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Note from the Apostle John
I. INTRODUCTION
A. This morning we're looking at one of the very shortest books in the Bible, II John. It was written by the Apostle
John, and it contains some pretty hard teachings. In fact, they're rather unpopular. But these are teachings we
must heed. He warns those who would refuse.
B. First, Let Me Refresh Your Memories On The Apostle John Himself.
1. He was son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of
James the Apostle. He was younger than James, and possibly the youngest of the 12 disciples.
2. The family may have been well to do. They owned a
fishing business, had a fleet of boats and hired others to help.
3. The name John corresponds to its Hebrew form,
Jonah.
4. John was originally a disciple of John the Baptist.
You may remember on one occasion John the Baptist saw Jesus in the distance and said to two of
his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God." Well, John was one of those two disciples.
5. It wasn't long after that when Jesus came upon John
and James at work. Matt. 4 says, "He saw two brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother
John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them and
immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."
6. Of course John was one of the three closest disciples
to Jesus, along with James and Peter. They often were included in special events when the others
were not. John is described as "the disciple whom Jesus loved."
7. When Jesus was on the cross it was John he asked to
look after his mother Mary.
8. II John was no doubt written very late in the first
century, perhaps around 90 A.D., probably from Ephesus.
C. We're not entirely sure to whom the letter was written. It's addressed to "the chosen lady and her children."
Some feel this was a specific woman and her family while others feel John was writing to a church and her
members. Either way, it's a very important document. Please listen closely as we study this short note from the
Apostle John.
II. SALUTATION / GREETING - II John 1-3
A. John Refers To Himself Simply As "The Elder."
1. Paul always names himself as the writer and goes on
to describe himself as an apostle, bond-servant or something such as that.
2. Peter always does the same.
3. Jude names himself and calls himself a servant of
Jesus.
4. John though, in each of his epistles, does not name
himself, nor does he describe himself any more than to say, "The elder". This confirms a little about John
that's also born out in his gospel. He tends to never draw attention to himself. He may have been quite a
humble man. Five times in his gospel he refers to himself as "that other disciple", never naming
himself once.
5. Some have suggested John may have referred to
himself as "elder" rather than "apostle" because he was the last surviving apostle and this may have
brought undue attention to himself. There is something to be admired in a man who isn't after the
limelight. He serves, but isn't hungry for the attention, the credit, or to blow his own horn.
6. I might mention the term "elder" has always
signified a chief position of authority and leadership both in Old Testament times as well as New
Testament. It first came into use because of advanced age and experience, however later came
to mean a position of responsibility and authority, regardless of age.
B. Notice How Many Times The Word "Truth" Is In This Greeting.
1. We find it four times in three verses.
2. There's a pretty good hint that truth was critically
important to John and the primary theme of this little note. You know, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
were all telling the same gospel, about the same man, and yet each focused on a different aspect.
a. Matthew uses the word "truth" 3 times.
b. Mark uses it 3 times.
c .Luke has it 5 times.
d. But the Apostle John used the word 27 times in
his gospel. Actually he emphasized truth in all his writings.
C. There's Something Else Worthy of Mention, In Verse Three.
1. He wishes for grace, mercy and peace, but notice
from whom.
2. It's from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the
Father's Son. You see, he not only establishes the separate identity of Jesus from God, but he
emphasizes the sonship of Jesus.
3. He's beginning to lay a foundation for truth, in
preparation for his warning against deceivers and false doctrine. These truths were already in the first
century being perverted. The nature of Jesus was already being perverted by some.
III. WALK THIS WAY! - II John 4-6 (Truth, Obedience, Love)
A. John Has Great Joy Hearing Of Those Who Walk In Truth.
1. I suspect this has reference to not only believing and
loving the truth as far as doctrine but also in living true and sincere lives. They had the truth. They
honored the truth. They lived lives of truth. They weren't hypocritical.
2. This brought great joy to John. His concern for the
truth was clearly evident. The same truth should be priority for us, just as the Father commanded!
3. John realized the critical importance of truth. He
warned against perversion.
B. We Are To Also Walk In Obedience.
1. This is almost identical to Jesus' words in John
14:15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."
2. I don't think you can be a Christian, and not live for
the Lord.
C. Finally, We are To Walk In Love.
1. This isn't a new commandment from John at all.
Jesus had said back in John 13, "A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must love one another."
2. As someone once said, "It doesn't matter how much
truth and obedience you have, if you don't have love, you don't have nothin'!" Now that's not to say
it's okay if you don't have truth, as long as you have love. They are so interrelated!
a. Truth is essential but it means nothing without
obedience.
b. Obedience is essential, but it's not enough
without love.
c. Love is essential, but it comes up short without
truth.
3. If you're familiar with Alva Huffer's Systematic
Theology, you know that Huffer describes the moral attributes of God as holiness, love, truth. These are
the same characteristics John requires of us here in II John.
IV. NEXT HE WARNS ABOUT DECEIVERS - II John 7-11
A. We Need To Know Something About Gnosticism. This is what John is talking about though he doesn't call it by
name.
1. Gnosticism is derived from its root word, "gnosis,"
which means knowledge. It's a blending of philosophy and religion. Some of its roots are
oriental, some Jewish, some Christian, some go back to Plato and Greek philosophers.
2. A number of philosophies and theories were already
penetrating Christianity and John was concerned. It never takes Satan long to pervert a good thing.
a. There was a striving for knowledge, for answers.
John refers to this in v. 9 when he refers to those who run ahead and do not continue in the
teaching of Christ. People were running ahead in their thinking. They were trying to answer
questions but not basing their conclusions on the teachings of Christ. They were theorizing, and
making things up. I can tell you that many today much want to know Jesus, but they are not
concerned with his teachings. This is very dangerous!
b. Here are some of the planks on the gnostic's
platform.
1. They denied the creation by God, because physical matter is evil, and God could not
have been responsible.
2. They denied the humanity of Christ, again because physical matter is evil, and that
would have been unbecoming the Christ. They theorized that Jesus had an earthly father just like anyone else and that
somewhere along the way, possibly at baptism, a spirit of God came down and entered into Jesus for awhile. They claimed
the real Christ was spirit only.
3. Their goal was to overcome the physical world and arrive in the spiritual world.
4. They denied the bodily resurrection. You remember the Saduccees in the time of
Christ already held such a view.
5. Because the body was evil they theorized it didn't matter what you did with your body
and they in fact encouraged drunkenness, immorality, etc.
6. Paul alluded to the stupidity of this attitude in Rom. 6:1,2.
7. There are a number of allusions to this throughout the N.T.
3. John particularly denounces those who deny that
Jesus is come in the flesh, that he is a human.
a. They denied Jesus had literally been born as a
human being or literally had a body because, as they saw it, flesh is evil and that would be
unbecoming to the Christ. They further denied a literal bodily resurrection on the same grounds.
b. Notice how strongly John comes down on such
teachers. "Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist."
1. What did it matter if someone perverted the nature of Jesus? They still believed in him!
They still believed in the death, burial, and resurrection. They weren't denying
Christianity. They were simply explaining it differently.
2. What does it matter now days if there are those who say that Jesus is fully God, and
yet fully human?
3. Well, besides the fact that it's totally against reason, it is not what the scriptures say.
4. And you see, it matters a lot, at least to the Apostle John. Notice the warning and
counsel given in vs. 10 & 11.
B. "Do Not Take Him Into Your House, Or Welcome Him."
1.He's talking about hospitality here, whether it's in
your home, or even here at the church. He's saying don't show hospitality to false teachers. Don't bring
in people, don't give anyone a forum, for preaching untruth. That doesn't mean we should be rude, or
unloving, or give up on sharing truth with them. It simply means don't support their ministry in any
way.
a. KJV says, "neither bid him god speed."
b. NASB says, "do not give him a greeting."
c. Diaglott says, "nor wish him success."
2. If you allow such a one into your house or church, to
teach, if you welcome him, if you bid him godspeed, John says you share in his wicked work. You see, it
is a wicked work to pervert doctrine.
3. John warns in v. 7 that "any such person is the
deceiver and the antichrist."
4.I know this is a hard teaching, but John had no room
for those who perverted the teachings of Christ and neither should we. We must practice love but that
love has limits. We must use discernment and not offer support for those who are contrary to
the teachings of Christ, even if they supposedly come in the name of Christ.
5. This book of II John is for those who say doctrine
isn't important. It's for those who think it doesn't really matter what you believe. John refutes that.
He's talking about deceivers, perverters who come in the name of Christ. They are not the obvious
enemy. Elsewhere Jesus describes them as wolves in sheep's clothing.
6. We need to keep our homes and our church pure in
doctrine. If any do not bring the doctrine of Christ they must not be allowed to speak, teach, sing or in
any other way teach untruth. We can not hold hands with those John would call deceiver and antichrist!
7. I realize this is an unpopular position to take, but
what else can we do? The major perversions of Christ's teachings must be recognized and refuted.
I'm thinking of the pre-existence of Christ, his incarnation into the body, the idea that Jesus is fully
God and fully human, the theory that man has an immortal, immaterial soul, the theory that God's
kingdom is already going on in heaven instead of a future event to be established on earth when Jesus
comes. These perversions all go way back.
8. John calls for a stand of disapproval to those who do
not teach the doctrine of Christ, even though they may say they come in the name of Christ.
9. We must walk in truth, love, and obedience. None of
these may be emphasized to the neglect of any other. My prayer is that you and I, and this church,
will be obedient to John's call for purity. I would hope we might become known in the community for
adhering to the teachings of Jesus, as he gave them.