The Second Epistle of John                                     2 John 1:4-7 [4] I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. [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. [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. [7] For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
See All...                                  Balancing Truth and Love

1. JOHN’S REJOICING (2 John 1:4I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
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1. The Level of John’s Rejoicing
1. John said that he rejoiced “greatly” (Proverbs 23:24The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
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2. John said of his own children that he had no greater joy than to see them walking in truth (3 John 1:4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
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2. The Object of John’s Rejoicing
1. Walking in truth
1. The children of the elect lady
1. John rejoiced that the children of the elect lady were found walking in truth.
2. In his travels, John must have come across some of the children of this elect lady (“of thy children”).
3. He is rejoicing that he found them faithful to the word of God.
2. Demonstrated in two qualities
1. The phrase in truth can mean to do something in sincerity; that is, without hypocrisy.
1. David is said to have walked before the Lord in truth (1 Kings 3:6And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
   See All...). He truly followed after the Lord with all his heart and soul (1 Kings 2:4That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
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2. Isaiah joins the idea of walking in truth with walking with a perfect heart (Isaiah 38:3And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
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2. The second quality is that of walking according to the truth of God, making His commandment and His word our guide.
1. David declared, “I have walked in thy truth” (Psalm 26:3For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
   See All...), and, “Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth” (Psalm 86:11Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
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2. This means to make the truth of God’s word the rule of life.
3. We must walk within the bounds of the teachings of God’s Holy Bible.
2. A commandment from the Father
1. Taught by Christ
1. Jesus emphasized that the words He spoke were by commandment of the Father (John 12:49For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
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2. He also spoke of His submission to the commandment of the Father (John 14:31But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
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2. The authoritative word of God
1. From these passages we learn that the commandment of the Father is the absolutely authoritative word of God; that we received the commandment of the Father through His Son Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 1:2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
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2. The children of the elect lady were obedient to the Lord in any area where they had received “a commandment from the Father.” The commandment they had received and obeyed was the commandment to walk in truth.
3. The proper balance
1. The children of the elect lady
1. Truth - John said, “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth.”
2. Love
1. Some of the commandments of the Father pertain to love.
1. The Father’s love for the Son (John 15:9As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
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2. The Son’s love for the believer (John 15:9As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
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3. The believer’s love for one another (John 15:12This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
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1. A new commandment (John 13:34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
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2. A token of our discipleship (John 13:35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
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3. A token of our salvation (1 John 3:14We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
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4. A sacrificial love (1 John 3:16Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
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5. An evidence of our love for God (1 John 4:20If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
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2. If the children of the elect lady were walking in truth, and love is part of the truth, then they were right in their love as well.
2. The elect lady
1. Truth – from the corrections in this epistle we are compelled to believe that the elect lady had compromised on truth.
2. Love
1. It appears as though this lady was erring to stand on the side of love.
2. However, from our previous studies we understand that Biblical love never compromises truth.  Technically the elect lady erred in truth and love.
3. The apostle Paul concerning John Mark
1. Truth
1. John Mark quit on Paul and Barnabas when they were on a missionary journey (Acts 13:13Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
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2. When it was time for another missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas were ready to go.  Barnabas determined that they should take John Mark with them.  Paul disagreed and he and Barnabas split up. (Acts 15:36-40 [36] And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the LORD, and see how they do. [37] And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. [38] But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. [39] And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; [40] And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.
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2. Love
1. We understand that the apostle Paul did not practice Biblical love in this case.
2. Paul also understood this and later he made a correction (2 Timothy 4:11Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
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2. JOHN’S BESEECHING (2 John 1:5And 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.
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1. The Increase of John’s Plea
1. Initially, John simply began to address the elect lady.
2. Now, John here begins to beseech her. This is where he leaves the introduction and begins to deal with the true purpose of the letter.
1. The word beseech is a strong word meaning to ask earnestly; to implore; even to beg.
2. The word is used (as beseech, beseeching, or besought) 114 times in the English Bible. It is used of serious pleas:
1. Of Moses desiring to see God’s glory (Exodus 33:18And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
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2. Of David seeking the life of his son (2 Samuel 12:16David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
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3. Of Esther crying with tears and seeking deliverance of the king for her people (Esther 8:3And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
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4. Of Hezekiah asking for an extension of his life (Isaiah 38:3And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
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3. John saw great danger in the direction this lady was going. He was not angry with her, but he feared the results of her compromise. Therefore, He pled with her to consider the consequences of her actions and to correct her ways.
2. Concerning the Commandment
1. An old commandment versus a new commandment
1. An old commandment is one that has already been revealed (1 John 2:7Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
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2. A new commandment is one that is being revealed as it is being stated.
1. Jesus told His disciples that His command that they love one another as He loved them was a “new commandment” (John 13:34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
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2. The saints of old had been told to love God with all their heart and to love their neighbor as themselves, but they had not been told to love each other as Christ loved them.
3. This was a new commandment.
3. John wanted the lady to know that the commandment on which he based his argument was not new, but had already been established.
2. The origin of the commandment
1. In scripture, a reference to a beginning can refer to a number of beginnings.
2. The exact nature of the beginning must be determined by context.
3. Here, John referred to the time that the commandment to love one another was given.
1. This commandment was given as a new commandment by Jesus during His earthly ministry (John 13:34-35 [34] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
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2. Therefore, this beginning must refer to the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ when He lived and ministered on the earth.
3. 1 John 3:11For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
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4. Mark 1:1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
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5. John wants the lady to consider that the commandment he is quoting to her goes back to the earthly ministry of Jesus.
3. The object of the commandment
1. The original commandment as given by Christ was not just that we love one another, but that we love one another as Christ loved us (John 13:34-35 [34] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
   See All...). “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
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2. This love that we have for one another has three inherent characteristics:
1. As the distribution of His love for us
1. That is, the love that flows out from us to other believers is the same love that has already flowed into us from the Father and the Son.
2. We are to “walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us” (Ephesians 5:2And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
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3. As we grow in the Lord, “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
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4. The love that we have received from the Lord is distributed to others.
2. As the demonstration of His love for us
1. God sent His Son to die in order to manifest, or demonstrate, His love to us (Romans 5:8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
   See All...; 1 John 4:9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
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2. In like manner, we demonstrate the love of God in our love for one another. “If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
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3. In this way, the lost can see the love of God demonstrated in the love of believers for one another. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
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3. As the definition of the love of God
1. The world wrongly defines love one way or another.
1. To some, it is lust.
2. To some, it is the giving of total independence without any need to answer for sin.
3. To others, it is a granting of every selfish request and a protection from every evil.
2. But none of these define the love of God. The believer comes to know the love of God in their hearts by faith (Ephesians 3:17-19 [17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; [19] And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
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3. The lost are to learn the meaning of true love from seeing it in believers. As we “are taught of God to love one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
   See All...), so we teach others the true meaning of the love of God.
3. We see then the nature of this love, but what about its practical expression in our lives? Here are several ways we express this love:
1. First, we must be willing to give our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
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2. One sure expression of godly love for the brethren is our ability to overlook their sins (1 Peter 4:8And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
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3. We love the brethren by caring for them in time of need (1 John 3:17But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
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4. Though it may at first seem strange, we show our love for the brethren by walking after the commandments given to us by the Lord. This is the argument of the next verse and it is critical to John’s persuasion of the lady to whom he writes.
3. LOVE DEFINED (2 John 1:6And 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.
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1. His Commandments
1. The antecedent to the pronoun his in this verse is the Father in verse four, which states that “we have received a commandment from the Father.”
2. The commandments we obey are the commandments of the Father.
3. However, the particular commandment expressed in verse five – “that we love one another” – is a commandment that was given by the Son (John 13:34-35 [34] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
   See All...; John 15:12This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
   See All...). Yet, this is no contradiction.
4. The commandments given by the Son were the commandments of the Father.
2. God’s Commandments Defined as Love
1. God Himself makes the connection between love and obeying His commandments.
2. The first connection is found in the giving of the Ten Commandments where God identifies Himself as “shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
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3. Several New Testament verses emphasize this connection:
1. John 14:15If ye love me, keep my commandments.
   See All... – “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
2. John 14:21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
   See All... – “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
3. John 14:31But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
   See All... – “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.”
4. 1 John 5:2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
   See All... – “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.”
5. 1 John 5:3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
   See All... – “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
4. It seems that the elect lady was using the importance of love as an excuse to overlook doctrinal heresy. John points out that one of the most important expressions of our love to God is the keeping of His commandments.
5. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments. And, if we love Him, we will reject those who do not abide in the doctrine of Christ (see 2 John 1:9-10 [9] Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. [10] If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
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