These are two of the shortest books in the Bible, with 13 and 14 verses, respectively. But you won’t be surprised to learn that good things can come in small packages. Both letters were written by the apostle John around A.D. 90 from Ephesus, according to my NIV study Bible.
Here are the four lessons I took from II John: (1) Jesus had a physical body; (2) those who stray from God’s laws will have no relationship with Him and no reward; (3) we should give the cold shoulder to heretics; and (4) love and truth are important.
And here are the five lessons I took from III John: (1) there is a soul/body distinction; (2) truth is important; (3) we should help evangelists; (4) peace is good; and (5) some people/church members help the church and others hurt it; the latter should not be followed.
Note that both Jude and III John involve intrachurch strife. Implicit in both letters is that there is truth and falsity, and that we should resist the latter and those advocating it. Tolerance and open-mindedness go only so far. And II John is not namby-pamby either: There is truth, and those who embrace it will be embraced in turn by God and rewarded by Him — but not those who don’t. Indeed, God won’t have anything to do with them, and neither should we.