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3 John

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Praying for Health

3 John 1:1-2

John describes himself as 'The elder'.  The term was borrowed from the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, where the 72 members were called ‘elders’ - the title previously given to the tribal leaders of Israel in the Old Testament (2 Kings 23:1).  Certainly, John was getting old by the time he wrote this letter to Gaius, but he was also a church leader who had spiritual oversight and godly care for this man.  Although John was a disciple who had been personally commissioned by Jesus (Mark 3:13-19), he does not assert his apostleship but uses a pastoral title (1 Peter 5:1).  John cared for

Continuing to Walk in the Truth

3 John 1:3-4

John had previously written to a godly lady with a similar message about her children (2 John 1:4): he now repeats it personally to Gaius.  John found great joy in seeing that the life of Christ was growing in other believers.  Gaius demonstrated a faithful, consistent and persistent practical faith.  Despite so many setbacks for the church, and many of the other apostles had been persecuted to death, this man's lifestyle proved that Jesus was still alive, and living in the changed heart of a faithful man.  The gospel flame was still alight!

Hospitality to Missionaries

3 John 1:5-8

Gaius, the man John was writing to, was a godly man who believed what the apostles taught.  He had not embraced false teaching, and his faith was commended by John (3 John 1:3).  Now we discover that, like the Lady in 2 John, Gaius had a wonderful ministry of hospitality.  The churches were growing fast, partly because they appointed suitable people to be sent out as missionaries to preach the gospel and plant new churches (Acts 13:2-3).

Avoid Copying Bad Role Models

3 John 1:9-11

Gaius, the recipient of this personal letter was a trusted and well-loved brother in Christ (3 John 1:1-3).  John wrote to Gaius to encourage him in his gift of hospitality (3 John 1:5-8), to stretch him to be more generous to travelling missionaries, but also to warn him not to follow bad examples.

Good Ministry Examples

3 John 1:12-14

After warning Gaius not to follow the ungodly example of Diotrephes, a proud and controlling church leader (3 John 1:9-11), John points to Demetrius as a reliable role model in ministry.  That man was transparent to the church.  He had no hidden agenda; he was a servant of Jesus Christ whose ministry was endorsed by the apostles.  As far as we know, he was not the pagan silversmith, Demetrius, of Acts 19:23-41 – but if he was, then he had been clearly transformed by the Lord as he believed the gospel.

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