2 John 1:7-13

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. ⁹ Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; ¹¹ for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.¹² Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made complete.¹³ The children of your chosen sister greet you.”

For many deceivers…those who do not acknowledge: As with 1 John and the Gospel of John, the apostle is combatting the Gnostic heresy that Christ did not come in the flesh. This matters because God’s love was manifested in the flesh in Christ. If Jesus was merely an illusion, then God’s love was not truly manifested. Jesus Christ died physically and truly in a human sense so that He could defeat the very death that plagues us. If we remove that from the Gospel, then we have no Gospel at all. 

Antichrist: The antichrist is evidently not a singular figure according to John. The antichrist is a group of people who are rejecting Christ’s humanity. We see this also in 1 John (see 1 John 2:18). 

Full reward: John is talking about the benefit of knowing God’s love in this life. He does not want anyone to fall short of understanding God’s love. 

Anyone who goes too far: There is a difference between being confused about God’s love and being so far from understanding it that one is not truly saved. However, John does leave room for people to be so far from the Gospel that they are not saved. In the context, this is referring to Gnostics, but John did not want anyone on the fence about Jesus to be deceived into their heresy.

Remains in the teaching: True Christians will have an abiding faith in Jesus and consequently will forever be in relationship with the Father and the Son. Jesus died and rose again because He wanted us to forever know that He loves us and likes us. 

Do not receive him into your house: John wanted believers to keep a large relational distance from the false teachers. This would ensure that they were not deceived by the false teachings. John is not talking about distancing ourselves from friends or family members who have rejected Christ. He is specifically addressing a group of people who were trying to deceive this church by coming directly to their homes. Apparently, there was enough temptation being faced by Christians to warrant this command.