Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”
– 2 John 1-3
There is so much in these first three verses, that I have to confess just feeling a bit overwhelmed with even knowing where to begin or how to approach it.
Praying that even through my weakness, the LORD will work and reveal His word to us.
There is one commonality that seems to run through and draws these verses together, and that is: the abiding work of the truth.
We started off noticing this fact that those who are chosen have a very unique relationship to the truth. It’s a relationship that was conceived at the time of our salvation.
We also noticed that this is an ongoing relationship, one that doesn’t stop with our salvation but merely begins.
Salvation is just the introduction. A first meeting. A commitment.
Any profitable relationship takes effort, time and a commitment from both parties. It is never one-sided.
Even in our unfaithfulness at times, truth will not remain quiet in the life of a believer. It can be ignored, but it won’t be silenced… Because the LORD is faithful.
I want to start to take a look at the abiding work of the truth that is evidenced in these first three verses.
It is a theme that is present throughout this book, but for now we will start here, and by God’s grace take it a verse at a time – or in some cases, a phrase at a time J.
John 5:38 says,
“You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.”
Conversely, we see that the truth abides in those who believe – in those who are the LORD’s.
Because the truth abides in a believer, it can never be separated from anything we do.
It follows then that everything we do is the effect of the truth or affects the truth.
“Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.” – 2 Peter 1:12
God’s truth is present and abiding.
Upon salvation the truth comes to live in the heart of the believer – and It comes to abide, to remain.
It can never be taken out or removed. It’s permanent.
That is one of the reasons why a life in Christ cannot remain unchanged. It cannot remain in the same relationship to sin as it has in the past, because the truth stands in opposition to sin and where truth resides sin isn’t comfortable. Truth will not have sin as a roommate. There is going to be unrest and turmoil in the life of any believer who fails to evict the sin in their life.
You cannot serve both. If you are comfortable in one, you will not be comfortable in the other. This is the battle that has been fought over the field of man’s heart since the fall.
If the truth is in us, if it is in fact abiding then –
What are some of the evidences?
What are some effects of the truth in the life of a believer?
“The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth…”
The ability to love.
This isn’t your typical love. It’s not love as the world is capable of – for they do not have the truth.
This word LOVE is – agapaō (it is the verb form of agape.) by its verbal nature it calls for action.
This quality of love is not an emotion but is an action initiated by a volitional choice. **taken from Precept Austin.
In his commentary on 1 Peter MacArthur says it this way -- "agapaō expresses the ideal kind of love, that which is exercised by the will rather than emotion, not determined by the beauty or desirability of the object, but by the noble intention of the one who loves."
This is the love that God showed us. In that there was nothing in us that drew Him or made us desirable to Him. To love us was an act of the will. According to His kind intention.
This is the love that we are commanded to show one another –
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” – John 13:34
We are to be as intentional in our love for one another as the LORD was with us.
We are to love beyond emotion and desirability – those things wear off and change over time. Especially when we have been wronged or treated unjustly. More often than not we just don’t “feel like” loving. This love isn’t something we always feel, but it is something we are always to do.
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. – 1 Peter 4:8
You see God’s intentional love in Duet 10:14-15 –
“Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. Yet (in spite of who God is…) on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day.”
Talk about a people who were hard to love – and we are no better. Unfaithful at best, but God determined to love.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ” – Eph 2:4-5
“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…” – 1 Peter 3:18
Real agape in action.
So, if this is love, what does it mean to “love in truth”?
How did God love us in truth?
This is one of the ways He has loved us in truth.
We’ve used Israel as an example, and I think they are a good one. The LORD set His affection to love them – He chose them. So, did that mean He overlooked their sin, their unfaithfulness? He just let it go?
You don’t have to read very far into the Old Testament to see that’s not true. God dealt with their sin, over and over and over.
We mentioned in the introduction to this book, that real love does not sideline the truth.
That is exactly what God didn’t do. He didn’t sweep the truth under the rug so He could love us…that wouldn’t be real love. It was for the sake of the truth that Christ died. So that it might be upheld, so that God could remain just.
Because the truth is -- we are sinners. The truth is – that sin has made us enemies. The truth is – God is holy and God is just and because of who we are He can’t come near us.
God didn’t have to love us. But He chose to. And because He chose to He had to deal with our sin. He couldn’t let that go, and He didn’t….and He doesn’t
So how does this apply to us? How do we love in this way?
We need to confront sin
Sin in our own life and sin in the lives of our brothers and sisters.
This is the kind of love that doesn’t stand by and watch – it acts. And it acts according to the bounds in which it is set. “IN truth.” It is expressed in the confines of truth and truth alone.
You could say it this way – This love is obligated to the truth.
If we are to love in this way then we need to know the truth.
John knew the truth. Because he knew the truth he was able to discern that the men this lady was letting into her home were false – and his love for her would not let that stand, it compelled him to act.
I think John here is an excellent example of loving in truth.
One of the ways we love in the truth, as seen here, is to confront sin.
How does he confront sin?
We could spend a lot of time going into any of these in detail, but for the sake of keeping this from getting too long… I will just briefly mention them and allow you to think on them as the LORD would lead.
He reminds her of truth – this is what you were told
He warns her – this is what’s going to happen
He councils her – this is what you need to do
Notice this is a similar pattern to how you see God deal with His people.
Are we loving one another in truth?
What other ways can we
This is such an Important concept, and one that I think we would greatly benefit from a closer look at. I encourage you all to consider this in more depth.
Verses to consider –
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.” – 1 Peter 1:22
“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” 1 John 3:18
(speaking of love) “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;” 1 Cor 13:6
Consider for next week:
“and not only I, but also all who know the truth” – What evidence of the truth is seen here?
-Augusta
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