The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth – because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.  

And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.  And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.  

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them.  Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work. 

2 John 1, selections

I understand that the “lady” is the Church of Jesus Christ.  Her children love the truth.  What is the truth that is in us and lives in us forever?  The truth is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. That truth and God’s love are intertwined.  They cannot be separated.  If we think about it, this is not easy to believe!  Yet the Gospel that sets us free is rooted in that fact.

Some in the church insisted that Jesus did not take on flesh like ours.  By believing that, they removed a stumbling block for those who are attracted to Jesus as a teacher of truth but who cannot swallow the idea that Jesus is God in human flesh.  For them, the ethical teachings of Jesus are what makes Jesus special, not who he is – God Almighty in a human body, like ours.

I find myself wondering if this is not the case today.  Is Jesus a great teacher or is he God in the flesh, fully and completely?  For myself, I find it comforting to believe that Jesus teaches us how to live.  I find it discomforting to deal with whether Jesus had flesh like mine or that God prepared a special kind of body for his Son to live in here on earth.  But, if Jesus is not a true human being, that shifts everything. His death and resurrection are inconsequential, not essential or even possible or believable.  Salvation becomes the result of trying to obey Jesus’ ethical teaching. Do I hear this resonating in today’s church?

A reflection.  I found myself surprised to learn that Thomas Jefferson, whom I was taught to admire in history classes, took this point of view.  He acknowledged that Jesus was a great ethical teacher, but could not bring himself to believe that Jesus Christ is God in an ordinary human being.

A word on “walking in truth.”  John insists that it is not enough to acknowledge truth but to live in it. That truth that is in us by the new birth controls how we feel, how we think and it shapes our destiny.

After stressing the importance of walking in truth John reminds us of the importance of love.  Walking in truth is a life of love.  But it is not a love that welcomes heresy, not at all.  The truth does not encourage us to hate people but to stand firm against heresy!  People who spread heresy must be stopped, lest they allure even the believers into unbelief.  John is strong, indeed, on this point.   “Do not take them into your house or welcome them.  Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.”   Love all persons but beware of heresy.  I suppose it could be summed up that way.

This word from John is as appropriate today as it was when written about 2,000 years ago, and as urgent.