2 John 1

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¹The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, ✦ ²because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: ✦ ³Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. ✦ ⁴I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. ✦ ⁵And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. ✦ ⁶This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. ✦ ⁷For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. ✦ ⁸Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. ✦ ⁹Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. ✦ ¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; ✦ ¹¹for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. ✦ ¹²Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. ✦ ¹³The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen. ✦

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Where this chapter connects

1 Jn 2 ·11 2 Jn 1 ·7 John 15 ·6 1 Jn 3 ·4 Gal 5 ·4 Eph 5 ·4 1 Jn 1 ·4 1 Pet 1 ·4

Christ at the center

To walk in truth and love is to abide in 'the teaching of Christ'; whoever has the Son has both the Father and life.

How 2 John 1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — 2 John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on 2 John 1YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — 2 John 1David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — 2 John 1Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.