Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 John 1

“Elder” (GK 4565) can mean an old man, a senior person deserving respect, or a senior official of a local church (cf. Acts 11:30; 14:23; 1 Timothy 5:17). The author of this brief letter must have been so well known and established to those he was writing to that the title “elder” immediately identified him. That he assumes authority over them, though he is obviously not a member of their church, suggests that he was more than a local pastor. He probably held an influential position (like that of a bishop) in the region where his readers lived. That “the elder” was also the writer of the first letter and that he was the apostle John is a valid inference (see the introduction to 1 John).

The designation of the letter’s addressee raises questions. “Chosen lady” in Greek is Eclecta Kyria (GK 1723 & 3257). From ancient times opinion has been divided as to whether this letter was addressed to an anonymous noble lady named “Eclecta” or “Kyria,” or to a Christian community metaphorically identified as “the chosen lady and her children”; those differences continue yet today.

While a strict interpretation supports an individual person as the addressee, the context supports an enigmatic reference to a Christian community. Such a veiled allusion may have been a device for shielding the identity of the community from adverse action by public officials who opposed the Christian community. If the letter fell into unfriendly hands, it would seem to be nothing more than a private message to a friend. The greetings extended to them from the children of her “chosen sister” (v.13) would be understood as being from the members of the community of “the elder.” The statement “whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth” seems more appropriate as a reference to a church than to an individual.

The linking of “truth” (GK 237) and “love” (GK 26) is of great importance.

Because John’s readers are in the truth—i.e., they know Jesus as the Christ, the Father’s Son—they are also the recipients of God’s love as it is known and manifested in the community of faith. And the love received by the community comes from all who know the truth. The author is speaking in clear contrast to the heretics. They do not have the truth, nor do they know what it means to be in the community of love.

John goes on to explain why the community of love can be so inclusive. Love relates to the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever. Truth, for him, is more than what is objectively known. It is that which indwells believers, permeating their whole existence. Because it is the truth of God, it has no temporal limitation. Love and truth are not passing sentiments, nor are they dependent on depths of emotional feeling or the strength of one’s personal commitment. Love and truth originate in God. Like him, they endure without changing, and their splendor never fades.

At the time John’s letters were written, the salutation of a letter ended with a greeting. Most of the NT letters follow this custom but give it a special Christian character, such as “grace and peace to you” (Romans 1:7; cf. 1 Peter 1:2) or “grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1 Timothy 1:2). Here, however, John adds a significant variation to this custom. Rather than wishing or praying that God may grant us peace, he turns it into a promise that God’s mercy and grace will be ours if we truly remain in his truth and love. In the next section, “truth” and “love” continue to be the chief topic.

According to tradition, the apostle John served as the pastor of Ephesus in his latter years. Although during his time there were no specific church buildings, the Christians at Ephesus eventually built a huge basilica, whose remains are still visible.

The author continues to follow the custom of his time by expressing his pleasure in writing to his readers. Like other Christian writers, John relates this note of “joy” to their spiritual state, for they are faithful to the truth.

The force of “some” in v.4 is disputed. Some think that the elder had met only some members of the community, and it is to them he refers here. It seems more likely, however, that news of the church had been brought to the elder and that part of this news was that the church had suffered division as a consequence of the work of the heretics. But John rejoices that some of the children remained true to the faith that he had delivered to them and that he had just referred to in v.2. The next clause—“just as the Father commanded us”—seems to relate to “the truth” they heard “from the beginning” (v.5). The commandment received from the Father is explained in v.5 as the commandment of love and in v.7 as belief in the Son (cf. 1Jn 3:23).

Clearly for John the commandment of love has precedence here, just as it does in 1Jn 4:21. It is not that love precedes truth or belief but that love offers the clearest test of the truthfulness of the confession and the sincerity of the obedience given to God’s commands. Belief may be feigned and confession only of the lips, but love is harder to counterfeit. The elder is not requiring something new but that which has been the supreme and final word “from the beginning.” Love for one another is what the Father required , the Son manifested , and the Spirit makes available through life in him .