Bible Study 2John Exhortation for Leaders

The Elder Apostle John wrote this letter to an Elect Lady and her children. He was exhorting the woman leader and her members. That should put an end to the argument that woman should not lead in church. This is also a good summary letter on "How to have a Successful Christian Fellowship Life Group".

Grace, Mercy and Peace from God
It begins with typical blessings of "Grace, mercy and peace of God".
Grace is the power of God for us to do things that God call us to do. See Christianity Rediscovered: "Grace is Unmerited Favor" - This common definition is wrong.
Mercy is our undeserved blessings and goodness from God to us. We get mercy without any of our performance. It is entirely the goodness of God. Peace of God gives us the calmness, worry-free, fear-free, harmony and joy in face of crisis. See Peace - Biblical View. When we are disturbed, troubled, depressed and fearful, please remember to get the grace, mercy and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.

The Key Points of the Exhortation
1. Walk in the Truth of the Commandment of Love. (v4-6)
2. Know the True Doctrine of Christ which includes confessing that Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.
3. Watch ourselves that we continue to abide in the teaching of Christ. Christianity is not a one off event but a journey with Christ beginning with our acknowledgment of Jesus as the Christ. (v8-9)
4. Do not have fellowship with those(corrupters) that have a different doctrine of Christ. Otherwise, we will be participating in their evils.(v10-11)
5. Meeting one another face to face that our joy may be full (v12). This point stresses the importance of fellowship in persons, not just by mail!

The Meaning of Jesus coming in the Flesh
1 John 4:2, John tells us how to discern the spirit of false prophets and anti-Christs -"Did the spirit confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh". Here in 2John 1:17, he uses "confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh". Jesus Christ is the key of Christianity. Remove Christ, and Christianity is gone! If Christ did not come in the flesh as man, then man sins remained. If Christ the man was not resurrected and be coming again in the resurrected form of flesh (new kind), then the promise of eternal life is also false.

In those days, there were heretic preachings to spiritual Christ rather than accept the physical man Jesus as God, and the shameful death on the cross. To a natural human mind, God as a limited man with suffering is not easy to accept. But the essence of Christianity is the very fact that God came as man to die for man as man to show forth the great love of God for man.

In this letter, John placed this 'Christ in the flesh' in the midst of walking in love, watching ourselves, abide in His teaching. It seems to me that he was stressing on the importance of loving the real person in the flesh as evidence for loving God.

In Charles Brown Cartoon, Linus said, "I love mankind. It's people I can't stand!". A Leader stressed that we should not be man centered but Christ centered. Therefore, we shall emphasize relationship with Christ over caring for members. What do you think? May be the following verses can help our understanding:

• (1John 4:20) If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 
•  (John 13:35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Questions for Discussion & Applications

1. Grace, Mercy, Peace from God & Christ in truth and love. What are the meaning of the different words? What do they do for and to us?
2. What are the main teachings of this letter?
3. What is the Doctrine of Christ? How do we treat those that do not follow the Doctrine of Christ? Is that the way to treat people?
4. What is the relationship between John and this Elect Lady? What does it tell us about the relationships among the early believers?