God's full reward
Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8Watch yourselves so that you don’t lose what we have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.. 2 John 1:7-9 CSB
Just like 1 John, John is again writing to another church body that is experiencing deceivers and antichrists among them, “they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.” A key part of doctrine is that Jesus was both fully man and fully God at the same time while He was on earth. In doing so, He physically was able to die on the cross, paying the penalty for sin for all of us. Yet, “many deceivers have gone out into the world” sharing opposite claims. John warns the believers that to succumb to the false teachers is to potentially lose out on a “full reward.” As mentioned from John 10:28, believers cannot lose their salvation. What John is talking about here is a reward in heaven for being a faithful follower of God. Hebrews 6:10 shows how God is watching how believers conduct themselves on earth, “For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.” God will reward the work according to what the worker has done as seen in 1 Corinthians 3:8, “The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.” Finally, in verse 9, like 1 John, those that “go beyond” “Christ’s teaching,” or can be understood as passing by it, ignoring it, “does not have God.” John simply puts a line between those that have and practice the truth of Jesus Christ and those who do not. Therefore, true believers should remain in Christ’s teaching in His Word, being faithful to the best of their ability, for the Lord will reward His faithful servants.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
