3 John 1-15
Prayers & Announcements: Hand-out Revelation Overview
Last Week: In 2 John 1:1-13, we studied John's letter, written this time to a church, in which he emphasized living in the love of God in accordance with the truth of Jesus Christ and gave a warning about offering hospitality to traveling missionaries who might be spreading a false gospel. We came away with four main points of application: 1. John's concept of "truth" in this lesson centers on the person of Jesus Christ. The truth centers in all that the OT and NT affirms about Jesus Christ, and to know Him personally is to be in the truth. You don't have to be a theologian or a Bible scholar to be saved; you simply must recognize that you are a sinner in need of a savior and that Jesus Christ is that savior. 2. The Christian concept of truth and love cannot be separated. Truth on the essentials of the gospel and love for one another must be the basis for fellowship and unity. Modern secular society talks much about love and unity, but it's not tied to any absolute standard of truth. 3. Love also means that we are to "walk" according to the commandments of Jesus Christ. Obedience to these commandments means they should be item one in basic, first-level Christian Teaching and taught that biblical love is not a matter of feeling or emotion but a matter of will that can be commanded-a deliberate decision. "Walk" is understood to mean the way we live our day-to-day lives-we are commanded to walk in the love and truth of Jesus Christ, and all that it means. 4. As 21st Century Christians, we should examine everything we see, hear, and read that claims to be "Christian" against the truth of the apostles' teachings, i.e., the entire New Testament. This means having knowledge of the basic tenets of the Christian faith and guarding yourself against secular human ideas that conflict with Biblical Christian values. Every Southern Baptist church member should be generally familiar with the doctrines outlined in the Baptist Faith and Message (18 articles with about 8 pages of text). You don't have to be a theologian to understand it.
This Week: We take up John's third letter, this one to an individual rather than a church. At 219 words, it's the shortest book in the NT. In the first half of the letter, John gives praise to an individual who had shown great hospitality to itinerant messengers who were going from place to place to preach the Gospel. After that, he rebukes the behavior of a certain church leader in the province of Asia who had refused to recognize John's apostolic authority or receive his messengers. In closing, he also commends the good example of Demetrius, one of his messengers.
Read 3 John 1:1-4 - Greeting and Introduction
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.
v. 1: " The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth" - Again, as in the previous letter, John refers to himself as the "elder," which is both a reference to his advanced age (85-90) and his position in the church, along with the fact that as an apostle, he had authority from Christ over all the of the churches of that period. The addressee of the letter, "Gaius," was a very common name in the Roman Empire of that day. He was obviously familiar to John, but little else is known about him. Unger's Bible Dictionary suggests that he was probably a convert of John who was a wealthy layman of some significance in the vicinity of Ephesus sometime around 90 A.D.
v. 2: " Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers" - John used this common Greek greeting for sending his best wishes to Gaius. The Greek word for "prosper," euodoó, literally means to succeed in a journey. Using the phrase, "just as your soul prospers," John draws an analogy between the condition of our health and the condition of our soul. A soul can be said to be prosperous when you are walking in love and truth. Sadly, many Christians today would be seriously ill if their physical health matched their spiritual health. On the other hand, I've seen a number of gravely ill Christian friends whose souls literally radiated strength.
vv. 3-4: "For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth" - John apparently had been visited by Christians from Gaius' church who told him of the man's faithful walk. Here, as in all of John's writings, truth is a central concept. Again showing his pastor's heart, he expresses that his greatest joy was to hear of his spiritual "children walking in the truth." Why do you think John was so focused on the idea of truth? Because we know from John's writings that truth was central to Jesus' life and ministry. As the last living apostle, he saw numerous errors creeping into the churches. John understood that a person just doesn't automatically stay on the path called "truth" because he's a Christian: it requires deliberate purpose and effort, both to understand the truth and walk in it.
Read 3 John 1:5-8 - Gaius: A Good Example
5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may [c]be fellow workers with the truth.
vv. 5-6: "Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God." - John praised Gaius for his generous hospitality. This may seem minor to us in this age of easy transportation with the availability of decent motels all along the way. But hospitality to fellow Christians, when needed, is a practical outworking of the essential command to love one another-it's love in action. The early church was centered on missionary outreach and itinerant preaching from place to place, and would not have survived and spread without Christian hospitality. John notes that hospitality is especially valued when Christian travelers in need of food and shelter are complete strangers to their host. v. 6 indicates that Gaius not only took good care of the travelers while accommodating them but when they left, loaded them up with supplies and gave them money to support their mission work-i.e., a great example of "sending them on their way in a manner worthy of God."
vv. 7-8: "For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth." - The ancient world of the early church was filled with missionaries of various religions who would take up offerings from the crowds to which they were speaking. Christian missionaries, however, were told not to solicit funds from the general public (Gentiles) but to seek assistance from fellow Christians. After all, this supports the truth that God's Word cannot be peddled or sold-it's a free gift to anyone. As God's people, John urges us in v. 8 to support people like these travelers. One practical way to show Christ's love by good deeds is to support missions and missionaries who go out for the sake of His Name. In this way, we can become "fellow workers with the truth."
TRUTH 1: The prosperous soul walks in truth and love. A person's soul can be said to be prosperous when he or she is walking in the love and truth of Jesus Christ. The truth centers on the person of Jesus Christ, who is the God of truth in human flesh. Because Christians live in a world full of sinful temptations, they don't just automatically stay on the path called "truth" because they are believers; it requires deliberate purpose and effort, both to understand the truth and walk in it.
Read 3 John 1:9-11 - Diotrephes: A Bad Example
9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept ]what we say. 10 For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. 11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
vv. 9-10: "I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. 10 For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church." - John identifies Diotrephes as a man "who loves to be first." This is an explanation for a multitude of church problems down through the ages. Diotrephes wasn't teaching false doctrines, for if he had been, John certainly would have condemned him as a heretic. His problem wasn't theology but personal ambition and pride. Diotrephes wrongly and unjustly accused John and his messengers he barred from the church because he wanted to be the sole authority and leader of the church. He wanted everyone to look up to him, not to Jesus Christ. He felt threatened if people learned from others, and so he refused to let the 'brethren" into the church and used gossip and slander to criticize them, even the beloved apostle John. Gossip is sharing information (which might be true) with those who have no business hearing it. In this case, Diotrephes used gossip to build himself up and tear others, like John, down. In all probability, if people in the church didn't support Diotrephes, he bullied them into compliance or kicked them out of the church. He had the power to do it. This was church politics at its worst. That's exactly how the world operates. Have you ever seen a magnetic and controlling leader who turned a church into a "cult of personality?"
v. 11: "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God" - John just gave us two clear examples: Gaius (good) and Diotrephes (bad). The point John makes is that we all need godly examples to follow-men or women with the character of Gaius; yet, we need to be careful in our choices, because even people recognized as Christian leaders, like Diotrephes, might set a poor example. So how do you discern whether a person is worth imitating or not? The best answer is to look for the fruit in his or her character, look at his or her deeds. In Mt. 16:17a, Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits...."
TRUTH 2: The bankrupt soul (e.g., Diotrephes) loves to be first. The problem with these people, who might even rise to positions of leadership in a church, is that they know the truth but love themselves more than Jesus Christ and other Christians. They use relationships for power, to build and protect their power base. They dominate everything and everyone in the church on the pretense of "purity." This type of leadership leads to a bankrupt soul.
Read 3 John 1:12-15 - Final Blessings
12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face. 15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.
v. 12: "Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true" - Providing another good example, John is saying that "the truth itself" bore witness to Demetrius' good character. This means his life was consistent with the character qualities and moral standards of God's Word. Rather than trying to be first, like Diotrephes, Demetrius was a humble servant. (He might have been John's messenger.)
vv. 13-14: "I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face - John obviously had much more to tell them, and we can understand his preference for personal, face-to-face contact with his "spiritual" children rather than the writing of letters, yet, we are grateful that he was forced to write them so we would have this precious record.
v. 15: "Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name" - In addition to the familiar blessing of peace upon Gaius, John also reminded him of their common ties as Christians, who may be separated by miles but are still "friends" in Jesus. The unusual use of the honorific "friends" (as opposed to "brothers") in John's community may have inspired by Jesus' teaching in Jn. 15:14, "You are my friends if you do what I command you."
TRUTH 3: The prosperous soul imitates godly examples. We all need godly examples to follow-men or women with the character of Gaius and Demetrius; yet, we need to be careful in our choices, because even people recognized as Christian leaders, like Diotrephes, might set a poor example. So how do you discern whether a person is worth imitating or not? The best answer is to look for the fruit in his or her character, look at his or her deeds. In Mt. 16:17a, Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits...."
