feature of living in the truth is found in verse 4: It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. To walk in the truth means to obey it, to permit it to control every area of one s life. The Truth controls believers. The truth of God s Word is to be lived as well as believed. James 1:22 says, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Sue reminded us of God s commandments a couple of weeks ago from Matthew 22:37-39: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. Each commandment is an expression of love not simply law. Obedience to God s Word should be a demonstration of our love, not an expression of fear 1 John 5:3 says, This is love for God: to obey his commands. No believer who loves God would ever consider His commandments to be harsh and unbearable. Because of love, the truth controls believers. IV. Conclusion Jesus asked His disciples a question in Mark 8:29, Who do you say I am? That question and its answer are important today, too. Who do YOU say Jesus is? What is the truth concerning Jesus the Christ? The Bible says that that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was born into the world through the Virgin Mary; that He lived a life of sinlessness and obedience to the Father even in His suffering and death on a cross; that He was raised from the dead and is now in the place of honor at the right hand of God the Father where He acts in our behalf. The Bible says that through His death Jesus paid the penalty of our sin and through His resurrection, death was made powerless so that through faith in Him we might have eternal fellowship with God. To put it a different way, salvation is a gift from God who gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die as payment for the sin of all men. If a man chooses to accept this gift of salvation, God makes him a new creature in Christ and adopts him as His own and saves him from an eternity in hell and instead promises an eternity in heaven. These are nonnegotiables from God s Word. 4
If this is the truth you believe, then this truth unites you with all other believers Romans 8:17 says that we are heirs-- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. This truth should be seen in every Christian s life as they do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). If a Christian lives in the truth, the truth will bless the believer Jesus said in John 15:7, If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. If this truth lives in you, then your prayer should be that of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane found in Luke 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. If you reject this truth, then none of these blessings or promises are for you. The Bible says in John 3:36, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. God doesn t force anyone to believe, Revelation 3:20 says, Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. It s your choice, what will you do with the truth of God? 5