The Truth…Will Be With Us Forever
“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever”
The Apostle John is concerned with “truth” in this letter. He loves the elect lady and her children “in truth” (vs. 1). He acknowledges that others “who know the truth” love her and her children (vs. 1) as well. This is because of the “truth that abides in us” and that will “be with us forever” (vs. 2). Additionally in verse 3, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ are said to be “in truth.” John rejoices to find those who are “walking in the truth” (vs. 4). He mentions “the truth” because it provides the springboard for “love,” and loving one another he calls the “new commandment” (vs. 5). This love for each other is also a “walking according to this commandment” (vs. 6).
There is always a massive connection between truth and love in the Bible. True love can only be built upon the truth. Without the truth, how can we know how to love or whether we love according to the Lord’s commandment? It is the truth that establishes the boundaries for any practice. It is the truth that fires up affection, not the other way round.
Truth, therefore, is about knowing. John speaks about the false teachers in this letter. He calls them “many deceivers” (vs. 7). They are those who “do not confess Jesus Christ in the flesh” (vs. 7). He calls them “antichrist” (vs. 8). He says they “do not abide in the teaching of Christ” (vs. 9). The “teaching of Christ” is also called “the teaching” (vs. 9), and “this teaching” (vs. 10).
This teaching of Christ is nothing less than the truth. John’s ultimate condemnation is to connect the false teachers and their teaching with “wicked works” (vs. 11). John connects a lack of truth (what they teach) with their practice (wicked works). The truth, therefore, leads to practice, and practice in 2 John is love, and in particular, loving one another. A failure to love means you do not have the truth. John describes love in verse 6: “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments…” Loving is obedience and abiding in practice.
We often think of truth in terms of cold logic, and love in terms of fiery affection, but this is a mistake. In order to raise the affections, the truth must be hot. If a husband loves his wife merely because it makes logical sense, his wife would or ought to give him an earful. It was surely his knowledge of her in the first place that led him to have those affections. Yes, beauty is a factor, but the beauty of truth is seen when it produces a passionate affection.
Thus, I will love God with a rich deep love commensurate with my knowledge of him. And I should not expect my knowledge to lessen or stop except at my own negligence. Therefore, my love should grow as I grow in knowledge. The Lord makes statements about love and knowing. For instance: “By this, all men will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The world’s knowledge that we are Christians is because we love one another. They see it and observe it in action. Love always displays itself. You cannot hide love. Love always responds to the truth of something. If you were a mathematician and loved numbers (I suppose you should love numbers like a mathematician), it would not be for the number’s sake alone, but rather, for what they mean and how they relate to each other. The truth of numbers would inspire a love for them, and you would know it, and it would be seen by others. Thus, we can tell if a husband loves his wife or a wife her husband. In the same way, we ought to be able to see a passion and zeal for God and his glory. The truth fires up our love and people see it. They feel the intensity you have. A cold logical knowledge will do nothing before others except remain cold and unresponsive. But a growing, deepening knowledge will come out.
According to Jesus, the truth sets us free (John 8:32). But what is this truth and what is this freedom? The “truth” according to Jesus is “my word.” In John 8:31 Jesus says: “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples…’” John says we know the truth, and the truth abides in us and will be with us forever (2 John 1, 2). So we have the truth, and we remain in the truth, and it will always be with us. But what is the freedom that Jesus refers to? This freedom is freedom from sin. Jesus says in John 8:34: “…Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” And this freedom is ours because: “…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). As we believe and receive the truth, we will in direct proportion fight against sin. This is why the Psalmist says: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). David knows that the storing up of the Word will keep him from sinning.
Putting the Word, which is the truth into your heart is hard work (also heart work). Nothing worth having is easily come by. But mere memorization is not enough. The truth must fire us. We must come to the truth believing that this truth is real and powerful. It will affect us. We must look to the Spirit to stir us up from our lethargy and laziness. It is easy for our hearts to get cold. We are prone to ourselves. Now if the truth is the truth, and if we know the truth, and if the truth will set us free, then the truth has the power to fire us up because it comes from God himself. God loves his own Word. God says in Isaiah 55:11, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” What an encouragement that is to preachers and teachers of the Word. What an encouragement to all of us when we share the Word or witness to others.
John tells us that the truth is going to be around for a very long time. It will be with us forever (2 John 2). The truth is in us and will always be with us. This means that in heaven I will have God’s Word within me. Jesus asked the Father in John 17:17 that we might be sanctified in the truth because God’s word is truth. According to the writer to the Hebrews, God’s Word is “…living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the living embodiment of truth. He said that he was the truth (John 14:6). He is also the Word (John 1:1). As that Word, he is eternal. All life exists in him, and his life is the light of men (John 1:4). John further says that this “Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The glory of the eternal Logos is said to belong to the Son of God in the flesh and it was seen as a display of grace and truth.
Jesus is the Truth, and he reveals the truth to us and we are free. According to Paul, we have been called into that glorious freedom as the children of God, which creation itself longs for and will one day share in (Rom. 8:21). We are living in a time when the truth is being compromised by all possible means. To compromise the truth is to compromise Jesus. Don’t do it and so prove that you don’t have the truth. Ground your entire life in the truth and you will be free.