“Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God, whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
~ 2 John verse 9
Hi James and Ellen,
Are you Gnostics? Gnostics have a dissimilar set of belief norms than what Christ-followers have. Are you Christ-followers? A Christ-follower has unconditionally accepted and lives by the teachings of an incarnate man. Incarnate means to be personified into a person. The incarnate man’s name is Jesus. Before Jesus was personified into a person, Jesus was and still is God – as God the Son. God – being sovereign and Whose existence is infinite, assumed the roles of being God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. Before Jesus – as God the Son, took on what God tasked Him to do on planet Earth, Jesus lived a rather normal life for the first twenty plus years that He lived on planet Earth. Jesus’ life on planet Earth began as a baby. Jesus’ ma was a virgin. Jesus grew up in a small settlement helping his dad build stonewalled houses and then . . . Jesus’ primary purpose for the assignment that God gave Him on planet Earth was to physically die as a ransom payment for the sins of the kids, gals and guys who God – as God the Father – before God formed planet Earth, elected for Himself to be His adopted kids. Jesus used the last few years of the time that He – as God the Son, resided on planet Earth to complete the mandate that God gave Him to indoctrinate an eclectic gang of twelve guys into a new belief paradigm that would replace an untenable and/or a flawed belief paradigm that was centered around animal sacrifices and doing good works. The new belief paradigm that God – as God the Son – Jesus, took to planet Earth did not negate the desire of God that He alone be worshipped by the guys, gals and kids Who God – as God the Father, adopted before He positioned planet Earth in the firmament that He created. A component of the new belief paradigm that God – as God the Son, took with Him to planet Earth is the faith/grace door – a door that God – as God the Father, opens for His specially elected kids to pass through to be given and to claim the priceless gifts of salvation and eternal life. After the ascension into heaven of their beloved mentor – Jesus – Who was God the Son, it was up to the original gang of twelve – minus turncoat Judas Iscariot, to begin to proactively promote the new belief paradigm which they were effectively able to do after God – as God the Spirit, came to planet Earth as a wind and with tongues of fire to empower them with passion.
Fifty or sixty years later – and after the new faith/grace belief paradigm had been jumpstarted by the guys who God – as God the Son – Jesus, had mentored and by guys and gals who were led by God – as God the Spirit, to individually and personally accept this new paradigm, another new belief paradigm began to take root. This new belief paradigm took on the name of Gnosticism. A guy or gal who bought into this new belief norm – which took on the name of Gnosticism, believed that his or her body was nothing more than matter which makes it inherently evil while God is no more than a spirit which makes Him intrinsically good. A guy or gal who bought into this new belief norm – which took on the name of Gnosticism, believed that he or she would achieve salvation through a special knowledge versus through an unfathomable faith in the teaching of God – as God the Son. A guy or gal who bought into this new belief norm – which took on the name of Gnosticism, believed that Jesus was never ever an incarnate man – that Jesus just seemed to have a body but that His body was actually an apparition. This new belief norm was tweaked by another guy who promoted a belief that the divine Christ hooked up with the body of a guy named Jesus when Jesus was baptized and then the divine Christ left the body of Jesus before Jesus died. A guy or gal who bought into this new belief norm – which took on the name of Gnosticism, believed that because the human body is inherently evil that he or she needs to treat his or her body harshly and callously. A guy or gal who bought into this new belief norm – which took on the name of Gnosticism, believed that because his or her body is always inherently evil, that it was not a big deal to adopt an immoral and illicit lifestyle.
Apostle John became very consternated with the developing heretical belief norm which took on the name of Gnosticism. Apostle John was one of the original twelve guys who Jesus – as God the Son, discipled for at least a couple of years. Apostle John scribed a short letter – 2 John, to be circulated among the emerging Christ-follower communities to debunk Gnostic teachings. Your grandpaa does not know where Apostle John was when he scribed and sent out this short letter. Apostle John had become an elder in a Christ-follower community of guys and gals that was located in Ephesus. Apostle John used his short communiqué to warn guys and gals who were followers of the teaching of Jesus – as God the Son, to not invite any guy or gal into his or her house – especially a guy or a gal who was espousing or advancing a belief norm that was purportedly but erroneously based on what the apostles and early leaders among followers of Jesus had taught. Apostle John had some very strong feelings and intense thoughts about the guys and gals who were . . . when he scribed what he scribed in verse 9, “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God, whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” Planet Earth today is inhabited with all kinds of deceivers – deceivers such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., all who believe in the existence of a form of a divine deity but who have distorted the role of the incarnate man – Who is Jesus Christ – God – as God the Son. It is the hope and prayer of your grandmaa and grandpaa that you will never pull becoming Gnostic like – which will have you agreeing with and then promulgating a teaching that will be foreign to what has been explicitly articulated by guys – such as Apostle John, in their letters.
2 John (627)