We come today to the study of a short letter which John wrote to a man who I believe was a pastor of a church of his day. Last week, we looked at another short letter to yet another church. But before we get into the letter, I think it might be helpful to make sure we understand some things about the churches that John was writing to.
I think there is a certain misunderstanding of the early life of the church that causes us a lot of confusion about the way God organized the church, and designed the church to operate. When we read in the New Testament the word church, we invariably apply a template which is influenced by what the church has evolved into today, rather than what the church looked like when these words were written.
For instance, we cannot separate in our minds the physical structure of the building that the church is housed in from the idea of a church. When we hear the word church, we automatically envision a building, which looks like what we are used to seeing here in 21st century America. Tied to that picture in our minds is the organizational structure of the church. We picture a pastoral staff, a music team, perhaps Sunday School teachers, and all the factors and people and programs that constitute what we are used to seeing in they typical church in America.
But in actuality, that is not what was indicated by the references to the church when the New Testament was written. The church referred simply to the congregation. I think that the early church was based loosely on the pattern of the local synagogue which had been in place in Israel for centuries. The synagogue, of course, was not the Jewish Temple nor was it intended to replace it. But it was a local gathering where devotees could assemble on the Sabbath as well as throughout the week for teaching and for prayer and for studying the word of God. The leader of the synagogue was a rabbi, a teacher, and the synagogue was in a neighborhood which allowed people to attend services without violating the Sabbath in terms of travel. It was within a short walk or what was considered aSabbath Day’s journey from their home. So this place where they gathered was located in a community, and served that local community. The minimum requirement for a synagogue was 10 men. If they had 10 men they could create a local synagogue. And that shows the nature of the synagogue as a local assembly for believers in a community. So that also means that in a large city, their could be many local synagogues.
But the similarity of the first century church with the synagogue was not that they had a centrally located building that they conducted services from, but that they were local, small assemblies based in a community. The fact is, there is no record at all that they had a building of any sort. These local churches met in the homes of one of it’s members. Possibly the pastor’s, but not necessarily. It might have been more conducive to meet in a certain home because of it’s central location, or because of it’s size. And again, there may have been several local churches in a large city, with each serving it’s local community.
Now in the church universal, there were certain men who were appointed by the apostles to establish or serve the local churches. They may have even been called apostles, but it was understood they were not the 12, but acting under the authority of the 12. For instance, Mark was a disciple of Peter. He also was under Paul for a while, but then became associated more with Peter. Timothy was also an understudy of Paul, as was Titus. Both of those men worked with apostolic authority to establish and serve regional churches beyond their own church. And I think we can assume that John has such understudies who he has set up in various churches. I believe we can assume that Gaius was a pastor who John has established, whom he has authority over, and Demetrius whom he talks about traveling to visit with Gaius’s church is an emissary of the apostle John.
These men were missionaries, or evangelists, or intenerant preachers who were sent out from the apostles to establish churches in every city. Eph. 4:11 says, “And He gave some [as] apostles, and some [as] prophets, and some [as] evangelists, and some [as] pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” In some cases these men raised up local pastors to carry on the work, or in other cases they merely ministered the word to the church, perhaps carrying a letter, a newly penned epistle from an apostle, so that the churches in those regions had access to the word of God. These men disseminated the gospel, the word of God, penned by the apostles to the churches at large. And that was an on going thing, because until practically the end of the first century the New Testament canon was not complete, but it came piecemeal. And so this was an important means of supporting the churches that were being born throughout the Gentile world.
Now I say all of that because I think it’s important to understand the framework of the church in order to properly understand the letters of Second and Third John. As I said last week, I think that in Second John, when he writes to the chosen lady and her children, he is speaking euphemistically to a local church and the congregation. He may have used such language so as not to bring persecution on that particular church. In Third John, my belief is that he is writing to a pastor of a local congregation in another city, a man by the name of Gaius. Gaius is a very common Greek name at that time. It’s a name that we find mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, but it’s unlikely that those names are speaking of the same person as in this letter.
So the apostle John, who identifies himself only as the elder, is writing to a local pastor named Gaius of an unknown church in an unknown town. We have no further information to identify him. But this is a man well known by John. He calls him beloved, whom I love in the truth. John mentions twice that he loves him. I would assume that this man is a convert of John, and as such they have a special relationship.
John says in vs1 “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.” Gaius is loved by God and loved by John because of the truth which Gaius professes. Gaius and John are united by the truth. They have fellowship because they share a common truth, and that is the truth of the gospel. We are going to see in this epistle, what John has been speaking of in the previous two epistles, that the enemy is trying to attack the truth, to subvert the truth through false teachers. So John loves this man because he is committed to the same truth that John teaches.
And then in vs2, John offers a prayer for this pastor’s physical well being. Notice how he says it, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” John knows enough about this man to know that he is spiritually in good health, he is walking in the truth. But he also prays that he would be in good physical health, and would prosper. I don’t think that the word prosper means that he hopes that he will win the lottery, or land a financial windfall. But what he means is that he is successful in his endeavors. He is able to do the work physically and have every need supplied so that he is not hindered by his circumstances.
He then commends Gaius for his walk in the truth. John wants to encourage this pastor who is perhaps laboring in a small church, laboring without a lot of accolades or publicity. But who is faithful in his stewardship. He is acknowledging what this man is doing, and he gives him praise and encouragement. He says in vs 3, “For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, [that is,] how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
These brethren that bore a good report to John about Gaius, were no doubt the evangelists, or missionaries that John had previously sent to the churches. We might assume that Demetrius who he speaks of near the end of this letter was in that group of men.
John said something similar to the church in 2 John. He said it gave him great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth. In this letter, he is glad to hear that Gaius is walking in the truth, and John said nothing made him happier than to hear of his children walking in the truth. By that we can assume that when John speaks of his children, he is speaking of Gaius being his child spiritually. In other words, John probably led him to the Lord and discipled him.
That is such an important aspect to the job of the church, by the way. The job of the church is not to just make converts, but to make disciples. To be a disciple means to follow. To follow your teaching. To walk in the truth given. And as a pastor, there should be no greater joy than to see a person whom you brought to the Lord continue in their walk with the Lord, walking in the truth, year after year. Growing in the Lord. That is our goal. Gaius has exemplified faithfulness, and he continues to walk in the truth, in contrast to others John spoke about previously in 1 John 2, who he said went out from us, that it might be shown that they were not of us.
Then for the second time, John commends Gaius’s faithfulness. He says in vs 5, “Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially [when they are] strangers; 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 praises Gaius’s faithfulness in regards to way he has shown love for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers. When we show love towards the brethren, we show faithfulness to God’s commands. We show that we are walking in the truth by our actions, by our love towards the brethren. The brethren here spoken of are undoubtedly the same men who visited the church on behalf of John, and then carried a report back to John of Gaius’s hospitality and love towards them.
I can’t read that passage without thinking of the verse in Heb. 13:2 which says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Now we don’t show hospitality only because they might be angels, but we show hospitality towards the brethren because that’s the way we express God’s love. We are commanded to love the brethren, the stranger, and even our enemies with the love with which God loves us. But there is the added factor that in so doing you might be entertaining angels unawares. By the way, that indicates that it’s unlikely that you recognize an angel. The author of Hebrews says you are unaware that they are an angel.
But in this case, these strangers were emissaries from the Apostle John. And they received hospitality from Gaius and his church. I used to be in the hotel business many years ago. It’s also called the hospitality business. But the word hospitality has a broader meaning that just a room for the night. Hospitality comes from the same root word as hospital. It means to care for the physical needs of someone, whether that is food, or clothing, or medicine, or shelter, or other physical needs that they might have.
And these emissaries, these brethren, were clearly identified with the truth, with the gospel according to John. Gaius recognized that about these men, and so he welcomed them into their homes, into their congregation. Now that act of hospitality is in contrast to the church that John wrote to in 2 John. In 2 John, you will remember that John warned about false prophets who were trying to take advantage of the church, he said, 2John 1:10-11 “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into [your] house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.” So in the first church John wrote to, he said do not show hospitality to these false teachers, don’t even give them a greeting. But in the second letter, perhaps because these men bore letters from John as introduction, Gaius recognizes them as being of the truth, and he welcomes them and shows love towards them in physical ways by showing them hospitality while they were visiting them.
John says, you will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. I think John indicates here that Gaius should treat them as he would treat the Lord. In Matt. 25:34-40 Jesus said, "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me [something] to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me [something] to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You [something] to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, [even] the least [of them,] you did it to Me.’” So showing hospitality to strangers who are of the truth, is a way that we can show love towards God.
Concerning those emissaries, John said in vs7, “For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.” They went out, they left their home, for the sake of Jesus Christ, for the sake of sharing the truth of Jesus Christ with this church. They were being obedient to the mandate that Christ gave to go into all the world and preach the gospel, making disciples of all men. They were faithful to that call. Therefore, John says, it’s only right that we support such men by physical means who labor for the gospel. It is the duty of the church to support them.
You know, not all of us are called to be pastors, or evangelists, or missionaries. But we can share in their ministry by supporting such people. It’s not proper for Christians to seek support from the world for their ministry. We avoid seeking out government grants or support from the world, from non believers. I think that’s actually a bad reflection on Christ when Christians have to try to get support from non-Christian entities. But we should be able to count on support from the church. And that’s what Gaius appears to have done for these men, and he is commended for that, and held up as an example for the church even today.
In Matthew 10:41 Jesus tells us that "He who receives a prophet in [the] name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” So when we share in the work of an evangelist or missionary or church, then we share in the reward that will be given to those people as well.
Then John turns from commending Gaius for his hospitality, to reproving another pastor named Diotrephes for his lack of hospitality. This may have been the pastor of another church in that city, or that region whose pastor Diotrephes wants nothing to do with the brethren that John sent.
He says in vs9, “I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. 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.”
We don’t know a lot about Diotrephes either. But I think it’s safe to assume he is the pastor of another church in the same region. But this pastor doesn’t walk in the truth. He obviously rejects the truth which is taught by John. He doesn’t want to be held accountable to that truth. And so he wants nothing to do with John or his emissaries. Furthermore, he doesn’t accept the letter which John had written. We don’t know for sure if this is 1 John, or perhaps another unknown letter. But either way, it’s similar to not accepting scripture. Not wanting to have to be accountable to scripture.
John says it’s because Diotrephes loves to be first. I was talking to someone the other day about leadership in the church. And how humility is one of the most important characteristics for leadership. That, and the heart of a servant. Jesus said in Mark 10:42-45 "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Humility and servanthood are essential for a pastor or church leader.
On the other hand, one of the signs of a false prophet is that they are self aggrandizing. They love the spotlight. They draw attention to themselves. And the other is that they are always after money. John doesn’t mention that as an attribute of Diotrephes, but I would suspect that perhaps he doesn’t want to share with the brethren, because he wants everything for himself. If you watch a few of those false prophets on TBN, you will soon realize that they never tire of asking for money in spite of owning private jets and mansions overlooking the Pacific, and great amounts of land and buildings for their so called television studios.
John says, if he comes, he will reveal the truth about this guy. John is pretty old at this point. He is in his 90’s. Such a trip would undoubtedly be very difficult for him. That’s probably why he sent the emissaries, to speak for him. But even though it would be a very difficult trip, it sounds as if his intention is to come because he fears for the church there under this fraud who is the pastor there. Diotrephes even censors his own people by putting out of the church those who wanted to show hospitality to the brethren.
Then John gives a final admonition to Gaius as he closes the letter. He says in vs 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.” Four times now John uses this term beloved to refer to Gaius. And he now encourages him to continue in the walk of truth. He says imitate what is good, not what is evil.
I think what he is saying is that there are two types of behavior on example before you. One is Demetrius, the disciple of John, who teaches the truth, who walks in the truth, who carries the truth of the gospel to the church. The other is Diotrephes, who rejects the truth, who walks in his own counsel, who rejects the commands of God to love one another and show hospitality, and who loves to be seen in first place. One does good, one does evil. John says, walk after the one who does good. Follow his example. Imitate him. Don’t follow the bad example of Diotrephes.
Demetrius is well spoke of by everyone, that is those who are of the truth. He has a good reputation. John has commended him, he has sent him and speaks well of him. And so Gaius can be confident as he patterns his life in imitation of this man.
You know, when I spoke to this person last week concerning spiritual leadership, that aspect of being an example of a godly person was a key point that I made. It’s not just what they say, but what they do that is important. The kind of life they live is an example for other Christians to follow, and the message of their life is more effective than the message of their mouth.
That’s why when Paul wrote Timothy about the credentials for spiritual leadership in the church he said that he should not be “a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.” And then he added “These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.” In other words, there must be a time of testing, of being proven that their walk matches their talk. That they are not prideful. He says in another place, don’t lay hands on anyone too suddenly. That means, don’t appoint someone as a leader in the church too soon. Give it time for their life to become apparent.
Demetrius had proven himself to John and the brethren. And he was commended to Gaius that he should imitate that man’s walk in the truth. That’s how we disciple people, by the way. It’s by our example of living out our faith in their sight so that they might follow in our footsteps. That’s a big responsibility on our part. To walk in the truth, giving no cause for offense, not putting a stumbling block before others by our actions. But letting our deeds match our words. Our actions, match our profession.
John ends this message the same way he did in the previous letter. He wants to say more, but he hopes to do it in person, rather than in a letter. He closes by saying peace to you. The friends here, that is the church here with John, send their greetings to him and his church. And he asks Gaius to greet those in his church by name on his behalf.
It’s a short letter, a letter of commendation, of warning, and an admonition to imitate godly leaders and shun evil ones. Let us consider how we can apply this instruction to our walk, as we walk in the truth, being sure to show love and hospitality to the church, and by being a godly example to others.
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