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2 John 1

The letter binds love to obedience and warns that supporting teachers who deny Christ makes believers participants in their work.

An elder writes to a chosen lady and her children, rejoicing that some of them are walking in truth. Whether these terms describe a household or a church and its members is uncertain. He urges love expressed through obedience to God’s commands, then warns against teachers who deny that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Receiving such teachers would mean sharing in their work. He closes with greetings and the hope of speaking face to face.

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1The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not I only, but also all those who know the truth,
2for the truth’s sake, which remains in us, and it will be with us forever:
3Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, even as we have been commanded by the Father.
5Now I beg you, dear lady, not as though I wrote to you a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
6This is love, that we should walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
7For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don’t confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist.
8Watch yourselves, that we don’t lose the things which we have accomplished, but that we receive a full reward.
9Whoever transgresses and doesn’t remain in the teaching of Christ doesn’t have God. He who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
10If anyone comes to you and doesn’t bring this teaching, don’t receive him into your house, and don’t welcome him,
11for he who welcomes him participates in his evil deeds.
12Having many things to write to you, I don’t want to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you and to speak face to face, that our joy may be made full.
13The children of your chosen sister greet you. Amen.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
2 John 1:9Remaining in Christ’s teaching marks fellowship with both Father and Son, explaining the stakes of the elder’s warning.
2 John 1:6The elder defines love through obedience to God’s commands, joining the letter’s call to love with its concern for truth.
2 John 1:7The denial that Jesus Christ came in the flesh identifies the deception behind the letter’s urgent warnings.
Where this chapter reaches

John and 1 John share this letter’s link between love and obedience, along with its confession of Jesus Christ come in the flesh. 1 John also shares its warnings about deceivers and antichrists who reject the truth about the Son.

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After reading the whole chapter

How does the elder’s definition of love shape your understanding of his warning about welcoming teachers?

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What stands out to you about the elder’s desire to speak face to face after such a firm warning?

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Questions people ask about 2 John 1

Who wrote 2 John?

The writer identifies himself as “The elder” without giving a personal name. Christian tradition attributes the letter to the apostle John. Its language about truth, love, obedience, and the Father and Son resembles John and 1 John, though this letter alone does not establish the elder’s identity.

Who is the chosen lady in 2 John?

The chosen lady may be a Christian woman whose children also believe, or a church addressed as a woman with its members called children. The closing greeting from her chosen sister’s children fits either reading. The letter provides no name or detail that settles the question.

Why does 2 John say not to welcome someone into your house?

Verses 10–11 concern someone arriving with teaching that departs from the confession of Christ described in verses 7–9. The elder says welcoming that person makes the host a participant in his evil deeds. The warning concerns support for deceptive teaching; the text does not address every encounter with someone who holds different beliefs.

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2 John · 1 chapter
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).