2 John 1:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,

NIV: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them.

NASB: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting;

CSB: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and do not greet him;

NLT: If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement.

KJV: If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

NKJV: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him;

John builds on his teaching from verses 7–9 with a conditional statement. The teaching he refers to is the one that Jesus came in real, physical, human form (John 1:1–14). The gospel of John, written by this same author, strongly emphasizes that Jesus came from heaven to earth: He "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Believers must accept that Jesus walked the earth as both divine and fully human. To deny this truth is to deny a core aspect of the gospel.

According to John, those who rejected this truth were not to be given any support. If a traveling teacher, who did not accept the humanity of Jesus, came to this church, John commands separation. They are not to be given resources, hospitality, or any other help. Believers are not to associate themselves in any way with false teachers who deny the true identity of Jesus. The following verse offers an additional reason for John's command, where he refers to the danger of sharing in the evil of these false teachers.

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.

Accessed 5/8/2024 8:05:03 PM