John used the word truth four times in this salutation, so it is an important word. Basically, it means “reality” as opposed to mere appearance, the ultimate that is the basis for all that we see around us. Jesus Christ is “the truth” (John 14:6) and God’s Word is “truth” (John 17:17). God has revealed truth in the person of His Son and in the pages of His Word. He has given us “the Spirit of Truth” to teach us and to enable us to know truth (John 14:16–17; 16:13).
But the truth is not only an objective revelation from the Father, but also a subjective experience in our personal lives. We cannot only know the truth, but we can “love in the truth” and live “for the truth’s sake.” The truth “lives in us, and shall be with us forever.” This means that “knowing the truth” is much more than giving assent to a body of doctrines, though that is important. It means that the believer’s life is controlled by a love for the truth and a desire to magnify the truth.
John opened his letter on this note of “truth” because there were false teachers abroad who were spreading error. He called them deceivers and antichrists (2 John 7). John was not one to say that all religious teachings are true in one way or another, and that we should not be critical just as long as people are sincere. To John, there was a great difference, in fact, a deadly difference, between truth and error, and he would not tolerate error.
Since the truth will be with us forever, we certainly ought to get acquainted with it now and learn to love it. Of course, all truth centers in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, with whom we shall live forever (John 14:1–6). It is wonderful to contemplate the fact that we shall spend eternity surrounded by truth, growing in our knowledge of truth, and serving the God of truth.
How did this elect lady and her children come to know the truth and become children of God? Through the grace and mercy of God (2 John 3). God is rich in mercy and grace (Eph. 2:4, 7), and He has channeled His mercy and grace to us in Jesus Christ. We are not saved by God’s love, but by God’s grace, which is “love that paid a price” (Eph. 2:8–9). God loves the whole world, yet the whole world is not saved. Only those who receive His abundant grace experience salvation from sin.
When you receive grace and mercy from God, you experience His peace. “Therefore, being justified [declared righteous] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). God is not at war with lost sinners; it is sinners who are at war with God (Rom. 5:10; 8:7). God has been reconciled to sinners because of Christ’s work on the cross. Now sinners must repent and be reconciled to God by faith in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:14–21).
It is significant that at the very outset of his second letter John affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ. He did so by joining “the Lord Jesus Christ” with “God the Father.” Suppose 2 John 3 read “from God the Father, and from the prophet Amos.” You would immediately respond, “Amos must not be joined with the Father’s name in that fashion! It makes it appear that Amos is equal with God!”
But that is exactly why John joined the Father and the Son together: they are equally God! And then, to make certain that his readers did not miss the emphasis, John added “the Son of the Father.” It is impossible to separate the two. If God is the Father, then He must have a Son; Jesus Christ is that Son. “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father” (1 John 2:23).
Many false teachers argue, “But Jesus is the ‘son of God’ in the same way all of us are God’s sons, made in the image of God! When Jesus claimed to be God’s Son, He was not really claiming to be God.” But when Jesus said to the Jews, “I and My Father are One,” they threatened to stone Him! Why? Because He had blasphemed! “Because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:30–33). They knew what He meant when He called Himself the “Son of God” and claimed equality with God.
The Christian faith stands or falls on the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ. If He is only man, then He cannot save us, no matter how gifted or unique He might be. If He is not God come in human flesh, then the Christian faith is lies—not truth—and John opened this letter with the wrong emphasis.
The great American statesman Daniel Webster was dining in Boston with a group of distinguished men, some of whom had Unitarian leanings. (The Unitarians deny the Trinity and the deity of both the Son and the Spirit.) When the subject of religion came up at the table, Webster boldly affirmed his belief in the deity of Jesus Christ and his confidence in His work of atonement.
“But Mr. Webster,” said one man, “can you comprehend how Christ could be both God and man?”
“No, sir, I cannot comprehend it,” Webster replied. “If I could comprehend Him, He would be no greater than myself. I feel that I need a superhuman Savior!”
If our homes and churches are to be true to Christ and oppose the false teachers, we must know the truth. How do we learn the truth? By carefully studying God’s Word and allowing the Spirit to teach us; by listening to others who are true to the faith; and then by practicing what we learn. We must not only learn the truth with our minds, but we must also love the truth in our hearts and live the truth by our wills. Our total persons must be yielded to the truth.
How important it is for parents to teach their children to love the truth! While we thank God for Sunday schools and Christian day schools, in the final analysis, it is the home that must instill in children a love for truth and the knowledge of God’s truth.