In Hellenistic times the author of a letter identified himself at the top instead of signing off at the end. Based on this information, how does John refer to himself and to whom is he writing? “the elder, and the chosen lady and her children”
John loves the recipients of this letter in the “truth” (verse 1)
In verse 3, John promises his readers three blessings that would be with them. What are they? (Note, this is the first time we’ve seen these words used together in John’s writings.) “grace, mercy and peace”
In verse 2, John says that the truth lives in us, and will be with us forever. How would you describe the difference between knowing truth and having it literally dwell inside you?
“(Discord vs. Applejack)
“Knowing the truth is still sort of external; you can choose to live accordingly or not – you can take it or leave it as it pleases you. Having it dwell inside you makes it a part of you – second nature; to be untruthful is difficult, if not impossible, like mixing oil and water.”
What two foundational ingredients does John mention at the end of verse 3? “truth and love”
You can’t have love without truth, and you can’t have truth without love.
[from the author] I have sometimes treated people in ways that looked like love when really I was just allowing their harmful behavior to go unchallenged, because I was too afraid to speak the truth (love not according to truth). At other times, I’ve been too hard on people, impatient, or judgemental when they fell short of the truth (truth not according to love).
Continue reading verses 4-6. What was John ‘overjoyed’ to find in this body of believers? “people walking in the truth”
Walking in the truth, or living in truth revealed in Jesus Christ, affects everything; our attitudes, flavor of conversations, sexual behavior, use of money and time, tone of our voices, what we watch and listen to, the words we speak. Truth lays down the path on which God calls us to walk.
In what ways do you experience the same kind of joy [as John had] when you see your own children, spouse, nieces, or nephews, or those you disciple taking steps on the path of truth?
“It fills me with a warm, fuzzy, blessed feeling.”
Truth without love is disastrous, and in some ways no truth at all.
Look back at 1 John 3:23. How does this verse combine both the truth and love command that John speaks of in 2 John 4-5?
“It tells us to believe in Jesus and love one another.”
In verse 6, John spells out a distinctive of love. Complete the sentence: ‘And this is love… “that we walk in obedience to His command”’
Why do you think our loving others is invariably tied to our obeying God‘s commands?
“Our love is frail and fallible unless we can tap into God‘s perfect agape love by walking with Him.”
In verses 4 and 6, John tells us to walk into things. One more time – what are they? “truth and love”
We integrate truth and love in real life when we are obedient to God‘s commands. Name one area of your life where God is requesting obedience. Make a commitment to obey and watch how love for others mysteriously springs forth.
“I know I should honor Randy’s wishes, and treat my body is a temple better by going to bed earlier and getting enough sleep. I will try.”
When I couldn’t figure out how to love certain people in my life, I could usually point to a truth I was neglecting.
Dearest Rachel –
Despite not being a brony like Daniel (or a pegasister like you were), I can actually understand your comparison of Applejack (who is the avatar of the Element of Honesty) and Discord (who may know what is true, but has so much fun messing with reality) to differentiate between knowing and living the truth. It’s one of those things that most of your fellow students wouldn’t think of (or even know), but those of us who do will get it, and agree wholeheartedly with the comparison.
For my own part, I’ve never thought about what it meant to have only truth or only love, and why one without the other would be a bad thing. I wonder if I didn’t spend too much of our time loving without truth, and not making more of an effort to correct behaviors, simply because either you or Daniel didn’t want to change, and I was afraid of being more like one who focuses on the truth without love instead. I wonder if there aren’t circumstances where it’s almost impossible to find the place where the two concepts overlap.
And as for your acknowledgement of your need for more obedience, well… we know how that went. For what it’s worth, I suppose you’re getting your rest now. I just wish I could see you again, whether rested or not.
But for now, keep an eye on us, honey, and wish us luck. We’re going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 