THE KEY THEME IN 2 JOHN

 

The key theme in 2 John

As is usual in John's writings, he often circles around and repeats the same vocabulary over and over in various contexts. For that reason it is often extremely difficult to definitively divide any portion of his writings into individual paragraphs. So without going into too much detail regarding how this short letter is organized, there is one fact that appears to clearly stand out. Three key theological words which may or may not be related to one another appear only in certain groupings of verses. These are:

    “truth” (aletheia) – five times in vv. 1-4,

    “commandment” (entole) – three times in vv. 5-6,

     “doctrine” (didache) – three times in vv. 9-10.

Below is a short study investigating the differences and overlaps between the three original Greek words used in the short letter, as explained by different commentators.

W.E. Vine

“Aletheia, truth, is used (a) objectively, signifying the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of a matter..; especially of Christian doctrine...the true teaching of the Gospel, in contrast to perversions of it.”

“Entole...denotes, in general, an injunction, charge, precept, commandment...and is used of moral and religious precepts...it is frequent in the Gospels, especially that of John, and in his Epistles.”

“Didache...denotes teaching, either (a) that which is taught...or (b) the act of teaching, instruction.”

Woodbridge

“John uses 'truth' to refer to genuineness, the opposite of falsehood, but also to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, which can be understood only by disciples through faith...Truth, when accepted, makes an impact on the believer's life and is never merely theoretical...Outside Paul and John's Gospel, the term 'truth' appears infrequently, except in the Johannine epistles. Here the usage is similar to that in the fourth Gospel, with particular emphasis on the behavior of the believer.”

Dictionary of New Testament Theology

“R. Bultmann and C.H. Dodd argue that John sees truth primarily as reality in contrast to falsehood or appearance...Other writers...underline instances in John where aletheia may possible mean faithfulness...”

“In [the Gospel of] Jn. entole and the plur. entolai and the vb. entellomai are used virtually exclusively in relation to the only Son, the revealer...The use of the terms in the Johannine epistles is essentially the same as in Jn...However, there are significant formal differences which are also significant for interpretation. In the letters it is no longer the Son himself who proclaims the commandment. Instead, there are discussions and meditations on the commandment of God or Jesus. In contrast with the gospel, the discussion is often about the 'commandment of God' or 'the Father', giving the impression that the writer is thinking simply of the command to love in the gospel.”

“Here [in Acts] didache is used for the early Christian preaching, and appears in a variety of phrases...all these expressions, in the mind of Luke, denote the testimony of the apostles to Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 1:21)...John's use of didache in Jn. 7:16f (cf. 18:19) points in the same direction. The Johannine message in the mouth of Jesus is described as teaching which comes from the Father. This message of “Jesus” becomes in 2 Jn. 9f. the didache Iesou Christou, but the content of both is identical.”

Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Development

“The word commandment (entole) is figured prominently in both 1 John and 2 John.., and in every case it appears that the commandments of God rather than Jesus are intended...The new commandment is specifically identified in 2 John 5 in terms of loving one another...and the 'truth' is centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ who truly came in the flesh (2 Jn 7-11)...John circles back to love here [i.e. vv. 5-6] because he wants to emphasize that love is the central feature in keeping the commandments. Love can never be separated from observing the moral norms...”

“In these letters certain behavior is required of believers who claim to 'be in the truth' (1 Jn 1:8),' know the truth' (2 Jn 1-2) or 'walk in the truth' (2 Jn 4; 3 Jn 3-4)...They must not hate their fellow believers (1 Jn 2:8-11; 4:2) but instead love them with their actions. They must not deny that Jesus is the Messiah (1 Jn 2:20-22) and that he came in the flesh (1 Jn 4:1-3; cf. 2 Jn 7).” All of these are vital doctrinal statements.

F.F. Bruce

“This language [in 2 John 2] is reminiscent of the words in which our Lord promises His spirit to the disciples in the upper room...(John 14.17). There is nothing surprising if what is said of the Spirit in one place is said of 'the truth' in another place...It is through 'the Spirit of truth' that He who is Truth incarnate dwells perpetually in and with His people.”

Concerning v. 4, Bruce says, “Since there is no definite article before 'truth' it may be held that 'walking in truth' here means simply 'conducting themselves in all sincerity,' whereas the article would point to the embodiment of truth in Christ..; if they conducted themselves in sincerity, they conducted themselves as befits followers of Christ and since their conduct was in accordance with the 'commandment' given them by the Father, it was as much 'walking in love' as 'walking in truth'...”

“The apostolic teaching [i.e., doctrine] could be called 'the teaching of Christ' either because it is the teaching which derives from Christ and is vested with His authority or because it is the authoritative and true teaching about Christ...”

Grayston

In vv. 1-3, 'truth means the proper religious way to believe, which is in fact to exercise love...This initial emphasis on truth, taken up in v. 4 is less to do with orthodoxy than orthopraxy [i.e. proper behavior]...Following the truth (v. 4) has the same meaning as 'follow his commandments' in v. 6.; and truth means the proper way to live.” Doctrine “in modern usage inevitably suggests a formulated christology and implies an objective genitive (teaching about Christ). But the genitive could equally be subjective (teaching given by Christ), referring to Christ's teaching about love both by his words and his actions.”

Akin

“'Walking in the truth' indicates that truth is both what we believe and how we live.” Regarding v. 6, he states, “If John is focusing upon the believer's relationship to the Father, we prove our love by obeying him (cf. 1 John 5:3). If our brothers and sisters in Christ are intended, we show our love for them by keeping God's commandments (cf. 1 John 5:2). It seems best to combine the two options... Commandments represent the broader requirements and expectations of God.”

Marshall

“Acceptance of the truth involves active love; where love is absent, it is a sign that the truth has not been accepted...Love means living according to the Father's commands...The reason why failure to abide in the true doctrine leads to loss of reward is now indicated [in v. 9]. The 'teaching of Christ' is the tradition about Christ taught by the elder himself and handed down by authoritative tradition in the church. 'Teaching' thus means 'orthodox teaching,' a phrase which the elder uses rather than 'the truth.'”

Thompson

“Truth includes matters of both faith and practice, and thus designates what Christians are to believe (v. 7; 1 Jn 4:2; 5:6) and how they are to live (vv. 5-6). Truth is the reality to which Christians are committed, and they are known by their commitment to it...The Elder goes on to explicate the truth by which they live in terms of the commandment to love each other (compare 1 Jn 3:32). In fact, love is to live in obedience to [God's] commands...The previous section (vv. 4-6) dealt with the moral aspect of truth; the present section [vv. 7-11] turns to the question of doctrinal truth and, specifically, true confession if it.”

From the above, one can readily see that we should not attempt to draw any hard and fast distinctions between the concepts of teaching, commandment, and doctrine since all three are quite tightly bound together, at least as far as John is concerned.