2 John 1:1-6 “God’s Grace For Families”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church Manhattan, KS on 1 Oct 2017

Translation

1 The elder

to the elect lady and to her children,

            whom I myself love in truth – and not I alone but also

            all those who know the truth,

                        2 through the truth that remains in us and will be with us forever.

3 Grace, mercy, [and] peace will be with us

            from God the Father

            and from [the Lord] Jesus Christ (the Son of the Father),

along with truth and love.

4 I got so excited

            because I found among your children those who are walking in truth

                        just as we received command from the Father.

5 And now I ask of you, lady,

            not as though writing to you a new command,

            but rather that which we have had from the beginning,

namely that we should love one another.

6 And this is love: that we should walk according to His commands.

This is the command, just as y’all heard from the beginning that y’all should walk in it.

Orientation to this letter

AUTHOR: John the Apostle. This letter was probably written around 90AD, some 60 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection and ascension. John had endured Jewish persecution with the church in Jerusalem and finally left with most of the Christians shortly before Titus destroyed the city in 70 AD. John relocated to the area of Ephesus in modern-day Turkey where he probably wrote his Gospel, and he was later exiled to the Island of Patmos, just off the Aegean coast where he wrote the book of Revelation. The Roman historian Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History 3.25) tells us that John was released from exile after the death of Emperor Domitian, and moved back to the area of Ephesus, where he visited churches, and wrote his epistles. In this epistle, John calls himself simply “the elder.” He was old – I would guess in his 80’s, but possibly older, and was probably the only one of the 12 Apostles still living, but it’s also possible he used the title of “elder” to indicate that he was writing as a church official.

Who he was writing to has been a topic of debate for hundreds of years: was the letter literally written to a gentlewoman and her children, or was it written figuratively to the church?

• Arguments in favor of the figurative interpretation of the church:

• John expresses his love for her, and his first love was the church (although to love the church necessitates loving individuals in the church)
• and he states that “all” who know the truth (which should include us) will also love her, but here we are nineteen centuries later walking in the truth of the Gospel, and we don’t know of any particular lady John wrote to, yet we do know and love the church. (On the other hand, the word “all” could be an overstatement limited by the context, for instance Ceasar’s decree that “all the world” be taxed, recorded in the Gospel of Luke. That “all” was limited by the context of the Roman Emperor’s jurisdiction and did not apply to citizens of China. Likewise, in 2^nd John, “all who know the truth” could be limited to John’s acquaintences in a particular geographic location at the particular time of his writing.)
• Furthermore, John asserts that the truth would be with the addressee “forever” and, that could fit with the church, since the church is the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15), (although, once again, what applies to the church in general could also apply to individual members of it).
• In v.5, it would seem a bit romantic of the Apostle to write a woman to say, “we should love one another;” that might be more appropriately written to a church. (But then again, John didn’t mean it romantically in all of his other letters where he said the same thing.)
• About 100 years after John wrote 2^nd John, the early church father Clement of Alexandria wrote his Adumbrations, in which he commented, “John’s Second Epistle, which was written to the virgins, is the simplest; but it was written to a certain Babylonian named the Elect lady.” Based on Clement’s statement, 19^th Century Presbyterian commentator A.R. Fausset (of Jamieson, Fausset & Brown) wrote “As Peter in Babylon had sent the salutations of the elect Church in the then Parthian Babylon to her elect sister in Asia, so John, the metropolitan president of the elect Church in Asia, writes to the elect lady, that is, Church, in Babylon.” (While this theory does seem plausible, it is my opinion that Fausset based it upon a mistaken view of two key words, arguing that because the Greek words for “virgin” and for “Persia” shared several of the same letters of the alphabet and because the Greek words for “lady” and for “church” shared several of the same letters of the alphabet that they were therefore interchangeable.)
• Moving into the 20^th Century, IVP Bible Background Commentary vouches for the addressee being a local congregation rather than a woman, and Howard Marshall’s commentary on the Epistles of John in the New International Commentary on the New Testament (published by Eerdmans), cites the plural “you’s” as proof against it being addressed to a woman, (although I would argue that a lady and her children constitute a plurality of addressees.)

• Arguments in favor of the literal interpretation:

• John could have written the word “church,” but instead he wrote “lady,” so the literal interpretation is in favor of “lady.” (Throughout the NT, there were churches written to, but they were always called “the church” of a particular city, and that nomenclature isn’t present here.)
• John also writes to her “children,” and a church doesn’t give birth to children, only women do (although there can, of course, be children in the church, and converts and disciples in a church might be called “children”).
• V.10 mentions receiving a guest into the house, and it would seem more appropriate of a private person than of a corporate church body to own a house into which guests could be received (although it could be applied to individuals within a church).
• In the last verse, John refers to this lady’s “sister” (which might be used of a “sister-church”), but would more likely indicate an actual lady. If the “lady” were the universal church personified, it would be hard to come up with an other organization that could figuratively be called a sister to the church.
• John also speaks of visiting and seeing her “face-to-face” which would also seem to indicate an individual lady (although I suppose it could apply to a plurality of individuals in a church too).
• The 6^th Century Syriac and Arabic versions of 2^nd John rendered “lady” as a proper name, as did John Wesley in the 18^th Century. (Wesley commented that it had to be a name because the title of “lady” was only used of the Roman empress, but I don’t know how authoritatively to take Wesley’s comment because this would be a very conclusive piece of evidence, but none of the other 10 commentaries I read made mention of this.) 19^th Century English commentator Albert Barnes also considered it a woman’s actual name, noting that “the name Cyria was not uncommon.” (Although he seems to be referring to the popularity of the name after the second century in Christian circles, which would not be the same time period as 2^nd John.)
• But most of the other commentators I read interpreted the word as simply a “lady” including 18^th Century English commentators John Gill and Matthew Henry, 19^th century commentators Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes, and 20^th Century commentators, F.B. Meyer and A.T. Robertson (although Robertson quotes his mentor, Marvin Vincent, saying there’s no way of knowing for sure). So my research indicates that most (but by no means all) Christian scholars have leaned toward this letter being written to an individual lady and her children.
• Matthew Henry called her “a noble Christian matron… a heroine in the Christian religion.” As for myself, I imagine it was written to a woman like Lydia, the seller of purple who hosted the first church meetings of the church in Philippi at her house. Matthew Henry further commented, “It is lovely and beautiful to see ladies, by holy walking, demonstrate their election of God.” How true!
• The apostle Paul once noted that “not many noble are called” (1 Cor. 1:26), so that made her, as a Christian noblewoman, all the more special. And perhaps it was her social eminence which resulted in so many people also bearing love toward her as John notes.

As I sought to find a message in 2 John that might be appropriate on the occasion of the baptism of my first grandchild, I was intrigued with the statement in verse 4, “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth as we have received [a] commandment from the Father.” (KJV). I initially thought I would center on the “commandment of the Father,” but instead I ended up centering on the good news of God’s free “grace.” I would like you to meditate on that with me,

1. as we review the gospel message contained in a nutshell here in 2^nd John,
2. as we see the blessings of the gospel extended from a parent to her children in 2^nd John, and
3. as we see the blessings of the gospel lavished on a broken family.

1. The sovereign grace of God: The mother (v.1) and her sister (v.13) are “chosen/elect.”

· Of all the 23 occurrences of this word in the New Testament, the overwhelming majority clearly refer to election to salvation, and, in the few instances in which “chosen” could be interpreted to mean “high social status” (Rom. 16:13, 1 Tim. 5:21, 2^nd John) they all make just as much sense to use the main meaning of “God’s choice to love and bless,” so I think this is speaking of God’s sovereign grace toward this woman and her family.

· Holy Scripture presents our salvation in terms of a sovereign God choosing to save people for no other reason than He just wants to show His love. It explains the whole entrance of our persons into salvation and favor with God as being totally His work: Romans 8:29-34 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

· That’s not just the doctrine of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John, it is also what Peter wrote in his first epistle, “To elect pilgrims scattered at Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the holiness of the Spirit toward the goal of obedience and sprinkling of Jesus Christ’s blood, grace and peace fulfilled in y’all.” (NAW)

· “[W]here Christ enters and takes up his abode, from thence he never finally and totally departs, though he may sometimes hide his face with respect to communion, or withdraw his gracious presence; and where the Gospel has once took place in the heart, and is become the ingrafted word, it can never be rooted out, or be removed; and where the truth of grace is, it will remain; it is an incorruptible seed, a well of living water, springing up into eternal life.” ~John Gill

· Jesus’ words in John 14:16-17 explain how God maintains us in this elect status of being positioned “in” and “with” the truth: It’s through the Holy Spirit, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (NKJV)

· If you “know” and “walk in” this “truth” that Jesus died to pay for your rebellion against God and satisfy God’s justice and “justify” you (that is, “make you right” with Himself), then you can look forward with unshakeable confidence to a future “filled” with “grace and peace” – you cannot become un-justified, no accusation will ever stick against you in God’s court, the truth will remain in you, the Holy Spirit will not leave your side, grace and mercy and peace will be with you, and you will be glorified! Brothers and sisters, rest deeply in that truth! Walk in that truth! Hope in that truth!

2. John writes not only to the adult in the family but also to the children.

· In verse 1, the children are included in the address of the letter, they are not passed over simply because the Mom is elect.

· Then in vs. 2-3 John confidently states that grace, mercy, peace, love, and truth “will be with us” – “us” being John and the lady and her descendents! That verb “will be” is in the Indicative Future tense in Greek, indicating that there is no uncertainty about the fact that these graces of God unto salvation will be their experience, and that the truth will be with them FOREVER – with the children no less than with the mother!

· As you walk in your Christian pilgrimage, don’t think of it in terms of just you and God surviving until you get to heaven, rather think in terms of yourself being the agency through whom God delivers grace and love into the world and yourself as the agency through whom many souls will be saved and discipled, and think of all those children and disciples you make as the agents through whom God will continue to pour out His grace and love into the world for generation after generation, widening your little stream into a mighty river that will carve and shape this world for as long as this world exists!

· This is a Biblical way to think. When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He didn’t say, pray like this, “My father who art in heaven… give me this day my daily bread, and forgive me of my debts as I forgive my debtors, and lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.” No! Jesus instructed us to think of ourselves as part of a community of believers for whom we share a common interest in the success of each other’s spiritual life. “Our Father… Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us of our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Sure, we need to individually be sincere in our relationship with God and practice a religion that we personally believe in, but until we Christians “get it” that it’s not just “me and God” but it’s “me and my family and my church folk and God,” our impact is going to be neutralized by each of us being isolated into his own corner with God.

· The 10 Commandments in Exodus 20:6 say that God normally shows His “lovingkingness to thousands [of generations] of those who love him.” “Thousands” literally means at least 2,000, and that’s “generations” – children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on, at some 30 years apiece. Let that sink in; God revealed at the beginning of the Bible that it is His will for His lovingkindness to be evident in generation after generation of a godly family for at least 60,000 years. Whether you’re the first generation in your family to love God and keep His commandments, or whether you’re the fifth generation (as may be the case for little Thomas Valor), there’s at least 1,995 more generations (59,850 more years) to look forward to receiving God’s lovingkindness, and probably a lot more!

· Remember, of course, it has little to do with you; it is God who is the one pulling off this kind of long-lasting love forever. “[S]ometimes election runs in a direct line; here we have an elect lady, and her elect children; children may be beloved for their parents' sake, but both by virtue of free grace.” ~M. Henry

· This is made abundantly clear in the book of Deuteronomy as well:

o Deuteronomy 4:37 because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their seed after them, and brought you out with His presence, with His great power, out of Egypt.

o Deuteronomy 10:15 Jehovah had a delight in your fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as at this day.

o Deuteronomy 29:14, 15 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, but with him that stands here with us this day before Jehovah our God, and also with him that is not here with us today… 22 And the generation to come, your children that shall rise up after you, and the foreigner that shall come from a far land… (Chapter ends with the following summary statement) 29 The secret things belong unto Jehovah our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children. (Do you think I am remiss in connecting verse 15 with verse 22? Then you’d have to also criticize the Apostle Peter, because he quotes this very passage and make this connection in Acts 2:37b-39 [They] said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said unto them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him.)

o Deuteronomy 30:6 also describes the New Covenant and says that it too, like the earlier installations of the covenant, is not only for the believer but also for the children of believers, And Jehovah your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your children, to love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that your may live. (NAW)

· Now, does the word “some” in v.4 (“I found some of your children walking in the truth”) undo the connection between God’s O.T. inclusion of children in covenant relationship with him?

o It seems probable that a couple of this lady’s grown sons (masculine tois teknois… peripatountas) were travelling through Ephesus to stay at their aunt’s house and got together with John and caught him up on their Mom who was perhaps an acquaintance of his from the church in Jerusalem years before.

o The word from which our English translations get the word “some/of” is the little Greek preposition “ek.” It literally means “out of.” So in what sense were these sons “out of” the lady’s children?

o John simply doesn’t comment on the rest of the children, he only comments that he saw a subset of her children and that this subset was walking in the truth. To infer that the rest of her children were not walking in the truth would be an inference – an argument from silence, which can’t actually be proved.

§ This seems to be supported by the statement in the New International Commentary on the New Testament, “[W]hile it is quite possible that some members… were not living as they should, it is more likely that the elder is thinking of the personal contact which he has had with some members…” (Marshall).

§ Although John Gill and Albert Barnes believed that not all of the children were Christians, Barnes nevertheless conceded, “Whether the apostle means to say that only a part of them had in fact embraced the gospel, or that he had only known that a part of them had done it, though the others might have done it without his knowledge, is not quite clear…”

· Probably these children were grown-ups, so this is not directly related to whether or not infants should be considered covenant members, but as even the London Baptist-oriented John Gill observed, the verb “walking” is “a progressive action” which is not about having arrived at a certain point spiritually but about being on the journey and progressively growing closer to the destination, which is a great description of the Christian life and can identify Christians at all ages and stages of spiritual growth.

· In this little epistle of 2^nd John we see that not only is God sovereign in saving people, but He also includes the children of believers in His blessings, and if both of these are true, then when John rejoices greatly to see children walking in the truth, his rejoicing is not over what a great parent the lady was or what a good job the evangelist had done, but rather he can rejoice that God is doing what He says He will do: When we see children walking in the truth, let your praises ring out, “Yes, God! This is what I’ve been hoping for; this is what I know You alone can do; Your kingdom is unstoppable; the next generation is taking the ball and running with it, Praise the Lord!”

3. God’s sovereign choice to pour Grace, mercy, peace, truth, and love into families for generation upon generation is for broken families!

· There is no mention in 2^nd John of this lady having a husband - no mention of these children having a father in their home. Families were just as broken in ancient Asia as they are today.

o Some of you, your father died when you were young.

o Some of you, your father abandoned you and you don’t even know who he is.

o Some of you, your father was there physically, but not relationally – maybe he was abusive, maybe he ignored you, but either way he didn’t love you. He did not live out the fatherly character of God like he should have, but instead botched it badly.

· God’s word and God’s church and God’s plan of salvation isn’t something that only perfect families – that look like they have it all together and have no problems – are qualified for. God’s word, God’s church, and God’s plan of salvation is for people in the real-life messy-ness of a world wrecked by sin.

· Think about what is being promised to this solitary woman and to her fatherless children (I’m using definitions composed by one of my favorite Bible commentators, Matthew Henry):

o “(1.) Grace - divine favour and good-will, the spring of all good things: it is grace indeed that any spiritual blessing should be conferred on sinful mortals.

o (2.) Mercy - free pardon and forgiveness; those who are already rich in grace have need of continual forgiveness.

o (3.) Peace - tranquility of spirit and serenity of conscience, in an assured reconciliation with God, together with all safe and sanctified outward prosperity.” ~M. Henry

· But notice that there is still a “father” for this woman’s family: God is called “the Father”

o Romans 8:14-16 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Daddy, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…”

o You have a Husband; You have a Father – a Papa, a Daddy – whether or not you have one in this life. And, as all fathers should be, our Heavenly Father is a good provider: He will give grace, peace, and mercy!

o Along with these comes truth to protect you from a world that is trying to take advantage of you at every turn by lying to you. This truth is the truth of the Gospel – that the God who defines truth became man, died and rose again and called us to Himself that we may be right with God and walk in the truth. You don’t have a husband or father to protect you, but you do have a Heavenly Father who has given you a full set of armor that begins with a girdle of truth to cover your most vulnerable parts.

o And then there is love. The love that this woman has no husband to give to her. The love that these children have no father to give to them – and no grandfather to share with their children. But their heavenly Father will give them love that they can share with one another.

· Do you see what a God we have who is concerned with broken families? Will you embrace His grace, and mercy and peace and truth and love and look for these blessings to flow to your children and grandchildren no matter what happened in the generations before you?

Closing

1) Our salvation is by God’s choosing: so rest in confidence that He will complete what He began in you.

2) Children are included: so take the interest God does in the spiritual life of everyone in your home, church, and community, and look forward to God blessing thousands of generations of your children and disciples!

3) God’s grace is for broken families: Embrace God’s real fatherhood and the grace, mercy, peace, truth, and love He provides.

2 John 1:1-6 Greek edition and English Translation by Nate Wilson

Greek NT	NAW	KJV	NASB	NIV	ESV+
1 ῾Ο πρεσβύτερος ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῆς, οὓς ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐγνωκότες τὴν ἀλήθειαν,	1 The elder to the elect^chosen lady and to her children, whom I myself love in truth – and not I alone but also all those who know the truth,	1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in [the] truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;	1 The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth,	1 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--	1  The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth,
2 διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν τὴν μένουσαν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν ἔσται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα·	2 through^because/for the sake of the truth that remains^abides/dwells in us and will be with us forever.	2 For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.	2 for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:	2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:	2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 ἔσται μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν^S=^υμων χάρις, ἔλεος, εἰρήνη παρὰ Θεοῦ πατρός καὶ παρὰ [Κυρίου^א^,TR,Maj] ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ πατρός, ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἀγάπῃ.	3 Grace, mercy, [and] peace will be with us from God the Father and from [the Lord] Jesus Christ (the Son of the Father), along with truth and love.	3 Grace be with you^Scrivner, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.	3 Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.	3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.	3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.
4 ᾿Εχάρην λίαν ὅτι εὕρηκα ἐκ τῶν τέκνων σου περιπατοῦντας ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καθὼς ἐντολὴν ἐλάβομεν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός.	4 I got so excited^glad/rejoiced because I found among^of/some your children those who are walking in truth just as we received command from the Father.	4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.	4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.	4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in [the] truth, just as X the Father commanded us.	4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in [the] truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.
5 καὶ νῦν ἐρωτῶ σε, κυρία, οὐχ ὡς ἐντολὴν γράφων σοι καινὴν, ἀλλὰ ἣν εἴχομεν ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους.	5 And now I ask^beseech of you, lady, not as though writing to you a new command, but rather that which we have had from the beginning, namely that we should love one another.	5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.	5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but [the one] which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.	5 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.	5 And now I ask you, [dear] lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but [the] one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
6 καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, ἵνα περιπατῶμεν κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ. αὕτη ἐστιν ἡ ἐντολή, καθὼς ἠκούσατε ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ περιπατῆτε.	6 And this is love: that we should walk according to His commands. This is the command, just as y’all heard from the beginning that y’all should walk in it.	6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.	6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.	6 And this is love: that we walk in [obedience] to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, X his command is that you walk in [love].	6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.