Thursday – Letters

Reading – 2 John

Highlight Verse:

“I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.”
‭‭2 John‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Does this sound familiar?

It should.

Almost everything in this letter is repeated from 1 John.

Why is it here?

There are some things we need to hear over and over.

In this case, that was made possible by the practice of writing to multiple churches.

The most common interpretation of “the chosen lady” and her “sister” is that they are local churches, not individuals. This is reinforced by the terminology of the letter.

Unlike Peter, John chose to keep the identity and location of the recipients anonymous.

These letters were written considerably later than Paul’s letters.

Persecution had gotten worse over time, and it was increasingly advisable to keep letters like this anonymous.

John never gives his name in this letter but, in ways that would be familiar to the early church, it was pretty obvious who he was.

The main teaching points are truth and love.

John once again reminds us not to perpetuate the false teaching that Christ did not come in the flesh.

He then reminds us of how essential love is.

Love and truth go hand in hand.

What truth in this letter do you need to be reminded of over and over?
How will you put that truth into action?