The second epistle of St. John is a short admonition sent to deal with a particular problem in a local Church. It seems that certain perhaps more philosophical types couldn’t believe that God could assume a human nature, they do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. For them, Jesus was not truly a human being but simply a garb that God wore in order to teach a message. St. John resists this mightily reflecting the orthodox belief that Jesus is both truly divine and truly human. The importance of that doctrine can be seen in the admonition with which St. John opens the epistle: let us love one another. We love one another because we share a family resemblance with Jesus. The value of every human being as worthy of love flows from the common humanity we all share with the Son of God.
