THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH
2 and 3 John
“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”
One of the most fundamental commands that must shape a church is the command to love one another. If a church does not have the reputation of love, the church cannot be said to be an ambassador for Christ. It must give us all pause to see that in his message to the church in Ephesus in The Revelation, Jesus even threatened to remove their lampstand because they had forsaken the love they had at first even though they excelled in keeping themselves pure.
This command however renders churches vulnerable to those who come under false pretences and those who are in error. As time went on, churches grew in number and spread over many countries. The direct influence of the 12 apostles waned and more and more the letters that they have written became the source of teaching, leading to the point when they were gathered together as the New Testament.
It was important for the church to recognise error from truth and to distance themselves. The nature of the Gospel, the Lordship of Christ, and, in these 2 letters we are looking at, the character of the truth we build our lives upon and not merely give intellectual assent to, are the broad guidelines that the New Testament writers taught in the battle for truth.
John expressed joy in seeing some of the church members “walking in the truth”. He noted that Demetrius was “well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.” This is about the fruit of his life and not just the fruit of his words.
On the other hand, Diotrephes wanted to control everything and did so by keeping out other teachers. He may have had good motives, although John noted that as a person he “loves to be first”, but as we all know from experience, when there is no one around to tell you that you are wrong, the easiest path to go down is the path to evil.
John did not mince his words and characterised both the deceivers and those who abuse their position as wicked and evil, and we need to be mindful that John did not treat them lightly.
It is interesting that in both the letters, John ended by saying that he prefers to talk “face to face”. This may just be an aspect of John’s character but I think that ultimately we best recognise truth from error when we are able to see not just their written word but also their whole person that should embody truth. Truth is not just propositions (words, ideas, concepts) but ultimately, truth is the person, as Jesus taught when he told us, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
“I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.”