Grace,
Mercy, Peace
2
John 1:1-3
One
of the neglected books of the Bible, 2 John is, like much of John’s writing,
capable of bringing out great things in few words.
(2 John 1:1-3 NIV) The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth--and not I only, but also all who know the truth-- {2} because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: {3} Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.
Background
There
has recently (the last two centuries) been some controversy about this book.
The arrogance of modern scholarship rejects any historical evidence from
the early church, but depends instead upon word frequencies and other
techniques. The testimony of the ancient church is unanimous: this book
was written by the Apostle John. It
is stated to be so by those who were his students and his students’ students;
we shall assume they were neither blind nor deceived.
John wrote it.
To
whom it was addressed, however, has provoked a little more controversy.
The Greek word, kyria, is the feminine form of kurios,
meaning “Lord.” Various suggestions have been advanced:
 | It may simply be a
lady of John’s acquaintance. |
| It may be a lady named
Kyria; the word is used as a
personal name, and would correspond most closely to the Hebrew we now
translate as Martha. |
| It may also mean the
church, either as a whole or, more likely, at a particular place (see verse
13). |
“Her
children,” therefore, would vary with the above suggestions.
What complicates matters is the word “chosen” – “elect” in the
King James. From some other
passages, some scholars have concluded that this is a veiled reference to the
church at Rome. We know that John
went on various journeys after his exile in Patmos (again, church history).
It is possible that he visited Rome.
The
impact of the book, however, is undiminished by these controversies.
It has always been accepted as Scripture by the church, and it reads just
like John – the Apostle of Love.
Love of “the Lady”
We
begin with two observations about this word:
| First, it is the Greek
word, agape. It is
therefore not the romantic love nor family affection, but the unselfish love
of Christ at the Cross. |
| In John’s writings,
love is always coupled with action. To
love “in the truth” is to love in deed as well as word. |
“In the truth”
It
is unfortunate – or perhaps very fortunate – that the original would have
been written in uncials – all capital letters.
Therefore, we don’t know if John was writing about “the truth” or
“the Truth” –or if he was writing about both.
| Is it possible to love
without truth? I do not think
so. Love is the deepest of
personal relationships, and personal relationships are just that –
personal. If you love a person,
you must know them. Indeed, in
love you want to know more about that person – to explore them, so to
speak. It is so with all loves
– they must have truth, or the relationship will eventually fall apart.
If that relationship is designed to be eternal, then it must
be founded upon truth. |
| This relationship in
particular is impossible without The Truth – Jesus Christ.
No matter how good our intentions, we are still sinners.
Sinners unaided by The Truth, Jesus Christ, cannot persist eternally
in love. Sin eventually will
break the bond, sooner or later. Later,
if we are strong in our good intentions; but eternity is still a longer
time. |
So
we conclude that love is impossible without truth. We know this from our everyday relationships as well.
Is it possible to have a successful marriage without trust?
What is trust, but the sure knowledge of the truth about your partner,
knowing that he or she loves you in truth?
“Not I only”
Indeed,
the communion of saints itself – the church – has the same basis.
| We are bound together
in love because we have the truth. We
know the facts. Jesus of
Nazareth is indeed the Christ, the Son of God the Father, and He is risen
from the grave. Those who know
– and trust – those facts are those in communion with me (and all other
saints). We are united – by
the fact of the resurrection of Jesus.
We are united by the truth. |
| But we are also united
by The Truth – as in, “the way, the truth and the life.”
The source of our union is Jesus Christ himself, who prayed that we
might be one. If you and I are
brothers to the same person, we are obviously brothers.
Christ is my brother; therefore
you and I are family. This
family is united by the love of God – the Truth itself.
|
Religions
come “thick” and “clear”, said C. S. Lewis.
Clear religions are analytic and factual; thick religions are mystical and impenetrable.
Christianity is both.
Why I Love
Never ask your wife why she loves you. You might get the truth for an answer; it’s very disappointing to discover that you’re a cure for insomnia.
John,
however, has a series of reasons for his love, and we should have the same view:
“Because of the truth”
This
can have two meanings – again because of the capitalization:
| It can mean causality.
I know certain facts; I
reason on them; I perform
certain actions. I know that my
Lord commands my love for my fellow Christians, for example – which is
therefore a command to love the church. |
| It can also be
imitation. I have met The
Truth. He is overwhelmingly
lovable and admirable; I want
to be like him. I want to be as
truthful as he is Truth; as
loving as he is Love. |
“Which lives in us”
This
can mean nothing other than the Holy Spirit, for we are the temple of the Holy
Spirit. What is the relationship of
the Spirit to truth?
| The Spirit is to reveal
all truth to us. This begins
with the inspiration of the Scripture, but also includes those times of
learning in which we see a truth displayed. |
| The Spirit is to guide
us into all truth. Sometimes
it is not sufficient to show someone the truth; they have to be led through it. (If you don’t think so, ask your wife to explain labor
pain to you.) |
| The Spirit is also
there to correct us, to bring us back into the truth. |
If
something is alive, it moves and grows. The
Spirit in us grows as we mature as Christians, and moves us ever closer to the
Truth.
Forever
We
are handling eternal things when we speak of love in the Christian sense.
| If we handle eternal
things, we must expect eternal consequences – for us and for those around
us. If we refuse to spread the
Gospel, what does that mean for someone near to us? |
| It also means that we
are to expect eternal blessings – for those who act in love in time, will
be blessed in love eternally. |
| In all things,
therefore, we must think “like God” – we must think eternally. |
Thomas
à Kempis spelled out three steps to knowing the truth by knowing the Truth:
| First, we must know
ourselves. We must realize what
sinners we truly are. |
| Then we must know Him
– the Truth itself, in person. |
| Once we know where we
are, and where we should be going, we must go on the journey, seeking
one-ness with the Truth itself. We
must journey to become like Him. |
Grace, Mercy and Peace
(Translation
note: the phrase “the Lord” is
found only in the King James, and is based upon a manuscript addition of a late
date. Newer translations delete
that phrase.)
Progression
The
order in which John places these three blessings is significant, for they must
come in that order:
| First must come grace,
which is the forgiveness of God. Without
his unmerited favor, nothing else would come from him, for we are sinners
worthy of his condemnation. If he did not choose to pay the price of Calvary,
nothing but wrath would come our way. |
| But once received, his
forgiveness is just the beginning. We
know that it is possible to forgive – and yet have the offender receive
just punishment. Often,
forgiveness clears the heart of the forgiver, but (as in our justice system)
does not affect the punishment of the forgiven.
Mercy does that; it is
tangible sign that says the lesson has been learned and that the punishment
that justice would demand has been remitted. |
| Then – and only then
– comes the peace of God. Grace
breaks down the wall of hostility; mercy
removes the consequences and peace is the result.
Not just the cessation of hostilities;
God desires no armistice. He
desires true peace, when the cause of war is taken completely away. |
The realm
Some
plants only grow in a hothouse environment;
others need a harsh environment. Grace,
mercy and peace need the right environment if they are to grow as well.
What is that environment? Truth
and love:
| Truth – for without
a sure knowledge of the truth, we begin to take God for granted.
We tend to feel it’s his job to forgive, and would he please get on
with it. But in knowing the truth – who we are, who He is –
we are kept from this. Grace
and mercy depend upon this. |
| Love – for if there
is resentment, how can there be peace?
If there is anger, how can there be peace?
Only if there is love can we see true peace.
|
Summary
Picture
in your mind the balance scales of justice.
On one side place love; on
the other place truth. We need
both.
| Without truth, what is
love? It is nothing but
starry-eyed dreaming. Love does
not consist of denying the truth for the sake of happiness.
Love is not an anesthetic; it is a cure for the pain of truth. |
| Without love, what is
truth? If there is no love,
then truth requires condemnation of all that is not perfect – of all that
is not God. But God, who is
perfect and is therefore perfect love, overcame this at the Cross.
|
The
truth of the Cross is the love of God.
