EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/17/2025 8:43 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “The Truth Unites Believers”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
2 John 1
Message of the verse: “The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth.”
Now I want to begin this SD by talking about the
statement that John gives whom I love in truth and this reveals his personal
connection to this family: MacArthur adds “the relative pronoun hous [whom] is plural and encompasses
both the lady and her children). Ego (I) is emphatic, stressing the
apostle’s personal, ongoing (the verb is in the present tense) stressing the
apostle’s personal, ongoing (the verb is in the present tense) love for
them. The love in view here is that
willful, spiritual devotion and service conveyed by the familiar verb agapo.
The phrase in truth explains and qualifies the sphere of John’s love for
them. It does not refer to his
sincerity; he was not merely claiming to ‘truly’ love them, though he obviously
did. Rather, truth refers here to the
embodiment of truth in the gospel. It is
parallel to the frequent New Testament expression ‘the faith’ (Acts 6:7; 13:8;
14:22; 16:5; 1 Cor 16:13; 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 1:23; Eph. 4:13; Phil. 1:27; Col.
1:23; 1 Tim. 1:2; 3:9; 4:1; 5:8; 6:10, 21; 2 Tim. 3:8; Titus 1:13; Jude
3). John’s expression is similar to Paul’s
exhortation to Titus, ‘Greet those who love us in the faith’ (Titus 3:15b);
that is, in the objective truth of the gospel.
It was the truth that bound not only John, but also all who knew the truth
to this lady and her children. It is
their common belief in the gospel that that unites all believers.”
It is at this time that MacArthur brings out what the main truth of this short epistle is: “John’s statement encapsulates the main theme of this brief epistle, that truth must always govern the exercise of love. Christian’s deep, mutual affection flows out of their shared commitment to the truth. In his first epistle John wrote, ‘Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him’ (1 John 5:1). We can have no real communion with those who reject the truth of the gospel, since we share no common spiritual life with them. Such people are outside the fellowship of believers, because it is only those who ‘have in obedience to the truth purified [their] souls’ who can have ‘a sincere love for the brethren’ (1 Peter 1:22).
“Because
salvation requires belief in the truth, it is critically important for the
church to proclaim the right message. A
simple, accurate presentation of the gospel is sufficient, through the
transforming power of the Holy Spirit, to bring about salvation. On the other hand, the most carefully
crafted, smoothly polished presentation of anything less than the gospel will
not save.
“John’s linking of love and truth shows that they are
anything but incompatible, as some are always eager to suggest. Believers are to speak in love, but they are
also to speak the truth (Eph. 4:15). To
minimize the truth in the name of love is to abandon biblical love, which is
based on the truth. God’s purposes will
never be accomplished by compromising His truth; love for souls is never
manifested by minimizing the truth.”
I believe that a true believer should always be ready to
tell the truth of the Gospel to someone that the Lord brings them in contact
with. Sometimes you may never have the
opportunity to talk to that person again, and that means you should be praying
that the Spirit of God has brought you in contact with that person in order to
witness the truth of the gospel to them.
Other times it may be a friend you work with or perhaps a neighbor and
then you must pray that the Holy Spirit of God will open the heart of your
friend or neighbor in order to tell them the truth of the gospel. Remember we can only pray and give out the
message but it is the Spirit of God who will convict a person and therefore
bring salvation to them.
4/17/2025 9:10 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment