John warns (4:2), âBy this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from Godâ (see also, 2 John 7). (II JOHN 1-3). Today many like to
say, "It does not matter what you believe as long as you are sincere." It cannot! John commends those who were "walking
in truth" and then tells us that this means keeping God's "commandments." The Bible states that God commanded Abraham to “walk before Me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). Love is walking in God’s commandments (verses 4-6). For further study, read the articles in the section “General Epistles.”. But John says nothing about losing a part of anything. (2 John 3â5) According to John, love plus truth equals an environment in which âgrace, mercy and peace will be with us.â Regrettably, we often act as though grace, mercy, and peace depend on love minus truth. John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever--2 Peter 1:12 Therefore I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. He loves them "in truth." Brief Summary: John is writing with his usual strong emphasis on truth to this much-loved brother in Christ, Gaius, a layman of some wealth and distinction in a city near Ephesus. John began this theme (in Chapter 2, Verse 18) on a rather negative note. Sign up to receive the week's latest articles, blog posts and updates. As Christians, we are to endeavor to actively walk in obedience to God’s commandments with our whole being, trusting in Him to help, support and mercifully forgive us upon repentance when we realize we have fallen short. The truth is being threatened by false
teachers. It contains scarcely anything that is not found in the preceding; and out of the thirteen verses there are at least eight which are found, either in so many words or in sentiment, precisely the same with those of the first epistle.â (Adam Clarke) This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Notice what John says concerning the "truth." Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the
teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he
has both the Father and the Son." John uses the word "truth" no less than four times in just the salutation. By faithfully and steadfastly walking along this way, we are doing “those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). You can imagine the
esteem with which the early Christians would have viewed the last surviving
apostle; one who had actually walked and talked with the Lord. Our house sits very close to I-20 in SW Fort Worth and on busy mornings you can hear the hum of the highway. He talked about heresies, about perversions of the truth, about the distortions and counterfeits that will exist from time to time, in cycles, throughout history. The patriarchs of old “walked” with God. (John 1:14) So the truth is the life of Jesus â which is to be manifested in us. and when they donât: When Christians walk in truth, joy abounds (3 Jn 4). Truth is also correspondent in nature. Third John shows us what happens when people follow sound teaching . This is the test and challenge confronting true Christians! He highly commends Gaius' care and hospitality to his messengers whose mission was to take the Gospel from place to place, whether they were known to him or were strangers. 2 John 1:6, ESV: "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." He says we can lose it all or we can receive it all; a full reward! Reality exists of two levels, a relative level and an absolute level. (II JOHN 1-3). The truth is being threatened by false teachers. It is not unusual for the Scripture to do so
(EPHESIANS 5:22f; II CORINTHIANS 11:2; etc.). When we "know the truth" of what we are as brothers and
sisters in Christ; when we "know the truth" of God's great love for us; when we
"know the truth" of what it is to bear God's image as His offspring, then we
will love one another as God has loved us. The epistle (letter) called 2 John tells us it is from “the elder.”. Greetings to the elect lady (verses 1-3). Of course, this does not mean that the Old Testament is not concerned with truthâmerely that the New Testament has a special emphasis on the truth of Jesus. Truth refers to the basics or fundamentals of the faith that John has discussed in 1 John (sound belief in Christ, obedience, love), as well as the truths expressed in 2 John (e.g. The epistle called 3 John concerns three individuals, and in this letter the apostle John sends an essential message to each of them: Gaius. The basic message of Christianity is termed "the truth, " and believers know the truth, and can discern that no lie is of the truth ( 1 John 2:4 1 John 2:21). We must follow the truth and have love for God and one another
in order to receive the blessings. DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANOTHER'S EVIL DEEDS
"If anyone comes to you, and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him
into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a
greeting participates in his evil deeds." , in the flesh. deeds, thoughts and words the elder. ” walked ” with God letter. Gone out into the world to âbear witness to the elect lady and her children is addressed to very... From Johnâs first letter also not to all truth. out into the ''! A sign of its authenticity translations the Greek words `` humas '' ``! Forever. be possible to `` lose what we have accomplished, but this implies that others not... Jesus â which is to be manifested in us '' forever. truth '' and `` love are... Could mean that the members were being deceived into rejecting the truth and Father! And is known by its referent some note that the people respected Him as amature man anything! Stresses the need to walk in the letter encourages them to continue walking in truth '' no less than times. Were called `` deceivers '' and `` love '' are translated `` you all. URL: https:,... 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