Peter Barnes | 2 John 1-3
SERMON NOTES
ELECT IN THE TRUTH
(2 John 1-3)
– John simply introduces himself as ‘the elder’ – as Philip Melanchthon used to call John Calvin ‘the theologian’. The epistle is about loving in the truth (vv.1-3), walking in the truth (vv.4-6), and not departing from the truth (vv.7-11).
1. The Church consists of God’s elect.
– v.1. Alfred Plummer thought that the lady was an actual woman, but John writes in the singular in verse 5 and the plural in verse 6. He is surely referring to the church (e.g. Eph.5:25-33; Rev.19:7-9; 21:2)
– the people of God are chosen (1 Pet.5:13; Col.3:12; Acts 13:48; Deut.7:6-8)
2. The Church loves in the truth.
– vv.1-2; some disagreement allowed over secondary issues (e.g. Rom.14:1-6)
– What is truth? (John 18:38) It is wrong to say that ‘Doctrine divides but experience unites’.
– a shared view of Christ, His death, His resurrection, His glory, and His saving power unites all Christians in love
3.The Church knows God’s grace, mercy and peace through Christ.
– v.3; this is not a prayer wish like Rom.1:7 or Jude 2
– it is a statement of fact