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.
Live in the Truth
1 The 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, 2 for the truth’s sake, which remains in us, and it will be with us forever: 3 Grace, 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.
John would have been about 90 years old at the time of the writing of this letter. He has hammered home the faith's big ideas in his epistle. Jesus is God in the flesh. He continually forgives us. We should walk the talk. Love of God and others is paramount. Notice that the word “truth” is echoed again and again in this passage. Truth is centerpoint for the believer. The world tries to tell us that as Christians, we need to be tolerant of everything, but the reality is that what we believe is more important than what we tolerate in others. We must be centered in biblical truth. The most loving thing you can do is to tell someone the truth. Of course, we’re to do so in love. John mentions truth five times in this section of scripture. John could have been speaking to a literal woman, or he could have been referring to the Church as the “bride of Christ”. Sometimes these writers referred to churches as “she” or in a feminine sort of way.
John is speaking to those who know the truth and who abide in the truth. “Truth” in Greek (alétheia)[1] can also refer to Jesus Himself or the Word of God. (Your Word is truth. John 17:17 ). In Greek, the word means “revealed” or " not hidden”. In common everyday Greek literature, it was synonymous with "reality" as the opposite of illusion, i.e., fact.] I like that because it reminds us that knowing Jesus and knowing the truth of the Gospel is SPIRITUAL REALITY. There is no illusion here. When we have Jesus, we have that which is real. We hear a lot these days about different truths. One person will say, “Well, my truth is such and such.” Another will claim to have yet another truth. There is really no truth in any of this. There is one truth. The only truth that exists is what is called “objective truth.” Objective truth is truth based on facts rather than things that are imagined or invented.
The problem is that people often ignore the facts, even when they are right in front of them. In John 18, Jesus appears before Pontius Pilate. Jesus, THE TRUTH, was standing before Pilate, and yet Pilate did not recognize Jesus for who He was.
38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all. (John 18:37-38)
People still don’t see the truth when it is standing before them. As believers, we can be so comforted to know and understand that God’s Word is truth. The Bible is truth. We don’t have to be knocked off balance by a world gone mad. This is a great source of peace to all believers. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6)John adds that this reality will be in us forever. Reader, take hold of the truth. Rejoice in the truth. And today, live in the truth!
[1]https://www.biblehub.com/greek/225.htm truth, but not merely truth as spoken; truth of idea, reality, sincerity, truth in the moral sphere, divine truth revealed to man, straightforwardness.