Sunday School Lesson for Breakfast Club Dec. 7, 1997

2 John 1:1-13

    [1] The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I
love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have
known the truth; [2] For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us,
and shall be with us for ever. [3] Grace be with you, mercy, and
peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of the Father, in truth and love.

     [4] I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking
in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. [5]
And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new
commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning,
that we love one another. [6] And this is love, that we walk
after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have
heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. [7] For many
deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an
antichrist. [8] Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things
which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. [9]
Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ,
he hath both the Father and the Son. [10] If there come any unto
you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him God speed: [11] For he that biddeth him
God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
     [12] Having many things to write unto you, I would not write
with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face
to face, that our joy may be full. [13] The children of thy elect
sister greet thee. Amen.

3 John 1:1-14

    [1] The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the
truth.
     [2] Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest
prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. [3] For I
rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the
truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. [4] I
have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
[5] Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the
brethren, and to strangers; [6] Which have borne witness of thy
charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their
journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: [7] Because that
for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the
Gentiles. [8] We therefore ought to receive such, that we might
be fellowhelpers to the truth.

     [9] I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to
have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. [10]
Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth,
prating against us with malicious words: and not content
therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and
forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

     [11] Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which
is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil
hath not seen God. [12] Demetrius hath good report of all men,
and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye
know that our record is true.

     [13] I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and
pen write unto thee: [14] But I trust I shall shortly see thee,
and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends
salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF 2 JOHN AND 3 JOHN

HOSPITALITY

The Romans knew that a prosperous, united empire needed a way for
people to travel safely. So they invested a lot of money and
effort in building roads and guarding them from bandits. The
stone highways were smooth and wide enough for soldiers to get to
trouble spots quickly. And while robbers and wild animals were
not eliminated in lonely areas, they were curbed enough to let
civilians travel with some security. And civilians did travel.
Not only merchants and government officials, but tourists,
pilgrims, magicians, priests of every cult, and teachers of every
imaginable doctrine walked or rode from Syria to Spain and back
again. A teacher of grammar, rhetoric, or philosophy would arrive
in a town and try to attract paying students among the sons of
local men. Religious missionaries sought adoration (and money)
for their deities and doctrines. Among all these the evangelists
of Jesus Christ traveled, doing their best to stand out from the
competition as the messengers of truth.  

There were inns every twenty-two miles or so along the Roman
roads, but they were no place for respectable people. "The
average inn was no more than a courtyard surrounded by rooms.
Baggage was piled in the open space, where animals were also
gathered for the night. . . . [In a room the] snorting and
stamping of the animals outside was sometimes drowned out by the
snores of others who shared the room, any one of whom might be a
thief."[1] If one's bedmate was not a robber, the innkeeper
certainly was, and if some men could sleep without fear of theft,
few could endure the plague of fleas.  

Therefore, people tried to stay with friends of friends when they
traveled. And because the spread of the gospel depended on
missionaries, hospitality was considered one of the chief
expressions of Christian love (Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2). The
Apostle Paul often stayed with converts while he was in a town
(Acts 13-21). Likewise, he asked believers to house messengers
and teachers, and to help them with provisions for the next leg
of their journey when they left (Romans 15:23-24, 16:1-2, Titus
3:12-13).  

But when it became known that Christians would feed and house
anyone who claimed to be a teacher of the gospel, unscrupulous
people began to take advantage. The Didache, a manual for Syrian
churches, written about the same time as 2 and 3 John, gave
guidelines for Christian hospitality. The churches the Apostle
John was overseeing in Asia Minor were running into similar
problems, and the apostle wrote 2 and 3 John to address them.  

LOVE AND TRUTH

Love and truth figure prominently in John's first letter as key
elements of life with God. In Second John, the apostle explains
that love ceases to be love if it disregards truth: playing host
to false teachers is not the kind of love Christ advocates.
John's third letter also grows from the possibility of false
teachers. 

Third John is addressed to a friend of John's named Gaius. Some
of John's envoys had visited Gaius' community and had brought
back glowing reports of his hospitality. This, wrote John, is
living by love and truth. Now John is sending to Gaius' community
an emissary named Demetrius. He respectfully asks Gaius to offer
Demetrius the same kindness. Third John is basically a letter of
introduction letting Gaius know that Demetrius really does
represent John. With so many impostors around, men like Gaius
wanted letters to verify genuine emissaries. 

Third John also addresses a problem in Gaius' community with
someone named Diotrephes. This man wasn't an outsider coming in
to teach false doctrines, but he was just as much of a problem.
His doctrine may have been pure truth, but his loveless attitude
was as damaging as false teaching. 

NOTES

[1] Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, "On the Road and on the Sea with St.
Paul," BIBLE REVIEW, (Washington, D.C.:Biblical Archaeology
Society, Summer 1985), page 42.



     John writes 2 John to "the Elect Lady and her children."
Several possibilities have been suggested as to the identity of
the recipient. Perhaps the most likely is that the Elect Lady is
a church and the children it's members. John emphasises, as he
did in 1 John, that we are people of truth. This truth leads us
to Grace, Mercy and Peace. Thus it is that finding Christians
walking in truth gave him great joy.
     These letters, set forth the ongoing conflict of truth and
love. John rejoices to find his children walking in truth. still,
he sees the possibility thaT walking in truth can lead to a loss
of love. In these letters John must tell his readers to refuse to
welcome false teachers while also insisting they offer
hospitality to faithful teachers. 
     In  1 John 4, John told his re4aders to test the spirits to
see if they were of God. It is in this discernment that we can
err, either on the side of falsehood or on the side of
lovelessness. John lifted up a standard. False teachers deny that
Jesus has come in the flesh. He was battling a false doctrine
which emphasized the spiritual nature of Christ. In our day we
mayfind many who easily agree that Jesus was flesh. We often must
fight those who fail to see that Jesus was God in the flesh. the
problem is discerning the false teachers from those who simply
disagree with us.  
     In Third John, John has to confront the problem of failure
of hospitality. Very likely Diotrephes could have pulled out 2
John to justify his lack of love. Yet, John recognized his true
motives. Diotrephes refused hospitality to traveling ministers
sent to the church because he liked to be first. He might have
quoted all types of spiritual reasons for his actions, but he was
truly a hypocrite. He used position in the church to make himself
more important that he really was.
 



                                DISCUSSION

1.   We are commanded to love. Do you see love as a noun or a
     verb?  Why?

2.   What specific steps will you take this week to demonstrate
     your love for other believers?

3.   Who was the reader of this letter not to welcome into his or
     her house? Why? 

4.   How can we avoid false teachers without being cold or
     inhospitable?

5.   In what way does truth live in us?

6.   What does it mean to continue in the teaching of Christ?

7.   Why did the elder say that believers ought to show
     hospitality to Christians who serve God?

8.   What was commendable about Demetrius?

9.   If other believers were to give a report about you, how
     would they describe your faithfulness?

10.  What about being a believer gives you joy?

11.  In what area of life do you struggle to be faithful?

12.  How can we show hospitality to other Christians?

13.  In what situations do we love to be first, like Diotrephes?


14.  In what areas of your life do you need to do better at
     "imitating good" rather than evil?

15.  In what area of your life can you be more faithful this
     week?

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