1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
At first glance, it seems that John is writing to a lady and her children but when you consider the final verse and the way this letter reads it is more likely that John is writing to a church. It is a church of believers, God’s elect or chosen ones. The love that John and others had for this community of believers is based on their shared belief in God’s truth. This shared truth they enjoyed then is the same truth we enjoy today because God’s truth remains the same through the ages.
Similar to Paul, John greets them with grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ but he goes on to explain that they will experience these things in truth and love. When truth and love are present, then God’s grace, mercy and peace will be fully experienced.
John expresses his joy in having recently met members of this church who were walking in the truth. It brings him great joy to see believers walking in obedience and he wanted the whole church to do the same. He reminds them that he is not bringing some new command but the command that has been there since they first believed, the command to love one another. And what is love but that we live according to God’s commands. John tells us that we should walk in “it”—singular. John saw all the aspects of God’s commandments as one obligation.
If you were met as a representative of your church, would those who met you post on social media that they had met some of the members walking in the truth? Everywhere we go we are representatives of our local church but also of the universal church of Christ—we represent believers everywhere. When people meet you do they see an accurate picture of grace, mercy, peace, truth, and love?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Moses and the Burning Bush: Exodus 3