The Identity of the Chosen Lady in 2 John in Refutation with John MacArthur

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

In his second letter, the Apostle John directly addresses his message “to the chosen lady and her children” (v.1).[i] As to the identity of this lady, many scholars suggest that John is referring to a specific local church where he had been serving as an elder. Others believe that John is referring to a specific lady. One scholar, John MacArthur, though he affirmed the first view early on in his ministry, has now conceded to the second.[ii] To assess the merits of MacArthur’s more recently formed position, this article will offer his reasoning and then demonstrate the more overwhelming support that exists for “the chosen lady” being a reference to a local church.

In his own words, MacArthur provides this evidence in support of his contention as “the chosen lady” being an individual woman:

“Many commentators believe the phrase “the chosen lady” (v. 1) refers metaphorically to a local church. The more natural understanding in the context, however, is to take it as a reference to an actual woman and her children, whom John knew personally. The letter’s obvious similarity to 3 John, which clearly (v. 1) was written to an individual, favors the view that 2 John also was written to an individual. Further, it would be unnatural to sustain such a figure of speech throughout the whole letter. Such an elaborate metaphor is also not in keeping with the letter’s simplicity and the tenderness of its tone. Finally, the change from the singular form of the personal pronoun “you” in v. 5 to the plural form in v. 12 applies more naturally to a woman and her children than to a church and its members.”[iii]

On the surface, MacArthur may indeed be correct if John is not in fact employing imagery in his reference to “the chosen lady.” As to Second John being similar stylistically to Third John, this hardly seems to add any significant weight to MacArthur’s claim.  While he is correct about Third John being written to an individual, any similarity in style does not by default place limitations upon the extent of the epistle’s audience. As one looks more deeply into the details of each epistle, one finds that his second epistle lacks the personal references found in his third epistle (e.g., Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius). As MacArthur further builds his case, he argues, without evidence, that it “would be unnatural to sustain such a figure of speech throughout the whole letter.” Whether or not this is true seems hard to prove given that we only have a small body of evidence to examine (all of John’s New Testament writings), the brevity of this epistle, and the internal evidence which covers familiar themes often associated with the church as a whole.

MacArthur also rejects the idea that “the chosen lady” could be a local church because this is “not in keeping with the letter’s simplicity and the tenderness of its tone.” This objection, however, seems surprising given that John is known for imagery (e.g., many words/phrases in Revelation), the usage of a very simplified style of writing, and his loving tone.

In his final attempt to dispel any connection between “the chosen lady” and a local church, MacArthur argues that John’s usage of the second person singular personal pronoun (“you”) and his later usage of the same pronoun in its plural form serve as solid support for his stance. Once again, he fails to provide adequate support for his view. “You” in v.5, like “your” (which is also singular) in v.4 both refer to “the chosen lady,” but this hardly fails to speak to the precise identity of the “lady.” Throughout the remainder of his epistle, John frequently employs “you” in the plural, but his usage does not, by necessity, limit his audience to a single woman and her children.

In opposition to the view expressed by MacArthur, most modern scholars favor understanding “the chosen lady” to be a reference to a local body of believers. For evidence, they observe that while John first seems to highlight “the chosen lady” as his audience in v.1 (even though he mentions the children as well) and directly speaks to the “lady” in v.5. After discussing the exemplary behavior of some of her children, the Apostle switches his audience to both the lady and her children throughout the rest of the letter by collectively referring to them as “you” in the plural (vv.6, 8, 10, 12).

Along with Apostle’s pluralization of his audience, these scholars also note the common references to Israel in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha to Israel as a wife, bride, mother, and daughter (cf. Is 52:2; 47:1 ff.; 54:1 ff.; Jer 2:2; Lam 1:1; Ezek 16:7). In the New Testament, Paul calls the Church “the pure virgin” (2 Cor 11:2; cf. Eph 5:25). Speaking most likely to the church in Rome, Peter writes, “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings” (1 Pet 5:13).

In the culture, the tendency toward female personification was similarly used when referring to cities, countries, and provinces. In their language, “[p]ersonification,” according to Karen H. Jobes, was “usually based on the grammatical gender of the entity being personified.”[iv] In the passages given in the previous paragraph from Paul and Peter, one discovers both Apostles following the common linguistic standard in regard to female personification as the ‘church’ (ἐκκλησία) is a noun in the female gender. Specifically, they employ the female gender when calling the church a “virgin” (2 Cor 11:2) who has been “chosen together” (1 Peter 5:13). This linguistic tendency even appears at the close of John’s second letter when he states, “The children of your chosen sister greet you.” The final mention of another lady (who is “sister” to “the chosen lady”) whose children send greetings seems to be still more proof that John has a church in mind because the children, as opposed to the “sister,” are the ones who send the personal greetings.

Further evidence that John had a local church in mind when he addresses “the chosen lady and her children” comes from the content of his epistle. Within his letter, the Apostle focuses upon obedience, sound instruction, and warnings against falling under the sway of false teachers. These weighted, biblical teachings are directed to the children as well (as has been noted given the presence of the plural “you”). These children appear to be mature not only because of the content directed toward them, but also because “children” (τέκνον) “is used frequently in John’s writings to refer to spiritual progeny of Abraham (John 8:39), of God (1:12; 11:52; 1 John 3:1, 2, 10; 5:2), and even of Satan (1 John 3:10).”[v]

In conclusion, the evidence strongly suggests that “the chosen lady” in Second John is a reference to a local church and not an actual lady as MacArthur presently teaches. As has been shown, John’s female personification of ‘church’ follows similar practices in both the Jewish and Greek cultures and even accords with the writings of Paul and Peter. Beyond this, John’s seamless transition to a pluralized audience (“you”) suggests that he has a whole community in mind. This contention draws further confirmation from the context of his letter with its weighty subjects and the Apostle’s propensity to refer to spiritual progeny as children.

[i]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.

[ii]John Macarthur, “Chosen by God, Part 1,” Grace to You (April 17, 1988), available at: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/60-2/chosen-by-god-part-1; Ibid., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1-3 John, epub. (Chicago: Moddy, 2007).

[iii]Ibid., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1-3 John, epub.

[iv]Karen H. Jobes, 1, 2, & 3 John, in Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, pdf., ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 166.

[v]Ibid.