In verse 9 John continues, “Everyone who goes beyond and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; he who abides in the teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.” Literally, the Greek word translated “goes beyond” means to lead forward (in a negative sense), that is, to go further than what is right, to advance beyond the limit of orthodox teaching concerning Christ. This is contrasted with abiding in the teaching of Christ. The Cerinthian Gnostics, who boasted of their supposedly advanced thinking concerning the teaching of Christ, had such a practice. They went beyond the teaching of the divine conception of Christ, thus denying the deity of Christ. Consequently they could not have God in salvation and in life.
The modernists today go beyond and do not abide in the teaching of Christ. They also claim to be advanced in their thinking. According to them, it is out of date to say that Christ is God, that He was born of a virgin through divine conception, that He died on the cross for our sins, and that He was resurrected both physically and spiritually. Denying this truth concerning Christ, the modernists claim to be advanced in their philosophical thought. In principle, they follow the way of the Cerinthian Gnostics.
In verse 9 John speaks of not abiding in the teaching of Christ. This is not the teaching by Christ, but the teaching concerning Christ, that is, the truth concerning the deity of Christ, especially regarding His incarnation by divine conception.
According to verse 9, the one who goes beyond and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. But he who abides in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son. To “have God” is to “have both the Father and the Son.” It is through the process of incarnation that God has been dispensed to us in the Son with the Father (1 John 2:23) for our enjoyment and reality (John 1:1, 14). In the incarnated God we have the Son in His redemption and the Father in His life. We are thus redeemed and regenerated to be one with God organically so that we may partake of and enjoy Him in salvation and in life. Hence, to deny the incarnation is to reject this divine enjoyment; but to abide in the truth of incarnation is to have God, as the Father and the Son, for our portion in the eternal salvation and in the divine life.
This point in verse 9 concerning having both the Father and the Son has helped me to interpret the full reward spoken of in verse 8. The full reward is to have both the Father and the Son for our enjoyment. Today’s modernists, like the ancient Gnostics, do not have the Father and the Son, for they do not abide in the teaching of Christ.
In verse 10 John goes on to say, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not say to him, Rejoice!” Concerning the teaching of Christ, we should not only teach this as a theory, but also bring it as a reality. Wherever we go, we should bring this reality, the reality of what the all-inclusive Christ is. Some of the young people may have an opportunity to present to their parents this reality, which is a wonderful treasure.
In verse 10 the pronoun “him” refers to a heretic, an antichrist (v. 7; 1 John 2:22), a false prophet (1 John 4:1), who denies the divine conception and deity of Christ, as today’s modernists do. Such a one we must reject, not receiving him into our house or greeting him. Thus, we shall not have any contact with him or share in his heresy, heresy that is blasphemous to God and contagious like leprosy.
We should not receive anyone who does not bring with him the teaching of Christ. Do not think that because we are told to love others, we should receive a heretic. Concerning this, love does not avail. John says clearly that we should not receive an antichrist, a false prophet, into our house, and we should not even say to him, “Rejoice!”
The Greek word for rejoice is chairein, be happy, rejoice, hail; it is used for greeting or farewell. Instead of telling false prophets to rejoice, we should tell them to weep because they do not have the enjoyment of the Triune God. The point here is that we should have nothing to do with such persons and with their contagious heresy.
In verse 11 John says, “For he who says to him, Rejoice, shares in his evil works.” Just as bringing to others the divine truth of the wonderful Christ is an excellent deed (Rom. 10:15), so spreading the satanic heresy, which defiles the glorious deity of Christ, is an evil work. It is a blasphemy and abomination to God! It is also a damage and curse to men. No believer in Christ and child of God should have any share in this evil. Even to greet such an evil one is prohibited. A severe and clear separation from this evil should be maintained.
The New Testament is very strong in the matter of not receiving one who denies the Person of Christ. Even though the second Epistle of John is an Epistle about loving one another, here John prohibits us from sharing, participating, in heresy. We should not have any contact with heretics, false prophets. We should not receive them, and we should not greet them. They are lepers, and this leprosy is contagious. Therefore, we should have nothing to do with them.