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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2Jn_1:7-11
7For may deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teachings of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. 10If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.
2Jn_1:7 "For many deceivers" The word "deceivers" comes from the Greek word planç, from which we get the English term "planet." In the ancient world the movement of the heavenly bodies was mapped and studied (zodiak). The stars fit into stable patterns, but some stars (i.e., planets) moved irregularly. The ancients called them "wanderers." This developed metaphorically into those who wander from the truth.
These false teachers are not just sincerely wrong or misled persons who are ignorant of the gospel. In John's writings both the Pharisees and the false teachers rebel against the clear light they have received. This is why their rebellion is characterized as "the unpardonable sin" or "the sin unto death" (see notes at 1Jn_5:16). The tragedy is that they also caused others to follow them to destruction. The NT clearly reveals that false teachers will appear and cause great problems (cf. Mat_7:15; Mat_24:11; Mat_24:24; Mar_13:22; 1Jn_2:26; 1Jn_3:7; 1Jn_4:1).
▣ "have gone out into the world" The world here is simply our physical planet. These false teachers have either left the Christian church (cf. 1Jn_2:19) or they are on missionary assignments (cf. 3 John).
▣ "those who do not acknowledge" This is the term homologeô, which implies a public profession and confession of faith in Christ. See hyperlink at Joh_9:22-23.
▣ "Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh" These deceivers continue in their false teachings about the person of Christ. This verse repeats the admonition to "test the spirits" of 1Jn_4:1-6, especially as they relate to Jesus' full humanity (cf. Joh_1:14; 1Ti_3:16). Gnosticism affirmed an eternal dualism between "spirit" (God) and "matter" (flesh). To them, Jesus could not be fully God and fully man.
There seems to have been at least two theological streams within early Gnostic thought.
1. denial of Jesus' humanity (Docetic); He appeared to be human, but was a spirit
2. denial that Christ died on the cross; this group (Cerinthian) asserted that the "Christ spirit" came on the man Jesus at his baptism and left Him before He died on the cross
It is possible that the present tense, "coming in the flesh," is John's way of rejecting Cerinthian Gnosticism and 1Jn_4:1-6 is his way of rejecting Docetic Gnosticism.
▣ "This is the deceiver and the antichrist" In 1Jn_2:18 there is a distinction between the plural "antichrists" and the singular "the Antichrist." The plural had come in John's day and they had left the churches (cf. 1Jn_2:19), but the singular is projected into the future (see "the man of lawlessness" in 2 Thessalonians 2). However, in this verse, the singular is used, like the plural in 1Jn_2:18-25.
2Jn_1:8 "watch yourselves" This is a Present active imperative. It is the term "see" (blepô), used metaphorically for a warning against evil (cf. Mat_24:4; Mar_13:5; Luk_21:8; Act_13:40; 1Co_8:9; 1Co_10:12; Gal_5:12; Heb_12:25). Believers are responsible for discerning error because
1. they know the gospel
2. they have the Spirit
3. they have ongoing fellowship with Christ
NASB "that you do not lose what we have accomplished"
NKJV "that we do not lose those things we worked for"
NRSV "so that you do not lose what we have worked for"
TEV "so that you will not lose what we have worked for"
NJB "or all our work will be lost"
There is a Greek manuscript variation in this verse related to the first pronoun: should it be "you" (NASB, NRSV, TEV) or "we" (NKJV)? The UBS4 text supports "you," meaning the believers addressed might not accomplish the goals of the gospel given them by the Apostolic witness.
▣ "but that you may receive a full reward" This is an aorist subjunctive which points back to their reception of the gospel. The subjunctive's contingency is not related to their salvation, but the maturity and expansion of the gospel through them (cf. 1Co_9:27; 1Co_15:10; 1Co_15:14; 1Co_15:58; 2Co_6:1; Gal_2:2; Php_2:16; 1Th_2:1; 1Th_3:5).
2Jn_1:9
NASB "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ"
NKJV "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ"
NRSV "Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ"
TEV "Anyone who does not stay with the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it"
NJB "If anybody does not remain in the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it"
First, notice the negative use of pas. The gospel invitation is to "all," but unfortunately so also is the potential for heresy. This potential heresy is characterized by two present active participles: "goes beyond" and "does not abide." The first "going beyond" may have been a catchword for the false teachers' implying they had advanced truth beyond the eyewitness Apostles. Believers are characterized by the word of truth abiding in them (cf. Joh_8:31; Joh_15:7; 1Jn_2:14, the negative in Joh_5:38; 1Jn_1:10). See Special Topic on Perseverance at Joh_8:31 and Apostasy at Joh_6:64.
The genitive phrase "of Christ" could refer to
1. teachings of Christ
2. teachings about Christ
3. John's common double meanings
Genitives are numerous and vague! Only context can determine the intended meanings but often, as here, they overlap.
▣ "does not have God" The "teaching of Christ" and the "truth" of 2Jn_1:2 are parallel. False teachers and their followers have no reward (cf. 2Jn_1:8). They are spiritually lost and not with God because to have the Father one must have the Son (cf. 1Jn_5:10-12). The use of the verb "has" (twice, present active indicative) with God is found only here and 1Jn_2:23.
2Jn_1:10 "If" This is a first class conditional sentence assumed to be true from the author's perspective or for his literary purposes. False teachers will come!
▣ "do not receive him into your house" This is a present active imperative with the negative particle which often implies the stopping of an act in process (the context must determine).
The "house" could refer to Christian hospitality (cf. Mat_25:35; Rom_12:13; 1Ti_3:2; Tit_1:8; Heb_13:2; 1Pe_4:9 or 3Jn_1:5-6), but in context it probably refers to inviting a traveling minister to speak to the house church (cf. Rom_16:5; 1Co_16:19; Col_4:15; Phm_1:2).
▣ "and do not give him a greeting" This is another present active imperative with the negative particle. Do not identify yourself with this "so-called Christian." Any hint of fellowship might be misunderstood as approval (cf. 2Jn_1:11). This statement is very hard to apply to today. So many claim to be Christians. Yet in an attempt to share with them we must be cordial and engaging in conversation. Still, Christian leaders must beware of any identification with heresy. This, of course, does not apply to Christian denominations!