Overview
This is just a short note from "The elder" to a "chosen lady and her children". Some commentators think this refers to a woman and her family who hosted a house church (perhaps in Ephesus), and others think that it is merely a personification of the church and its members.
There appears to have been some sort of inter-communal conflict in this little church, for the elder reminds them of the "command ... we have had from the beginning", and that is to "love one another" (v.5). He says it is to be more than mere verbal profession, but a "walk", a lifestyle, and a life-commitment (v.6).
He sees it important that this command be obediently followed, so that the resultant stability will provide protection against "many deceivers, who...have gone out into the world" (v.7). If they love one another they will "not lose what [they] have worked for" (v.8), the implication being that false teachers often exploit disunity in a local congregation.
There's a second caution in this little letter — a warning to those who have a predisposition to homemade theology. Anyone who wants to "run ahead" of the apostles' doctrine will not only be vulnerable to false teachers, but will also be vulnerable to self-deception (to the point where he/she will "not have God" — v.9).
That's why he's so hard on the false teachers. He wants the congregation to bar access to them.
The elder is anxious about this, so much so that he hopes to visit them soon, face to face, in order to instruct them more fully and to renew his joy (v.12).
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