1 The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:
This short letter is written by someone identifying themselves as The Elder. The church, during this period of writing (between 85 and 95 AD), easily identified this as John. But why would they have referred to John as Elder?
By this time, John was quite old and well-known. He had outlived all of the other apostles and was well known in Jerusalem. It is possible that he was revered by practicing Christians. Later in his mission he would be arrested by the Roman officials and sent to the island of Patmos. There he would draft the ultimate book of eschatology, Revelation.
This letter, written by John, is addressed to the the”lady” chosen by God and to her “children”. The lady is not named, and neither are the children. There are two reasons for this:
1.The woman and her children are well-known, and during this era of persecution, it would have been irresponsible of John to name her. If the letter was intercepted by Roman authorities, it could mean the death of these people. 2. The title is symbolic, most likely a metaphor for a local church body and congregation.
The last part of the introduction is regarding truth. He loves them in “the truth”. The truth is God’s word, God’s light, God’s very character. And this truth will remain with them, and us, forever.
3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
This is John’s salutation. For those who believe, John guarantees that grace, mercy and peace will be with them. This only comes from the father through Christ Jesus. Mercy and peace will be with all in both truth and love (God’s word and God’s love).
4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.
John’s joy is complete in seeing that some of the people who he has pastored are walking in the light. As a leader, it is very comforting to know that some of those you have shepherded are on the right path. Walking in the truth is not just hearing, but listening and doing (1 John 2:24). This is the idea of perseverance, of continuing through the trials and temptations to continue a life of a holy nature (James 1:1-4).
5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.
Love is the foundation every Christian should root their motives in. It is also one of the first things a Christian loses when falling into the traps of the world. John found it important to underline this message (John 13:35, 1 John 4:20-21).
6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
Obedience, from a worldly viewpoint, is seen as bondage. From a Christian perspective, obedience is how we display our love for God and His commandments. These commandments guide us and help us through our trials, temptations and difficulties to a better life. To walk in obedience to His commandments is also a form of worship.
7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
In John’s time, the Christian church was dealing with the growing threat of Gnosticism, which looked a lot like Christianity, with some very large differences. First, they believed that the flesh and spirit were disconnected, and the flesh was rotten. Therefore, whatever was done in the flesh had no consequence. So they didn’t need a savior, they needed only to improve their spirit. This was a large departure from Christianity, and it took many from the church, causing a great disturbance in the early church. They are part of the antichrist movement John is talking about.
This heresy is also referring to Jesus himself. Inside the doctrine of Gnostics and the like, in order to tear down Christianity, they had to devalue Christ. Docetism was the specific practice of the heresy against Christ. It taught that Jesus was not did not really possess a physical body, but was a collection of celestial substance. Therefore, the suffering was illusionary. This chips away at Christ’s divinity.
John is also referring to our time. In our world there is an incredible amount of false teaching. There are entire false religions peppering the world and bringing people into a spirit of misinformation. There are cults that spring up and confuse people further. There are volumes of self-help books that draw on mistruth, fads that take people to dangerous places, not to mention political and cultural groups that further confuse people. The faces and names change a little, but the problem is still very much alive and well, and the root problem is sin.
John’s message is to stick to the truth, to the training. John gives us a light in the darkness: if that person/church/organization does not proclaim Jesus as savior, the person/church/organization is an antichrist. With the strain of culture pulling people away from God, John says to remember the truth. Losing it means you will put yourself in jeopardy.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.
John says that if someone comes to us with this false doctrine, we aren’t to give them hospitality. To give them hospitality means to share in their evil deeds. In other words, there is a complicity to their evil when we allow them into our house (church), in the same way that we may make room for sin in our life. If we give it a place, then it is possible that we will also give it space to grow. Like Solomon, he allowed wives from other cultures into his harem and they ultimately ruined him (1 Kings 10).
12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. 13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.
In John’s final words, he anticipates a future meeting. It isn’t only with the lady in question, but also with the children of her sister. This gives credence to the concept that he is writing to a living person of renown. But it could also double metaphorically as a “sister church”, with its own congregation.
The main concept of this letter is about love and truth and how important it is to guard both. The world is eager to strip it away. But for those who build their foundation upon these two items, then there is a great strength and blessing.