2 John "Live In Love And Beware of Antichrists"
Each book in the Bible gently guides God's people into a more intimate relationship with their Creator, as He knows must occur, for His people to receive Him in the depth of the relationship that He purchased for them. Each day we are covering, in sequential order, one of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament and explaining how each of them is revealing God in a more intimate way than has been given to this point in the scriptures.
Today is the twenty-fourth day of the series, “The Progressive Revelation of Jesus Christ” and the book is, 2 John, the twenty-fourth book in the New Testament as it appears in our Bible. 2 John is a letter written to a group of Christians who were gaining maturity and they basically only needed to be warned about false teachers and antichrists.
In an earlier blog, I have written about the progressive way the Bible describes God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in the opening sentences of the books, and I am highlighting it again. The following are the two previous books and today’s book in their order of placement in the Bible.
2 Peter “…through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:”
1 John “…truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
2 John “…from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”
These verses show how the Bible is separating the Father and the Son into two separate entities, but combined beings. These seem to be subtle differences until God reveals the depth of them to His people; which I plan to dedicate a blog series to someday.
Next, John writes about antichrists, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.” People were denying Jesus coming in the flesh and saying He had only come in the Spirit. This is one of many ways of denying Him and attempting to lead God’s people astray. The devil and his spirits will continue trying everything they can to distract and lead God’s people away from Him as Satan began in the Garden of Eden when he said, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Generally speaking, the enemy will try to come to God’s people in something that seems to be pleasing to the flesh and not one hundred percent against God’s command that will create questions like, “Did God say that?” or, “Is that what God meant?” There are many groups that claim to have a way to God and some even say there are many ways to Him, but there is only one way, and that is through His Son Jesus Christ. God’s people must be separated from all of those who try to lead them away from Him. This separation is not to be away from them physically, but to not be joined with them spiritually; because to be away from them physically a person would have to leave the world. People will try to deceive because they are deceived and they truly believe the lie, and/or they hate the truth. There are many ways for people to speak against the truth, but only one purpose, and that purpose is to lead people to spiritual death.
John makes another statement about the impossibility of having a relationship with God through any other way than Jesus Christ by writing, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” Jesus is divisive and not all encompassing. His love is extended to His people and without Him getting to the FDather is impossible. This is as boldly as anyone can communicate exactly what the possibility is in any other way that can be attempted.
John continues with, “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” This is the boldest statement in the Bible against being united or assisting people of false teachings.
John concludes this short letter by writing, “Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.” We know God’s people’s joy comes from Him, but their joy is full collectively. God’s people are to come together and encourage one another along their journeys, and this demonstrates the importance of the Body of Christ living as a unit.
The examples in this blog are only a limited sample of the deepening relational revelation described through the letter titled “2 John.”
The intent of the blog is to demonstrate the difference in the revelation that God gives to His people as they intently follow Him and focus on what He has told them through their individual lives, and the revelation they’ve received through the Holy Spirit and His Holy Bible.
Tomorrow I will share how “3 John” brings an even more intimate portrait of the relationship through writing to person equal in spiritual maturity and saying, “that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
