Tiny But Mighty Second John: Lesson 9 - Conclusion

Read 2 John 12-13.

Focus on 2 John 12-13.

Knowledge

Answer the following questions from the text:

v. 12 What does John have to write?

How does he not wish to communicate?

What does he hope to do instead? (2 actions)

With what purpose/result?

v. 13 Who greets the letter’s recipient?

Understanding & Knowledge

Today we wrap up John’s tiny second epistle. We’ve studied his greeting and the intersection of truth, love, grace, mercy, and peace. We’ve examined the old command to love one another. We’ve grappled with how to handle deceivers.

This brings us to the final two verse of the letter, which contains John’s closing notes.

Final Salutations

Like the opening greeting, it is easy to skim past the final salutations of a letter. Yet this too has been included for our instruction. So what can we learn from these final two verses in 2 John?

1. We don’t have to address everything at once. John makes it clear that what he has written in his letter is not all he has to say. It isn’t even the majority of what he wants to say. But instead of cramming everything into one space (as I would be tempted to do), John exercises restraint. He recognizes that while it all might be important—and if must have been important if it was worth a physical trip to say it—he also knew not all the matters were urgent. So instead of requesting more parchment, he chooses to delay whatever else he had to say, merely letting the reader know that there was more to come.

Question to ponder: How do we delineate between the important which is urgent and the simply important?  

2. In-person communication is preferable. Texting is convenient. Emails are nice. Handwritten letters carry a personal touch to be treasured. Telephone calls can delight, while Zoom often permits us to connect in ways that would otherwise be impossible. But in the end, there is something special about inhabiting the same place at the same time with another person. To be able to hear the voice, see the face, and give a hug or touch a hand. To be surrounded by the same environment, sharing the same sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures. To be with another in a way that technology, with all its benefits, cannot duplicate.

So John expresses his strong desire to come to the chosen lady and her family, to spend time with them, and talk face to face. Indeed, in an era of growing layers of technology, with screens and touch-ups and filters that can create a false reality, it may be that such in-person meetings are more vital than ever.

Questions to ponder: What are some of the unique advantages in-person visits can provide? How, both as individuals and as churches, can we cultivate this more/better?

3. Christian fellowship, at its best, produces full joy. This joy was one reason John wanted to visit the chosen lady and her family. He knew such a visit would bring joy—that is, delight, happiness, well-being, gladness—and that this joy would be complete and full, as the anticipated became reality and the far away drew near.

Questions to ponder: What hampers our Christian fellowship so it lacks this fullness and joy?

4. We all want to be remembered. John finishes his letter with greeting from the children of the lady’s chosen sister. This was fairly typical, as a quick survey of the other New Testament letters will show. However, this ordinariness doesn’t make such a greeting insignificant. Rather, it reminds us of the common human desired to be known. It doesn’t matter whether this refers to nieces and nephews greeting an aunt or one church greeting a sister church. Both collectively and individually, we want to be remembered by others—and collectively and individually, we need to take the time to remember others.

Questions to ponder: Who are some of the people we should especially take time to remember? What are some of the ways we can remember others?

Wrap-up Thoughts

Thus ends our study of 2 John. But as we close this book, I would like to invite you to pause and look back over the whole of the book one last time:

• What has surprised you about 2 John? 
• What did you learn from 2 John? 
• What will you take away from 2 John?

Make it personal

One truth learned:

One area of conviction:

One way to correct:

Written prayer:

 

Book Recommendation: Sons of Day & Night

 

Sons of Day & Night (Chronicles of Twinsbane #1) by Mariposa Aristeo

Genre: Young adult fantasy

The Story: Inspired by The Prince and the Pauper, an orphan switches places with a king in order to find a potion to separate life-bonded doppelgangers. 

Content Notes: Moderate fantasy violence (no gore), high supernatural rooted in the "natural" laws of this world. 

Why I loved this book: The sarcastic humor and sassy character voices (very Mark Twain-ish, and the orphan reminds me of Huckleberry Finn). The Australian-inspired setting. The character reversals that leave you wondering who are really the good guys and the bad guys.   

Pair with Romans 14. 

Ponder how you might walk in another shoes or see another's point of view better.

Pray for insight into someone different than yourself.  

Tiny But Mighty Second John: Lesson 8 - Avoid

Read 2 John 7-11.

Focus on 2 John 10-11.

Knowledge

Answer the following questions from the text:

v. 10 What should we see if a person brings with him or her?

If someone doesn’t bring it, what is the first thing we ought not to do?

What is the second thing we ought not to do?

v.11 What kind of deeds does this person have?

What happens if we do greet such a person?

Understanding & Wisdom

John has been providing us instructions throughout this tiny letter how we are to love one another—and how we are not to.

So he explained in verse 6 that loving one another means conducting ourselves according to the commandments of God. Agape love simply cannot be divorced from God’s truth, otherwise it ceases to be agape love.

This is important to remember because, according to verse 7, many deceivers have gone into the world. Such people will prevent true love, because they bring lies and untruths and false teaching with them. Lies and truth cannot coexist, and where there is no truth, there is no real love.

Therefore, John’s first instruction for dealing with such deceivers is to watch ourselves. We need to stay aware and observant, lest we lose the good.

John’s second instruction for dealing with deceivers is to abide in the teaching of Christ. We need to continue remain within the boundaries of the teaching about Christ as well as the teaching from Christ.

Which brings us to John’s third instruction for dealing with deceivers: avoid them.

Context

Because this last instruct from John has been misapplied and abused, let me make it clear again who is—and is not—being spoken of.

1. This is not referring to non-Christians in general. John is not advocating that we shut ourselves away from the world and associate exclusively with Christians.

2. This is not referring to Christians with whom we disagree. There are many disputable matters, as Paul refers to them, gray areas where there is no clear right and wrong. Indeed, there are areas where what is right for you may be wrong for me and vice versa. Moreover, we are not going to see eye to eye with every Christian on every matter. So these disputes are not what John is addressing here, otherwise we couldn’t fellowship with other believers.

3. This is not referring just to Christians with an erroneous belief. Again, if it did, we wouldn’t be able to associate with ourselves, much less with any other Christian. For we all carry areas of wrong beliefs, no matter how hard we might try to understand rightly. It is simply part of being a fallen human and a growing Christian.

Rather, the person in view here is the deceiver who advocates false teaching. He or she claims to be Christian, when in reality they oppose the real Christ, and the teaching they are advocating is not the teaching of Christ. Rather, they have slipped outside those boundaries to promote false teaching and heresy.

Moreover, the phrases in verse 10, “comes to you” and “receive into your house” points to the letter’s historical context of traveling teachers and preachers. At the end of the first century, before the New Testament was compiled and canonized, the churches relied heavily upon traveling teachers and prophets to provide additional instructions, much as Paul provided on his missionary journeys. Because their traveling prevented them from earning money through a normal job, church members would house, feed, and provide for the needs of these itinerate preachers. Of course, both Christians and non-Christians soon figured this out and decided this was an easy and comfortable way to live. Thus many charlatans arose.

This all reveals that John is specifically referencing deceivers who not only claim to be Christians but also are or claim to be leaders and teachers in the church. Like false prophets of the Old Testament, these people claimed to speak for God or at least speak with a certain amount of authority from God. Yet their teaching directly opposed the clear, fundamental truths of God.

So as we deal with this final instruction, please keep in mind John’s advice is for handling leaders within the body of Christ who claim to be Christian but whose teaching is false and shows them to be opposed to Christ.   

Question to ponder: In view of this, what kinds of people could potentially fall into this group? That is, who qualifies as a Christian leader?

Method #3: Avoid

This brings us back to verse 10, where John provides our third instruction for dealing with these people. There it says that if this type of false-teaching leader comes to us, we aren’t to receive them into our house.

Again, the historical practice of receiving someone into a house is a little more complex than we tend to think of it today. To receive someone into a house, especially in Middle Eastern culture, was more than simply offering a room to stay. You were taking responsibility for that person to the point of treating that person as a family member during their stay, giving financial support, providing for their needs, and offering protection against outsiders if necessary.

In addition to this cultural context, the verb receive, according to Bauer’s Lexicon, can include the recognition of another’s authority (page 584). To receive them could also be an acknowledgement of their position and power, and therefore their right to a certain amount of control.

Now in 21^st-century United States, our circumstances are different from 1^st-century Roman Empire. We generally don’t deal with itinerate preachers these days. Housing of pastors, teachers, and even missionaries on leave is handled much differently. Nonetheless, there are plenty ways we can “receive into our home” these leader-deceivers and their false teachings, such as using various media materials they produce.

Question to ponder: What are some of the other ways we can receive into our home these leader-deceivers?

The second half of the command in verse 10 is to not “even speak a greeting to him.” This greeting is rooted in the concept of happiness and well-being. So even though this is a formalized welcome, much like wishing someone a “good day,” it is still the speaking of a wish that the other is well and will be well, and it indicates you’re on good terms with that person (Bauer’s Lexicon, pages 1074-1075).

So in short, we’re to shun these leader-deceivers. We’re not to support them financially. We’re not to affirm them verbally. We’re not to protect or provide for them. We’re not to associate with them. We’re not even to engage in friendly conversation or wish them well. We’re to sever all contact, if possible, with them. All this from the apostle who instructed us just a few verses earlier to love one another.

Question to ponder: Why is this shunning not a violation of the command to love one another?

Evil Deeds

All this leads to verse 11, and the reason we’re to avoid and shun such people: Even simply offering a greeting makes us a participant in their evil deeds. That is, we have in common, share in, declare a mutual interest in, and indicate a close association with such a person. We create, as the verb says here, koinonia (fellowship) with them. This makes us equally responsible for those deeds.

What kinds of deeds are we becoming responsible for? Here they are called “evil,” a characteristic which is emphasized in the Greek by how the adjective is set apart: we participate in his deeds—his evil ones. This makes it very clear that partial support of such a person is not possible. We can’t claim to be supporting just the “good” part of the person’s ministry. Supporting any part of a false teacher’s ministry or any association with a deceiver is a participation in the evil. Period.

And what kind of evil is being spoken of here? This evil is that which “causes labor, pain, sorrow, malignant evil.” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary, page 212) It can refer to an unhealthy physical condition, the qualitatively worthless, and the morally destructive (Bauer’s Lexicon, pages 851-852). In short, the deceiver’s deeds are unhealthy, worthless, and destructive, only leading to trouble, pain, and sorrow.

Question to ponder: How does giving a greeting, much less receiving into our homes, such a person cause us to participate in his or her evil deeds? 

Therefore, as much as our culture and even some churches might say otherwise, we must love within the bounds of Truth, which means there is a time and place for shunning certain people. To do otherwise is to foster evil, which is neither love nor truth.

Make it personal

One truth learned:

One area of conviction:

One way to correct:

Written prayer:

A Sceptre & Stylus Giveaway

It is hard to believe that the release of my trilogy’s second book, Perplexity, is less than two months away. Which means I should be talking up and doing all kinds of marketing for the launch.

Instead, I find myself fully occupied with writing book three, which is due to the publisher one week before Perplexity’s release. While I love watching that final part of the story unfold (because I’m still not sure how this is all going to work out!), that means I have little time and few braincells to spare for Perplexity.

So I find myself needing to rely on God and readers like you to spread the word. You would be amazed at how far a few lines about why you loved a book goes on Goodreads or Amazon. Or posting a picture on social media. Or requesting it at a library. Or whatever other ways you can dream up to share a favorite story.

Anyway, I am thankful to have this second book releasing soon, and a release of a book is worth celebrating. So, I would like to give a few books away to commemorate the event.

What do you need to do? Just fill out this Google form with a U.S. mailing address. I will pick three winners who will receive their choice of either a hardcover edition of Illuminary (book 1) or a paperback Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of Perplexity (book 2). Because who doesn’t love reading a book before everyone else? But you’ll not want to delay, because this giveaway is short, closing on February 28, 2026.

Now it is back to writing for me.  

Book Recommendation: Protector

 Reading Fiction through the Eyes of Faith

Protector (The Susan Chronicles #1) by Megan Schaulis

Genre: Adult Dystopian

The Story: A religious outcast competes with biologically enhanced women to become bodyguard to the king.

Content Notes: Strong but clean romance (some kissing and sexually suggestive language). Moderate violence, no gore. Most supernatural elements tied to God. 

Why I loved this book: The ninjas-meet-Esther premise. The protagonist's complex relationship with the other characters. Her conversations with Alpha (her name for God).

Pair with Esther 1-2.

Ponder what complete dependence on God might look like.

Pray for a heart that trusts God more fully, even if the path doesn't make sense.

Tiny But Mighty Second John: Lesson 7 - Watch & Abide

Read 2 John 7-11.

Focus on 2 John 8-9.

Knowledge

Answer the following questions from the text:

v. 8 What are we commanded to do?

In order that what might not be lost?

But in order that we might receive what?

v.9 Who does not have God? (2 attributes)

Which teaching are we to abide in?

If we abide in that teaching, what do we have? (2 answers)

Understanding & Wisdom

In verse 7, John warns us that many deceivers have infiltrated the world. While they might sound good and look good, their teaching is cracked at the very foundation and leads those who listen astray. Indeed, though these deceivers may claim to be Christ followers, they are actually opposed to Christ—antichrists.

Having clarified the danger, John now provides additional instructions for how to best deal with this.

Watch Yourselves

John’s first instruction for dealing with this danger is simply for us to watch ourselves. What does this mean?

First, watch is a command. This is not an optional action, but something imperative that we do, something we are obligated to follow. Watch is also in a form that usually indicates a repeated or continuous action. It isn’t something we do once and are done, but it is an action in which we must regularly engage. As for the word watch itself, it first refers to physical sight (as opposed to blindness). Then it is applied figuratively for intellectual and spiritual perception. (Bauer’s Lexicon, page 179; Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged, pages 706-707). So it is a word of observation coupled with insight.

Then this is coupled to the plural reflexive pronoun, yourselves. So I have an obligation to keep an eye on myself, just as you have an obligation to watch yourself. But it is likely we are to keep an eye on each other as well.

So watching ourselves implies being aware and observant. We see and notice those things which are visible—how I am acting and reacting, how you are acting and reacting. More than that, though, it also entails perception—noticing what might not be obvious and explicit, piecing together things to glimpse that which is beneath the surface. And upon noticing such things, like a watchman over a city, we sound warnings, strengthen fortifications, address vulnerabilities, and seek to protect.

And what is the purpose of this watching? John provides a twofold reason, one negative and one positive.

First, we are to watch ourselves in order that we might not lose what was accomplished. What are these things which John says “we have accomplished”? The terms used are pretty generic, making it hard to say. Accomplish is the common term for work and engaging in an activity that involves effort (Bauer’s Lexicon, page 389).

Even the we is ambiguous in this context, so it’s not clear if John is including the lady’s family as co-laborers, or whether he is referring to others he has worked with, such as the other apostles. So John could be referring to the spreading of the Gospel, the training of people in the Truth, the establishment of a church, or something completely different.

Whatever John exactly refers to, we can know that it took effort, it took time, and it took multiple people to accomplish, making the result valuable and worth guarding. Thus John warns us to watch ourselves in order that we might not lose what was accomplished. To lose isn’t merely the idea of misplacement. Rather, it refers to destruction and to something being ruined (Bauer’s Lexicon, pages 115-116; Vine’s Expository Dictionary, page 164).

This emphasizes again that deceivers and their false teachings aren’t inconsequential or harmless. They wreak destruction. They destroy what is good. They ruin the work of Christians. Thus we need to watch ourselves.

Question to ponder: How can failing to watch ourselves, especially in matters pertaining to verse 7’s deceivers, ruin or even destroy our work?

Now avoiding this destruction is a good reason to watch ourselves, but John doesn’t stop there. He not only provides us the push of the negative, but also the pull of the positive: Watching ourselves will enable us to receive a full reward.

Reward is the word for payment of work done, what we might in this context call wages today (Bauer’s Lexicon, page 652). So when we work as Christians, we aren’t doing it for free, as it often seems. We are accumulating heavenly wages which God will someday pay out to us.

These wages are then described as full, that is, the wages will be complete and lacking nothing (Bauer’s Lexicon, pages 826-827). Not one penny that we are owed will God withhold. All we’re due, He will pay.

Question to ponder: How does watching ourselves guarantee we’ll receive these complete wages?

Abide in the Teaching

Our first instruction from John on dealing with the danger of deceivers is to watch ourselves. In verse 9, he now provides a second guardrail: abide in the teaching of Christ.

Now John doesn’t tell us this through a command, as in the previous verse. Rather, he explains it through a comparison, a contrast.

First, he speaks of a person “who does not have God,” that is, he lacks a relationship with God (Bauer’s Lexicon, page 420). Why does this person lack God? Because he has gone too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ.

Gone ahead (or too far) literally means to “go before” and refers to someone who “leads from one position to another by taking charge.” (Bauer’s Lexicon, 864) The idea seems to be of a person usurping power and taking charge of a situation that he has no right to, in order to lead in the direction he wants to go. And according to this verb’s form, this person does not do this once or twice, but repeatedly does this, over and over again.

Now by leading when he should be following, this person ends up no longer abiding in the teaching of Christ. This could refer either to the teaching about Christ, such as verse seven’s reference to the Incarnation, or the teachings received from Christ, such as verse five’s command to love one another. Or perhaps John has both in mind. Whichever one is in view, this person has abandoned those teachings. He believes he knows more than God and that his progressive thinking is better than the ageless teaching of Scripture. Such a person, John declares, has no relationship with God.

Question to ponder: How does going too far and failing to abide in the teaching of Christ destroy our relationship with God? 

This person is then contrasted with the one who abides within the teaching of Christ. This one knows both the teachings about Christ and the teachings from Christ, and he or she abides in them. They acknowledge there are boundaries set by those teachings, and they choose to remain within the parameters of those teachings. Such a person, says John, has a relationship with both the Father and with Jesus.

For if we are abiding in the teaching of Christ, we are abiding in Christ. Through Christ, and only through Him, can we come to the Father (John 14:6) and know the Father (John 14:7) because Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:11). So by abiding in the teaching of Christ, we gain a relationship with Jesus, and through Jesus, we gain a relationship with the Father.

Question to ponder: How, practically speaking, do we watch ourselves and abide in the teaching of Christ so that deceivers and their false teaching don’t lead us astray?

Make it personal

One truth learned:

One area of conviction:

One way to correct:

Written prayer:

Book Recommendation: RoboTales

 Reading Fiction Through the Eyes of Faith:

RoboTales (Tinker, Mardok and the Seven Exiles, and The Tiny Cyborg) by Jill Williamson & Luke Williamson

Genre: Early Chapter Book, Science Fiction

The Story: A robot dog needs help delivering an important message to a solar system's president.

Content Notes: A few scary situations 

Why I loved this book: The upside-down twist on fairy tales with a male protagonist. Fun technology. The humor. The adventure. And there's a cool robot dog! What else is there to say?

Pair with 1 Corinthians 12:4-26. 

Ponder the unique gifts you've been given and how you can serve where you are at. 

Pray for willingness to do whatever God places before you.