The Letters · New Testament
2 John 1
2 John 1: a short letter to the elect lady about truth and deceivers
General context
The whole letter runs to thirteen verses. It is sent from the elder to the elect lady and her children, whom he says he loves in the truth along with all who have known the truth, for the truth's sake which dwells in them and will be with them for ever, with grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. The writer says he rejoiced greatly at finding some of her children walking in truth, as commanded by the Father. He then asks her, saying it is not a new commandment but the one they had from the beginning, that they love one another, and defines love as walking after his commandments, with the commandment being that they walk in it as they heard from the beginning. A reason follows. Many deceivers have entered the world who do not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, and such a one is called a deceiver and an antichrist. The readers are told to look to themselves so that what has been worked is not lost and a full reward is received. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God, while whoever abides in it has both the Father and the Son. A practical instruction follows: anyone who comes without this doctrine is not to be received into the house or greeted, since greeting him makes a person a partaker of his evil deeds. The letter ends by saying the writer has many things to write but would rather not use paper and ink, hoping instead to come and speak face to face so that their joy may be full, and it closes with greetings from the children of her elect sister.
Cited passages: 2 John 1:1, 2 John 1:2, 2 John 1:3, 2 John 1:4, 2 John 1:5, 2 John 1:6, 2 John 1:7, 2 John 1:8, 2 John 1:9, 2 John 1:10, 2 John 1:11, 2 John 1:12, 2 John 1:13
2 John 1 (KJV)
1The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
2For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.
3Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
5And 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.
6And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
7For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
9Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
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.
12Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
13The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.
This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.
Historical context
The writer calls himself "The elder" and gives no name. The recipient is "the elect lady and her children", also unnamed, and the letter closes with greetings from "The children of thy elect sister", again with no names. No city, journey or date appears, only the writer's hope to come. The letter addresses the lady in the singular, "I beseech thee, lady", and elsewhere uses the plural, as at "Look to yourselves" and "If there come any unto you". What it establishes about the occasion is narrow: some of her children were found walking in truth, and deceivers who do not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh have gone into the world. The same confession is the test at 1 John 4:2, "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God". The letter names no deceiver and describes no incident. It quotes no older scripture.
Cited passages: 2 John 1:1, 2 John 1:13, 2 John 1:5, 2 John 1:8, 2 John 1:10, 2 John 1:4, 2 John 1:7, 1 John 4:2
Literary context
The letter is one page and it shows. The word truth appears five times in the first four verses, so the greeting itself carries the argument before any instruction arrives. The middle turns on a single move: love is redefined as walking after commandments, and the commandment is then said to be walking, which closes the circle rather than adding anything new, and the writer says twice that none of this is new. The turn at verse 7 is abrupt, and from there the letter is about a door. Its instruction is physical rather than doctrinal, refusing house room and a greeting, and the reason given is shared responsibility for deeds. The close reverses the letter's own medium, saying paper and ink are not wanted where a visit would do, so a letter about not receiving the wrong visitor ends by hoping for the right one.
Cited passages: 2 John 1:1, 2 John 1:2, 2 John 1:4, 2 John 1:5, 2 John 1:6, 2 John 1:10, 2 John 1:11, 2 John 1:12
Key moments
- The elder to the lady (2 John 1:1). The letter opens with two unnamed parties and repeated truth.
- Children walking in truth (2 John 1:4). The writer reports gladness at what he found among her children.
- Not a new commandment (2 John 1:5). The request is presented as old rather than new.
- Deceivers in the world (2 John 1:7). Those who deny that he came in the flesh are named deceivers.
- Abiding in the doctrine (2 John 1:9). Staying with the teaching is tied to having the Father and Son.
- Do not receive him (2 John 1:10). The instruction becomes a rule about the household door.
- Face to face instead (2 John 1:12). The writer would rather visit than finish in ink.
For reflection
The letter turns a matter of belief into a rule about who gets through the front door. What does it mean that the writer puts the line at hospitality rather than at argument?
