8/14/2019 71 3 John

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2 JOHNTHE SECOND LETTER OF JOHN

3 JOHNTHE TH I RD LETTER OF JOHN

I In 2:18J I n 4:1-3I In 2:22

1 In 2:23-24Jude4

3 In 13f

I I n 1:4

From the Elder:> my greetings to the Lady, the chosen one, b and to her Ichildren, she whom I love in the truth- a nd I am no t th e only one , f or so do allwho have come to know the truth- . because of the truth tha t lives in us and will 2be with us for ever . -I n ou r life of truth and love, weshal l have grace, mercy andpeace from God the Fatherand from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father.The law of love

It has given me great joy to find tha t your children have been living the life of 4truth' as wewere commanded by the Fa ther. 1 am writing now, dear lady , not to 5give you any new com mandment, but the one wh ich we were given at the begin ning, and to plead: let us love one another.To love is to live according to his commandments: th is is the commandment bwhich you have heard s ince the beginning," to live a life of love.The enemie s of Christ

There are many deceivers about in the world, refusing to admi t tha t Jes usChris t has come in the flesh. They a re the Deceive r; they are the Antichrist.Wa tc h yourselves, or all our work ' will be lost and not get the reward it deserves.If anybody does not keep within the teaching of Christ/ but goes beyond it, ' hecannot have God with him: onl y those who keep to wha t he taught can have theFather and the Son with them . -I f anyone comes to you br inging a different 10doctrine, you must no t receive him in your house or even give him a greeting.To greet him would make you a partner in his wicked work. 11

There are several th ings I have to te ll you, but I have tho ught it bes t no t to 12trust them to paper and ink . I hope instead to visit you and talk to you personally,so that our joy' mayb e complete.

Greetings to you from the children of you r sister, i the chosen one. 13

From the Elder: greetings to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.2 My dear friend, I hope everythi ng is going happily with you and that you are aswell physically as you are spi ritually. It was a g re at j oy to me when some brotherscame and told of your faithfulness to the t ruth, and of your life in the truth.4 It is always my gre at es t joya to hear that my children are living acco rding to

the truth.My friend, you have done faithful work in looking after these brothers, eventh ough they were complete s trangers to you ." -They are a pr oo f to the whol eChurch of your charity and it wou ld be a very good thing if you could help themon the ir journey in a way that God would approve. -It was entirely for the sakeof the name ' that they set out, without depending on the p ag an s for anything;

8 it is ou r du ty to welcome men of this sort and contribute ou r sha re to t he ir workfor the truth.Beware of the example of Diotrephes

I have written a noted for the members of the church, but Diotrephes, who10 seems to enjoy being in charge of it, refuses to accept us .' -So if I come, I shalltell everyone how he has behaved, and abou t the wicked accusations he has beencirculat ing agai nst us. As if that were not enough, he not only refuses to welcome

ou r brothers, but prevents the other people who would have l iked to from doing11 it, and expels them f rom the church . My dear friend, never follow such a badexample, but keep following the good one ; an yone who does what is right is achi ld of God, but the person who does what is wrong has never seen God .

Commendation of Demetrius12 Demetrius/ has been appro ved by everyone, and indeed by the truth itself.We too will vouch for him and you know that our testimony is true.

2Jn 1+

2Jn4

1 I n 3:19+

Mt 18:50I n 8:24 +Mt 10:10,411 Tm 5:18

1 In 1:3+ .7+

1 In 5:6I n 19:35;21:24Epilogue

13 There were several things I had to tell you but I would ra ther not trust them 2 I n 1214 to pen and ink . However , I ho pe to see you soo n and talk to you per sonally.15 Peacebe with yo u ; greetings from you r friends; greet each ofour friends by name .

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a . T he elders were the leaders In each community.cr. Tt 1:5+. Here the title refers to John the apostle.t he ou ts t anding l eader of the commu nities o f As iaMinor.b. The 'Chosen Ladv' or 'Sovereign Lady',ftRurative reference to one of the local churches underthe jurisdiction o f t he Elder.c . Lit. 'walk in the truth '.d. Or ' YOU must ob ey that commandment as you

learnt it a t the beg mnins",e. Var . (VuIg,) 'your work ' ,t , Teaching either by. or abo ut . Christ.g. Tea ching pure spec ulation as apostolic doctrine.cf. Tt 3:9 : I Tm 2:16 . e tc .h . Var . (Vulg .) 'your Iov .i. T he church (perhaps Eph esus) from which theletter is being wr itten.

a . 'JOY. var . (Yu l g.) 'p rivilege'.b. Probably missionaries sent by the apost le t o t heco mmunities of Asia Minor.c. Th e n am e of the Lord ; i.e . the Good News orgos pel which carries the name of J es us Christ to thepagans.

d . Pe rhaps 2 In .e . Li t. 'D iotrephes loving bei ng (or anxious to be )their leader is no t r ec eiving us' ; by rejecting Jo hn 'smissi ona r ie s they reject Joh n him self .f. Either a leadin g member of that communityo r one o f t he missionaries reco mmended to Gaius.

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