Sunday School | 2 John & 3 John

Introduction

You guys, welcome back. Some of you may have found on your table some of many of you know that my son Max was in a motorcycle accident, and then he got sick, and then Kelly got sick. And it's just been a tumultuous time. If you want to know more details, we have letters. Some of them might be on your table. Things are looking up and we're grateful for all your kind support, but these blue-looking letters are around if you want to hear a little bit more of the particulars of it. That'd be good.

So if you are new to this class at least, you're coming in at the very tail end of a series we've been doing. For the last several months, we've looked at every book in the New Testament one week at a time. We're just marching through. We have a couple weeks to Romans, I think. But every other book, we just did one-week summaries. And if you missed any of them or all of them and you want them, all of these handouts are up here in this accordion folder thing. And all these talks have been recorded online. And today, you guys, all we have left, we're so close to being done. All we have left are Revelation and Hebrews, third John, and second John. And then we're done.

And so today, we're gonna do second John and third John all at once, which is a little bit unusual. You know, we never do more than one book in a week, but second John and third John are so tiny that we're just gonna pack them together like they're one book. Even still together, they're tiny even as a set. So you should have one of these. Does anybody not have one of these? Bob's running around, just wave at him. Tom needs one on the way back, bro. And we're gonna look at them. But I want to do it in a little bit different order. We're gonna do third John first and then second John because I think the logic of second and third John is a little bit easier to see if we start at the end and then go backward. Okay?

The Context of the Passage

As is our habit, before we look at it, I'm curious, does anybody know anything at all about second John and third John? These are not very well traveled ground. So what do you know about those letters? DFP? It's warnings against false teachers and encouragement to welcome truth. That is exactly right. Danfelton Petrie, in very tight nutshell, it's warning against false teachers in the second book and an encouragement to welcome the good teachers in the second one. That's exactly right. Excellent. Okay. That's all I had to say. So thank you for screwing that up. Anything else? Any parts of second or third John you've grabbed before? Yes. Sweetheart, you just want the sheet. Harrison, what's up, buddy? Anybody else? Anybody? Okay. Chris? Rules about how we run the church. And second and third, John, you get that more on the The elder roles No. That's gonna be in first Timothy and Titus. So those are yeah. Those are the so the pastoral epistles have kinda all of those rules. John doesn't get into that. John's letters are not written to groups, really. They're written more well, sort of. But third John is written to an individual and guys, and and second John, we'll talk about who that's written to when we get there. Okay.

Let's take a look. What we're gonna do because it's so brief, I'm gonna read it to you. We're starting the second one first, meaning third John, the third one first, and just listen for what it is. I kinda bolded it to make it easy for you, but here's how the letter goes.

The elder to my friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth, dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy to have some of my some of my brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. That might be the most famous line in third John.

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought, therefore, to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.

What does that mean in your current cultural context? Do you know what that is? Yeah. Michael? Michael is exactly right. Okay? And what he said is, is it like when we support missionaries except in this time they were just welcoming them to their home and then giving them food and money? That's exactly what it is. What's what third John is about? What third John is about, what third John is about is the application point for you at this moment in time is come on the support team of missionaries. That's what that means. What it really means is give a $100 a month to somebody that comes on staff with Young Life and asks you to do so.

When you hear about the ministry of Masterpiece Alliance and you think it's a good thing, but you don't have the time or the skills or the ability to give focus to this, then that's okay. Just come on the team. Give money to support the people who are doing it. That's what that's what it is saying. Okay?

Now in his context, in his cultural moment, that's not the way it worked. So the context is, as people are traveling through the Roman Empire, preaching the gospel, going into a community, doing evangelism, doing discipleship, training leaders, what you're supposed to do is open your home to them. Open the door, let them in, give them a place to sleep, feed them while they're there, and then when he says, you will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God, what does that mean? That's right. Tuck some money in their pocket on the way out the door. It doesn't mean like, hey, good job and smack them on the butt. It means give them some money because they gotta get from here to the next town, and we're not sure if in the next town they'll be greeted with hospitality.

That's what he is saying. Okay? So with that again, with with now hearing it as like what it means is come on the support team of missionaries. Dear friends, you're faithful in what you are doing for the brothers. Those brothers are the missionaries. Even though they're strangers to you, you don't know them, but they're doing the work of the kingdom. They have told the church about your love. That love is practical hospitality, generosity, giving. You'll do well to send them on their way in a manner where they've got to tuck money in their pocket as they go. It was for the sake of the name that they went out doing evangelism, doing discipleship, caring about the work of the kingdom, receiving no help from the pagans, and of course, the pagans aren't helping them. The pagans don't care if the name of Christ is exalted and honored among the people. We ought to show hospitality to give to them, to provide for the work, so that so that, why? We may work together. And this is the very nature. When Kelly and I came on staff with crew, we spent fourteen months traveling around, going to families, telling them the work that we're doing, inviting them to come on our support team. Today, the same thing with our work with Blue Ridge fellows, we are supported by this extraordinary team of wonderful, generous people who love what we do and love us and want to see it happen. And so they give money to us, and when they do, they are our partners. I might be the one that's doing some of this teaching or some of this evangelism or some of this discipleship, but I'm not I couldn't do any of these things. Everything I do, every penny that's ever passed through my hands, my entire adulthood has been from this remarkable team of generous people who say, yeah, yeah, yeah, that thing that you're doing, I want that to happen. But I have a different calling or a different skill set or different resources, and so I won't maybe be doing exactly what you're doing, but I want in. I wanna buy a slice of this. I wanna be your partner in it. Right? That is exactly what John is saying. We work together for the work of the truth. Not only is John commending them because they've done that, but who's he throwing rocks at in this book? Did you see? Because it's the exact same argument, but it's inverted. Take a look at what he says. I wrote to the church, but Diotrophes, I don't know how to say that, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. Look at this. So if I come, I'll call attention to what he's doing. What is he doing? He's gossiping. He's basically saying, don't give those guys money. Don't support them. Don't welcome them. Don't show them hospitality. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. Like he's like, no, not in my house. I'm not going to be part of this. And he stops those who want to do so. He puts them out of the church. There is somebody in this community who is so opposed to the spread of the gospel message that not only will he not support these particular people, but he's throwing all kinds of shade and discouraging others from doing it.

So when the missionaries show up, they don't have any place to stay. They don't receive any support. They're not sent on their way in a manner. And John is like, absolutely unacceptable. And when I get there, I'm gonna call him out publicly. And in fact, I'm gonna write about him in a public letter that will be reserved for all of eternity so that for the rest of time everyone will know this guy is a dirtbag. He's serious about this. Right?

Okay? So that's chiefly what third John is all about. Okay? Now, now that they're there, I want to give you just a quick, very, very brief primer on this, because there's a couple things that might not be known. What John is advocating for, this notion that the work of God think about this. He's saying that the work of God will not only be carried about by the people of God, but it will be paid for by the people of God. This is just the way it works. This is how it's always been that for all of time, if there's something that God wants to be accomplished in the world, he's gonna call certain people to do it and certain people to pay for it. That's just always been the plan.

It was even the plan for Jesus. Did you know that Jesus himself raised support? Do you know where he does it? Do you know where you see it most explicitly? Taylor knows. Do you remember where it was? No, but I remember you told me when I was support raising. That's right. Okay. That's right. I did tell you, but I'll tell you again. It's Luke chapter eight is the clearest place. So go to Luke eight. Take a look at it. This is the pattern. So extraordinary. The very first paragraph of Luke eight. Check this out. After this, you guys there? Luke eight one. After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.

For God so loved the world... — John 3:16

I don't know if it ever occurred to you, but how did Jesus and the 12 eat? Like, how did that work? Right? What, where did the money come from? Was he on the side, like, you know, like making stuff out of wood? Like, what's the deal with this? Okay. This, this answers the question. The 12 were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had come out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod's household, Susanna, and many others. And check this out. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

So Jesus has this support team consisting of a group of women who had some coin. Right? These women, as he describes them—what is happening? Someone just FaceTimed me. Are you in the room? Okay. Joanna, wife of Chuza, is the manager of Herod's household, probably a little bit of wealth there, Susanna and many others, but whatever it is, they were supporting them out of their own means. And so Jesus, think about this, this is so nuts. Jesus who literally owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the whole earth is his. He can take bread and multiply it seemingly indefinitely. He can take fish and just like generate fish. He can drop an unbaited hook in the water and pull out a fish with a coin in its mouth when he has a tax bill to pay. Right? He needs nothing. And yet, he and the 12 live lives dependent on the generosity and hospitality of others. Isn't that a little bit weird to you? Why do you think he would do that? Why does Jesus himself set this pattern of living as the work of God is carried about by some followers of God and paid for by other followers of God? Why would he do that? Bob? To let them participate. It's kinda like what third John is saying. It's—we when Kelly and I raised support for the work that we have done, it's not it's not like we've never said, like, we're starving, we're dying, we're homeless, please help. Rather, it's like, what we're doing is incredibly fun. It's dynamic, it's exciting, people's lives are being changed, and you can be part of it. And people for thirty-two years have said, yes, I like what you're doing, I want it to happen. And there's a there's a joy of partnership in the gospel for sure.

Catherine? He he did a lot of teaching by doing, I think. Yes. And didn't he send the disciples out two by two? Absolutely. Go with nothing. That's right. And just and if they don't support you, shake the dust off. Catherine's exactly right. This whole thing where Jesus sends them out, it is the same pattern of Luke eight, it's the same pattern of third John. This is just how it is. And that's what I want you to see. Jesus does it. He invites people to participate in the work, and he is setting the pattern. He is giving permission for the next two thousand years of missionaries to say, if Jesus raised support, you can raise support. And if Jesus' ministry was worth supporting, so is the work that proclaims his name. That's just how it does. Not only does Jesus do it, Paul does it. Sometimes we'll act like Paul, well, it's true, but it's so briefly true. Go to Acts 18. I want you to see this. Paul is sometimes characterized as being a tent maker. Here's why. In Acts eighteen one, Paul is traveling city to city. Look at this, Acts eighteen one, after this, Paul left Athens, he went to Corinth, and there he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Okay. Blah blah blah. Paul went to them, went to see them, and here it is, because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them, and every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. Okay. When he says he was a tentmaker, literally he's like, you know, cutting canvas, sewing panels together. He's making tents. And he does it Monday through Friday. All week long, he's at work earning money to pay for food and rent. Right? And then on the Sabbath, on Saturday, he did ministry. He reasoned in the synagogues trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. And sometimes people say, well, that's how that's how we ought to do it. Like mission don't give missionaries money, tell missionaries to get a job. That lasts for days. Okay? Look at what happens. In verse five, when Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. You might have to tease it out a little bit. What does that mean? That he devoted himself exclusively to preaching? Lily? It means that he was provided for the blessing. That's right. It means that he quit his job, and instead of ministry being a Saturday thing while he's working Monday through Friday, he quit the job, and his only job began to preach the gospel. And the clue what is the biggest clue here that we're talking about money? Macedonia. When you see Macedonia in the New Testament, think money. They were Paul's number one supporters. They were his team. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, they came with a bag of money, and so Paul was able to quit his job. I'll show you this just very briefly. Go to second Corinthians chapter eight. The Macedonians show up all over the place actually, but in second Corinthians eight verse one, and now brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people, and they exceeded our expectations. They gave first to the Lord and then also by the will of God to us also. Right? When you see Philippi is that primary city in Macedonia, the letter of Philippians is a giant thank you letter for their financial support. Okay? So when you see Paul's a tentmaker, yeah, for like a verse and a half, and then he quits his job and he survives and he does ministry because of the generosity of the Macedonians.

This is what John is advocating for. So anyway, that's enough of that. Go back to third John. This is what he's saying. Said, you guys, it's a good thing. Now it doesn't mean that every single time a Young Life member wants to talk to you that you're obligated to give them money. That's not the case at all. I don't know what your total financial picture is. But it does mean that the normal expectation for people in the kingdom of God is that we are the ones that will pay for the work that is being done. We should be showing generosity and hospitality to those that are carrying out the work of the kingdom. That's what third John is about. And we certainly shouldn't prevent others from doing so. Okay? In a nutshell, that's Third John. Questions about any of that? All right. That's good because I wanted to ask you guys to come on my support team. Just kidding. But that'd be a great setup, wouldn't? It'd be great.

A couple of things I want you to see here. I love this line, I have no greater joy, verse four, to hear that my children are walking in the truth. This is absolutely true. I've thought that line about 10,000 times. Maybe what I think is among the most interesting things in this letter, think about this. Okay, look at verse 13. John writes, I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

Yeah. Think about this. This guy is literally writing Bible. He's with a pen. He's writing the infinite words of God that will endure forever and ever. He's writing scripture. And he's like, you know what? There are some things that this vehicle, as exalted and magnificent as it is, it's just not, it's not a sufficient vehicle. So I'll say the things I need to say, but the good stuff is gonna come when I finally get there and we can sit down, and we can have a conversation face to face.

Isn't that extraordinary? I my mind churned on this, this passage in the midst of COVID when we had this, when the whole universe turned into this outrageously disembodied experience, and we're going to church on Zoom, and we're doing Bible studies on Zoom, and all this other stuff on, you know, read this, you watch that, and it's so distant and disembodied. And I remember thinking, it's just not good enough. We are embodied people. We are made to be able to see Harrison. Right? We want to touch Harrison. You guys can all come up and touch him right now if you want. He would love it. Right? Like, we're meant to be—I love you, man. We want to be—we're meant to be in relationship with each other. And so, and I know that we exist along the spectrum. There are introverts, are extroverts, we're all over the map and these kind of things, but there ain't nobody that is not meant to live in this face-to-face context. And even in the writing of scripture, the Bible admits, like, the book is great. Okay? If you have this book, if it's just you and the Lord, and you have this infinite wisdom that he's poured out, this book, I hope I don't ever have to defend my credentials as someone who loves the book, who thinks that time alone with the book is time well spent, that studying and teasing and working through and churning through all of these things, like, yes, a thousand times yes, but it's never going to be sufficient. Do you know that? That's right. Like, if it's just you and the book, it's not going to work. It needs to be you and the book but also it needs to be you and the book and another human being that you can talk to, that you can engage with, that can help you see what you're missing, that can bring joy into your life. And that's what John is. John is admitting that scripture itself is an not sufficient. Right? We cannot—we we can say, sola fide, faith alone, sola Christ, you know, Christ alone, sola scriptura, scripture alone, to which I would say, well, yeah, but no. Nothing alone. We're meant—we're meant to be embodied in a community, which is why you could get by listening to John Piper sermons online. Right? You could do that. You don't have to come to church. Just stay at home and get a podcast. But it wouldn't work. Right? You have like, some people right now. Right? Well, not right now, but some people think it's right now because they're hearing me say right now in about three days when they listen to this on tape. Right? Listen to this on podcast. So if you're listening on the podcast, fantastic. We're so glad. But come join us as soon as you can because we're meant to live lives face to face. Make sense? Okay. That's I think third John. Am I missing anything, you guys? DFP? Did I skim over anything? It's such a tiny little letter, I've got fill a whole hour. What am I missing? Want a sermon? Yeah. You got something ready to go? No. Actually, I'm trying to do. Okay. Let's hear it. Let's go. And that is that this notion of sharing goes way beyond finances too. God has this crazy idea that he wants to build his kingdom using us, and we get to participate in it. And we see it here, but we see it throughout in terms of God pouring out his spirit upon us and calling us to do things for him that he could do himself. Yes. But for some crazy reason, he wants to do it through us. And this is just one facet of what is this massive plan for God to build his kingdom. Amen. It's totally true. He doesn't need us, and yet he chooses to use us. And so much so that he's determined the job is not getting done. Like, are things that he's perfectly capable of doing, but that he's not gonna do unless we ask him to do it. Do you know this? Like he has made the accomplishment of his purposes dependent on prayer, which seems—don't tell him I said this—but that seems like a bad idea. You know, like, what a weak spot in this system that he would tie his own hands on whether or not we are willing to ask him to do the things that he wants to do. Isn't that so strange? And yet, can anybody prove that I'm wrong? I mean, it is exactly the case. That's how he does it. Right? Like he likes to accomplish his purposes. The God who is sovereign over the end is sovereign over the means. And he is determined faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. And how can they hear unless someone preaches? Okay. I don't know. You just tell them? No. I'm not going to. You tell them. That's the deal. Right? So we are invited to have genuine dignity of actually mattering in the accomplishment of the eternal purposes of God. What in the world? So odd. But that is the situation. Did you want to speak to that, Catherine? No? Me? Yeah. No. Thought I saw your hand. Okay. Was there a hand over here? Oh, yeah. Oh, I did. Okay. He says you don't receive because you don't ask. Yup. And one of the things—oh, I forgot the other thing. That's okay. That's right. He explicitly says the reason you don't have is because you do not ask. Okay? That's third John. Right? Participate, engage, welcome, support, give. The purposes of God will be accomplished not only by those who are performing his work, but those who are paying for it. And almost certainly the case, everyone in this room will have performative roles, and you will have pay-for-it roles, and we're called to participate in both. Cool? Okay? I remember. Yeah. That we have a highly exalted position as his ambassador. For sure. And his—I mean, to represent him, I mean, it's—it's humbling and yet it's exalting. It is. It absolutely is. That we are. He we are his ambassadors as though the way that John puts it in 2 Corinthians 5, it says, as though God were making his appeal through us. And indeed he is. Not only through the things that we do, but through the way that we spend our money. Alright. Let's flip the page. Let's look at second John.

The Letter of Second John

Second John is really the first letter, but I think it's easier to see. I wanted to start where we did. I want you to see the support side. Now here's the flip. We'll read this one. The elder to the chosen lady, nobody knows exactly what that means, but there's a couple of good ideas. To the chosen lady and her children whom I love in the truth, and not only not I only, but also all who know the truth because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus, the Father's Son, from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.

It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I'm not writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another, and this is love—that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

Many deceivers who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever continues in the teaching has both the father and the son.

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work. I have much to write you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face so that our joy may be complete. The children of your chosen sister send their greetings.

The Application of Truth and Love

Now, I think there's a couple of different ideas in this letter. But the one that corresponds most and that I want you to notice is a thing I have in bold. When he says, if anyone comes this is verse 10. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.

I wanted to do third John first so we could unpack what that whole concept is. What it meant in third John is what it means in second John. Right? What it's saying is if there are false teacher missionaries, if there are people that are coming and they're just preaching a gospel that isn't really the gospel, they're missing it, they're in error, do not show them hospitality. Do not feed them, don't give them a bed, don't tuck any money in their pocket, don't come on their support team for a $100 a month, just say no.

You get it? That's what I want you to—he's add what he advocates for in third John, he specifically denies the misapplication of it in second John. Okay? Now some people would have looked at this and have just thought at a simple level without really understanding it, that what it means is when a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness knocks on your door, don't let them into the kitchen and don't have a conversation with them. Okay? This makes like literally because, and you can see that, like, well, you know, Mormons are showing up and they're saying things that aren't true, so don't let them into your house, don't welcome them. If you welcome them, you're sharing in their wicked work. That's not what it means. If a Mormon comes to your door, let them in. Okay? Like, I love it when the Mormons come into my door. Right? This, this is great. At the very least, we can, like, burn up an hour of their time that they don't spend talking to our neighbors. Right? So there's that. But, but let them come in.

When Ken and I just first got married, we're living in this apartment in Centerville, Virginia, and these Mormons knocked on my door. And I was young. I was, like, 22 when I got married. And these dudes showed up, they both had these name tags on. And it said, this one's, like, elder Smith, and this kid's, like, you know, elder John. And I'm, like, what are the chances of two dudes getting named Elder? Like, I just had no idea. Right? And then it come to find out, like, no, no, no, that's just a title that they've given themselves. And despite the fact that they're, like, 19 years old and they're heretics, I'm, like—and Titus says so. Finally, when I, like, they came back a couple of times, and as they came back, and I'm, like, I'm not calling you elder. I'm, like, what's your name? He's, like, you know, elder Smith. I'm, like, no. No. No. What's your name? So we go by elder Smith. Yeah. Know that, but I don't really care. What's your name? John. Okay, John. And I just told him, I said, John, I can't call you an elder because the Bible says in Titus, it says that an elder must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught. And you guys aren't doing that. So I'd love to talk to you, but I can't ascribe to you that title because I just don't think you qualify for it. And then we had a great conversation. Right? Welcome them in. Have the conversation. Share the gospel. Go after these things. But don't come on their support team. Right? Don't let them spend the night.

That's what that's what John is saying. We are called to be generous supporters of the work of God, but we are also called to be discerning as we do it. Right? There are some wonderful mission organizations. The work that Will and Becky are doing with Anglican Frontier Missions, fully worthy of your support. I bet many of you are on their team, and the work they're doing to establish a church in Cambodia. Yes. Yes. A thousand times. Yes. Do that. Right? But be discerning about there's some places where you really need to say no. That's chiefly what John is going after here. Make sense? Okay?

The Spirit of Discernment

But it's not all, he says. So—oh, I forgot to ask you. Blew it already. Second John, did I ask you to comment on second John? Okay. What do you know? Do you know anything else about second John? I took the best thing away from you, but anything else in this book that you've seen or been struck by? Or even are now, it's totally fine if you got a question about it too. Verse three is cool. Verse three, Harrison. Okay, Harrison likes verse three which says, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.

What is it about that that strikes you? Well, in Paul's greetings, it's usually like a he's like wanting grace, mercy, and peace. Yes. You know, grace to you and peace from God. Like he's blessing. He's giving it to them. Yeah. But this is just he's just telling them that they will have grace, mercy, and peace from God. Yes. Absolutely. He's describing and he's he's sourcing it here. They'll be with us in truth and love. Yeah. Now, I circled that, like, you know, you see the truth and the love there in verse three, and you'll see throughout. Circled all these loves, and I underlined all these truths. This is a very John ish framework. Right? In fact, if I say, when we see this, it might make you think slightly different word choice, but John says in his gospel that Jesus came from the father full of Grace. Grace and truth. This is that saying that grace and love are synonymous here, and truth of course is truth. And this these are this is the nature of John's writings. It's true in his Gospel, it's true in his first epistle, it's true in second and third John as well, that he's very elemental in his language, very struck. It's light and dark, it's night and day, it's love and hate, it's truth and, you know, truth and lies. And this thing, he says, I love I love them in the truth, they know the truth; it's because of the truth, will be with us in truth and love, we're walking in the truth, we love one another, this is that love, we walk in love. And then all of that, that whole framing of love and truth, love and truth, love and truth, love and truth, you'll get them. Jesus is the source of these things, love and truth from him, All of that serves as the backdrop for what he really wants to talk about, which is the deceivers. Right? Against all of that, he says in verse seven, many deceivers have come, Such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. And the reason that we don't support false missionaries is because they're not coming in love and they're not coming in truth. Their message will bring no real benefit. It doesn't correspond to reality. It is not true. They say false things about him, and it will not account to goodness in the life. There is ultimately no love in it. So we are to be the people of love and truth, and we are not to have anything to do with the people that are not. That's what he's saying. Harry? Yeah. This goes back to a conversation we had just a little bit earlier. When I took a class in the Gospel of John, the teacher says these letters, this one in particular, was it not written to a specific church in Asia Minor rather than a general population? Although all the population would know about it, it was really focused at one individual group that was, I don't want to say, getting away from the gospel, but warning them of what was coming. Yes. And are you asking that about second John specifically? Second John. Yeah. Okay. So let's talk about that. So who is the identified recipient of this letter? Chosen lady and her children. Okay. So what do you think that means? The chosen lady and her children. What what might it mean? You think the chosen lady is the church? A specific. A specific, chosen. So specific church, and who are her children? Congregants. The congregants in that church. That's the prevailing idea. I think it's what is right, that the chosen lady and her church that it’d be like, if we got this letter, we received it, we know who it's to because it was handed to us. We don't need to bother to say church of the Holy Spirit because like, I'm looking at it, know what you're in the Holy Spirit because you gave it to me. Right? And we are the chosen lady, or there was a particular church that was the chosen lady and her children. That's generally what you'll find, and I think that that is what is true. What's the alternative? Else could it mean? A person. An actual woman, you know, Betsy, you know, some person who had, like, three kids and that John is writing to her. And some advocate for that, some would see in this, no, no, I think it was a specific individual. One piece of evidence that could support that, if you flip the page, who was Third John written to? A church or an individual? Friend. Friend Gaius, Geis. An actual dude. Right? So it's not inconceivable that John could have written a letter to a male, Gaius, and then to a particular woman. I don't know what her name is. Like that, that could happen. Paul wrote letters to Timothy, to Philemon. He also wrote letters to the church at Ephesus and the churches in Galatia. So it, it really could be either. Right? Probably the, this language, the imagery of a chosen lady and her children, I, I feel like it's most naturally taken as a church, but I could be wrong. It doesn't really matter because to whomever it was initially written, it was also written to me. And it was also written to you because this letter has two authors. John wrote it to the chosen lady and her children, but the Spirit of God wrote it to Susan McQuaid. Right? This is how this thing works. This is, this is written to you to invite you to live in love, to live in truth, and to be careful where you invest your kingdom dollars. That's what the purpose of the letter is. Make sense? Okay. Yeah, bro. Go loud. Second letter Yeah. Verse five. Second letter verse five. Let me read it. It says, 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. Jesus Christ said. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. No question. There's all A 100%. It is an absolute echo of what Jesus has said in John's gospel. Right? John and John who wrote that gospel, he's just bringing forward the words of Christ. And that's what we see all the time. And whether it's Paul's writings, James' writings, Peter's, all anybody's doing is ripping off Jesus. Right? They're just saying, well, Jesus did this, we've been ruminating on it, let's see it and apply it. Okay.

Final thing that I want you to notice, notice verse nine, and then we'll wrap it up for the day. Verse nine, anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God, but whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. The principle here that I want you to don't miss this, Doctrinal error leads to relational loss. If you get the data wrong, if you get the doctrine wrong, if your orthodoxy fails, it's not just the loss of data, but it's the loss of relationship. And this, you can see this in multiple places in the New Testament.

Sometimes we can get into these things like, you know, who really cares? I love Jesus, and who really cares about the particulars? And I'd say, well, I don't think that's a good idea. I think we're called to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. I think that God wants us to know the things that are true, and our relationship with him is strengthened by, and in some measure, contingent upon having a proper understanding of who he is. I don't want to have a relationship with an imaginary God that I have made up and custom fitted to my preexisting preferences. I want to have a relationship with a God who actually exists. Right? Not with some projection of Him, but the Him of Him.

Paul says the same thing. If you go back to Galatians, I actually listed it here, but well, yeah, go to Galatians one if you want to see a little bit of context. Look at what he says. Galatians is about a doctrinal error. They're leaving, it's about a—it’s racism, and it's moralism. But whatever it is, look at the way he characterizes it in Galatians 1:6. He says, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all.

Who called the Galatians to live in the grace of Christ? Do you know? God the Father. Paul is saying, in your pursuit of theological error, you've abandoned the gospel of grace, and you're believing all these things about working out righteousness and ritualistic satisfaction, and you need to be circumcised, and all these kinds of nonsense. He says, when you do that, here's what you're doing: You're deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ. You are deserting a personal relationship with God the Father necessarily as a direct consequence of your theological error. Doctrinal error leads to relational loss.

And that's why he says here, anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God. But if you do continue in teaching, you get both the Father and the Son. In John 15, when Jesus says, abide in me, remain in me, that invitation necessarily kind of implicit in that is the invitation, what Paul will say elsewhere, to guard your life and doctrine closely. What you think, what you believe, what you come to understand, the work that you do to mine this book that its treasures would be yours, matters, and it matters relationally. That's what he's saying. Okay?

Conclusion

Love and truth in John's world are very braided, and they cannot be unbraided. Dig it? Okay. Ellen? Right. This is the reality of God and what he said. Yeah. Love. God defines both truth and love. And those are him. Amen. Amen. Truth is an accurate statement about reality. It is not your personal perception of things. Right? And love is—He defines what love is here. Right? And we have redefined all sorts of things like that.

That's second John, that's third John, all that's left is Hebrews and Revelation. We've been saving them for the end because they're gonna be hard. So you might want to start reading those, start loading that stuff into your brain, and we'll do it again. Thank you, friends.