“I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. ... If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 5,10-115And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. (2 John 5)
10If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. (2 John 10‑11)).
An inspired epistle to a lady and her children! This short letter stands alone in this respect in the New Testament.
One of the last of the inspired writings, it emphasizes that in weakness God manifests His power. When men in times past abandoned the truth and failed the Lord, women stood firm and maintained the ground for God. This we see when Mary of Bethany poured her precious ointment upon Him, while His disciples quarrelled as to who should be the greatest. We also see it when Mary Magdalene stood alone at His empty tomb, while the rest sought the comfort of their own homes. These are examples of devotion that shall never be forgotten, along with the faithfulness of this nameless lady who held herself and her household for the Lord.
She may have lived in a great pagan city in which there may have been a Christian assembly; we do not know for sure. But whatever the condition of things where she lived, this lady and her children had remained faithful to the Lord. Thus it is not an exhibition of weakness which is given us in this epistle, but of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:77For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)). It is a blessed thing when a company of Christians continues steadfastly on its way in the same path, but in this case, it was a household that walked in the truth, and this greatly gladdened the heart of the Apostle.
The Doctrine of Christ
The instruction given here must be heeded by all saints who desire to be faithful to the Lord, whether individually or collectively, for the rigid exclusion of evil doctrine here spoken of is of paramount importance. But the letter was not written to an assembly of saints, but to a lady — possibly a widow — and her children. This should be great encouragement to us, for it shows what the grace and power of God can do for those who are dependent upon Him.
The attempts of the devil to break down this lady’s faithfulness to Christ had failed; he had not been able to capture her house. It had stood firm in the presence of his assaults, so he changed his tactics and tried to accomplish by subtlety that which he had failed to do by force. The Apostle knew of this, and he wrote to her to warn her that if any came to her house in the guise of a Christian minister, yet not bringing the doctrine of Christ, her doors were to be barred against him.
The Atmosphere of Love
But there was another danger that threatened from within, and they needed to be reminded of the commandment of the Lord. John had often pressed it upon them, but now he writes the same thing to them: “That ye love one another.” Love is also the atmosphere in which the children of God live and thrive; it is the power that inspires all true activity. Apart from this a man is nothing, even though he may stand rigidly for purity of doctrine. What pleasure could the Lord find in a man who, while he refused all complicity with a heretic, did not love his brethren?
Where the Lord’s command is kept, whether in the assembly or the household, there He is supreme. But here it is not only the Lord’s commandment, but the Father’s. How wonderful that grace should have set the saints in the path of obedience to the Father’s will — a path trodden perfectly by the Lord when here, and in which we are to be His followers! In His lowly obedience to His Father’s command, He was maintained by the Father’s hand and abode in His Father’s love. And we also, if our hearts are set for this path, shall find help from that same most blessed source of all blessing! Let us contemplate it in the presence of God our Father and fear no more either the power or subtlety of the devil, for from it we learn that the assembly, household or individual that is set upon walking in the truth is the object of the Father’s special care.
Walking in Truth
“Walking in truth” does not mean that we merely hold the doctrines of Christianity intact. It involves this, surely, but it is more; it is obedience to the Father and love to one another. Further, as the letter reveals, it means resisting all attempts to introduce subversive teaching contrary to that which we have learned from the beginning.
Obedience to the Father’s command will result in love to one another and make us valiant for the truth. True love does not wink at evil. It is not that weak and false charity that preaches a universal brotherhood and runs with any man who is plausible and popular, no matter what his doctrine may be. Such charity as that is of the devil, produced by modern looseness in spiritual matters. What an amazing thing it is that in Christendom every God-dishonoring and Christ-denying doctrine that was ever propagated beneath the sun should find a home! And yet it is the fulfillment of the parable of the great mustard tree in which the foul birds of the air find a lodging (Matt. 13:31-3231Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. (Matthew 13:31‑32)). We should not be taken by surprise when we find it so.
Evil Without – Truth Within
True love is jealous for the truth. It will not bid the heretic “God speed.” It will withdraw from him, and avoid those associations where he is tolerated. He who denies the truth of Christ is a deceiver and an antichrist, and to hold intercourse with him is to play the traitor to the Lord. True love will close the door against the evil teacher, for it knows that if Christ is to be kept in, the deceiver and antichrist must be kept out. It also knows that if evil teaching is admitted, the very springs of life will be poisoned and that all true godliness will wither and die, for he who “abideth not in the doctrine of Christ has not God.” If God be taken from us what life do we have! So, as a mother would refuse to allow polluted or poisoned food to come into the house and upon the table where her children feed, true love will keep far distant all that is not the truth. And if this cannot be done in the church at large, then it must be done in the Christian home; it is the privilege and responsibility of the head, as well as of each member of it, to be valiant and diligent in this regard. May the grace and mercy of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, maintain many in the truth until we see the Savior face to face, when our joy will be full.
J. T. Mawson (adapted)