2 JOHN COMMENTARY

Greetings to the Church

Unlike 1 John, 2 John has the formal characteristics of a true letter: the sender and
recipients are iden tified and a greeting typical of ancient letters is passed on to them.
And yet the identification of the author is unusual, for where one would expect a
personal name, the author refers to himself only as the Elder (ho presbyteros). Literally
the word means someone who is old, but because those who were old were deemed to
have wisdom and expe rience that qualified them to be leaders, an "elder" was
someone who was also in a position of authority (Deut 19:12; Josh 20:4; Ruth 4:2; Ezra
10:4; Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2, 23; 16:4; 20:17; Jas 5:14; 1 Pet 5:1; 1 Tim 5:17; Tit 1:5).
The Elder must have been well known and respected by his readers. He expects them
to recognize him without further identi fication and to follow his instructions. As in 1
John, he speaks of them as children (vv. 4, 13), suggesting both the intimacy and the
authority he has with them. That he is writing to other congregations suggests that his
authority extends beyond one local congregation.
The congregation to which he is writing is designated metaphorically as the chosen lady
and her children;we would say "the church and its members." Regularly in the
Scriptures Israel or the church is designated as a woman or the bride of Yahweh or
Christ (Is 54:1, 13; Jer 6:21; 31:21; Lam 4:2-3; Jn 3:29; 2 Cor 11:2; Gal 4:25-26; Eph
5:22; Rev 18--19). Chosen recalls Jesus' statement in John 15:16, "You did not choose
me, but I chose you." The church is not a voluntary organization but the fellowship of
those called together by Christ. For such a fellowship, family imagery is all the more
appropriate, for it suggests the bonds of intimacy and love that bind the family together.
Family imagery also underscores that it was not by the children's initiative that this
family came into existence.
In his greeting to the congregation the Elder repeats two important themes: truth (vv. 14) and love (vv. 1, 3, 5-6). Truth includes matters of both faith and practice, and thus
designates what Christians are to believe (v. 7; 1 Jn 4:2; 5:6) and how they are to live
(vv. 5-6). Truth is the reality to which Christians are committed, and they are known by
their commitment to it.
But that reality is not simply a static and objective entity or set of beliefs. We tend to
think of truth as a number of abstract propositions that we are to comprehend and

believe. But for the Elder, truth is a vital force that can be personified as living in us and
being with us. Because it comes from the living God, truth is a dynamic power that
abides with believers, enabling them to know what is true. And because truth comes
from God, it exists forever and remains with the faithful, just as God exists eternally and
remains in relationship with the faithful. If we could capture John's view of truth as a
force that, because it is the work of God's own Spirit, shapes and empowers us, we
might be less prone to think of truth as something that depends upon us to preserve it.
In reality, we depend upon the truth to guard us--and not vice versa--because we
depend upon God. Only as the truth abides in us do we abide in the truth. But we are
somewhat too quick to reverse that relationship, and put human beings in the place
where God's activity and power belong.
The actual greeting is similar to the somewhat standardized greetings and blessings
found in other New Testament epistles (such as Rom 1:7; Gal 6:16; 1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim
1:2; Jude 2). This is the only use of mercyin the Johannine writings. Six other instances
of peace appear, all in the Gospel of John (14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26). Peace is the
assurance that Christians have in knowing that, whatever the world may bring, they are
kept secure in God's love and truth by God's own power (Jn 14:27; 16:33).
Surprisingly, graceappears elsewhere only in the Gospel of John, and then only in the
opening prologue (Jn 1:14, 16-17). Grace summar izes the revelation and salvation that
we have received in the Incarnate Word. So while the opening greeting of 2 John may
well echo a standard form of greeting, we should understand its content in light of the
Chris tian conception of grace, mercy and peace, supremely manifested in God's work
in Jesus Christ. Those who live in Christ can be confident that grace, mercy and
peace will be and are theirs. Thus the greeting is really a promise: grace, mercy and
peace . . . will [always] be with us.

Living in Love
It was common practice to include a thanks giving after the greeting of a letter that
expressed the writer's pleasure in knowing of the well-being of the addressees. The
Elder is "overjoyed" (NRSV) because he has found some of your children
walking [or living] in the truth. This does not necessarily imply that other members of the
congregation were not living in the truth. But the Elder is acquainted with or has met
some who are. And to know that these people are faithful in their commitment to God
brings the author joy. The Johannine com mand to love one another inculcates concern

for the spiritual welfare of Christian compatriots and joy over their well-being and
faithfulness.
The Elder goes on to explicate the truth by which they live in terms of the
commandment to love each other (compare 1 Jn 3:23). In fact, love is to live in
obedience to [God's] commands. The love spoken of here includes love for God and
love for others. We show that we love God when we do what God desires, and what
God desires is that we live a life of love. Love is not a feeling or emotion, but a way of
life that manifests itself concretely in its concern for others in obedience to the
commandments of God. Love circumscribes the whole of life and ought to permeate the
actions and attitudes of the Christian person.

Living in Truth
If Christian existence can be characterized as "living in love," it can equally be
designated as a life that is lived in truth, where truth is the opposite of deception and
wickedness. Truth is both doctrinal and moral in scope. The previous section (vv. 4-6)
dealt with the moral aspect of truth; the present section turns to the question of doctrinal
truth and, specifically, true confession of Jesus Christ.
The confession Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is identical in em phasis, although
not in wording, to the confession of 1 John 4:2. This confession calls attention to Jesus'
true and full humanity and to the significance of his life in the flesh. For it was as the one
who became flesh (Jn 1:14) that he revealed the glory of God, and it was his flesh that
he gave for the life of the world (Jn 6:51). It was also as a human being that he modeled
the life of obedience to God and love for others that is commanded throughout the
epistles (2 Jn 6; 1 Jn 3:23). In short, this confession summarizes who Jesus is and what
he has done for our salvation: he became flesh, and he gave that flesh in death so that
we might have life. Those who are calleddeceivers and antichrists have left the sphere
of truth for the sphere known as the world--that arena which rejects the work of Christ
on its behalf. By leaving the church and going out into the world, they have shown that
they rejected the salvation that Jesus brings and have disobeyed the commandment to
maintain the bonds of love with other Christians.
The Elder urges his readers not to commit the same error as those who have gone out
into the world, but to see that you do not lose what you have worked for. This
admonition can be illuminated by setting it against the Gospel of John. The verb that is

translated lose is found in several instances in the Gospel, where it refers to being lost
(6:39; 17:12; 18:9) and to perishing (3:16; 10:28). Those whom Jesus has chosen
cannot be lost; those who do not accept Jesus as God's provision for salvation are
perishing. These are the only options. There is no way to have a little bit of life or death;
one either lives or dies. To lose what you have worked for is to lose life. It would be to
abandon one's commitment to God. For the work in view is the act of faith. As Jesus
says in the Gospel of John, the "work of God" is "believing in the one [whom God] has
sent" (6:29). The deceivers who have gone out into the world have not continued in
believing "in the one [whom God] has sent."
So the Elder cautions his readers not to follow their example or to be swayed by their
superficially progressive teaching. Even more, the Johan nine Christians are not to
welcome into their house anyone who comes with this deceptive teaching. The refusal
to welcome the false teachers into one's home is a sign of judgment upon their teaching
and life. And if the house in question is not merely a personal residence but rather a
house church, then the Elder forbids them to be given entrance into the church so as to
teach the people.
Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work means more than "you are known
by the company you keep." Rather, to give false teachers a hearing is to further their
work and so to be equally guilty of false teaching. The word translated by the NIV
as shares is more literally translated "to share fellowship with," and it is an important
idea in the Johannine community. First John spoke of having fellowship with God and
his Son, just as Christians have fellowship with each other (1:3). These are not passing
acquaintances, but deep and life-shaping relation ships. The Johannine Christians are
not to share such fellowship with those who do not speak the truth.
This brings us back to the question that C. H. Dodd raised: "Does truth prevail the more
if we are not on speaking terms with those whose view of the truth differs from ours-however disastrous their error may be?" Dodd's query raises an important point, but is it
the right question? It is difficult, if not impossible, to know exactly what the personal and
social relationships were between the Christians of the Elder's congre gation and those
who had withdrawn from it. Were the Christians of John's community actually "not on
speaking terms" with those who had left the church? Had they tried to win back those
under the sway of the false teachers? Were their attitudes and actions cold and
judgmental? We have no way of answering these kinds of questions.

We do know, however, that the Elder categorically refused to compro mise his beliefs or
to allow the false teachers to gain a hearing at all. Some might label such actions
intolerant and haughty. After all, how can the Elder be sure that he indeed knows the
truth? In fact, his confidence rests in his belief that God has revealed what is true in the
Son, Jesus Christ (v. 3), and that the Holy Spirit enables him to know and hold to his
confession of faith. Truth is neither an arbitrary construct of the human mind nor
impossibly obscure. Christians need not fear that they have somehow missed the truth
or failed to understand it, that there is some key that unlocks the mysteries of knowing
God that they have been missing all along. Such a "key" may have been promised by
the false teachers, but to John they are not revealing the heart of the truth but are
rather run[ning] ahead of (or "going beyond," RSV) the truth.
And what of the charge of intolerance? As Kysar notes, "Tolerance must finally have its
limits, if the church is to have integrity" (1986:133). We would do well to take note of the
corporate focus of the Elder's concern, for he is particularly worried lest the false
teachers be granted an open ing to teach and propagate their doctrine within the
church. It is the church's responsibility to teach people and to nurture them in faith,
righteousness and love. As a church, it must draw the lines that exclude teaching and
practice it deems out of harmony with the revelation of the Scripture. It has this right and
responsibility. To be sure, in the effort to guard truth with zeal, some churches draw the
lines too soon and too narrowly. But in the effort to exhibit Christian charity and
tolerance, some churches refuse to draw the line at all. The continuing challenge to the
church is to "speak the truth in love." Unfortunately, as one wag has said, this generally
leads to a lot of speaking, little truth and even less love!

Closing Greetings
Ancient secular letters often include an expression of desire to see the recipients of the
letter, as is found in the closing greetings of 2 John. A face-to-face visit will complete our
joy. If the author is not simply speaking in the editorial "we," then the plural refers to him
and the community with him. Indeed, this is what the closing verse suggests, for
the children of your chosen sister are the Christians of the local church from which the
Elder is writing. Their joy, the Elder's joy and the joy of the recipients--our joy--will be
completed. "Completed joy" is joy that has reached its goal in fellowship with each other
and with God. Again the mutual interdependence of Christians, so important to the
Johannine community, comes to expression in the simplest way, in a farewell greeting to
a church. For the greeting is not simply from an isolated writer, even one so well known

as the Elder, but from one church to another. "Beloved, let us love one another" was not
simply an external obligation, but the inner directive by which these believers lived.