2 John 1 Scofield
Read 2 John 1 · Matthew Henry on 2 John 1
1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
“that we love one another”
Law (of Christ), Summary: The new "law of Christ" is the divine love, as wrought into the renewed heart by the Holy Spirit Rom 5:5; Heb 10:16 and outflowing in the energy of the Spirit, unforced and spontaneous, toward the objects of the divine love; 2 Cor 5:14–20; 1 Thess 2:7; 1 Thess 2:8. It is, therefore, " the law of liberty"; Jas 1:25; Jas 2:12 in contrast with the external law of Moses. Moses' law demands love,; Lev 19:18; Deut 6:5; Luke 10:27 Christ's law is love; Rom 5:5; 1 John 4:7; 1 John 4:19; 1 John 4:20 and so takes the place of the external law by fulfilling it; Rom 13:10; Gal 5:14. It is the "law written in the heart" under the New Covenant.
(See Scofield "Heb 8:8").
1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
“world”
kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield "Matt 4:8").
1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
“transgresseth”
Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
Public domain (1917). Text from the BibleSupport.com e-Sword module.
Introduction to 2 John
WRITER: The Apostle John.
DATE: Probably A.D. 90.
THEME: Second John gives the essentials of the personal walk of the believer in a day when "many deceivers are entered into the world" (2 John 1:7). 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.
The Epistle in three divisions:
1. The pathway of truth and love, 2 John 1:1–6
2. The peril of unscriptural ways, 2 John 1:7–11
3. Superscription, 2 John 1:12–13