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. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. 12 Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister greet you.
This looks like a personal letter written to someone so close that no mentioning of name is necessary. The recipient would know it is from John, the apostle, simply mentioning the elder. Vice versa is also true, merely addressing the lady, the recipient knows it refers to her. Such practice is not being distant, instead is a very intimate action. John and all other believers love this lady. Why? John did not explain, but by reading between the lines, we believe that he might refer to how she brought up her children.
So why did John write to the lady? It warns her of the many deceivers who did not acknowledge Christ. Who are these deceivers? John did not illustrate. That is not the main issue. This writing is not to teach her to identify the deceivers. The purpose is to ask her not to welcome such people. Keep a distance from them to have nothing to do with them.
John's advice looks pretty unfriendly. Most of us will want to be friendly. But, in being friendly, our actions may create an opportunity for the evildoer. Others may read our efforts as we condone the teaching of the deceivers. So let us be extra careful not to allow the deceivers to manipulate the situation.
Today, we still face many deceivers. They call themselves Christians, but they advocate that we treasure worldly wealth and health instead of heavenly rewards. They look very innocent and friendly, and they attempt to join various Combined Christian Associations. Some of these associations accepted their membership to achieve greater unity but did not realise that they had indirectly endorsed the wrong practices of the deceivers. So let us keep our distance from them. We should not have anything to do with them. Do not let others think that we accept such wrong theology. Do not allow the devil to mislead others.
