Writer: The Apostle John.
Date: Probably A.D. 90.
Theme: 2 John presents the essentials of the believer’s personal walk in a time when “For many deceivers have gone out into the world” (2 John 7). The key phrase is “the truth,” by which John means the body of revealed truth, the Scriptures. The Bible, as the only authority for doctrine and life, is the believer’s resource in a time of declension and apostasy.

Structure: The epistle divides into three parts:

1. The way of truth and love (verses 1-6)
2. The peril of unscriptural ways (verses 7-11)
3. Superscription (verses 12-13)

Purpose: In this short letter, John exhorts believers to live consistently with the truth that “remains in us” (v. 2). He emphasizes love as the out-flow of truth, and warns against welcoming or supporting those who do not hold the doctrine of Christ (v. 9-11). The epistle is especially fitting for times when false teachers abound and believers must guard both their doctrine and their practice.

Key Considerations:

• “The truth” is not simply subjective experience, but the revealed Word of God, the Scriptures, which the believer is to hold and live by.
• The law of Christ is summarized as divine love, wrought in the renewed heart by the Holy Spirit, and manifested in the walk of the believer. In verse 5, John writes: “that we love one another,” and verse 6: “this is love: that we walk according to his commands.” This love is under the New Covenant, not the external law of Moses.
• The warning passages (vv. 7-11) make clear that the believer must remain in the doctrine of Christ and must not receive into his home those who bring a different teaching, lest he become a partaker in their evil deeds.