2nd 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment