Where it fits

Second John is the twenty-fourth book of the New Testament, with a single chapter of 13 verses. The author calls himself “the elder” and writes “to the chosen lady and her children” (v. 1). Most readers take the “lady” as a church and her children as its members, with the “chosen sister” of verse 13 as a sister congregation, but it may also be a real woman and her household. Tradition names the apostle John as the elder, and the letter closely echoes 1 John. It was probably written late in the first century. Read straight through, it takes about two minutes.

Who, to whom, and why

The elder begins warmly. He rejoices that some of her children are “walking in truth” (v. 4), and he repeats the command Christians had had from the beginning: love one another (v. 5). Love, he says, means walking according to God's commandments (v. 6).

Then comes the warning. Many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh (v. 7). Anyone who goes beyond the teaching of Christ, rather than remaining in it, does not have God (v. 9). To understand the next lines, it helps to know how the early church worked. Missionaries and teachers traveled from town to town, and they relied on Christians to host them and fund their journeys. Hospitality was how the gospel spread. John says that if someone comes who does not bring this teaching, don't receive him into your house or give him a greeting, since doing so shares in his evil work (vv. 10–11). The letter ends as many letters did: John hopes to visit and speak face to face, so that their joy may be complete (v. 12).

Three ideas to hold on to

1. Truth and love belong together. John mentions both in the opening verses (vv. 1–6). Love without truth loses its direction, and truth without love loses its heart.
2. Jesus really came as a human being. The central test is whether a teacher confesses that Jesus Christ came in the flesh (v. 7). Everything the church believes about salvation depends on that.
3. Hospitality is never neutral. Opening your home and your wallet supports something. John tells the church to be generous, and to be discerning about what they are supporting (vv. 10–11).

Passages people ask about

• 2 John 4–6. Walking in truth, and the old command to love one another.
• 2 John 7–9. Deceivers who deny that Jesus came in the flesh, and the call to stay in Christ's teaching.
• 2 John 10–11. Don't welcome such teachers into your house. Read in its setting of traveling teachers, this is about not supporting the spread of false teaching, not about refusing to speak to people we disagree with. Jesus himself taught love for enemies (Matthew 5:44).
• 2 John 12–13. A hope for face-to-face fellowship, where joy becomes complete.

How it points to Jesus

Everything in the letter turns on who Jesus is. John says the test of true teaching is whether it confesses Jesus Christ coming in the flesh (v. 7) and remains in the teaching of Christ, which gives a person both the Father and the Son (v. 9). The commandment to love is the one Jesus gave his disciples (John 13:34), and John calls it an old commandment the church has had from the beginning (v. 5).

A common misunderstanding

Second John 10–11 is sometimes used to justify cutting off anyone who disagrees with us, including other Christians. The context is narrower. John is talking about traveling teachers who denied that Jesus came as a human being, which is the heart of the gospel, and about not giving them a platform and funding. Elsewhere the New Testament calls believers to correct each other gently (Galatians 6:1) and to be patient with disagreement over lesser matters (Romans 14). Telling the two apart takes wisdom.