3 John 1:1-4, and Intro

3 John - Chapter 1

3 John was also written by John the apostle, see introduction to  1 ans 2 John. In 2 John John had warned against giving hospitality to travelling preachers who did not teach the gospel, but denied the humanity of Jesus. In this letter he urges that to offer hospitality to faithful preachers, and warns against a church leader who seems to be of the controlling type.  Leaders who are concerned with their own aggrandisement rather than promoting Christ are a danger.

3:1-4 As in 2 John, John introduces himself as “the elder”, and the letter is addressed to a particular individual called Gaius. He starts by encouraging Gaius. When we have to deal with opposition it takes it out of us, and we need encouragement. He commends Gaius for continuing to walk in the truth. Standing up for the truth is a spiritual battle, and takes effort, so we need to be built up.

2 John 1:7-13 Do not welcome false teachers

2:7-11

John is now about to give what might appear to be rather harsh instruction, this is why he has stressed the importance of love in obeying Christ. As well as christian preachers there were “many deceivers”, these deceivers denied the humanity of Christ, the importance of this was stressed in 1 John. If they welcomed such false teachers  then they were sharing in the "wicked work” of such people. We might think that we should be “nice” and “kind” to everyone, and definitely not judgemental, this is an attitude that finds much traction in the church, but it is unbiblical nonsense. False teachers spread poison, this dishonours Christ and harms people, to support such work is not “loving”.

2:12,13

John had more to say, but preferred to visit them in person. Face to face teaching is more effective than written, video or podcast teaching. “You sister “ is probably a related church, and they sent their greetings.

2 John 1:1-6 - Walk in love

2:1-3

John refers to himself as “the elder”, and his recipients as “the lady chosen by God”. If we are saved we are “chosen by God”. Jesus said to His disciples that they did not choose Him, but He chose them (John 15:16). John also tells them that they live in the truth. One of the tactics of the enemy is to make us feel uncertain, so John assures them that they are in the truth. And this is not a temporary thing, but “will be with us forever”.

The “Grace, mercy and peace from God” will be with us in truth and love. This comes from God.

2:4-6

The letter was addressed to the lady and her children, those who believe as a result of her walking with Christ. So John is delighted that some of her children are also walking in the truth. John urges them to continue to “love one another" In these first few verses we have already seen a number of similarities to 1 John. And this love is not a sentimental thing, but means walking “in obedience to His commands”. We are to walk in love.

2 John - Introduction

2 John - Introduction

This short letter says it comes from “the Elder” John  is believed to have functioned as an elder in the Ephesian church. The recipients are referred to as “the lady chosen by God”. The author is John the apostle, there are a number of similarities to 1 John, so it is reasonable to assume the same author. It was probably written about the same time.

At the time there were travelling preachers and teachers, both Christian and gnostic types. The natural instinct was to be hospitable, but John urges them to show some discernment. Jesus told His disciples to be “innocent as doves, but as shrewd as serpents” (Matt 10:16), we are not meant to be naive fools!

1 John 5:18-21 Born of God

5:18-21

Anyone born of God does not continue to sin. Now John is not arguing for sinless perfectionism, but anyone who still rejoices in sin and advocates sinful behaviour is not born of God. On a more positive note the one born of God is kept safe by Him, and the evil one cannot harm them.  False teachers may be pretending to offer some extra form of protection. But in Christ we have all the protection we need. We are children of God, and the world is under the control of the evil one. So we need to appreciate the truth of the situation. Moreover, the son of God “has given us understanding”. Some false teachers may claim to be oh so clever and to belittle our understanding. We should not listen to them, for Christ has given us understanding. He has enabled us to know God.

John closes his letter with a warning “keep yourselves from idols”. I think it was Calvin who said the human heart is an idol factory. We have great propensity to make idols out of anything.

1 John 5:13-17 - Confidence and the seriousness of sin

5:13-15

John reassures his readers that he is writing these things to them because they do believe in the Son of God, and so that they “may know that they have eternal life”. We need to teach our congregations, but we also need to reassure and encourage them. This also means that we can approach God with confidence in prayer, knowing that He hears us. 

5:16,17

If we see a fellow believer sin, that does not lead to death, we should not condemn them, but pray for them, pray that God will give them life. What is “sin that leads to death”? It could mean that if the person dies we should not pray for them, or it could refer to persistent wilful sin. Either way there is a recognition that sin can have terminal consequences.

1 John 5:6-8 - water and blood

5:6-8

“Who came by water and blood”, water possibly refers to baptism, or possibly it refers to natural birth, blood refers to the cross. Taking the baptism and cross it refers to the beginning of His ministry, and the cross to the end, taking the birth and cross combination, it refers to his humanity and death. I personally think the latter fits the context better. John then says that there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water and the blood, and they are in agreement. All three are vital, and to deny any one of them is to deny everything. The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus, he is fully human (the incarnation), and He shed His  blood on the cross for our sakes.