2 John 5

To “walk in the truth” means to obey it, to permit it to control every area of our lives. This paragraph opens and closes with an emphasis on obedience, walking in the truth. It is much easier to study the truth, or even argue about the truth, than it is to practice it! In fact, sometimes zealous Christians disobey the truth in the very way they try to defend it.

When I was pastoring in Chicago, a strange young man often stood on the sidewalk in front of the church, passing out leaflets that denounced many evangelical leaders who were my friends. Of course, we could not stop him from distributing literature, so I instructed our people to take as many copies as he would give them and then destroy them!

One of our men decided to “shadow” the young man one evening, and he saw him walk to the nearby park, sit down under a tree, and light up a cigarette! Yet just a few minutes before, the young man had been shouting in front of the church, “I’m a fighting fundamentalist, and I’m not ashamed of it!” My guess is that most of the fundamentalists I know would have been ashamed of him. He thought he was promoting truth and opposing error, yet he was not walking in the truth himself. By his actions and belligerent attitude, he was denying the truth he sought to defend.

The apostle’s joy (v. 4a). John’s joy was that the elect lady’s children were walking in truth. John did not know all of them, however; the literal translation is “some of thy children.” Somewhere in his travels, John had met some of her children and learned of their obedient walk with the Lord. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 4). We have no reason to believe that John was hinting that others of the children had gone astray after the false teachers. If by “children” John was including the members of the “house church,” then it is possible that some of them had left the fellowship and joined with the deceivers.

It certainly brings great joy to the Father when He sees His children obeying His Word. I know personally what it means to the pastor when the church family is submissive to the Word and doing the will of God. Few things break the heart of a pastor like a disobedient and rebellious member who will not submit to the authority of God’s Word.

When the great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon was a lad, he lived with his grandfather who pastored a church in Stambourne, England. A church member named Roads used to sit in the local pub and drink beer and smoke, and this practice grieved the pastor very much.

One day young Charles said to his grandfather, “I’ll kill old Roads, that I will! I shall not do anything bad, but I’ll kill him though, that I will!”

What did young Spurgeon do? He confronted Roads in the pub with these words: “What doest thou here, Elijah? Sitting with the ungodly, and you a member of a church and breaking your pastor’s heart. I’m ashamed of you! I wouldn’t break my pastor’s heart, I’m sure!”

It was not long before Roads showed up at the pastor’s home, confessing his sins and apologizing for his behavior. Young Spurgeon had “killed him” indeed!

The apostle’s argument (v. 4b). He argued that God has commanded us to walk in truth and love. The word commandment is used five times in these few verses. God’s commandments focus “the truth” on specific areas of life. “The truth” can be vague and general if we are not careful, but “the commandments” make that truth specific and binding.

Note that the commandments are given by “the Father.” Each commandment is an expression of love and not simply law. The will of God is the revelation of God’s heart (Ps. 33:11), not just His mind. Consequently, obedience to His Word should be a revelation of our love, not an expression of fear. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3).

The false teachers try to make God’s commandments appear harsh and difficult and then they offer their converts “true” freedom (2 Peter 2:19). But the greatest freedom is in obedience to God’s perfect will. No believer who loves God would ever consider His commandments to be harsh and unbearable.

The apostle’s appeal (vv. 5–6). John wanted the elect lady and her family to love one another and this appeal applies to us as well. “A new commandment I give unto you, ‘That ye love one another’” (John 13:34). But John wrote that it was not a new commandment (see 1 John 2:7–11). Is this a contradiction?

The commandment “Love one another” is certainly not new in time, because even Old Testament Jews were instructed to love their neighbors (Lev. 19:18, 34) and the strangers within their gates (Deut. 10:19). But with the coming of God’s Son to earth, this commandment is new in emphasis and in example. Jesus Christ gave new emphasis to brotherly love, and He exemplified it in His own life. It is also new in experience, for we have the Holy Spirit of God living within, enabling us to obey. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal. 5:22; cf. Rom. 5:5).

Is it possible to command love? Yes, when you understand what Christian love really is. Many people have the mistaken idea that Christian love is a feeling, a special kind of “religious emotion” that makes us reach out and accept others. Certainly emotion is involved, but basically, Christian love is an act of the will. It simply means treating other people the same way God treats you! In fact, it is possible to love people that we really do not “like.”

We may not be able to will our affections at all times, but we can will our attitudes and actions. When people are rude to us, we can be kind in return. When people persecute us, we can pray for them and, when the opportunity comes, do good to them. If we followed our feelings, we would probably retaliate! But if we ask the Spirit to control our wills, then we can act toward them as Jesus would have acted, in Christian love.

John went on to explain that love and obedience must go together (2 John 6). It is impossible to divorce our relationship with God from our relationship with people. If we say that we love God, but we hate our brother, then we can be sure that we do not really love God (1 John 4:20). If we obey God, then His love is perfected in us, and we have no problem loving our brother (1 John 2:3–5).

As you review this paragraph, you note three themes that blend: truth, love, and obedience. It is by believing the truth—in Christ and in the Word—that we are saved. The evidence of that salvation is love and obedience, but love and obedience are strengthened as we grow in our knowledge of truth. We speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) and we obey God’s commandments because we love Him. Obedience enables us to learn more truth (John 7:17), and the more truth we learn, the more we love Jesus Christ who is truth!

Instead of living in a “vicious circle,” we live in a “victorious circle” of love, truth, and obedience!