2 John 1:1

John the apostle and governor of the whole church of Asia, to the church (unnamed) and to all the Christians therein, whom I value and love in Christ, and not I only, but all other true Christians;

[a] elect] That ἐκλεκτή signifies a church, and that συνεκλεκτή is used in that sense for another, or sister church, in the same manner as here, ver. 13, ἀδελφή ἐκλεκτή, hath been said note [d] on 1 Pet. v. 13, to which I shall add the testimony of St. Jerome, Epist. 11, ad Agerachiam, where, having mentioned the text in the Canticles, ch. vi, Una est columba mea, perfecta mea, una est matri sua, electa genitrici sua, “My dove is one, my perfect one is the only daughter of her mother, the elect to her that brought her forth,” he adds, ad quam scribit Johannes Epistolam, Senior electæ dominæ et filiis ejus, “to whom John writes an Epistle, The elder to the elect lady and her children.” Now for κυρία, it may fitly be set to signify no more than τῇ δεῖνα, an appellation fit to be used when the name is either unknown or concealed; for in that case, and not only as a title of honour and dignity, it is ordinary to say κύριε, (which probably is grown to be in English cyr or syr.) So John xx. 15, the woman taking Christ for the gardener, and addressing her speech to him as one whose name was not known to her, begins with Κύριε, Syr. But beside this, it is observable that both κύρια among the Athenians, and curia among the Romans, signifies the very same that ἐκκλησία and ecclesia doth, that is, the assembly, both as that signifies the persons congregated either for civil or sacred uses, and the place where they thus meet. See the worthy sir Henry Spelman’s Glossary, p. 195. And then the words will be best rendered the elect church or congregation, some which here is not thought fit to be mentioned by name, or particularly. That he names not this church, may be for the same reason for which among others he names not himself, any otherwise than ὁ πρεσβύτερος, the elder, viz. because of the persecutions that were then abroad in the world. And indeed that both this and the third Epistle were designed to be sent clancularly, and purposely avoided the eyes of men, appears by the close, common to both, that he had many things to write, but would not commit them to paper and ink, 2 John xii, and 3 John xiii, in respect of the hazard that that might bring either on them or him, in case they were intercepted, or fell into other hands than those to which he designed them. Agreeable to this it is that we here have mention of the τέκνα αὔτης, her children, ver. 1, and in the like manner, ver. 13; by which phrase the Christians of any church are fitly signified, the title of mother being so proper for a church, and so used, Gal. iv. 26, the mother of us all. But what church it is that was here designed, or what that other, ver. 13, we have no means to define, any further than by remembering that all Asia being (as far as the Jewish Christians there) the special charge and province of St. John,

2 John 1:2

Because of the Christian profession, the same in you that remaineth in us, and shall do so, I pray and hope, for ever:

2 John 1:3

I send you greeting, and wish you all gifts, and mercy, and prosperity from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly that you may, in despite of all solicitations of heretics and schismatics,

¹ catholic, or, general epistle, ἐπιστολὴ καθολικὴ, generally read τοῦ ἀποστόλου.

² the apostle John: for the copies

2 John 1:4

Some of the Christians which belong to thee I lately met with, where I was, and discerned them to stand constant in the truth of the Christian doctrine, agreeably to that commandment given to us by God the Father, This is my beloved Son, hear him, Matt. xvii. 5, when Peter and James and I were in the mount with him; and this constancy of theirs was the more considerable, because of the great store of false doctrine that is now every where abroad in the church: and this was matter of special joy to me: see note [a] 1 John ii.

2 John 1:5

And now all that I have to beg of you is, that to the profession of the truth ye add the practice of Christian charity, that we may all live in unity and peace and concord one toward another. And this is no new commandment of mine, but that which Christ required of all his disciples, and to which ye are most strictly obliged by being Christians.

2 John 1:6

And this consists in your doing what Christ hath prescribed: and his prescription is, that we should not hearken to new doctrines, but go on in the course in which we were first set by him and his apostles, the preachers of the faith unto us. From which they that depart, fall into faction and malice, and uncharitableness against all others.

2 John 1:7

For many impostors are come among you, who will not acknowledge Christ to be the Messias, (see note [b] 1 John ii.) and whosoever doth so, is an impostor and an antichrist, such as were prophesied of that now they should come: see note [c] 1 John ii.

2 John 1:8

Take care then that by relapse you destroy not all, and forfeit the reward of your good beginnings for want of perseverance, but that continuing to the end, ye may receive a complete reward or crown.

2 John 1:9

Every one that now apostatizeth, and falls off from the doctrine of Christ to the corruptions of the Gnostics, forsaketh God himself and all piety, (see note [d] 1 John ii.) and he that adhereth and sticketh fast to the orthodox profession, now it is so opposed, shall be looked on as a truly pious and Christian person.

2 John 1:10

If any man bring you any doctrine beside this;

2 John 1:21

Farewell, my tender Christians, and be sure you keep yourselves from offering sacrifices to the false idol gods, (which the Gnostics would do in case of persecution,) and from those mixtures of heathenism and uncleannesses practised in their heathen worships by them, and brought in among Christians by that licentious sect, and even from images themselves, which the Gnostics (who pretended to have forsaken the idolatries of the heathens, and so to have become Christians) did again fall into, worshipping the images and pictures of Simon Magus and Helena, and offering sacrifices unto them. Amen.

THE [a]SECOND ¹ [b]EPISTLE OF # ² JOHN.

THE elder unto the [a]elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;