2 John

 2^nd Letter of St. John   

Title:  This time [unlike the unidentified 1 John] St. John identifies himself as “the elder” (cp. 3 John). Looks like he sent a general “sermonic” epistle to establish the theological frame of refence, then he sent to letters: this one, addressed to the church, and another one (3 John) to one of the members of the congregation. 

Date of writing: If these two epistles (2 and 3 John) are written at the same time, then we can assume that later date of writing (still prior to 70 AD). The reasoning is based on the usage of names: Gaius and Demetrius (3 John 1, 9, 12).

Structure:

a. 1-3, Greetings

 b. 4-6, walking in the truth

  c. 7-8, deceivers/watch yourselves

 b’. 9-11, abide in the teaching

a’. 12-13, Final greetings

Main themes:

Truth – used 5 times in the letter. Twice he connects love and truth (v. 1 and 3). Also, he personifies the truth [v. 2] which “will be with us forever” making an allusion to John 14:6.

The deception – the rejection of Jesus Christ in the flesh (beginning of gnostic theology). This rejection had both historical and eschatological application.  

The Elect Lady has children (Cyprian, d. 258: No one can have God for his Father, who does not have the Church for his mother).

Priority of a meeting-in-person over a correspondence or a “meeting on-line”.

This small letter also testifies to the concept of a house as a micro-church – the need to notice who comes in and who does a Christian should “greet”.

Main Characters:

The elder, elect lady (or Donna), her children, and the children of her elect sister. That needs an identification: if the epistle is addressed to the congregation in Corinth (community of Jewish and Gentile’s believers in a pagan environment), then the elect sister can/should be the messianic congregation in Jerusalem.     

Reflection in other parts of the Bible: The concept of “from the beginning” is a hallmark of St. John’s appropriation of Genesis and Creation theology.

It is very important notice the close relationship between 2 John and Song of Songs. In both cases we have a female figure as a representation of the Church.

The idea of meeting face-to-face corelated with Pauline concept one-another (cp. Col. 3:16 etc.).  

Lutheran teaching: The Book of Concord quotes 2 John only once – during the discussion of the Power of Jurisdiction of Bishops (Tr. 60-62). The fact that St. John identifies as the Elder, shows that St. Peter did not have a superiority of ruling over the Church – both St. John and St. Peter are called the elders in their respective epistles. Also St. Paul charges Titus to set the Elders in every town of Crete (Tit. 1:5-6).   

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 571 – For All the Saint in Warfare (v. 8 – St. John, Apostle and Evangelist).

LSB 878 – Abide with Me.

Relevancy of the Book:

There are (at least) three points which make the 2nd letter of John carry a relevant message for today. First, it is very important for a believer to understand himself/herself as a part of the Church: both Universal church and a local congregation (see the quote for Cyprian above). Second, the basis for the unity within the church is the acceptance of the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and the ministry of the incarnate Son Jesus Christ for redemption of the world. Third, this unity of believes (communion of saint) is not a couple of hours a week entertainment, it is reflected in our daily (24/7) walk with God. The way we deal both with follow believers and non-churched people should be an example for all around us to give thanks to the Father for His love given in Jesus Christ.               

Memory verses:

4: I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.