September 10, 2023, Pentecost 15: ”The Fleshly Community”

In the early church, different ideas about Jesus abounded. Many teachers, influenced by Plato, could not stomach the idea of Jesus's full humanity. They said that he, being God, only appeared to be human, and that the goal of the church was to shed itself of its base human nature. The elder of John's Second Letter warns against welcoming such teachers, calling them "the deceiver and antichrist". What makes such teaching so dangerous for the church? Why is it important to affirm Jesus's humanity? And in a digital age, why is a flesh-and-blood Messiah necessary at all? Pastor David preaches "The Fleshly Community", based on 2 John 1-13.