2 John Chapter 1
Showing all 13 verses for 2 John Chapter 1.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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; "
"This letter is from someone known simply as 'the elder', writing to a woman he calls 'chosen' and to her children. He says he loves them 'in the truth' - and he's not the only one; everyone who has come to know the truth loves them too."
I want you to notice how the elder starts with love before he says one word of warning later on - that order matters. Lead with genuine affection for people, and let your honesty grow out of that care, not out of a need to be right.
"For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. "
"He explains why this love is so solid: it's because of the truth that lives in them, a truth that isn't temporary but will stay with them forever."
I want the truth I've shown you to feel less like a rule to memorise and more like a home you live inside - something steady that doesn't shift when circumstances do. Let that permanence be a source of calm, not pressure.
"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. "
"He then gives a blessing: may grace, mercy and peace be with them, coming from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son, and may all of it be held together 'in truth and love'."
I bless you with grace when you mess up, mercy when you're struggling, and peace even when things around you are unsettled - but I want you to receive all three honestly, not as a way of avoiding hard truths. Real peace can hold difficult conversations inside it.
"I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. "
"He says he was overjoyed to discover that some of her children were living according to the truth, just as the Father had commanded."
I take real delight when I see even some of you living out what's true, not the whole crowd at once - progress in a few people is still cause for joy, not a reason to feel you've failed everyone else. Celebrate the good you see rather than fixating on what's still missing.
"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. "
"Now he makes a request - not a brand new rule, he says, but the one they've had since the very beginning: that they love one another."
I'm not handing you a new hoop to jump through when I ask you to love one another - this has always been the point, since the very start. Treat it as your default setting to return to, not an extra task on top of everything else.
"And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. "
"And here's what love actually is, he says: living according to God's commands. And this is the command - just as they heard from the start - that they should live it out."
Don't wait to feel loving before you act lovingly - I've always cared more about the walk than the words. Let the small, repeated choices of how you treat people be the real evidence of love, not just what you say you feel.
"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. "
"He warns that many deceivers have gone out into the world - people who won't acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in human flesh. Anyone like that, he says, is a deceiver and an 'antichrist'."
I really did come and live it - hunger, tiredness, grief, pressure, all of it - because a love and truth that never touches real, physical, difficult life isn't much use to you. Don't let anyone convince you that goodness is only theoretical; it has to be lived out in the actual conditions of a real life, like mine was.
"Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. "
"He tells them to watch themselves carefully, so they don't lose what they've worked for, but instead receive a full reward."
I don't want you to throw away the ground you've already gained - pay attention to what you're letting shape your thinking and your habits, because it's easier to protect progress than to rebuild it from scratch. This is watchfulness born of care for yourself, not fear.
"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. "
"Anyone who goes too far and doesn't stick to the teaching of Christ, he says, doesn't have God at all. But whoever stays rooted in that teaching has both the Father and the Son."
I want you rooted, not constantly chasing the newest idea about who I am - staying grounded in what's actually true keeps you connected to something real, while drifting from it, however exciting it feels, leaves you holding nothing solid. Roots aren't restrictive; they're what let you stand.
"If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: "
"If someone comes to them without holding to this teaching, he instructs, don't take them into your home, and don't even greet them."
I'm not telling you to close your door on people who think differently, or who are struggling, or who disagree with you - I'm asking you to notice when your support is being used to actively spread harm to people you love. Discernment about where you lend your credibility is wisdom, not unkindness.
"For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. "
"Because, he explains, anyone who welcomes such a person becomes a partner in their harmful work."
Think about what you're lending your name and your support to - not out of suspicion of everyone, but because I want you to be honest about the fact that backing someone is never a neutral act. Choose where you invest your trust and resources with your eyes open.
"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. "
"He says he has much more he could write, but he'd rather not put it all on paper - he hopes instead to come and see them in person, so that their shared joy can be complete."
Letters and messages have their place, but I always valued being physically present with people over sending word from a distance - don't let digital connection fully replace showing up for the people you care about. Full joy tends to need presence, not just information.
"The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. "
"The letter closes: the children of your sister, who is also chosen, send their greetings to you."
Even at the very end, I want you to notice how connection reaches across communities, not just within your own close circle - other people who share this same truth and love are cheering you on too. You're never as isolated in this as you might feel; there's a wider family holding the same things dear.