The Second Epistle of St. John

The 2nd Epistle of St. John Author: + The apostle John, who was one of the twelve disciples, is the author. He did not mention his name out of humbleness. + He calls himself: ‘the Elder,’ which from the original Greek manuscript is usually translated as ‘Presbyter’, meaning a priest or a bishop. The word might as well refer to priesthood while being of old age. “The Elder,” (2 John 1:1) Recipients: + This is the only book in the Holy Bible that was directed to a lady:

The 2nd Epistle of St. John “To the elect lady and her children” (2 John 1:1) + The scholars made different assumptions to the expression ‘the elect lady’: 1. St. Jerome took it literally, assuming the epistle to be written to a particular woman, whom the apostle preferred not to mention her name. This is the most prevailing assumption. He might not have mentioned her name, being a woman, as a habit of the Orientals, or to avoid potential troubles that might come upon her from the Romans. 2. Some have supposed the Greek words for it may refer to her given names: either ‘Electa’ the lady or the chosen ‘Kyria’, where ‘Electa’ means ‘chosen’ and ‘Kyria’ means ‘lady’.

The 2nd Epistle of St. John 3. Taking it figuratively, it could refer to a specific church, where the church is the chosen bride to the Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence in his farewell greeting, he could have meant the sons of the church which of Ephesus, which he was shepherding: “The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen” (2 John 1:13) 4. There is also an opinion that the epistle is being addressed to each soul who is a bride to Christ the Lord. Time and Place of Writing: The epistle was written between (95-100 A.D.), from Ephesus.

The 2nd Epistle of St. John Characteristics of the Epistle: 1. This is the shortest book in the Bible in terms of verses. It is composed of one chapter, containing 13 verses. 2. The key words in the epistle are: a) ‘Truth,’ which is repeated 5 times in such a short epistle: “Because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever” (2 John 1:2) b) ‘Love,’ and that is repeated 4 times: “Whom I love in truth” (2 John 1:1)

The 2nd Epistle of St. John 3. With St. John stating that he, having many things to write, preferred to speak verbally, one could perceive the role of tradition in conveying Christian faith and church rites from the Lord Jesus to the apostles and from one generation to another: “But I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full” (2 John 1:12) 4. The epistle carries the same essence as St. John’s other writings, for it focuses on the Truth, who is the Lord Christ Himself, the center of our preaching and on love and the link between them. There is no true love without Christ the Truth, who is the source of all love and who is love Himself. And also we can not get to know the Truth without love, as love is the way to know God and abide in Him. This affirms this epistle to be a genuine epistle of St. John the Beloved:

The 2nd Epistle of St. John “The Son of the Father, in truth and love” (2 John 1:3) “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6) “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16) 5. In particular, there is likeness in style and matter between this epistle and the 1st epistle of St. John: “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments” (2 John 1:6)

The 2nd Epistle of St. John “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3) Purpose of Writing: 1. To Warn Against Receiving or Supporting False Teachers: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John 10-11) 2. To Encourage Keeping the Commandments and Brotherly Love: “And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning:…

The 2nd Epistle of St. John that we love one another” (2 John 1:5) Contents: I. Salutation: (vv. 1-3) “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 John 1:3) II. Walking in Truth and Love: (vv. 4-6) 1. The Cause of St. John’s Rejoicing: “I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in…

The 2nd Epistle of St. John truth, as we received commandment from the Father” (2 John 1:4) 2. The Commandment of Love: “This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it” (2 John 1:6) III. Beware of Antichrist Deceivers: (vv. 7-11) “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 1:7) “Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but…

The 2nd Epistle of St. John that we may receive a full reward” (2 John 1:8) “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 2:9) IV. Closing: (vv. 12-13) “Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink” (2 John 1:12)