Is II John 9 Referring To One Particular Teaching About Christ Or The Whole Of What Christ Taught?

II John 9 reads “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” So we have to stay inside the teaching of Christ to have God, to be saved. But what does the “doctrine of Christ” refer to here, only to the particular teaching mentioned in verse 7 that Christ came in the flesh, or is verse 9 a general statement used to condemn the specific in verse 7 and many other things? Compare to these parallels for the answer:

· John 8:31 “… If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” – does “continue in my word” here refer to continuing in one specific teaching about the nature of Christ or to what Christ taught as a whole?

· I John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” – does “walking in the light” in this verse mean agreeing with just one specific truth or walking in the whole body of God’s truth?

· II John 4 “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.” – does “walking in truth” here mean walking in only one specific truth or in the whole of God’s word?

· III John 3 “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.” – does “walkest in the truth” here refer to walking in only one part of truth or in the entirety of God’s truth?

· III John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” – does “walk in truth” here refer to continuing in only one specific teaching about the nature of Jesus, or does it mean walking in all of Jesus’ teachings?

· Psa 119:1 “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.” – walk in the whole law of the Lord, right?

· Psa 119:3 “They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.” – walk in all God’s ways, correct?

· Gal 2:14 “But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel …” – only one specific truth of the gospel, or the whole thing?

Besides, doesn’t II John 9’s use of the word “transgresseth” make a whole lot more sense if talking about transgressing a law than it would transgressing one fact about Christ’s nature?

Conclusion: II John 9 teaches we must follow Christ’s law to have God.

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