In 2 John we have the elect lady and her children, deceivers described, and the prohibition of wishing them God's speed. Here now the reading of God's inspired word, 2 John. Verse one. The 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. for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. Grace 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. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth as we have received a commandment from the Father. And 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. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. And this is the commandment, that as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. For 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. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. But, or excuse me, he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. For if there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds. Having 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. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. Thus far the reading of God's holy word from the epistle of 2 John. Verses one through six, we have the salutation of the elect lady and her children with commendations of her faith and love and commending faith and love to her. Notice here, verse one, John refers to himself as the elder. Now, Peter, likewise, refers to himself as a fellow elder in 1 Peter 5, verse 1. And it is thought by many that this refers to the office of elder. Others believe that John is now an aged man, nearing 100 years of age. And perhaps he's referring to himself as his age, not his office. I think it's probably both. Certainly they were elders, all of the apostles, though they had an extraordinary eldership and bishopric, a temporary, unlike other bishops, elders. But notice he calls himself the elder and he's writing unto the elect lady and his children or her children. There doesn't appear to be a husband in play. It's likely she was a widow. But she is elect of God, chosen before the foundation of the world. And this is how we are to think and conceptualize of all who profess the true religion. We're to consider them as God's elect. Do we know? Are we God? Can we see the elect inside of the heart or in the decree of God? Of course not. But God has revealed that those within the pale of his church, within the visible church, we are to consider them as such. He says that he loves both the elect lady and her children in the truth. And not only he himself with a sort of private love, but also all they that have known the truth. This is a proper Christian love. Universal among God's people. And it's according to God's holy truth as the rule for their love. In other words, it's not lust, it's not uncleanness, it's not some fondness for a personal reason. It's the same love that all the saints share for each other. He talks about, in verse two, for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. One is present, one is future. This truth, now, he says, dwelleth in us. It's the present tense. But notice also, shall be with us forever. That's the future. Both now and in the future, this truth is with us, the elect of God, the people of God. He wishes her and them grace, mercy, and peace in truth and love, grace for your persons or to you, mercy to pardon your sins, and peace with God and in your conscience. These are apostolic benedictions and blessings. from God the Father, he says, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. This grace comes to us from the Father through the Son as the mediator. He doesn't mention this, but we find elsewhere in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is Trinitarian grace that we receive. He rejoiced, he says, greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, verse four. There is a multi-generational faith bringing joy to the apostle, much like the apostle Paul refers to Timothy, and who? His mother and his grandmother. The faith passed on from generation to generation. And this walking in the truth means they didn't just profess and say that they believed in Christ, They also ordered their lives in such a way as pleased the Lord Jesus, walking in truth. The Geneva Bible states this, this true profession consists both in love towards one another, which the Lord has commanded, and also especially in wholesome and sound doctrine, which also is delivered to us. For the commandment of God is a sound and sure foundation, both of the rule of conduct and of doctrine, and these cannot be separated from one another. You can't say, I just want a doctrinal Christianity. No, no, no, no. I just want a practical Christianity. Well, God says you must have both or you don't have God at all. If you don't walk according to his commandments, that's the practical Christianity, you don't have God. If you don't confess these specific propositions, these doctrines, well then you're not a Christian either. You must have both faith and obedience. Let us have a doctrinally sound love and let us love one another according to the truth we believe. What God says in his word, let us love according to it. and let our love be with discernment and wisdom and truth. Notice there, verse six, he tells us, you know, people write all kinds of songs like they don't know what love is. I wish you would show me. I want to know what love is. Well, what is it? God says, this is love that we walk after his commandments. The apostle says the same thing. Love is the fulfilling of the law, not its abrogation as the antinomians imagine. If you have love, you don't need the law. Somebody tried to tell me this once because I was trying to get people to think about the Ten Commandments. The man said, well, all you need to know is love. You don't need the Ten Commandments, you just need the law of love. And I said, well, okay, do you love if you commit adultery? And he didn't wanna answer the question, why? Well, because it's obvious. To love means to keep the commandments. The commandment to love your neighbor means to keep those commandments with respect to your neighbor. The command to love God means to keep those commandments that respect God himself. What is love? It is the keeping of His commandments, that we walk after or under the dominion of His commandments, according to His commandments. The Westminster Annotations say, lust then and sparing offenders whom we ought to reprove or punish is not love, because it is contrary to God's commandments. Let us then have a lawful love, a true love, As you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. Now that you should walk, or with the purpose that you walk. You hear things with your ears. What is the purpose for hearing these things? That you should walk, he says. We must do, not just be hearers of the word. That's what John is saying. Our purpose for preaching the word, your purpose for hearing the word, one of those is that you should walk, that you should do. Then verses 7 through 11, we have deceivers described and denounced and no God's speed wished to them. Verse 7, many deceivers are entered into the world. You know, would you like to have a gold mine? If somebody promised you that you could buy five acres, and just below the surface of the ground, there was untold treasures of gold, would you want to buy those five acres, even at a higher price? Probably so. What if you bought it, sight unseen, you paid the money, you went to the five acres, and all there was was coal? What would you think? Has that man sold me the right goods? Did he tell me the right thing? The Westminster Annotations say these deceivers give men coal mines for gold mines. Here, take all this rubbish. Take all this worthless material. We'll sell it to you as if it's a gold mine. But it's not. But it's told to you that it is. They rove about in their doctrines deceiving others. They do not take solid grasp of the truth. They don't lay the word of God plainly before the people openly. No, they want to deceive them, to make them believe things that are not true. Here's one. They confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. And we looked at this last week, 1 John 4, 2. Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. If you confess this, you're of God. Here he's saying they don't confess this. Now, is the usage of the words, Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is that enough? Is that what he's talking about? Well, I say Jesus has come in the flesh, so this can't touch me. Oh, yes, it can. Deceivers will say the right words. Everything will sound right. But they'll take the substance and they'll hollow it out. And what will they put in the place of the substance? Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Something else? Anything else? Anything but what the scriptures describe as Jesus, fully man, the son of David, the son of Abraham, the son of the virgin. Christ, the full and final fulfillment of all the types and shadows of the law and the prophets. He is the prophet. He is the priest. He is the king and head of his people. That's what it means to be the anointed or the Christ of God, the soul mediator, the only hope of salvation. He is in the flesh. He has a true human body, a real reasonable soul united together with his Godhead. He is come, meaning he once was not in the flesh, fully God, the logos. He now has come and taken this body into union with his Godhead. And furthermore, why did he come in the flesh? To accomplish our salvation. That's why he's called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now, if you say Jesus isn't the only way to God, can you say, well, Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and you're good? What if you said Jesus isn't the sole head of his church? There's another one, me or him or somebody else. Would you be qualified? Well, Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. You can't touch me. You know, there are other prophets for the church, other lawgivers, other judges. There are other heads. But I still believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Well, he appeared to have a real body and now he doesn't just have flesh anymore. Now he has like this supernatural God flesh that can show up at tables everywhere around the world and be his true and proper body. Can you say Jesus Christ has come in the flesh? Well, yeah, you could. And then you sell them a coal mine for a gold mine. You gut the truth of what this actually means. and you become what he calls a deceiver, and an antichrist, one who replaces or opposes Christ himself. No, you're not the only mediator. There are other lawgivers. There are other great high priests, Pontifex Maximus. There are other prophets and teachers than just you speaking in the scriptures. There are other kings and heads of his church. There are other husbands to the bride. There are other lawgivers and judges, are there? But you know who says so? Antichristos. Those who put themselves in the place of Christ. I don't care if they say the words, Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. If they deny the truth of it, they are antichrist. And so she is warned, she, a private individual, look to yourselves, you and your children, you have a duty, look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Every Christian has a responsibility to watch his own faith so he's not deceived, so he's not misled, so that these who present you with this beautiful gold mine don't take you and sell you a bill of goods. Verse nine. He says, whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. Here's the doctrinal test. Remember, there's the practical test, doing his commandments. Here's the doctrinal test, another one. The doctrine of Christ. What is it that we believe concerning our Savior Christ? Because if you don't believe what the apostles taught, You don't believe in a saving gospel. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, what does he have? Both the Father and the Son. Did you see the parallel there? Abideth not in the doctrine of Christ versus abideth in the doctrine of Christ. Perfect parallel, right? Abideth and abideth not. They're opposites, but they're parallel opposites. Now notice the other parallel, hath not God. Okay, well, what's the other parallel? The Father and the Son. Do you know what that means? Who is God in this passage, in verse 9? The Father and the Son. This shows us the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is part of the doctrine of Christ, that if you have Christ, you have God. And if someone comes along and they don't bring this doctrine. set aside your niceness, set aside the duty of courtesy, do not even wish them chairein in Greek. That's how the Romans and Greeks would say it. You would salute them, hail, they would say, the Romans would. And the Greeks would say, chairein, rejoice, be in good health, be happy, be joyful. That's what they would say when they would greet each other. Farewell, chavei in the Vulgate. He says, don't bid them that. You know, that's a common courtesy, isn't it? Hail, rejoice, be well, salute. That means to wish someone salvation or health. Don't do that, he says. Why? Because we're nasty, shriveled, unkind people who are self-righteous and judgmental? No. Because if you do that, you partake in their sins. It's as if you're pretending there's nothing wrong here. Everything's okay. I'm just going to say hi because that's nice. Who am I not to say hi, not to wish them well? Well, are you submitted to God or aren't you? Because God says, don't wish them God's speed, don't wish them well, don't wish them a fair journey, that all would be joyful and well with them, or you countenance, you encourage, you seem to approve of his deeds. Christianity then is not an unqualified niceness doctrine. Many false religions are. They are in unqualified niceness. Be nice. The 11th commandment. It's not within the 10, but somehow it got its way into people's conscience that this is the word of God. Well, there are times that we ought to be kind. That's the general rule. Be courteous. Scripture commands us to be courteous, but there's a limit. And God says, here and no further, don't go beyond this. Because if you go outside of this bound, you are pleasing men rather than pleasing God. Do not wish him God speed. Verses 12 and 13, he refers other things to personal discourse and concludes the letter. Verse 12, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face. Christian fellowship cannot be placed in distant communication. Listen, he could write her a letter, but he doesn't want to. What does he want to do? Well, she's a friend. She's a Christian sister. Her children are godly people. What does he want to do? He wants to be with them. Face to face, mouth to mouth, speaking, I can see you, I can hear you, in the flesh as we say. And these friends were not geographically local to each other. They were far away. there must be face to face, especially in local congregations. Do you know why Satan says, keep to yourself, stay away from the godly? Why? Because he knows then he can grab you and he can pull you aside little by little. Why? Because you're not in fellowship with the people of God. You're not having your joy increased by communing with others of like faith. Do you remember the lockdowns? Of course we all do, don't we? Don't go to church. Don't meet with the people of God. Oh, now look what we've got. E-church. You can log on to church. Is that what the apostle is talking about? He's talking about a distant geographical friend that he wants to see face to face. What do you think he would have done with the saints at Ephesus had the emperor said no more meetings of Christians? You know what they did? They met. They said, well, we will obey God rather than men, we're not listening to Caesar. Caesar has no right to tell us to disobey the commandments of Christ, so we will meet. What did the church in our day say? Yes, master, we'll do, sure, whatever you say, six feet apart, masks, shots, don't meet, don't sing, sure, go outside, draw circles on the ground, sure, we'll do it. No. I would not write with paper and ink, he said, how much less a keyboard. But I trust to come unto you and to speak face to face. What, with those germs coming out of your mouth? She's breathing them in? Yes, those germs, those mouths, those faces, yes. That our joy may be full. Beloved, God wants our joy to be full in keeping his commandments, in believing in his doctrine, in fellowshipping with his people. And Satan says, I don't want you joyful. Stay away from the means of grace. Don't be face to face. That's what Satan wants. And thus far the exposition of second John.