2 John 1 KJV
[1] “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;”
The lady that John refers to in our text is a mysterious lady. Her identity seems to be concealed in the text, and has been greatly debated among Bible students. Who is she? Why did John not call her name? These are only a few of the questions surrounding her. Let us consider this mysterious lady, and who she could possibly be.
Some believe that she is the church. They believe John was writing to the church, and addressed her as the “elect lady”. They believe that “her children” may be the saints fellowshipping in the church, and the “elect sister”, in verse thirteen, to be a sister church. One thing to consider, is that the church is never referred to as a “lady”, or a “woman”, but as a “chaste virgin”. These are titles given to the nation of Israel.
Another thought is that she is Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is possible that Mary could still be alive, but she would be a very elderly woman. It would make sense for John to refer to her as the “elect lady”. His motive could be to hide her identity because it would put her in great danger, due to persecution of Christians in his day.
Another interesting teaching is that she is a godly, respectable lady that John knew. He was writing to encourage her, her children and sister in the faith. John wanted to give her instructions, and strength for the journey.
Whoever she is, we see that John, and everyone that knew her, loved her, according to verse one. She had a great impact on this old soldier of the cross. She was a tremendous blessing to him in the truth. This lady is both mysterious, and wondrous, in her hidden identity. It is proof that you do not have to be well known to have influence, or to be a blessing. For God knows who she is!