Route 66: 3 John - Walking in Truth

Evening.

Hi, Jenny.

I've been asked to uh give an overview, as uh Pastor Doug said, of three John.

Uh but before I do, uh let's go in prayer just one more time.

Oh Father, what a what a joy you've provided for us.

We gather here tonight with our fellow believers uh to study and learn your word, and what a precious gift that is.

Thank you, Father.

And may all who are here tonight hear your voice and not mine.

And may you give us a glimpse of your glory that will buoy our souls right through this week, and and may your word take root in us, and and may we be as you have purposed us to be, and may we glorify you.

Amen.

Well, 3 John.

Uh I when I looked at it, I a question popped into my head.

And the question that popped into my head is why is Third John in the Bible?

And I wasn't being disrespectful, but I mean, it's just a short little book.

In fact, it's the shortest book in the Bible.

It's one chapter, it's barely half a page, it's just 219 Greek words.

I mean, what could be established in such a short little letter that would require it to be in the Bible?

Why is it here?

There's no big theological treaties, it's not written to a church for instruction or warning.

It's written to one guy, Gaius.

It's a personal letter.

Not even a letter, it's really more like a quick note.

So, so why is three John in the Bible?

Well, I have three reasons why it's in the Bible.

The first one is that it's written by the apostle John, and that's a pretty big deal.

John wasn't an elite apostle, you could say.

He was part of Jesus's inner circle.

Peter, James, and thank you.

John was with Peter and James.

They were the only ones Jesus allowed at his transfiguration to see that.

They were the only ones that Jesus asked to go deeper into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with him.

John was the apostle who rested on Jesus' chest during the Last Supper.

And Jesus entrusted the care of his mother to John at the cross.

So when someone this close to Jesus writes something, it's worth considering.

The early church fathers in charge of the canon of the Bible, putting the Bible together, selecting the books, they placed very strong emphasis on writings that could be traced directly to the apostles.

So that's one reason.

The second reason was it was included in the canon of the Bible because it was read and used in the early church as scripture as far back as the second century.

So this little letter was revered, it was passed around from church to church, and it was read as scripture.

And finally, the third reason it's in the Bible is because it contains themes consistent with Christianity teaching.

It deals with hospitality and support for traveling missionaries.

Uh, there's warning against pride and divisiveness, and it encourages faithfulness and love within the church.

Therefore, we should be diligent to consider it as well.

So, what do you say?

We open up our Bibles.

If you got the Pew Bible, it's on 1087.

And let's read this uh letter.

The elder, my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth, dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well.

For I was very glad when fellow believers came and testified to your fidelity to the truth, how you are walking in the truth.

I have no greater joy than this to hear that my children are walking in truth.

Dear friend, you are acting faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers and sisters, especially when they are strangers.

They have testified to your love before the church.

You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, since they set out, since they sent set out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from pagans.

Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can be co-workers with the truth.

I wrote something to the church, but Diatrophes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive our authority.

This is why, if I come, I will remind him of the works he is doing, slandering us with malicious words, and he is not satisfied with that.

He not only refuses to welcome fellow believers, but he even stops those who want to do so and expels them from the church.

Dear friend, 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.

Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, even the truth itself, and we also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

I have many things to write you, but I don't want to write to you with pen and ink.

I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

Peace to you.

The friends send your send you greetings.

Greet the friends by name.

So, a short little letter, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope I don't run over in time.

So here we go.

Before jumping into the text, though, I'd like to establish something before we do that.

Uh, I'd like to get a little bit of the context of the letter.

Um, the major theme here in John, as you can kind of tell, is hospitality.

And I want us to look at why that was such a big thing.

Why was John so concerned about hospitality?

What was happening in the first century that made hospitality so critical?

Well, hospitality was the necessary ingredient that propelled the proclamation of the gospel.

How did it do that?

How did hospitality propel the spread of the gospel?

Very much as you might imagine.

First thing is, keep in mind that in the mid to late first century, a large populace of the Roman Empire had not even heard of Christianity yet.

And there was large swaths of territory that were oblivious to Christianity.

Those areas needed to be evangelized, and there was this sense of urgency to proclaiming the Christian message because there was a widespread belief that Christ's return was imminent.

So they wanted to get out there before Christ came back, and people didn't get the chance to hear this gospel.

So, secondly, there were Christian, the Christian communities that did exist at that time, they were in their very early formative stages.

Christian doctrine was actually kind of being formed as they went along here.

And it was still a few centuries away from established creeds that laid out all the key tenets of Christianity.

Therefore, as you can imagine, a church was susceptible to incorrect or false teaching.

Who was propagating the truth, who was not?

So there weren't established formal doctrinal statements and other apostolic letters.

So two things that propagated the gospel.

One were missionaries, or they call them sometimes itinerant preachers.

They were sent out to areas where the gospel hadn't been heard.

And secondly, there were these emissaries or representatives who were under apostolic authority.

They were sent out to the early developing churches to establish key doctrine.

Sometimes we don't think about those people as much.

We think about, you know, the itinerant preachers going out and preaching.

Um, and sometimes they were one and the same preachers and these emissaries that were um bringing this doctrine to some of these early churches.

There is a great example of uh sending emissaries to establish correct doctrine in the book of Acts, chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

If you want to turn in your in your Bible, if you have it there, to Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

And we're going to start in verse 23.

But as you're getting there, I want to just give you, again, kind of the background of what was going on.

This is an account of the first church council.

And from that council, the first letter, the first official document stating a doctrine.

It was a set of beliefs.

And what's happening in Acts 15 is that there is a big disagreement going on in the church in Antioch.

What happened was Judaizers from Jerusalem came to Antioch and they were teaching that unless you're circumcised, you cannot be saved.

Well, as you can imagine, Paul and Barnabas had exception with that.

And they got into a big argument about this.

So the church peoples decided, hey, let's send Paul and Barnabas and some of the others to the elders and the apostles in Jerusalem, and let's get a decision on this disagreement.

After a big discussion in Jerusalem, James, the head of the church in Jerusalem, he decides to release a letter, a decree, a church statement on doctrine that is to be carried to the other churches by these emissaries to standardize the doctrine.

So look at verse 23 with me.

They wrote, From the apostles and the elders, your brothers, to the brothers and sisters among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings.

Since we have heard that some of them without our authorization went out from us and troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts, we have unanimously decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly loved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas who will personally report the same things by word of mouth, for it was the Holy Spirit's decision and ours not to place further burdens on you beyond these requirements, that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.

You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things.

Farewell.

So, Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas, just to name a few, they would travel around with this letter, and they would read it to the churches to establish doctrine.

And that's exactly what happened.

Just turn over, since you're in Acts 15, if you are, just turn over to chapter 16, and you'll see this happening.

Look at verse 4.

As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the people to observe.

As they traveled through the towns.

So now, back to three, John.

So you got these emissaries out there, you've got these evangelists out there spreading the gospel.

These preachers and teachers, they had to travel.

And having to travel, they had to make arrangements, and they needed to find homes where believers would welcome them.

And they depended upon Christian friends, Christian acquaintances, and sometimes Christians they hadn't met, strangers.

And they needed to be provided with lodging, food, and possibly some financial support.

And without hospitable believers, the gospel would have stalled in its spread.

And early churches without traveling emissaries might have struggled more than they did with incorrect doctrine and false teachers.

These travelers couldn't rely on staying at inns.

You know, it was difficult to make like reservations like we do today.

You know, I'm coming to this town, you know, can you slow, you know, they got there and they had to search for a room, kind of like, you know, Joseph and Mary did.

They they they couldn't uh make arrangements always ahead of time.

And inns would drain their funding anyway if they would have to always stay at an inn.

And most inns were really glorified brothels, dangerous places with criminals and disease.

So it was critical that people would make themselves, their homes, their resources available to these itinerant preachers.

You know who else was an itinerant preacher?

Jesus was an itinerant preacher, right?

He was not a permanent resident of Jerusalem, but he needed a place to stay when he came to Jerusalem for those feasts.

And the Bible records that Jesus stayed in a town less than two miles from Jerusalem in Bethany at Martha, Mary, and Lazarus's house.

This was his home away from home, his home away from Capernaum.

Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are the early examples of this kind of hospitality.

They opened their homes to Jesus.

Luke 10, 38 writes, While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.

How about Lydia being hospitable to Paul in Acts 16, 15?

It says, After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house, and she persuaded us.

How about Peter when he stayed with Simon the Tanner in Joppa?

How about Jason welcoming Paul and his crew when they came to Thessalonica?

Acts 16, 6, it says, When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, and Jason has welcomed them.

Many times this act of kindness was not only extended to acquaintances, but to strangers.

And these strangers had to be vouched for by a reliable source, because it was dangerous just to take in a stranger with no credentials.

And that's what John is doing for Demetrius in 3 John and verse 12.

He is vouching for Demetrius.

Verse 12 reads, Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, even the truth itself, and we also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

So hospitality was extended to preachers and teachers by believers.

It was essential for the proclamation and the achievement of the gospel in the early church.

And that's why hospitality in the Bible is given as a commandment.

It's not just referred to as a spiritual gift someone receives.

Believers from a spirit-led heart would make their resources available to missionaries and emissaries of Christianity.

So Christians were commanded to be hospitable.

And you find this type of encouragement throughout the New Testament.

In Romans 12, starting in verse 9, Paul begins a list of Christian ethics, how a Christian is to conduct himself.

And number 12 on that list comes in verse 13.

Share with the saints in their needs, pursue hospitality.

Pursue means to go after, chase, always be looking for opportunity to be hospitable.

1 Timothy 3, verse 2.

1 Timothy 3:2

Paul is telling Timothy the qualification for elders.

He says, An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.

1 Peter chapter 4, verses 7 through 9.

1 Peter 4:7–9

And this is interesting.

Peter here is warning that the end is near, that the end of the world is coming.

And he's telling him how Christians should be acting when the Lord appears.

And one of the things he stresses is for us to be found by Christ being hospitable.

The end of all things is near.

Therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.

Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

And then Hebrews.

Hebrews chapter 13, verses 1 and 2.

Hebrews 13:1

Let brotherly love continue.

Don't neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this, some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.

Yet the early church leaders warned that you shouldn't be hospitable to everybody.

We learned this in 2 John.

You have to be very careful who you welcome.

Remember?

2 John verses 10 and 11.

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home and do not greet him, for the one who greets him shares in his evil works.

So those who went beyond the teachings of Christ, or those who added to the teachings of Christ, do not greet them, because they are teaching false doctrine.

And if you're giving support to them, you are aiding and abetting false teaching.

So that's the context I wanted us to look at for 3 John.

Hospitality.

So now let's get into the text.

Verse 1.

So our CSB and the NIV translation says in verse 1, the elder to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

And the ESV and the NASB translation says, Gaius, the beloved, whom I love in truth.

I kind of prefer the NASB because it says Gaius, the beloved, instead of Gaius, my dear friend.

It's like John has given him a title, the beloved.

It indicates to me, anyway, that the church loved him, the church community.

He was the beloved Gaius.

Secondly, I also like the NASB translation at the end of that first verse, whom I love in truth rather than whom I love in the truth.

I know it's a small difference, and it's ostensibly it means the same thing, but I don't know, Gaius, the beloved whom I love in truth, just sounds more noble, more exceptional.

And it seems that that word truth is pretty important in this short one-chapter letter.

John uses it seven times.

Verse 1, whom I love in truth.

Verse 3, fidelity to the truth, and walking in truth.

Verse 4, again, walking in truth.

Verse 8, co-walkers, co-workers with the truth.

Verse 12, the truth itself speaks well of Demetrius, and our testimony is true.

So what does truth mean here in John's letters?

What is he talking about?

What is the definition of truth in this context?

Well, truth here encompasses more than just being true or not being false.

This word truth encompasses a message, a message that produces a way of thinking, but not just a way of thinking.

Here, truth expresses an announcement of what God has done, which then calls for a response.

So truth is really synonymous with the gospel.

I think if you look at Colossians chapter 1, I think it provides a pretty good understanding of the truth/slash gospel that we believe.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

So in verses 4 and 5 of Colossians 1, it introduces this truth.

It says, For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love you have for all the saints, because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.

You have already heard about this hope in the word of truth, the gospel.

So all those things listed there at the beginning, you have heard of your faith in Christ, you have the love you have for all the saints, the hope reserved for you in heaven.

That's the truth.

That's what we believe in.

And I think that's what John is talking about when he talks about the truth.

And then in verses 12 and 14 of that same chapter, it describes what that truth looks like: giving thanks to the Father, number one, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light.

Number two, he's rescued us from the domain of darkness, and he's transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

And number three, in him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

So when John says in verse one, Gaius, the beloved, whom I love in truth, what is he conveying?

John's love for Gaius is based on a connection through a mutual understanding of who God is and what he has done.

That truth about God, which is shared by John and Gaius, is what creates that bond.

It is that truth which unites them and us.

That is to say, all believers are linked together by a common knowledge of and belief in the truth.

The true view of God, the true view of Christ, the true view of our salvation, and the means of that salvation.

True believers are linked by a common knowledge and belief in the actual gospel.

I'm sure you extra, I bet you ladies experience that this weekend.

You experience this from time to time when you meet a believer.

You go into another environment, you maybe go to another city, another gathering, you get together with other believers in Christ, and there's this immediate, profound affection.

There's like a longing, there's a knitting together of our hearts around the truth.

Many of you here, I think, each September go to a conference on the Jersey Shore, right?

In Ocean City, right?

And you go to listen to great preaching and you go sing great hymns and you walk along the beach at sunrise.

But isn't it a glorious feeling to spend uninterrupted time with other believers?

United in a common knowledge of the great things our Savior has done.

What an act of benevolence by our God who's granted that to us.

He's given you a little taste of heaven, giving you a little glimpse of what he's prepared for those who love him.

Well, it was that truth that bound John to Gaius.

John then is motivated to offer up a beautiful prayer for Gaius in verse 2.

Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health.

And then he makes a comparison.

Just as your whole life is going well, the NIV translated this way, even as your soul is going along well, and ESV is similar, even as it goes well with your soul.

And the NASB says, just as your soul prospers, that's a great prayer.

That's a great sentiment, isn't it?

Gayus, I pray that your physical health would be as good as your spiritual life.

How often do we pray for somebody to get healed?

Or how often do we pray for someone to get relief from some problem?

Health, loneliness, heartache, provisions they need.

I mean, and we should, and that's and that's what we do, and those prayers do get answered.

But how often do we pray that our friend's spiritual health would be well?

I mean, I've had people ask me, you know, Mark, could you pray for my nephew?

His ankle, you know, he's twisted it and it's hurt and it's no, you know, he needs, he needs healing.

And I say, well, sure, of course, we'll we'll pray for him.

But I also want to say, well, how is he spiritually?

Because I don't want him, God forbid, he ends up in hell and he goes, yeah, Mark prayed for my ankle, but hey, nobody prayed for my spiritual health.

So coming out of that bond, which is grounded in truth, is John's prayer that Gaius be blessed in health and prosperity as much as he's blessed in spiritual life.

Now, how did John know that Gaius' spiritual life was prospering?

Well, verse 3 says that the brethren, believers, they came and said that Gael was faithful.

Gaius was faithful to the truth, he showed fidelity to the truth, that he was acting in accordance with the truth, that he was walking in truth.

And verse 4 says that John is most joyful to hear that Gaius is walking in truth.

What is this walking in truth?

What does that mean?

And how can we do this?

How do we walk in truth?

Well, let's look to the Bible to see if it gives us a picture of what it means to walk in truth.

And there's some in the Old Testament, particularly 1st and 2 Kings.

So let me just read you a couple, and I think it clearly tells us what it means to be walking in truth.

So 1 Kings chapter 2, verse 4 says this.

1 Kings 2:4

And so that the Lord will fulfill his promise that he made to me, if your sons take care to walk faithfully before me with all their heart and all their soul.

Staying in 1 Kings chapter 3 and verse 6 says, And Solomon replied, You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity.

1 Kings 3 · chapter mention

And then 2 Kings chapter 20.

2 Kings 20 · chapter mention

This is Hezekiah.

This is when he was mortally ill and he was praying to be saved from dying.

He says, Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases you.

That's walking in truth.

Now in Galatians chapter 2, we get the negative of walking in truth.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

What is it like to not walk in truth?

That helps also define what it means to walk in truth.

And that says, But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compelest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

So John is never more happy, more joyful than when he hears that his children are walking in truth.

What else did the brethren report about Gaius?

Besides he's being faithful and he's walking in truth, he's hospitable to the brothers and sisters, not just his service to the brothers and sisters he's familiar with, but it says, especially when they are strangers.

Verse 5, dear friend, you are acting faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers and sisters, especially when they are strangers.

Gaius had a special place in his heart to serve the brothers and sisters that were strangers.

He had a special compassion for them.

And John was told by these congregates in verse 5 that Gaius loves those in the church, especially when they are strangers.

Man, that's so convicting to me.

I thought about that.

The Spirit had me examine my hospitality.

And I thought about it.

So Gaius loved those missionaries or teachers that he hadn't met.

Even when they would show up to wreck his weekend.

Right?

You didn't know when they were coming in the first century.

They could just show up at any time.

But he would open up his own home to them, he would give them food, he would give them supplies, he'd give them a place to rest.

And today, when we talk about hospitality, I think we think of about a different type of hospitality.

Today, when we talk about hospitality, it's like, well, let's invite some friends to our home.

Let's clean up the place, shine up the china, have some good food, make a nice presentation of the food, so that when we usher them out of the house before bedtime, we'll hope that they'll reflect and say, wow, that was a nice spread.

They really sacrificed a lot for us and we're hospitable.

You know, that's kind of our definition of hospitable these days.

But I think the meaning of hospital, hosp hospitality in the first century was quite different.

And this far too often is not me.

I have trouble being hospitable to the people that I know, let alone strangers.

And I don't want to be inconvenienced.

I just want to be left alone on the weekend, or most other days of the week.

But not gayest.

No, no.

He loved helping the missionaries that were out trying to proclaim the gospel, and he especially liked it when they were strangers.

God helped me to be less selfish and more hospitable, like they were in the first century.

Well, the second half of verse 6, John encourages Gaius to continue to serve them.

He even says to that send them on their journey in a man in a manner worthy of God.

Send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.

Because he says, provide for them, help them, comfort them, and support them as God would.

Because it says they are not accepting anything from pagans.

That's in verse 7.

These missionaries are dependent on the hospitality of believers, they're not looking for support from non-believers.

Uh, you know what, this reminds me of the instructions Christ gave the apostles when he sent them out in Mark chapter six.

Verse 7, he said, He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over unclean spirits.

He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff, no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on an extra shirt.

He said to them, Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place.

If any place does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.

So John says to Gaius, those strangers that you're providing for, when you send them out, send them out in a way that is worthy of God.

That's what we're supposed to do.

That's the hospitality we are to show to those who are evangelizing, to those who might be strangers and are out trying to advance the proclamation of the gospel.

We're to send them out worthy of God to provide for them in that way.

We are to provide for them as if God were visiting us.

That's the way I took it.

I'm reminded of the very first account of hospitality in the Bible.

The very first time hospitality is presented in the Bible.

Of course, we need to go to Genesis.

So turn with me to Genesis.

Take a look at this very familiar story.

The very first book of the Bible.

It's a wonderful example of how we are to be hospitable.

It starts in verse one.

Genesis, I'm sorry, 15.

No, eighteen.

Sorry.

Can I get an amen when you're there?

Verse one.

The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day.

Verse 2, he looked up, and he saw three men standing near him.

When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them.

He didn't wait for them to come to him.

He ran to them.

He bowed to the ground, which is showing respect, and humbled himself.

Verse three says, And said, My Lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant.

He implored them so that he would he could serve them.

Verse four Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

Verse five, I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves.

This is why you have passed your servant today this way.

The purpose of this encounter for Abraham was so that he could serve these people.

This is why you have passed your servant's way.

It goes on and says later, you can continue on.

Yes, they replied, Do as you have said.

Verse 6.

So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, Quick, need three measures of the flour and make bread.

Abraham wasn't reluctant to serve, but was quick to serve.

Verse 7.

Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender choice calf.

Abraham didn't serve leftovers, right?

He served the best.

He gave it to a young man who hurried to prepare it.

Do you hear the verbs?

He ran to meet them.

He hurried into the tent.

Abraham ran to the man.

The young men hurried to prepare it.

There was no reluctant, no reluctancy to be hospitable.

Verse 8.

Then Abraham took curds and milk as well as the calf that he had prepared and set them before the men.

He served them as they ate under the tree.

He served them as they ate under the tree.

What a picture of hospitality.

Abraham stood at the ready to serve as the men ate.

A beautiful picture of hospitality.

One more thing.

Look down to verse 16 of this same chapter.

At the end of the meal.

The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off.

That kind of thing happened a lot in ancient Near East.

The goodbyes were long and they were heartfilled.

This was an important act of hospitality.

They would not only walk until you, you know, were out of the edges of town, but sometimes they would walk a mile or two with them to see them off.

Today we might linger at the door front, you know, saying our farewells, or if we're really fond of them, maybe we'll step out onto the porch and and send them off.

That's how we are to be hospitable.

Maybe, maybe you you offer to drive them to the train station or you pick them up at the airport, something.

Anyway, that's what I thought about when he says send them off in a manner that's worthy of God.

So we're to do this not only because it's an act of kindness, but we're to do it because it is in a it is to assist in the advancement of the gospel.

Look at verse 8 now, back in 3 John.

So we're to do this not just for the kindness, but to assist in the advancement of the gospel.

Verse 8 says, Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can be co-workers with the truth.

That's the main reason, so that we can be co-workers with the truth.

You know, we got to get in the game.

We just can't sit back, come to church on Sunday, sit under great preaching, sing some hymns, slap a few backs after service, go home, watch the football game, and I'll see you next week.

We got to give back.

We are called to be co-workers with the truth.

Not just co-partakers of the truth, but co-workers with the truth.

Because we are the body of Christ here on earth.

We are to be his instruments in the advancement of the Great Commission.

He won't say at the end of our life, Well done, my good and faithful partaker.

He'll say, Well done, my good and faithful servant.

So we got to get in the game even when it's uncomfortable.

I do like the King James version of verse 8.

We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.

That's the idea.

We do this to be fellow helpers to the truth.

And that word receive there in the King's in the King James Version and the word support in the CSB version is from the Greek word upolumbano.

It means to take up and carry away.

It literally means physically lifting up and taking up.

And I think that's the picture.

Getting under these people, as it were, lifting them up, carrying them along, taking the weight off of them.

So Gaius, who is beloved, John's dear friend, and is in good spiritual health, has been attested to by believers that he's faithful to the truth, that he is walking in the truth, that he is faithfully serving the brethren, advancing the gospel by his hospitality, especially to strangers.

That's who we are to imitate.

Gaius.

The next section of the letter is who we are not to imitate.

Diatrophes.

This guy is a complete contrast to Gaius.

In verses 9 and 10, John calls him out by name.

Diatrophes, he says, loves to have the first place among them, not a humble guy.

Wants to be the head guy, doesn't want anyone else to mature and grow beyond himself.

No wonder he refuses John's authority.

Look at verse 9.

I wrote something to the church, but Diotrophes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive our authority.

In verse 10, John says, Diatrophes is slandering us with malicious words.

Diatrophes slanders those in authority with malicious words, intending to do harm.

He's being spiteful.

He's saying mean and harmful things about those in authority.

He's saying mean and harmful things about John.

He's the one in authority to the Apostle John, who is one of the closest to Jesus.

Wow, that's pretty bold.

Bold defiance.

And you know the Bible is very clear on how we are to honor those in authority, especially those over the sheep of the church.

And this is a good reminder for us how we should honor our pastors and our church elders.

Look at Hebrews 13, chapter 13, and verse 17.

It says, Obey your teachers and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.

Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

1 Thessalonians 5, verses 12 and 13.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love, because of their work.

Be at peace among yourselves.

1 Timothy 5, verse 17.

1 Timothy 5:17

The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

Now, if that wasn't bad enough, that Diotrophes was not submitting to authority, he was talking maliciously about them, he also didn't stop there.

He doesn't welcome believers.

He's rude to visiting believers.

He's not hospitable, but unpleasant to them.

And John goes on to tell us about Diotrophes and says, not only is he unwelcoming to the believers, he stops and expels those from the church who want to be welcoming to them.

What a spiteful man! Doesn't want anyone to get credit for being hospitable.

So he tries to eliminate them from the church.

Then the first part of verse 11 is for us.

Dear friend, 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.

That's an interesting way that John says that.

The one who does evil has not seen God.

He doesn't say the one who does evil is not of God.

No, he says he has not seen God.

But we know that no one has ever seen God.

So what is John talking about when he says that the one who does evil has not seen God?

Well, I think seeing God here is not about physical sight, it's about spiritual fellowship through a right knowledge of God.

John explains this analogy of seeing and not seeing God in 1 John chapter 4, verses 12 and 13.

1 John 4:12

And he says this no one has ever seen God.

If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us.

He has given us of his spirit.

So to see God then is to live in alignment with his character.

Living in alignment with his character is not accomplished because we set our minds out to do it.

It is because he has given us his spirit, which then enables us to live like we've seen God.

To not see God is to be blind to his nature.

One's conduct will reveal there's this absence of divine fellowship.

In John chapter 5, verses 37 and 38, Jesus says this the Father who sent me has himself testified about me.

John 5:37

You have not heard his voice at any time, and you haven't seen his form.

Why?

Verse 38.

You don't have his word residing in you because you don't believe the one he sent.

This concept or analogy about seeing God or not seeing God is replete throughout the whole Old Testament and in the New Testament.

So when John says the truth in verse 12, he says, everyone speaks well of Demetrius, even the truth itself.

It's another interesting statement.

How does the truth speak well of Demetrius?

What is John saying?

Demetrius has a good reputation, not only among the people, but his life is consistent with the truth of the gospel.

So when John says the truth itself speaks well of him, he's using what is called a personification, picturing the truth as if it could testify, like if truth was a person.

In essence, Demetrius, Demetrius's life is so aligned with the truth of the gospel that the truth itself, if it could, would bear witness to his character.

It's like saying his life is a living testimony of what the truth produces in a person.

The closing, in verses 13 to 15.

Well, in these verses we see again what a personal, warm letter this is from John to his dear friend Gaius.

John says, I have so much more to say to you.

I don't want to write everything that's on my heart in this letter in verse 13.

I want to see you face to face.

I'd like for us to sit down and talk.

I want to see your face in response to all that I have to say to you.

Because I can't anticipate it when I write a letter.

I can't anticipate how my words might be impacting you.

I can't sense it.

I want to see you gaze, and I have a long, uninterrupted interrupted visit with you.

Verse 15, John keeps it personal.

All your friends send you greetings and say hi to all my friends there.

So it's a short letter.

But it packs a powerful punch.

I really can't believe so much is there.

I mean, I know now how Jesus fed the 5,000 with just a little.

Look at how much we get out of this little letter, half a page.

What a great example of how we should think about serving in the church.

How we should think about other believers we haven't met, to be as hospitable as Gaius, to go outside of ourselves, outside of our comfort zone to serve, so that we might be co-helpers of the truth.

Listen, it's great to relish in the truth.

It's great to rest and contemplate our salvation, but we are the body of Christ on earth to serve as our Lord served.

We kind of got to get down there and wash some dirty feet.

Got to get in the game.

Even if it's uncomfortable, especially when it's uncomfortable.

And let's not forget those outside of Christ, those who might be self-serving, always wanting to be first, malicious gossips, unwelcoming, trying to hinder those who want to do good.

Remember, they haven't seen God yet.

Show them God.

Let them see Christ in you as you support those who proclaim the gospel.

This is our vital partnership in God's work.

Let's pray.

Father, I I see more clearly now how your son was able to feed those 5,000 with just five barley loaves and two fish.

This short little letter has so much to feed on and to preach.

And you are so generous, and your word is so amazing.

It's an endless well of spiritual water for our souls.

Father, help us to be more like Gaius, who was a believer that in his hospitality he reflected the glory of your son Jesus Christ, who committed the greatest act of service his entire life.

I did not come to be served, but to serve.

Help us to be willing servers.

Help us to be like Paul, bond slaves of Jesus Christ.

And we ask this in your son's name.

Amen.