Exposit The Word 2 John Biblical Teaching Expository Teaching Verse by Verse Stuart Olyott
2 John
Second John deals with the same problem as 1 John (see Introduction to 1 John: Background and Setting). False teachers influenced by the beginnings of Gnostic thought were threatening the church (v. 7; cf. 1 John 2:18,19,22,23; 4:1–3). The strategic difference is that while 1 John has no specific individual or church specified to whom it was addressed, 2John has a particular local group or house-church in mind (v. 1).
The focus of 2 John is that the false teachers were conducting an itinerant ministry among John’s congregations, seeking to make converts, and taking advantage of Christian hospitality to advance their cause (vv. 10,11; cf. Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2; 1 Pet. 4:9). The individualaddressed in the greeting (v. 1) inadvertently or unwisely may have shown these false prophets hospitality, or John may have feared that the false teachers would attempt to take advantage of her kindness (vv. 10,11). The apostle seriously warns his readers against showinghospitality to such deceivers (vv. 10,11). Although his exhortation may appear on the surface to be harsh or unloving, the acutely dangerous nature of their teaching justified such actions, especially since it threatened to destroy the very foundations of the faith (v. 9).
Text used with permission from GTY.org
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16
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