Through the Bible - 3 John

The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth... I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth... I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not... Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself... I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

John's shortest letter is packed with nuggets: be strong in soul, walk in the truth, and love both brethren and strangers.

The Setting of John's Last Letters

How many of you read through 3 John this week? Just a few. Listen, you're going to meet John someday, and he's going to ask if you read these fourteen verses. It is a very short letter, very likely written right around the same time as John's second epistle, most likely from Ephesus, the city where John spent the latter years of his life before he went to be with the Lord.

You'll remember—and we'll talk about this more when we get to Revelation in a few weeks—that it was on the island of Patmos that John received the revelation of Jesus Christ, having been exiled there during the reign of Domitian, a wicked emperor set against the church. After his release, John returned to Ephesus and lived the remainder of his life there. He very likely wrote this letter during that period, somewhere in the early 90s AD.

These last two letters are written in an interesting way. Last week's letter was to "the elect lady and her children." I lean toward believing John was writing to a persecuted church, though he may have been writing to a family; you wouldn't be wrong to interpret it that way. Even here, in just fourteen verses, you can see it is short and to the point. As at the end of his last letter, he mentions that he desires to come and see this man, Gaius, so he can speak face to face. He didn't want to send a long letter.

John the Apostle

He begins as he did his first letter: "the elder." By this time he was very likely the only apostle still alive, the only one of Jesus' followers remaining. Tradition holds he was the youngest of the disciples, a man of real passion and zeal for God. Read his Gospel and you see his view of Jesus' ministry differs from the synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John gives us a peek into some of those intimate encounters with Jesus.

And John had those encounters. He was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17, where he saw Jesus glorified. He was there on Golgotha; it appears he was the only apostle present, watching Jesus glorified in another way as He died. He saw Jesus raise Jairus's daughter—one of only three, Peter, James, and John. He was closest to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. By this point he would have been deeply looked up to in the body of Christ. And yet, as we'll see in verse 9, there was a man who spoke wickedly about John—hard to imagine, but it was happening.

Gaius, Strong in Soul

There are three men named Gaius in the New Testament—one a fellow laborer with Paul, mentioned in Acts and Romans 16, and now here in 3 John. We don't know whether these are three different men or the same one. Gaius was a common name in that day among the Greeks, much like John or Charles in ours. John writes, "To the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth." This man, whoever he was, was a follower of the Lord who walked in the truth, as verse 4 shows.

Then he says, "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." This is an interesting statement. We don't know if Gaius was suffering some illness or physical difficulty, but John's wish suggests he may have been going through a trying time physically. We have people in our own fellowship facing physical difficulties, and yet, like Gaius, they still walk in the truth.

It is devastating when someone who has walked with the Lord their whole life gets an illness that sidelines them—when sickness becomes such a distraction it almost breaks apart their relationship with the Lord. I've seen people who ran the race in great strength fall ill and be pulled from ministry. Yet Gaius, even if he was sick, still walked in the truth. We need to finish well. As Paul wrote in his last letter, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race." It has nothing to do with how we start and everything to do with how we finish.

I think of Billy Graham—a man of character, integrity, and righteousness all his life, now in his 80s, who'd still be doing crusades every week if he had the strength. And Pastor Chuck. Those of you here today for the Epicenter Conference heard him share with that big baritone voice—a few more pauses than ten years ago, but still speaking the Word of God with truth. On Pastor's Perspective, it blows my mind how he grabs questions and answers right on the spot. He's run the race with endurance and will finish well. Men like these surely have physical difficulties and long to be with the Lord, yet, like Paul, recognize it is more needful to remain—and they keep running.

Bodily Exercise Profits Little

Gaius may have been weak in body but strong in soul. What a testimony. We're not going to live eternally in this body—how many are thankful for that? So it is far better to strengthen our souls. Paul addresses this in 1 Timothy 4.

We are a nation focused on the physical, evidenced by all our gyms and gym memberships—you don't find that in many other countries. When I lived in Germany and asked about a gym, the man looked at me like I was crazy. Here it's the big thing. I got called out with the fire department last week, and at almost 2 a.m. I drove past the new 24 Hour Fitness and saw guys on the treadmill. You've got to be kidding me.

Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:8:

But bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Godliness is profitable both for this life and the life to come; bodily exercise is not. You could be the strongest, most fit person in the world, with the best nutrition—and I'm not against good nutrition—walk outside, get hit by a truck, and it profited you little. If you're not exercising yourself toward godliness, you may have the strongest body and the weakest soul, and on the day of Christ Jesus only one thing will matter, and it won't be your biceps. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God." We press on, we run the race spiritually, to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of us.

Walking in the Truth

Why was Gaius strong in soul? Verse 3: "For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth." He didn't merely know the truth; he walked in it. As in 2 John, the word truth comes up repeatedly, because in that time and into the second century the truth of Jesus Christ was already under attack. Gnosticism diminished the humanity of Jesus. In the first century the heresy denied His full humanity, since His divinity was confirmed by His works and eyewitnesses. In our day—what I believe to be the last century of the church—it's the deity of Jesus that's questioned. There will always be forces against the body of Christ, so you must be strong in the truth like Gaius.

The only way to be strong in the truth is to exercise yourself toward godliness, to walk in it. Walking in the truth means applying it. As James said, we cannot be hearers of the Word only, deceiving ourselves; we must be doers. Some have plenty of Bible teaching—radio, tapes, books, studies—yet if they don't exercise it in their lives, they're not truly digesting God's Word. It's almost as if they're spiritually bulimic: they chew it up and throw it back up. We must take in the Word and let it permeate and transform us, and that happens only as we work it out. That's why Paul told the Philippians to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling."

The Word of God reads you. It is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It may offend, upset, or discourage you, but hopefully it transforms you—God does not want us to stay the same. If you've walked with the Lord ten years, others should see that transformation. But if you're still tripped up in the very same sins you struggled with ten, twelve, fifteen years ago, perhaps you're not applying the Scriptures.

I'm not saying I'm perfect—ask my wife. But the sins I struggle with today are not the same ones I struggled with years ago. As we walk with the Lord, what I now consider sin in my life you might think is nothing; that's the Lord's refining work, conforming us into the image of His Son, who is the express image of God. He wants us walking in holiness, and by His Spirit He strengthens us. We will trip and sin, but when we do we go back to 1 John 1:9—He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse. That word cleanse is the same word used in John 15 for prune. God wants to prune the wicked works from us.

The Joy of Children Who Walk in Truth

It appears traveling teachers passed through where Gaius lived—likely men sent out from Ephesus, where Paul had taught two years in the synagogues and schools. They stayed with Gaius and brought word back to John, testifying of the truth in him. It wasn't just knowledge; he exercised himself in the truth.

Verse 4: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." When I was about fourteen, I went to my first youth camp at Calvary Chapel's Green Valley camp and realized there were more Calvary Chapels than just Escondido. Pastor Chuck spoke from Ephesians about not meandering but knowing and walking in God's will. Afterward, kid that I was, I asked for his autograph, and in my little Bible he wrote his name and this very verse—3 John 4. The longer I walk with the Lord, discipling others and now having a son, the more I understand it. After ministering throughout the known world, John had children in the faith everywhere, and in his latter years nothing strengthened him more than hearing they walked in the truth.

I remember my mom being so blessed when a friend's parents reported, "Miles is so polite at our house"—she thought, really? When you hear that someone is doing well in the Lord, it brings great joy. So it was for John when he heard that Gaius walked in the truth.

Hospitality to Brethren and Strangers

Verse 5: "Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers." Gaius faithfully cared not only for the brethren but for strangers and foreigners. In many places in the Old Testament, God commanded His people to show hospitality to strangers and foreigners.

Over the last several years I've had the joy of knowing Dr. TV, whose discipleship materials we now use. When he and his wife moved from India, they went to Indiana University, where he, already a strong believer, got involved with an international student ministry—ISI, International Students Incorporated. People come from every nation to be educated here and often return home to become the leaders of their countries. TV saw the wisdom of discipling these students so that they'd become missionaries in their own nations. It's far better to have a national missionary in his own land than to send people who struggle to adapt culturally and need visas and support. The whole focus was hospitality.

At today's conference with Joel Rosenberg, they spoke of this very thing. Joel mentioned a couple who came from Iran in the early 80s as hardcore radical Muslims to do graduate work here in San Diego. They felt culture shock—different weather, food, people. How did they come to the truth? Someone reached out with hospitality, inviting them into their home and caring for their needs.

I remember standing in the Frankfurt airport, where a South African man, never before out of his country, was on his way to work for a cruise line in Florida, and the loud, boisterous Americans scared him half to death. When I travel back through customs, you can see fear on the faces of internationals coming for the first time. If you reach out in love and meet their needs, you'll be a great blessing and often have a chance to share the Lord.

Hospitality is becoming a lost trait in our nation. Within minutes of here we have Cal State San Marcos and Palomar College, full of international students—a huge mission field. I've been praying the Lord would raise up people in our body to be like Gaius and be hospitable to strangers. We love showing hospitality to our brothers and sisters, but we often don't reach outside the body of Christ. In the Old Testament Israel was judged for failing in this. Gaius wasn't like that.

Fellow Helpers of the Truth

These travelers "have borne witness of thy charity"—the word is agape, the love of 1 Corinthians 13 that suffers long and is kind, not boastful, not proud. They bore witness of his love before the whole church in Ephesus: "This man Gaius was filled with agape." The fruit of the Spirit—love—was evident in his life, a testimony before the body of Christ.

"For his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles." They didn't rely on the world to support them, and Gaius refreshed them. Verse 8: "We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth." When we aid another's ministry, we become fellow laborers, and the Lord accounts the fruit to us. We see this in Philippians—the churches of Macedonia gave generously to Paul, and Thessalonica gave even amid their own hardships.

This is an exhortation for our nation in difficult economic times. Hardship may reduce the amount we give, since we give in proportion to what we have, but it should never diminish the heart behind it. It's a testimony that giving at our church has not gone down—in fact, the last figures I saw showed us up over last year, even as the world has lost some 40 to 45 percent of its wealth, as they noted at the conference. That's proof to me it's a work of God, our Father who gives everything liberally, as James 1 says.

Diotrephes, Who Loved Preeminence

Verse 9 changes the tone: "I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not." How would you like that testimony written about you for all to read? Diotrephes wanted to be supreme. But who is to be preeminent in our midst? Our Lord. If we've learned the Lord, we know He calls us to be the less, to lay down our lives and humble ourselves. Diotrephes is revealed in this one verse as both proud and selfish.

Verse 10: "Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words." How would you like the apostle John knocking on your door wanting a word? This is the same John who in his youth wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan city—a fisherman by trade, surely no slouch, a force to be contended with, and even more so on the spiritual level. "And not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church." This is heavy. He held some position of authority and was using it for himself—slandering the work of God, proud, selfish, and threatening to expel anyone who received these ministers.

Verse 11: "Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God." John implies Diotrephes was evil—don't pattern your life after him. And he says this man doesn't even know the Lord, though he held a privileged position in the church. Even early on there were false teachers who slipped in and held prominent places without knowing God.

There are such people today. Just last week on Nightline there was a debate on whether Satan exists. On the affirmative side was Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill in Seattle—a right-on Bible teacher, though a strict five-point Calvinist, which I disagree with—along with a woman saved out of prostitution. On the other side were Deepak Chopra, an MD well known in New Age circles, and Bishop Carlton Pearson. Pearson doesn't believe in a real Satan, doesn't believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, and questions much of the Word of God. He has a prominent position, people call him reverend, yet he is a heretic. He had a quick wit and knew the Scriptures and how to use them, but he did not know God—just like the man in verse 9. Unless a man like Pearson repents and turns to the Lord, his name is written in a book, but not the book of life.

Demetrius, Of Good Report

Verse 12: "Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true." In contrast to Diotrephes stands Demetrius, perhaps the one carrying this letter to Gaius. So we have three men contrasted: Gaius, strong in soul, strong in his walk, strong in love; Diotrephes, proud, selfish, a slanderer; and Demetrius, of good report, who also walked in the truth, for whom John gladly bears record.

Verse 13: "I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: but I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name." Again, John doesn't list everyone—perhaps a precaution during persecution—but says, "You know who those friends are; greet them by name."

Apply These Things

In just fourteen verses we see things to apply: though a person may be weak in body, we should be strong in soul—and we're strong in soul only as we exercise ourselves toward godliness and walk in the truth, which brings God joy. We should be strong in love—not selfish, proud, or slanderous like Diotrephes, but with a good report written in God's book in heaven. In Malachi we saw that God keeps a record—a scrapbook, almost—of those who fear Him and speak of Him, just as John kept record here of Gaius, Demetrius, and Diotrephes.

May we have the testimony of Gaius. Look outside yourself—around your community, on your own street—at people who don't know the Lord. This week, as we prepare for Easter services, knock on a door and ask, "Do you go to church? Come out on Easter, that you might know the King of Kings." We are missionaries not only in other countries but right here on our own street, looking for opportunities to show the true agape love of God to both strangers and brethren, that by all means we might win some.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for this short book, packed with little nuggets of truth, and I pray You would help me to apply these things in my own life. Help me to see with Your eyes as I go about my day, that I would see those who are hurting, those who need Your Word, those who need help with something practical—someone with a flat tire on the side of the road, someone who looks lost, or students here from another country who feel completely lost, away from home, family, and everything they know. Perhaps You would open a door that we could be a great blessing and bring the truth to them. We know there is coming a day when we'll stand before You, and You will say, "Blessed are you, for when I was thirsty you gave Me a drink, when I was hungry you fed Me, when I was naked you clothed Me, when I was in prison you visited Me, when I was sick you cared for Me—enter into the joy of the Lord." Father, You are watching how we love, and You take note. Help us to stand upon the truth, to walk in the truth, and to bear much fruit, especially the fruit of the Spirit, which is love. For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.