MONDAY – 2 John 3-6, “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received 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. ” Last week as we introduced the letter of 2 John, we saw the Apostle opens it with a unique focus on “the truth”. He laid a foundation right of the top concerning the significance of truth to the life of the believer in Christ. From his personal greeting we learn not only that truth is important but also that it abides in the genuine believer forever. As we move along in the letter, we will this week see what we could call the benefits of the truth to the believer as well as the way the truth guides and controls their walk or conduct of the life. John then points out that love and truth go together and when we walk in the truth we love as Scripture has commanded. Our text this week introduces this relationship with loving in truth and we will see John will go onb to say there is an error we must avoid; namely, sacrificing or compromising truth in the name of love or being loving.
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Ask The Lord to teach You from His Word this week.
TUESDAY – 2 John 3, “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” As we begin to look at the specifics of our text we run into a familiar group of three words that we often use as a benediction at the dismissal of our times together in worship. John, like Paul and Peter and Jude as well uses the three words Grace, mercy, and peace. This sentence is obviously loaded with meaning and I use Kistemaker’s commentary to summarize the meaning here; “What is the meaning of this salutation? In his inimitable manner, John Albert Bengel summarizes the meaning of the phrase grace, mercy and peace in these words: “Grace removes guilt; mercy removes misery; peace expresses a continuance in grace and mercy.” And B. F. Westcott makes the following distinction: “ ‘Grace’ points to the absolute freedom of God’s love in relation to man’s helplessness to win it; and ‘mercy’ to His tenderness towards man’s misery.” Peace stands for harmony, trust, rest, safety, and freedom; it is God’s gift to man.” As mentioned earlier, we could call this trifecta the benefits of the truth in the life of a believer. These words summarize the progression of God’s plan of salvation: His grace caused Him to grant mercy, which results in peace. We understand as true Christians that grace views us sinners as guilty and undeserving (Romans 5:20) while mercy explains we are needy and helpless (Ephesians 2:4–5, Titus 3:5). Finally we know that when God extends grace and mercy to us the result is peace (Romans 5:1, Colossians 1:20).
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Do I understand these three words and are they applicable to me in my life? Think about the beauty of this salutation and thank God. Father, I am so very grateful for the wonderful gift these truths are to me.
WEDNESDAY – 2 John 3, “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” We mentioned that these three truths are benefits and gifts to the believer in Christ. But we also see a couple details in this verse that we need to point out. First, John is so certain of this truth that he doesn’t pronounce this blessing toward the people of God but he instead says that these truths will be with you. As Barclay comments’ “John is so sure of the gifts of the grace of God in Jesus Christ that he does not pray that his friends should receive them; he assures them that they will receive them. Here is the faith which never doubts the promises of God in Jesus Christ.” John is definite, because he does not express a wish but a declaration. He adds the words in truth and love. These three traits (grace, mercy, and peace) thrive where truth and love prevail. Truth unites the Christian community when we face the common enemy of lies and falsehood and when we demonstrate unity in showing love toward one another; we experience God’s blessing of these. The second thing we need to notice is obvious but important to understand. That is the fact of the source of these benefits; from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father… We have seen throughout 1 John as well as all of John’s recorded letters in Scripture that John is very clear and articulate as he places Jesus Christ on the same level as God the Father. John repeats the word from and notes that Jesus is the Son of God the Father. John opposes false doctrines concerning Jesus Christ and explicitly teaches Jesus’ divinity as God The Son.
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Am I experiencing these benefits of God said to be with God’s children? Do I rest in the fact that these will be with me as a genuine believer? Thank and praise God for being the source of these blessings.
THURSDAY – 2 John 4, I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.” It comes as no surprise John rejoiced greatly to find some of this Christian lady’s children walking in truth. That he mentions only some does not necessarily mean that the others were not saved but he seems to be referring to those of whom he had personal knowledge. We see we are to not merely know the truth but our knowledge of it should be reflected in our lives and behavior as well. The truth of God’s Word is to be lived as well as believed (Romans 2:13, James 1:22). Walking in truth refers to moving through life controlled by the truth. .John has said the equivalent of this in 1 John 1:7 when he spoke of walking in the light. The word walking is a frequent New Testament metaphor for the Christian life. We as Christians are to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). We also are told we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Paul told the Galatians they were to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25), and to the Ephesians he said “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1), “walk in love” (5:2), “walk as children of Light” (5:8), and “walk in wisdom” (5:15). John also had previously said we should “walk in the same manner as Jesus walked” (1 John 2:6). He then says as we received commandment from the Father which is not a reference to one particular commandment, but the general and obvious call to obey all God has revealed in Scripture. Scripture is even called “the commandment of the Lord” in Psalm 19:8. Obedience to God’s truth is not suggested but instead commanded. The beginning point of a person’s obedience is found in Acts 17:30 where it clearly says that God commands men everywhere to repent. We are responsible to believe and obey. We as Christians are to live consistently with the truth we believe. So much is said today concerning unity but the only true basis for unity is the truth of God’s Word that indwells, blesses, and controls the lives of individual believers in Jesus. Only true Christians who are firmly grounded in the truth will be able to withstand the attacks of persecution, temptation, and false doctrine.
(Meditate, Apply & Pray) Do I walk in the manner commanded of me from Sacred Scripture? Why or Why not? What do I need to change in order to have my walk be what it should be? Father, help me walk worthy.
FRIDAY– 2 John 5-6, “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. ” John uses the term command three times in these verses to indicate his God given authority. The command is not new, we have had from the beginning. The Father gave this command through His Son (John 13:34) and we’ve had it ever since Jesus preached the gospel during his earthly ministry. This passage is almost identical to 1 John 2:7: “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning” and 5:3, “This is love for God: to obey his commands”. The conclusion that these letters come from the same author is inevitable. We understand the first and greatest commandment is to love. God first and then our neighbor (Deuteronomy 6). We do these both by obeying the commands God has given us and walking in them. We must be careful to defend truth but also show love toward others. The church has many who express love for the truth but are woefully inadequate in love for others. Scripture teaches these two go together; love is not afraid of the truth they are companions. As Paul says, “Love always rejoices in the truth” and we are to “speak the truth in love”. True love is not a fleeting emotion but a lasting commitment, a genuine manifestation and fulfillment of the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). John has said it before, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18).
(Pray) Father, help me to love the truth and from a place of truth, love others.
