2 John 4 4I have been exceedingly overjoyed because I have found some of your children walking in the truth, just as we received a command from the Father.
The theme of truth continues from the greetings section as the author begins the body of this short letter. Several themes echo from 1 John, including rejoicing, walking, and truth. The letter builds on the two themes of truth and love. The author, assumed to be the Apostle John, begins with a statement of joy upon finding out that some of those part of this Christian community were living by the standard of the truth. This brief letter sought to reinforce this good news and warn against false teachings and teachers. By affirming the readers at the start, John has strategically created a positive atmosphere for the difficult things he writes later in the letter. The verb overjoyed (echarēn) is in the passive voice, which does not translate easily into English. Something outside of John caused him to rejoice, which he gives in the last part of the verse.
John does not state how he came to know about their obedient response, but his joy was significant. The children of the lady lived by the truth that John or other eyewitnesses passed on. The chain of the truth had not been broken, but as later verses indicate, it was being threatened by deceivers (verse 7). The source of the truth was God the Father, passed on to Jesus, the Son, who commanded it to his disciples. The focus of the truth is the person of Jesus Christ, what he did, and what he represents. This was no minor dispute over theology but the core issue of identity. The truth needs to be lived out, as indicated by the image of the present participle walking (peripatountas). Confession needed to match lifestyle. The truth is not just for the head or heart but also for the hands and feet.