Day 361 (2 John 1, 3 John 1) - Year 6
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. New Testamenters, today we finished books 25 and 26, and whole Bible crew, we finished books 64 and 65. We only have one book left.

Both of today's books are written by someone who refers to himself as the elder, which was a common way of referring to a pastoral leader in the church, which John certainly was. And church history tells us that this is John the Apostle. So while there are other viable theories about who wrote these books, the prevailing opinion is that it was John the Apostle, aka the disciple Jesus loved, aka author of the Gospel of John and 1 John. And many believe he also wrote Revelation, which we'll start reading tomorrow and we'll finish on our last day of this trip through scripture.

2 John is addressed to the elect lady. Which lady? It could be a person, but more likely that's John's way of addressing a specific church, the Bride of Christ, God's elect. Why is that more likely? There are a few reasons, but the most straightforward is that when John uses the word you in this book, it's typically the plural form of the word you. In other words, John is using the Hebrew for y'all or you guys.

He starts out by saying he loves the church and its people, and that all people who love the truth love the church and its people. This is hard for some of us. Some of us have been wounded by the church and its people because it's made up of sinners like us. Some of us have done some of the wounding of other people, either intentionally or accidentally. God continually pours out grace to help us heal wounds and bridge gaps and restore brokenness, just like with Paul and John Mark.

God is committed to the unity of His church, so He sends the Spirit as our helper in aiming for unity and in aiming for truth.

And in fact, those are the two things he drills down on in this letter, love and truth. That combination is the ultimate goal. Love without truth is foolish. Truth without love is arrogant. But truth and love strike the balance Christ demonstrated. And the way we can live those out too is by doing what Jesus says, by obeying his commandments. If we really believe what Jesus says is truth, then love is living it out. Truth and love fit together beautifully.

But John makes the point that love doesn't mean throwing your doors wide open to anyone. He says to be discerning, to pay attention, because there are some people you should close your doors to. Like 1 John, this letter is written to encourage and direct the church because there are false teachers who are trying to manipulate and deceive them. This was obviously a widespread and persistent problem in the early church, and unfortunately, it hasn't really gone away today.

John says lots of people have started teaching these lies. He repeats the common theme we keep seeing anytime false teachers are addressed. First, there's the warning to watch out and abide and not be led astray. Then, it's followed by the encouragement that those who belong to Christ will abide and will not be led astray. Look for that pattern here in verses 8-9.

This is a lot like what we read yesterday in 1 John 2.19. Those who are in Christ will persevere in the faith.

It's easy to think that just because we're listening to a pastor or teacher or leader who claims to be a Christian, that their words are all true. After all, we're not in a Buddhist temple. We're not in a cult leader's compound. But the enemy loves to set up camp in the church and try to deceive both its members and its leaders. So John urges this church and its leaders to stay strong, to be on the lookout for bad doctrine that is inconsistent with what Christ and Scripture teach. In order to do that, you have to know what Christ and Scripture teach, right?

Would you say you have more of a grasp on that after this trip through the Bible? After 10 plus trips through, I still learn and see something new every day. I keep coming back day after day, year after year, asking him to reinforce and remind me of what I've already learned and to give me more wisdom and insight, trusting he'll keep strengthening my knowledge of who he is and deepening my love for him. And he does not disappoint.

3 John is written to a believer named Gaius. We don't really know anything about him except that he was probably part of the church John addressed in 2 John. Apparently, all three of these letters arrived at their destination in one packet, and that's why they were kept together.

John encourages Gaius by telling him he's hearing good things about him behind his back. Some people from his church came to visit John and told him about all the ways Gaius supported them and built them up. He tells him to keep at it, to support them in a manner worthy of God, because in that sense, he will be doing work for the kingdom too. Even though he won't be doing the work himself, he'll be contributing to it in a way that makes it possible. Sidebar, this made me think of our recaptains. Thank you.

Then John warns Gaius about a man named Diotrephes, who is trying to call the shots at the church. John says he'll deal with him personally when he gets there, but he wants Gaius to be aware of the problem so things don't get out of control before he arrives. In the meantime, he encourages Gaius to imitate those who display God's character and goodness to the world around them.

My God shot today was in 2 John, where he's talking about those who don't confess Jesus as Lord. He calls these people antichrists, those who are against Christ, who deny that he is who he says he is. In Matthew 12, Jesus said, He who is not with me is against me. Apparently, it's not a sliding scale. So in a technical sense, any unbeliever, anyone who denies Jesus is God, is an antichrist. Jesus is the line of demarcation between truth and lies.

and lies. He is the line of demarcation between life and death. In John 14, he said,

But the good news and the hope of the gospel is that Jesus reaches across that line into enemy territory and rescues those who oppose him and bring them into his family. I am evidence of that. You are evidence of that. There is hope yet for all who are in the other camp. May they come to know and believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that he's where the joy is.

Tomorrow, we'll be starting our last book, Revelation. Don't stress out about it. We're linking to an overview video in the show notes that covers the first part of the book. And we'll link to the second video in two days when we get to the back half of the book.

Our friends at ChristianBook.com are having a great sale for all our TBR listeners. Through the end of January, they're offering 50% off all TBR products. That means all versions of a TBR book and kids' books, plus the Daily Journal, the Daily Study Guide, and the Weekly Discussion Guide. They're all on sale. And it comes just in time to get yourself prepped to read through the Bible again starting in January.

To hit up this sale, go to christianbook.com or click the link in the show notes.