EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/21/2025 10:34 PM
My Worship Time Focus: “The Truth
Controls Believers”
Bible Reading & Meditation
Reference: 2 John 4
Message of the
verse: “I
was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we
have received commandment to do from the Father.”
From reading all of the different letters that John
wrote including the gospel of John, and then the three different letters of
John we can see that he had a commitment to the truth, and so this comes to no surprise
that John was very glad to find some of this Christian lady’s children
walking in truth. Now surely the apostle
was enthusiastic at the news of their obedience to divine revelation, which he
may have heard from her sister ore her sister’s children. (The children of your chosen sister greet
you, v. 13). That he mentions only some of
her children does not necessarily mean that the others were not saved; John was
referring only to those of whom he had personal knowledge.
John MacArthur writes: “The truth of God’s Word is to be lived as
well as believed (cf. Matt. 7:21; 12:50; Luke 6:46-49; 11:28; John 13:17; Rom.
2:13; James 1:22; 1 John 2:3). The
phrase walking in the truth refers to moving through life controlled by the
truth; it is the equivalent to walking in the light (1 John 1:7). Walking is a frequent New Testament metaphor
for the Christian life. Believers ‘walk
in newness of life’ (Rom. 6:4), ‘walking by faith, not by sight’ (2 Cor. 5:7), ‘walk
by the Spirit’ (Gal. 5:16, 25), ‘walk in good works’ (Eph. 2:10), ‘walk in a
manner worthy of the calling with which [they] have been called’ (Eph. 5:8), ‘walk
in wisdom’ (Eph. 5:15), ‘walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in
all respects’ (Col. 1:10), ‘walk in a manner worth of the God who calls [them]
into His own kingdom and glory’ (1 Thess. 2:12), ‘walk in the same manner as
[Jesus] walked’ (1 John 2:6), and ‘walk according to His commandments’ (2 John
6).” I have to say that there is a lot
of this kind of walking found in the New Testament, and so it is good to have
this references to follow.
“John’s reference to the commandment
believers have received from the Father to walk in the truth is not a reference
to one particular command, but reflects the general and obvious mandate of
Scripture to obey. Scripture is even
called ‘the commandment of the Lord’ (Ps. 19:8; cf. the similar use of ‘commandment’
in1 Tim. 6:14). Obedience to God’s truth
is not optional. ‘God has not revealed
His truth in such a way as to leave us free at our pleasure to believe or
disbelieve it, to obey or disobey it. Revelation carries with it responsibility,
and the clearer the revelation, the greater the responsibility to believe and
obey it’ (John R. W. Stott, The Epistles
of John, They Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids; Eerdmans,
1964], 206).”
MacArthur concludes his comments on
this verse by writing “The brief letter opens with a ringing call for Christians
to live consistently with the truth they believe. The only true basis for unity in the church
is the truth of God’s Word that indwells, blesses, and controls the lives of
individual believers. And it is only
those Christians and churches who are firmly planted on the solid foundation of
the truth who will be able to withstand the storms of persecution, temptation,
and false doctrine that constantly assail them.”
4/21/2025 11:02
PM
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