John's second letter is written to "The Elect Lady and her Children". This "elect lady" has traditionally been thought to be the local congregation in the community that received the letter and the "sister" in the last verse is thought to be the church in Ephesus where John resided during the time the letter was written.
The letter breaks into 3 pieces: 1) the Truth and love vss 1-3, 2) the Truth and how to live vs 4-6, 3) the Truth and error vss 7-11.
John is writing to make sure the faith is kept pure. A heresy that actually continues to this day in some circles is addressed - that Jesus was not fully human as well as fully Divine. John says is you hear any of this, put them out of the church! He also cautions against adding anything to the Gospel of Christ.
This is great advice for us today friends. The Gospel is sufficient in and of itself for teaching and growing the church. Any addition or compromise is a subtraction!
About Me
- Pastor Bill
- I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ, a happy husband, father and grandfather!
5 comments:
Wow, I'm finally caught up. Better not let that happen again.
Now I'm the first to comment first for the first time in a while. Praise God!
I think it's interesting that this short book reiterates a lot of what John just said in first John, because of how important it is. We must love, as he told us to. It's an example of our faith, and it's life-changing.
We really need to watch out for these people that are not good in their faith. How many times do we slip up anyway, even though we've been told that the devil is out there and rampant? What the devil offers will look awesome, but it will really steal your soul. I think many things in this world are sugar-coated by the devil, and many people do not see it. I pray to God that I avoid these things, and I avoid the Devil. We know the truth, we know what is happening, but we still fall into the trap. Here, John reminds us that we shouldn't, so let's not. Sounds easy enough, right?
Thanks again PB for all you do - You're keeping us on our toes!
Bedtime!
Marshall Neil Bailey
Marshal,
I am glad you caught us! I hope your perseverance as you do college work and everything else inspires us to keep up too!
I'll probably brag on you Sunday to get the saints fired up to join in if they've fallen off!
Bill
Hey Bill,
Life is crazy sometimes - we all know it. God must be really getting used to it - to the point where it might not phase him anymore. Either way, his grace is sufficient, and he's always there to meet us where we belong.
I love the bible. Thanks God.
Marshall
Nice work, MB. You and the Pastor are an example for all of us. I have always been told a man (or woman) will do what a man (or woman) WANTS to do. Your hunger and discipline is an inspiration.
I find it interesting that John doesn't tell us to pray for the "deceivers," or to rebuke them.
Your thoughts, PB?
I can understand not "hanging" with them and risking "infection," but I would think they would need MORE prayers than the average person.
Sometimes I do too :)
This is a letter I'm not very familiar with. I guess there are (comparatively) so few places in the scriptures focusing on women, I like to think John was writing to an individual woman rather than a congregation. But I can't find anything definitive.
I remember vaguely from church history the controversies over groups that wanted to make Jesus fully divine only, sort of inhabiting a human body but not really of it. To me, that takes away the whole point of incarnation!
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