JULY 27, 2026 – THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST

READ: 2 John 9: … does not abide in the doctrine of Christ … does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

In verse 9 John sharpens his warning even further: “Whoever transgresses.” This happens when teaching goes beyond the doctrine of Christ. The false teachers claim to possess a deeper insight into the truth. They come with “new insights.” In this way they began teaching outside the doctrine of Christ, that is, in deviation from the doctrine of Christ.

Naturally, growth in understanding of God’s Word is not to be condemned, but it is when this leads to deviation from God’s Word. “The doctrine of Christ” is both the doctrine concerning Christ and the doctrine which Christ Himself taught through His apostles. It concerns the whole gospel, because the whole gospel teaches us about Christ. We must hold fast to that doctrine by believing only this doctrine and living according to it.

Our salvation depends upon this. We may neither add to it nor take anything away from it, as we already read in Deut. 4:2 and 12:32 concerning God’s commandments.

On the final page of God’s Word, that same warning is repeated with regard to the book of Revelation. First reference is made to those who hold fast to the Word of Christ (22:14): “Blessed are those who do His commandments …” Then follows the threat of the judgments recorded in this book for those who add anything to the prophecy, and the warning of losing salvation for those who take away from it.

In the first instance this concerns the whole book of Revelation, but we must also apply it to the whole of God’s Word. 2 John 9 points to this, and positively also 2 Tim. 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.”

In our time, the new hermeneutic is presented as enriching and renewing, but in reality this method abandons God’s Word, including the doctrine of Christ concerning His atoning work. John says with full seriousness: if you do not abide in the doctrine of Christ, you have neither the Father nor the Son. For only in Christ, as He reveals Himself, can we have communion with the Father.

How can you resist false doctrine?
Singing: Ps. 71:7,8