Some Postcards from John 2 And 3 John for Today

The 'postcards' that John wrote to the churches of 2 and 3 John are packed full of useful instruction and exhortation. John sent these 'postcards' on ahead of hoped for, and longed for face to face visits: in 2 John to 'the elect lady and her children' and in 3 John to 'the beloved Gaius'. Both churches had their problems. The problem in the church of 2 John concerned deceiving deviants from outside the church - 'men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh', whilst the problem addressed in 3 John was concerned mainly with a dreadful dictator from within the church - 'Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge my authority'. These problem personalities from the first century will ring many present-day bells with us in the twenty-first century. In John's 'postcards', we encounter doctrine, duty, affirmation of truth, and warning against error. We meet love and discipline along with affection and sternness. Overriding everything, as everywhere in the Bible, we glimpse something of the supernatural glory of God in contrast with the sinful humanity He sent His Own Son to save. If you thought this was a book just to read, then think again stimulating questions, each of which could be the subject of a Bible study group.