The Book of 2 John

Purpose of The Book of 2 John:
During the first two centuries of the early church, the gospel was taken from place to place by traveling evangelists and teachers. Believers customarily took these missionaries into their homes and gave them provisions for their journey when they left. Since the Gnostic false teachers also relied on this practice, the book of 2 John was written to urge discernment in supporting traveling teachers.

Summary of The Book of 2 John:
2 John is all about living in the love of God in accordance with the truth of Jesus Christ.

There is no way to tell if “the elect lady” is a specific woman or a church. The obvious way of taking it is that it written to a woman of distinction in one of the church, like “the co-elect lady in Babylon” (1 Peter 5:13)-Peter’s wife who traveled with him (1 Cor 9:5). Some think that it refers to a specific church to which the letter was sent. The letter refers to the elect woman and her children. This can mean real children (like in 1 Tim 3:4) or the spiritual children of the church (like in Gal 4:19 and Gal 4:25 and 1 Tim 1:2). It is more consistent to take this reference as referring to the local church as a whole. Feminine personifications of the church abound in the writings of the apostles (1 Peter 5:13, 1 Cor 11:2, Ephesians 5:25-29).

Author and Dates of The Book of 2 John:
The apostle John is the author this letter. He most likely wrote the book at about the same time as 1 John (about AD 90). Note these obvious similarities between 1 John and 2 John (2 John 5 and 1 John 2:7; 2 John 6 and 1 John 5:3; 2 John 7 and 1 John 4:2-3; 2 John 12 and 1 John 1:4).

Outline of The Book of 2 John:

1. Greeting (verses 1-3).
2. Exhortation for their Love (verses 4-6).
3. Warning against Deceivers (verses 7-11).
4. Conclusion (verses 12-13)

Themes of The Book of 2 John:
John writes of how important it is for Christians to love one another. To love means to obey God’s commandments, and God’s commandments in turn tell us to live lives of love. John emphasizes the importance of the teaching that Jesus is God’s Son - both God and man. Christians should separate themselves from those who teach that Jesus is not God’s Son.