The auhtor of 1 John set several things straight in his first epistle. He’d told the churches how to know if they were of the faith, he’d dressed down the false teachings that were making their rounds, and he’d strongly urged the Christians to love one another.
He’d told them about truth, love, and obedience—now he writes to tell them what to do about it.
In Second John, the elder (2 Jn 1) briefly explains the relationship between the three:
- Love and truth. John loves those who know the truth, because the truth “abides” in them (2 Jn 1–2). When two parties know the truth, love comes naturally.
- Truth and obedience. God the Father commanded that His children walk in truth (2 Jn 4). When you know the truth, obedience comes naturally.
- Obedience and love. The commandment that God gave isn’t anything new: “love one another” (2 Jn 5). A sure sign of obedience to God is love for His church, and a sure sign of love is obedience to God (2 Jn 6).
He then warns that “many deceivers have gone out into the world” (2 Jn 7), and that the Christians should watch themselves. They should beware of teachers who do not acknowledge Jesus’ human life and who deviate from the things He taught (2 Jn 8–9). Such people are dangerous: the church shouldn’t side with them, shouldn’t invite them in, and shouldn’t participate in their actions (2 Jn 10–11).
(Who is this elder? The church has debated this for centuries, but traditionally it’s attributed to John, the son of Zebedee. We’ll call the author “John” for this article.)
John is a bit cryptic in this letter, but he seems well aware of this. He would rather discuss this and more in person, so he lets the audience know that he hopes to visit soon (2 Jn 12).
Because truth, love, and obedience should be a part of everyday life, and the church needs to understand how.
Theme verse in 2 John
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. (2 Jn 6)
2 John’s role in the Bible
In addition to this one, John is commonly credited with writing two other New Testament letters, a Gospel, and possibly the prophetic book of Revelation. He was a leader in the early church, and he probably wrote his documents after most of the other New Testament books were already written.
John writes this second letter to “the chosen lady and her children”—which may refer to a particular church leader, or perhaps metaphorically to a local church or group of churches. John refers to this lady’s “chosen sister” at the end of this letter (2 Jn 13), which may be code for a greeting from the children of another woman, or members of another church or group of churches.
Second John is the fourth of the General Epistles (or Catholic Letters), the writings of apostles to the church at large. While Paul wrote to specific congregations and individuals, Peter, James, John, and Jude wrote to broader audiences scattered across the Roman empire. Second and Third John, however, are written to specific audiences.
Second John is the second shortest book of the Bible—Third John is the shortest (by word count). It’s only one chapter long, and has only thirteen verses.
This letter repeats many themes from John’s first letter, and Third John reflects these themes as well. Overall, the three letters from John give us an idea of what the apostle thought was most important at the time: sound teaching, obedience to God, and brotherly love.
Quick outline of 2 John
- Walk in truth (1–4)
- Love others and obey God (5–6)
- Beware false teachers (7–11)
- Look forward to a visit (12–13)
More pages related to 2 John
- 1 John (the longest and most thorough of John’s letters)
- 3 John (another brief letter that focuses on truth)
- The Gospel of John (also written by John)
- Revelation (also written by John)
- Jude (also only one chapter long)
- Philemon (also only one chapter long)
- Obadiah (also only one chapter long)