2 John 1:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

NIV: Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

NASB: Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

CSB: Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.

NLT: Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.

KJV: Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

NKJV: Whoever 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.

Following his warning, John provides a way to identify false teachers. First, he notes that those who do not hold to sound teaching are worthy of doubt. In other words, if a person teaches something about Jesus Himself which is grossly wrong, they cannot be considered a believer. True Christians may misunderstand or be ignorant of certain biblical teachings about Jesus. But those who completely misunderstand who Jesus really was, or who teach against the true identity of Jesus on purpose, are false teachers and unbelievers.

In contrast, those who stay faithful to Christ's teachings should be trusted. The idea of "abiding" is again mentioned (2 John 1:2). A true believer will last in the faith; he or she will not later deny Christ and teach falsely about Him. This verse may also help those who wonder about people who have appeared to be strong Christians and then later deny Christ or become aberrant in their faith. John says such people do not have the Son; in other words, they were never truly believers in Jesus.

Second John 1:7–11 discusses a certain type of false teacher. Those who deny that Jesus came to earth in a real, physical, human form are not teaching the truth. According to John, these people are not to be supported in any way whatsoever. Those who help a false teacher are participating in their sin.

The entire book of 2 John is only 13 verses long. It is written by ''the elder,'' in this case the disciple John. In it, John commends a group of believers for holding fast to the truth of the gospel. He also warns these people to avoid those who deny aspects of the Christian faith, and who deceive people away from the truth. John uses the term ''elect lady and her children'' as a reference to this entire local church.

As a short letter, 2 John doesn’t develop any one topic too deeply. John is pleased to see that some believers are sticking to the truth, but this implies that others are not. He is concerned over the influence of false teachers, using strong terms to reject their teachings. John’s reference to ''the elect lady and her children'' is probably a reference to an entire local church and its members.

Second John is one of the disciple John’s letters. The others are 1 John and 3 John. He is also the author of the gospel of John and the book of Revelation. Letters such as this help us understand John’s guidance of early churches. As the last surviving disciple, John’s words would have carried great weight in the Christian community.