Letters of John, 2 John

All right, we're gonna read verses four down through verse 11, and I'm covering today verses seven through nine entitled False Teachers Part One, and I'll be covering False Teachers Part Two next week to close out the epistle of 2 John. Verse four, I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth as we receive commandment from the Father.

And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. This is love that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

For many deceivers have gone into the world who did not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. And this is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves. That you do not lose those things worked out for you, but that you may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses or goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, nor greet him. That's gonna be fun to deal with that next week. For he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. Hmm, okay, I'm glad I'm not teaching, I am teaching next week. So careful on the inviting I'm saying, but anyway, we'll deal with that next week.

Margaret and I will have to pay close attention to those sources in terms of their application. All right, so let's begin. So the title is Love and Obedience. And here's some some area points in addressing the lady who may have been approached by those who were attempting to deceive her. I think that gets into today's lesson, actually. And Andrew mentioned that. I thought that was a good theme to kind of represent the interpretation of the verses that are perceived this week's lesson.

John reminds us that we are to love one another. I mean, have we been there before with him? I think that's kind of a repeated message, isn't it? So the first point is that John reminds us through the potential deception of this lady to whom the scripture is written that we are to love one another. And again, we've mentioned that that's a common theme that John has brought before us.

Okay, let me get over here. All right. And so love is walking or keeping his commandments. And so how do we do this? I think we follow verses. I'm sorry. Okay. Colossians 2, 6, and 7. Anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not... Oh, wait a minute, this one. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. So, Marianne, we're hearing you, so... Oh.

So Colossians 2, 6, 7 says, As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding with thanksgiving so that's how we keep his commandments by walking in him that seems very straightforward doesn't it but sometimes it becomes quite a challenge in our day-to-day existence right turning to this week's lesson false teachers part one for many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess jesus christ has come in the flesh this is a deceiver and an antichrist. So describe a deceiver. And those who surround us today, there are plenty of those out there, I think, aren't there? How would we describe a deceiver? Well, it's just defined right there in the verse, one who does not confess Jesus Christ. Right. OK. To what extent? Denying his incarnation.

And, you know, all these Gnostic ideas that were going around back then, that Christ was just a phantom, and things like that. Okay, what are some common manifestations of that today? We have different cults that deny the deity of Christ. They say he's... Yes, it's a good deity. Okay. What else? They deny the resurrection. All right. The resurrection is the pleaded act of God in terms of the eternal covenant. What else? a great prophet, a great teacher. Again, that's in a sense denying the deity.

So lots of ways we can be deceived, but you know, these were ongoing individuals in John's time. So, you know, I think this can be obvious or it can be covert. I think, think about, in Jeremiah right now in the McGee study in the car, which I listen to pretty continuously. It's amazing how Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, the things that he brings up with Israel are really very prominent in today's Christian environment that we live in. But all that aside, I mean, the idea that this deception could be really extremely obvious, but be covert and really somewhat hidden. And in the body of Christ today, I think it often is a way that Satan uses it to deceive the body as a whole in terms of the sound doctrine that we have scripturally.

So I think it may be in a wide variety of ways. So to continue in the text to see what it represents, 2 Corinthians 6 says, by honor and dishonor, talks about being deceived by evil report and good report as deceivers and yet true. So it could even be, you know, probably falsely, you know, identified as scriptural truth, but in fact not be so.

And then ultimately 1 Timothy 4.1, now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. So kind of this is an omnipresence existence and clearly, you know, the verse says they've gone out into the world and there were many. Notice it says, the verse says, therefore many deceivers have gone out into the world.

They were already there that John was experiencing. And I think we'll see in a different part of this lesson this week that ultimately Paul and Peter also refer to these deceivers and antichrist there. James. Don't deceivers start out in the church, you know, and then they go out from the church and deceive other people, but they, they start out and they look like Christians.

They seem to be, you know, but there's something a little different about their, or what they're proclaiming. Yeah, I think McGee points that out very well. Within the bodies probably where Satan does his greatest work. I mean the non-believer, the atheist or agnostic out there are pretty easy to identify. I mean, Mark and I interact with the world a lot.

They're clearly identified for having no relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ at all, maybe not even believing He ever existed. I mean, there's some people doubt that He ever existed. This is just a myth. But those are obvious. But don't we have, really, even denominations that have churches and everything, who don't say He's deity?

I mean, it's so covert. And they have big congregations. Because they're talking about more social issues, or they have a big food bank, or whatever they have. I mean, you know, but they're full denomination. They're in the guise of church. Yes, yes. And it's really covert. Yeah. All right, let's continue then.

Another text that deals with the 2nd Peter 2.1. But there were also false prophets among the people. as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction." Well, we're not seeing the swift destruction today, but many times these people carry on for decades in terms of their false messages. Swift is relative. That's right. That's right. Like he's coming quickly? Well, if anything, that means very fast-ready conflict.

Okay, so I think Andrew has hit the nail on the head. We do not confess Jesus Christ to come in the flesh. I mean, so Andrew, how do you interpret the flesh? I mean, is it a human body? Yeah, yeah, as a human being. Right. You know, Christmas time and the manger and all that. Sure. All right, but would they deny the existence of the physical Jesus, a human individual? Well, I think they might have said, yeah, he came in the flesh, but he wasn't God. Okay. In the flesh. Right. Yeah. People who even doubt that there was ever a Jesus. I've heard that proclaimed that this is all just fairy tale. All right, good.

And what does it mean to confess it? This is present active, do not confess right now. To declare openly and speak out freely. Isn't it interesting what confession really relates to in terms of its Greek interpretation, it means declare openly. That means you support the gospel by word.

And I'm going to ask a question. What about those who do not speak out freely? I mean, Margaret and I've discussed this a lot. There's kind of a generation that came before us that Their faith was kind of private, it seemed. My faith is to myself. We accept that they were saved, but they just didn't speak out. They didn't confess that, and there was no real way to tell that other than they claimed to be a believer. To be saved, does one have to speak out to defend your faith?

No, it's not a demand, no, but it's certainly something here that we're expecting people who are in the body to be able to express. So anyway, we won't answer that question. And notice, despite the recent history of John's personal experience and reports that many have witnessed this kind of false teacher, they denied the existence of the true Son of Man and Son of God. So I think that gets to the deity, as Andrew has mentioned.

John 1.14, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1.51, and he said to him, most assuredly, I say to you, you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. That's speaking to Nathanael. shortly after his ministry began. And then John 134, and I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God, and on and on. The fact that the epistles of John really reflected, importantly, the physical life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You know, remember the text began in 1 John 1 about who we have seen and we've heard, etc. So this, I think, is ultimately something that these deceivers don't necessarily bond to. And this is a deceiver and an antichrist. So what do you think here? So can we always equate a deceiver to an antichrist? The verse says. What are your thoughts about that? I'm sorry, were you asking me a question? Yeah, I was saying, can we always equate a deceiver to an Antichrist?

Well, according to this verse, it is this type of an individual, specifically, that is the Antichrist. Okay, but we all think of one Antichrist, but John speaks of many Antichrists, right? For anyone who's a deceiver, a non-believer in the Son of Man and the Son of God as being God's gift to human existence with the eternal covenant to carry out his task, ultimately is an Antichrist. There's lots of Antichrists.

The world's full of them, right? Well, it's literally, you know, it's against Christ, right? So if a deceiver is deceiving you about Christ, he's against Christ, right? But don't you think in Christianity it's kind of an oversimplification? Everybody thinks about the Antichrist without thinking every non-believer is an Antichrist? Well, actually, it should make us think that, you know, People that deny who Christ is, if you deny Him, you're against me. You can't be in between. You can't say, I'll stand on the fence. You've got to decide, are you with me? Are you against me? Are you for me or against me? Black or white, right? No gray. I know, right? There's no gray believers, right? But let's look at a couple of verses, like I like to do, to support claims.

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. We've seen John tell us about that in his first epistle. And in chapter 2, little children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard, that Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

Interesting. So John again repeats the fact that this verse stands for itself. A deceiver is an antichrist. All right, on to verse 8 then. Look to yourselves that you do not lose those things we've worked for, but that you may receive a full reward. This is kind of a fun verse in a couple of ways. Look as an imperative. Look to yourselves or each one of ourselves.

We're to look right now and not to anyone else. And why? Are we not to judge our brother? That's another topic to deal with. Hey Bob, we were just talking about this while the mic was off, to include people who say, I'm good enough, I don't need Christ. There's a whole world of this going on around us, isn't there? There's even like Ovaltine ads and stuff, you know, you're good. Well, that's the world of self-righteousness.

So let's see how Scripture really relates to this. Matthew 24, 4 and 5, which deals with kind of the future prophetic aspect of Jesus' ministry. And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. Hebrews 12, 15, looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this may become, and many become defiled.

That relates to us as ministers of the gospel. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of mutilation. In Revelation 3, 11 to the Church of Philadelphia, I'm coming quickly. Hold fast with what you have, that no one may take your crown. So the concept here is we as individuals have a responsibility to making sure we're not individually deceived. And I think these verses point to the fact that we have to be scripturally sound in our own faith not to be deceived so easily by the deceivers who are surrounding us. Hey, Bob. Yes.

2 Corinthians 3 says that we're looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher. Maybe it's not that way. Anyway, He's the one that transforms us into Christ's image. When we're looking at Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit does that work in us. What a contrast that is to what you just, you know, put up there in those verses. Isn't that something? I mean, it's satanic deception. Right, and you know, the Holy Spirit is not really exemplified in these verses, but we know scripturally and soundly that the scripture indicates the Spirit's what leads us in all truth in the Lord Jesus, the new life we have in Him. Right.

All right, so the next part of this verse, that you do not lose those things we've worked out for you. Kind of an interesting verse in a way, that you do not lose the seductive. So it's possible you could lose it, right? of those things we've worked for. You're indicative, meaning that's fact. There have been things that have been worked out already that have application. You don't want to lose those things. So here, let's drill down on this a little bit. Who is we and what things were worked for? What's everybody's thoughts about that? Who is John referring to in terms of we?

Well, okay. Could be, yeah. Who else maybe? Not always believers. There's no question it's a believer. Maybe the elders of the church that they worked for? Could be. We're looking to Roger and Mike here. All the teachers. All the teachers. I don't know. Well, the key may be that there are rewards involved, and he's not going to reward unbelievers. These are believers. There's no question they're believers.

So I raised a couple of questions on my own. Maybe I'm out in left field here someplace. Was he maybe referring to just those apostles who really have scripturally led us along this path? We're talking about John, Paul, Peter, Jude, maybe, perhaps. I mean, maybe that's possible. So let's look at a little evidence of that.

Philippians 3.16, nevertheless, to the degree that we have already obtained, let us walk by the same. So there's, you know, Paul is encouraging us to ultimately not lose those things that he's encouraged us to walk in.

1 Peter 5.8, be sober, be vigilant. Adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. So here's Peter encouraging us to be well-founded in the faith. And then John, I mean, I don't need to repeat that. John, his entire epistles really kind of encourage us to be well-founded in scriptural truth.

So I think we could, in fact, relate to the apostles who have shared the wisdom of God in scripture. Now, it could have a difference. Jim, you look like you're ready to say something. You ready? Oh, OK. Okay, or perhaps we has a broader interpretation. I think, you know, was it Barbara? Somebody said it's we as believers. I think there's some truth there. And I thought Jason Fawcett Brown, which I think is a pretty good commentary, actually. I think they're right on in most things that they have.

So they say the we being seemingly the more difficult reading is less likely to have been a transcriber's alteration. Look that ye lose not the believing state of truth and love, which we, as God's workmen." Now, can you interpret that? It's a complicated kind of scenario. But, you know, he tends to think that we is not necessarily the person who's writing the Scripture, but has a much broader implication. So 2 Corinthians 6, we then, as workers together with him, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Now, I think that, you know, that has, I think, broader implications, as 2 Timothy 2.15 does. Be diligent and to present yourself approved to God a worker who does not need to be ashamed, blatantly dividing the word of truth. I think what J.F. and B. are kind of saying is a potentially broader implication applies to all of us.

And so, Margaret's comment about it's the body itself. I mean, it relates to the apostles and their teaching through Scripture, but, you know, what we've you know, done here to further the gospel, remember that look to yourselves that you do not lose those things we work for. It's interesting because in some scriptures it said that we do not lose the things we work for and that we may receive a full reward, but in fact the translation is best that we work for, but it's that you don't lose those things, or you do lose your reward. So that personalizes this area to be better interpreted in terms of the personalization of what this represents.

So as Roy mentioned, the issue here is that you may receive subjunctive or full reward. Now, what do you think of rewards? I mean, what's John turning to here in terms of rewards? We've mentioned that in front of already. So in other words, what kind of reward are we talking about here? Why is it described as full? Ultimately, is this a reward we get here? Or is this an internal reward? Okay, alright. Believers' rewards are given after he leaves here, right? Right, okay. So this is an atonement. Does a believer get anything other than a full reward? I mean, is there a reason in terms of the rewards?

It seems like that, you know, if you look at the wood, hay, and stubble, it seems like that there are things that... I'm going there. Let's look at this a little bit more in terms of maybe the Scripture that relates to it. In the fourth chapter of John, John says, and he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit or eternal life that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. So is that now or is that future?

First Corinthians 3.8, now he who plants and he who waters are one and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. It has a very practical circumstance related to it, doesn't it? terms of the day-to-day activities, in terms of the rewards of that, but this has much more eternal relevance, I think, than it does simply to the temple sequence in which he seems to be sharing.

First Corinthians 3.14, if anyone's work which he has built endures, he will receive a reward.

And I'm going to repeat that down here. It's a J, F, and B again, of grace, not debt, Fully consummated glory is the way he interprets fully. It's fully, you know, compensated in glory. It's not... And I think it turns back to, again, what I just read.

Before I'm going to go back and repeat that verse, Bengel says there's no half reward for the saints. It's either lost altogether or received in full, in full communion with God. And again, i think that would be what happened outside we had a comment rocket rocket no i uh... i'm adding to what you're just saying look at that second currency and six one again uh... we've been as we then as workers together with him and in this context it's actually saying that we is if you don't watch out for yourselves, the work that we did among you would be destroyed, and you would lose the full reward. It changes from we to you at the end as well.

I don't know if that helps or not. That's nice. I didn't see that, Roy, so thank you for bringing that up. So then back to 1 Corinthians 3, 14, if anyone's work which he has built endures, he will receive a reward. By the way, the next verse in 1 Corinthians says if it's built otherwise, it's burnt, right? It has no value at all. So I agree with Bengel that partial rewards are not the issue here.

And you know, the thing is, we can become schizophrenic thinking, was that my condition? Or was that thing that I just thought or did, is that of the Lord? You can go crazy. You need to live a new life in Christ Jesus. We don't have to be cross-examining ourselves. And we know when we fall short, we confess and move on and get back in fellowship. I mean, again, I think you can go crazy.

There was a guy who was part of our Bible seven years ago who would analyze about everything, whether that was of the flesh or of the spirit. I mean, think about the life we would lead if we were paralyzed by examining ourselves. They accepted everything we didn't thought. We had to decide what the source was. And I would think, even in that circumstance, if any good things in terms of glorification or reward we did, then we start taking credit for ourselves for doing it, right?

Well, you know, that kind of person is focused on himself. You know, in reality, he still looks at himself, he can't focus on the Lord. So he already has taken the wrong approach. He's focused on himself and not Christ. I mean, it's not to the extent that we don't look at ourselves. It's imperative that we do look at ourselves. But the other thing, we keep getting bound down by this whole over-analysis of what the source of our life looks like or what it is.

The Holy Spirit is going to convict us. If we're doing things and it's all out of the flesh and all of that, I think if you're a believer, the Holy Spirit is going to give you a little nudge. That's the wrong source. It's God working through us anyway. Any good we do is still working. Bob, let's keep this in context. We just talked about the deceivers, and watch out for yourselves.

Don't be deceived would be the appropriate application here, I think. That's perfectly correct, and I think ultimately this does relate to having a scriptural foundation that's faith-based and truth. You know, John's emphasized truth, too, repeatedly. So I think, in context, it's in the atmosphere of reception, for sure. Let's turn to verse 9 now.

Whosoever goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. And he who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. All right, so this is, he who goes ahead or transgresses. It's interesting, we'll come back to that in a second. That's present active, that means right now.

He who goes ahead and doesn't abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. So John kind of equates that to transgression, although many translations says goes ahead. So we'll come back to that in a second. Don't you find interesting that someone who goes ahead and fails to abide is the same as a transgressor? It really states it, doesn't it? I mean, I think the answer is yes.

If we don't abide in the doctrine of Christ, we'll come back to that in a second, we are a transgressor. We're not really of the Lord. I mean, that doesn't mean we weigh everything we think and do, It's the doctrine of Christ, and we're going to come to that in a second. So, a couple verses first before we address that.

Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat bread. Okay, under law, right? He answered, Christ answered and said to them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

In a sense, I think the whole tradition within organized Christianity is maybe potentially in view of that particular statement. And the Gospel of John, if anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. So that's a consequence of not abiding, and I think it really relates to what are we abiding in?

We're abiding in the doctrine of Christ. the doctrine of Christ. Actually, New American Standard has teaching of Christ. All right, you're looking ahead at the handout. The doctrine's best interpreted as teaching and fear of the Lord Jesus Christ. So yes, and in a sense, when we think of the doctrine of Christ, it's in fact the life of Christ we have that's spiritually founded and Roy's spirit led. Yes. That's the doctrine of Christ. There's not a series of commandments that we need to abide in.

We abide in the individual who is our new life in Christ Jesus. And now let's look at the alternative. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. So whoever doesn't abide in the doctrine of Christ the salvation experience and the life lived out in this new spirit-like creation we are in Christ Jesus.

Ultimately, he does not have the son or the father. And I think this really speaks, as Roger just said, to his teaching, doesn't it? So we don't necessarily go to the gospel teaching because a lot of that, other than the epistle of God, relates to his approach to Israel and ultimately the upcoming cross before him. You know, just to conclude here, we'll share a few verses from John to look at teaching as really is the doctrine of Christ. If anyone wills to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak of my own authority. So even John says, it's not me, ultimately it's the Lord who in fact provides evidence of that doctrine. And this also really speaks in teaching of others about him, doesn't it?

Colossians 3.16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and all the wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in sounds and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your approach to the Lord. Again, the personalization of this doctrine lived out. Hebrews, for we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

John, again, 523, that all should honor the son just as they honor the father. Again, both put together. He who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. Again, remember the text says the son and the father is ultimately the abiding truth. And whosoever denies the son does not have the father either. And he who acknowledges his son has the father.

And finally, from Titus, holding fast the faithful word, as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, born to exhort and convict those who contradict." So I think to summarize this section of Fall Students Part 1, the bottom line is we're beat up to well-founded and biblical truth. terms of our position and how the Holy Spirit enables our condition to abide in the doctrine which is the entire teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember the jeweler, often the metaphor is a jeweler knows the true diamond to what it really looks like and therefore the phony stone as a, you know, not a true diamond. So, you know, we study the scripture to know Christ personally, that ultimately we then can weigh off the deceiver and recognize him or her as to who they really are.

Any comments from others in closing here today? I was just thinking, without Paul's teaching from Christ on the positional truth, which many churches aren't teaching, this passage can be really devastating for a believer. And I think when we introduced this series of lessons in 1 John, we really said to them, 1 John is really tough to really interpret and apply unless you're well-founded in position of truth. I just think You know, if you go here, I overly simplify John's epistles, saying black and white, and he's pretty, really hits the nail on the head. Either you're in or you're out, and that's a bad description of maybe the epistles, but you're right, Wayne, it's really... Well, John doesn't use the same terms as Paul did, or we might, but the doctrines of Christ, that's what he's saying.

The human interpretation of doctrines is a list of some sort of things that we have to follow. This is anything other than, as Bengel said, this is all grace. It's an entirely different principle that we operate in. rather than a series of doctrinal statements that we must abide by.

And that's kind of neat. I think it takes the pressure off, gives you a rest, and then gives you a trust that ultimately that life is to abide by day in and day out by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's a whole different message in that we must follow this and do this. Any other closing comments or remarks? Andrew, would you close us in prayer, please? Sure.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your wonderful word and your grace and the salvation that your Son brought to us. And we thank you for all things in Him. And we thank you for this wonderful study in John. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Andrew.