Text: The Book of 3 John (NKJV)
1 The Elder,
To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, 6 who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, 7 because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.
11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.
12 Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.
13 I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This is the shortest book in the Bible, but it is a deeply personal letter from John to a close friend of his, Gaius. Within the church where Gaius was, there was conflict. Not only conflict, but a wolf among the sheep. Gaius (and Demetrius) stood in stark contrast to the evil man among this church, Diotrephes. Gaius walked in truth, whereas Diotrephes was evil.
Gaius was a "do-weller." Everything he did within the church, he did well. Verse 6 is actually a request ("please" is found in the idiomatic "you will do well" in the NKJV translation) for Gaius to keep up the good work of showing Christian love to visitors. As missionaries passed through, Gaius was a beacon of love for them. What a model for us to follow today.
In contrast to the spiritual model found in Gaius, Diotrephes is the a model of evil. He attempted to usurp Christ's position within the church (compare verse 9 to Colossians 1:16-18), performed evil deeds, gossiped, and refused to be hospitable. Believers were told to avoid his model. Do not imitate those who are evil. Rather, 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV) , written by the Apostle Paul, put it this way: "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." Imitate that which is spiritually worthy of imitation. This sounds obvious and easy, but there are many situations where we need to consider our friends (who we follow) and consider whether they fit the criteria here.
John then closed this letter as personally as the introduction and content.
Applications:
Take great joy from hearing that other Christians are doing good. That also means we need to lay aside our own pride and selfishness for the limelight.
Show love for ministers of God's Word, especially missionaries. They are bearing the Word as representatives of you and your church.
Look for a good human role model and avoid bad ones. I have found that having a more mature Christian to mentor me is extremely valuable.
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