Commentary - 2 John 1:4-6

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent section of 2 John, the apostle establishes the foundational relationship between joy, truth, love, and obedience. These are not separate compartments in the Christian life, but rather interlocking and interdependent realities. John's joy as a pastor is not found in the numerical growth or worldly success of the church, but in seeing believers actually living out the truth. This "walking in truth" is immediately defined by two other concepts: love for one another and obedience to God's commandments. John is adamant that these are not new ideas he has just cooked up; this is the baseline, apostolic, "from the beginning" Christianity. He defines love, not as a sentimental feeling, but as the practical action of walking according to God's commands. And he defines the central command as walking in this love. It's a beautiful, tightly-woven, circular argument. Truth leads to love, love is defined by obedience, and obedience is the way we walk in the truth. This is the very skeletal structure and cardiovascular system of genuine faith.

The modern church is constantly tempted to separate these realities. One faction champions truth, but often in a way that is brittle, loveless, and Pharisaical. Another faction champions love, but it is a sentimental, spineless love, untethered from the hard demands of God's revealed truth and commandments. John will have none of it. For the beloved apostle, truth without love is not Christian truth, and love without truth is not Christian love. They are a package deal, and the proof of our grasp on both is a life of glad-hearted obedience. This passage is a vital corrective, reminding us that the Christian faith is not a cafeteria line where we can pick truth and leave love, or grab love and ignore the commandments. It all comes together, or it all falls apart.

Outline

Context In 2 John

This passage forms the heart of John's short letter. After his initial greeting to the "elect lady and her children," where he has already emphasized his love "in the truth" (v. 1), John moves to the main point of his commendation and exhortation. These verses (4-6) set up the positive foundation of Christian living before he pivots to the stern warning against false teachers that will follow (vv. 7-11). It is crucial to see this structure. The command to love and obey is not given in a vacuum; it is the necessary prerequisite for being able to identify and resist heresy. A church that is not walking in the truth and loving the brethren is a sitting duck for deception. The doctrinal and ethical are woven together. The health of the body, described here as a family walking in love and obedience, is its primary defense against the spiritual viruses of false doctrine.

Key Issues

Truth Embodied

In our day, we tend to think of "truth" as a set of abstract propositions that you affirm with the intellectual part of your brain. And it is that, but it is not only that. For the apostle John, truth is not just something you believe; it is something you do. It is a path you walk on. When he rejoices to find these children "walking in truth," he is not just happy that they passed their catechism exam. He is happy because their lives are embodying the doctrine they profess. Their behavior, their relationships, their daily conduct is consistent with the reality revealed by God in Christ.

This is where so much of our modern Christianity gets shipwrecked. We have people who are orthodox up to their eyeballs, who can defend the five points of Calvinism while eviscerating their opponents online, but their lives are a mess. They are not walking in truth. On the other side, we have people who talk endlessly about love and community, but they treat the doctrinal truths of Scripture as negotiable. They are not walking in truth either. John insists that the truth must be walked. It must have legs. If your theology doesn't make you a more loving, obedient person, then you need a new theology. Truth is the skeleton, and love is the flesh. You need both to have a living body. A skeleton by itself is a horror show, and a pile of flesh without bones is a blob. The Christian life is a beautiful, living reality when truth and love are joined together in a walk of obedience.

Verse by Verse Commentary

4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we received commandment from the Father.

John begins with pastoral warmth. His joy is not self-centered; it is found in the spiritual health of his people. And what is the sign of that health? It is that he has found some of them "walking in truth." The word for "walking" here is peripateo, which refers to one's whole manner of life, one's day-in, day-out conduct. This is not about a moment of insight, but a lifestyle of fidelity. They are living out the implications of the gospel. Notice also that he doesn't say "all" of your children, but "some." This is the realism of a seasoned pastor. He takes his joys where he can find them and is genuinely grateful for the evidences of grace he does see. This walk is not a human invention or a good idea they came up with. It is, he says, "just as we received commandment from the Father." The Christian life, from start to finish, is a response to a divine command. We do not get to define the path; the Father has laid it out for us, and our job is to walk on it.

5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

Having established that the Christian life is a walk of obedience to a command, he now specifies what that command looks like in practice. He addresses the "lady," which is most likely a personification of the local church. His request, he insists, is not some novelty. He's not introducing the latest spiritual fad from Ephesus. This is bedrock. This is "from the beginning." This phrase points all the way back to the ministry of Jesus Himself, who gave His disciples the "new commandment" to love one another (John 13:34), a command so central that it was part of the apostolic teaching from the very start. The great command is simply this: "that we love one another." This is the primary social shape of the church. A group of people who do not love one another cannot call themselves a church, no matter how orthodox their creed. The commandment from the Father (v. 4) is fleshed out in the commandment to love the brethren.

6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

Here John provides a crucial, inspired definition that protects the church from all sorts of sentimental nonsense. What is this love he is commanding? Is it a warm feeling? A vague sense of affirmation? No. "This is love, that we walk according to His commandments." Christian love is not a feeling that might lead to obedience; it is obedience. To love God is to keep His commandments (1 John 5:3), and to love our brother is to live with him according to those same commandments. Love has a backbone. It has a structure, a form, given by the law of God. Then, in a masterfully concise summary, he brings it all together. "This is the commandment...that you should walk in it." Walk in what? In the love which is defined as walking in the commandments. The content of the walk is the walk itself. The Christian life is a seamless garment. We are commanded to love, and this love is expressed by obeying God's commands, the sum of which is that we are to walk in this love. Truth, love, and obedience are not three different paths; they are three descriptions of the same one path.

Application

The application here is profoundly simple and yet a lifelong challenge. We must reject any version of Christianity that pits truth against love or love against obedience. We must examine our own lives. Are we "walking in truth?" Does our daily behavior reflect the doctrines we claim to believe? A man who says he believes in the sovereignty of God but is riddled with anxiety is not walking in that truth. A woman who says she believes in the grace of God but is harsh and unforgiving toward her sister is not walking in that truth.

Furthermore, we must embrace John's definition of love. Our culture defines love as unconditional affirmation, especially of a person's desires. The Bible defines love as obedience to God's commands for the good of the other person. This means true biblical love will sometimes require us to correct a brother, to warn a sister, to refuse to endorse sin. This is not unloving; it is the very essence of love, because it is tethered to the truth of God's Word. To let a brother wander off a cliff because you don't want to hurt his feelings is not love; it is cowardice.

Finally, we must see that this walk is a joy. John "rejoiced greatly." Obedience is not a grim duty for the Christian; it is our native air. It is the path of life and blessing. When we find ourselves, by the grace of God, actually walking in His ways, loving the brethren in deed and in truth, it should be a source of profound joy. This is what we were made for. This is what we were redeemed for. The central command is to walk in love, and this walk is not a trudge. It is the joyful walk of children who have been given a command by their Father and are delighted to obey.