When it comes to truth and error, there is as much need to determine which is which today as there was in the time of the disciples. People everywhere were espousing this as being fact or that as being fact, and when Jesus came on the scene there was another way of thought that was introduced. John the apostle is well aware that for every truth there is a counterfeit, and as we study together through the book of Second John, we shall be drawn to what he has to say about truth. He declared a reason for why he was writing about truth in verse two of Second John:
For the truth's sake, which dwells in us, and shall be with us for ever.
John gives us the reason he is writing to the elect lady and her children, “the truth's sake”.When our eternal lives are concerned, we would be well advised to be concerned about the truth. What if we were on the wrong path? What if there were other ways of which we were unaware that would lead to fellowship with God? John's emphasis upon “the truth's sake” should make us all pay attention. John was one of the closest disciples to Jesus. Even as Jesus was dying upon the cross He entrusted his mother to John. Look at Jesus' words recorded in the gospel of John in chapter nineteen and verses twenty-six and twenty-seven:
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own [home].
John knew the truth, and now his purpose is to refute all false doctrine and declare Jesus as being the truth. Jesus Himself declared in the gospel of John in chapter fourteen and verse six:
I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me.
John's next words in Second John verse two show his belief in this: “which dwells in us”. When a person receives Jesus as their Savior and Lord, He comes to dwell inside of them. Paul the apostle wrote to the church of Colosse in chapter one and verse twenty-seven:
To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Jesus told Nicodemus in the gospel of John in chapter three verse three: “You must be born again.” Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a leader, a religious man, one highly esteemed, and yet Jesus told him the truth “You must be born again.” Jesus says the same words to us today, “you must be born again.” Once we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, a rebirth occurs within our spirits, and Christ comes to live inside of us and as John wrote in our verse for today, “and shall be with us for ever.” This is the truth, and John is purposed to be sure those who read his words know it.
The truth that John espouses is that Jesus Christ is come into the world to save sinners. When we who have violated the laws of God receive Jesus into our lives, we have the truth, know the truth, dwell with the truth and have the promise of the truth living within us forever and evermore.
Next time we shall take a look at three attributes of the truth in a welcoming greeting shared by John, so read ahead and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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