3 John: Jesus Is The Source Of Truth
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3 John: Jesus Is The Source Of Truth
3 John 1:3-11 (ESV)
3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,
6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.
8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.
10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
Tim Johnson, in his first year as an MLB coach in 1998, motivated his Blue Jays by telling them stories about his days of combat as a marine in Vietnam. For example, he told pitcher Pat Hentgen a story about his war experiences to get him to accept a different place in the pitching rotation. Imagine the pregame speeches we all see on TV from players and/or coaches to motivate players to win!
Well he was accused of lying about it all. Johnson first denied charges that he lied, but finally admitted it after it was discovered he'd never served in Vietnam (he was a reservist who trained mortarmen). He also admitted that he'd never been an All-America basketball player in high school, turning down UCLA to serve his country, as his official bio indicated. Toronto fired the former Brewers and Jays infielder after it became clear he'd been telling tales for decades. "This has been something that's been bothering me for 28 years," Johnson said. The Mexico City Devil Rays hired Johnson soon after he left the Jays. One agent asked, “Has he been telling his players he fought during the Battle at the Alamo (1836)?"
Truth is the central concept in 3 John. He mentions it about seven times in this short book of only fifteen verses. Why did John put such emphasis on the truth? One reason was that he was the last living apostle, and he saw many wrongdoings creeping into the churches. Also, Jesus Christ had repeatedly emphasized the truth during His earthly ministry. Here are a few examples:
John 1:14b – “glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 3:21 – “But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
John 4:23 & 24 – “Jesus explained that the Father seeks those who ‘worship in spirit and truth.’”
John 8:32 – “Jesus said, ‘and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”
John 14:6 - “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
We see from scripture that truth was a huge emphasis in Jesus’ ministry, and because of that, you see it in the life and ministry of the apostle John. This truth centers in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the God of truth in human flesh. The huge emphasis on truth in John’s writings teaches us that truth matters! How a person thinks about God, man, salvation, and life determines how that person lives. Someone with false concepts in these areas will live differently than the person with a biblical view in these important matters. Since Jesus Himself is the truth and since God’s Word is truth, Satan works overtime to undermine the truth about the person and work of Christ and the truth of God’s inerrant Word.
This morning we will look at a few key people John writes of in the book of 3 John and how they reflect the truth. First up we have the recipient of the letter of 3 John, the beloved Gaius.
I DEMONSTRATING THE TRUTH
Unlike 2 John, which was written to a local church, 3 John is written to an individual, Gaius. We know nothing about this man except what we learn here. He was a faithful and genuine Christian leader in a local church that was under the care of the apostle John. Men had come from where Gaius was serving the Lord and had given John a message testifying to him that he truly was doing well and walking in the truth. He was the real deal and his life really reflected Christ. This addressee was definitely demonstrating the truth.
Walking In The Truth
John recognized in Gaius, and in some within this Church, that they had developed a love for the truth, they were walking in the truth. As we see, John’s greatest joy was to hear of his spiritual children walking in the truth. Written in this letter we see all of this emphasized greatly.
3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
John mentions twice “walking in the truth.” He does not say that we should sit and rest in the truth, but rather that we should walk in it. Walking implies steady movement in a purposeful direction. It requires discipline and effort. Walking is not as quick as running, but if you keep at it, walking will get you where you’re going. Here’s something Peter warns and commands us with the danger of being carried away by the error of unprincipled men,
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
You will not grow in the knowledge of Christ by accident! You have to purposefully walk in the truth, studying to learn it and then apply God’s truth to your daily life. Would you make that decision today if you aren’t living like this now?
John writes to Gaius in this letter that these brothers have come and spoke so well of him and he is delighted that he is walking with the Lord. Gaius demonstrates the truth even more as we read on in the next verse.
2. Blessing Others In The Truth
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are
In those times it was a common thing for teachers, preachers, and apostles to travel among the churches, minister to them while they traveled. It could be dangerous for ministers to be staying in an inn or public overnight areas. Gaius was a man who opened his home to these individuals, showing self-sacrifice and offering hospitality to traveling ministers. John writes and commends Gaius of his faithfulness in doing this even though they are strangers to him, or not knowing them personally at the very least. This isn’t just something that was done in the past. I am sure many of you have opened up your homes to pastors, missionaries and ministers who’ve needed a place to stay while they carry out God’s ministry. Keep that up! Believers today are commanded to pursue hospitality.
Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
If you open your homes for ministers, host bible studies with your loved ones and groups, you glorify the Lord in demonstrating the truth! Keep on going!
Continuing in verse six we see that it’s more than just his hospitality for others but he also demonstrates generosity.
6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
In Gaius sending them off on their journey in a manner worthy of God it suggests that he is blessing them with food, money, arranging their means of travel. It means as if the Lord Himself made that gift, it would have reflected well upon the Lord. We can assume it was a generous supply given by Gaius. I know many of us honor the Lord with our wealth by blessing people around them, giving back to the Lord generously, and not be stingy with the Lord’s blessings. You also demonstrate God’s truth when you bless others in this way!
For the guests to share to John of how Gaius blessed them in all these ways, he really exemplified God’s love and Christlikeness. Let’s dive deeper into who else demonstrates the truth.
3. The Only Reason Is The Truth
7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles
Lastly the ones demonstrating the truth are the missionaries Gaius was hosting. Why is verse seven being highlighted for? Well “the Name” refers to Jesus’ name. It was for the sake of Jesus Christ that they went out. It is what we are demonstrating when we live out the truth! It’s not for the people’s sake. It’s why you and I serve today in the first place.
Folks, if our concern is how we’ll get applause or praises from people I hope your attitude changes because what happens when that doesn’t happen? What if your goal to please others doesn’t amount to enough? People will let us down. Why live for people’s approval and image of you? If that’s the case you focus on and magnify the discouragement and the problems from people. Some may even take this as to why they leave the church. Here’s a good reminder from the apostle Paul.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men
If it’s for the Lord Jesus, who cares what others say, you aren’t doing it for them! You’re doing it for Him! These missionaries weren’t using the gospel for personal glory or gain or to receive donations from the unbelievers that they were seeking to reach.
8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
We are called to support these workers in the ministry and in doing so we become fellow workers with the truth of the gospel that is proclaimed.
As Christians, one of the main reasons we live godly lives and demonstrate His truth is so that others would see Him in us. Yes, we have our limitations and make mistakes, but that shouldn’t keep us from trying to walk in the truth. The Almighty God can use all of it to prove who He is as long as we are striving to move forward. The contrast of His glory that shines through us when we obey God’s Word against the frailty, we display in our weaker moments proves that there’s a supernatural presence in our all-too-natural selves. This testifies to the truth of the Gospel and brings glory to a holy God who deserves it. Let’s use the examples of Gaius and these missionaries in demonstrating the truth of Jesus Christ our Lord!
II DISOBEYING THE TRUTH
After such commendation of obedience, hospitality, and generosity from John we now have someone who is the bad influence. He is the opposite example of what we just learned about. John the author wrote to this church prior to this letter and this man rejected it and did not even accept it. He is a leader in the church and his name is Diotrephes.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
Diotrephes did not submit to John the apostle’s authority. Rather than being like Gaius and the ministers as we’ve learned about, Diotrephes was disobedient. His negative example gives us characteristics of the disobedient heart that we need to avoid if we want to keep reflecting Jesus as the truth. Let’s take a look at a glimpse of how he lived
1. Wanting to be First
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.
Diotrephes likes to put himself first or in another version reads “loves to be first among them”. There’s the explanation for the majority of church problems down through history! People want to be first.
As a leader in the church, Diotrephes’ theology was orthodox. If it had not been, John would have condemned him as a heretic. His problem was not his theology, but rather his personal ambition and pride that led him to oppose even the apostle John. He may have said the following lies to the church, “John doesn’t understand the danger of having these traveling teachers into this church. We need to maintain pure doctrine here. We don’t know what kinds of problems these men may bring in. John is just a senile old man who means well, but he’s lost it in his old age. Follow me! Don’t receive these teachers into your homes. If you do, we’ll have to put you out of the church.” Diotrephes may have known the truth, but the only person he loved was himself!
Growing up as kids, do you remember ever forming exclusive clubs or groups? Of course we were just children so we didn't mean to be as mean as we were. Of course, clubs must have rules. Was there a leader? Or maybe you were that bossy leader. Did the rules include: (1) I am the boss of this club (2) You don’t boss the boss (3) Rules are final… or maybe some form of that?
But, when adults bring those rules into a local church, it creates friction. I’m sure you’ve heard of pastors and church leaders that play by those rules, seeking to lord over people.” Paul specified this of those who shepherd over the flock of God
1 Peter 5:2-3 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
2. Wicked Nonsense to Slander
Diotrephes unjustly accused John and his delegates with “talking wicked nonsense”.
10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us.
He stopped these traveling teachers from the church because he wanted to be the sole authority and leader of the church. He wanted everyone to look up to him, not to Jesus Christ. It threatened him if people learned from others, and so he used gossip and slander to criticize even John.
Gossip is sharing information with those who have no business hearing it. He uses gossip to bolster his status: He’s in the know! Or he uses it to prejudice people against someone. Slander is using partial truths or flat-out lies to damage someone’s reputation. Often the slanderer will say something that is partly true, so that he can claim that he spoke the truth. But it was not the whole truth and sharing it misled others to believe something false about the person. The name, devil, means slanderer, so it is a serious sin! Let’s keep all forms of this outside the church!
3. Withheld Welcome of Brothers
Diotrephes was prideful, slandered authority, now we read that he chooses not to receive the brethren and he didn't allow those who wanted to do so, putting them out of the church.
10 he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
Why didn’t Diotrephes welcome these godly Christian workers? Because he did not value people and relationships. Rather, he used people to build or protect his power. If you didn’t go along with him, he forced you out of the church, claiming to keep the church pure. That’s exactly how the world operates. The way to move up in the world is to build relationships with powerful people. You do favors for them so that they owe you in return. You play one person off of another, all in an attempt to put yourself in a powerful position.
We learn of Diotrephes who initially rejected a letter from John preferring to stay with his own desires and avoid conviction from the apostles' teaching. He needs correction and John intends to do so. Let’s look at what Jesus has to say about this.
Mark 10:42-44 You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
The opposite of Diotrephes, Gaius follows this, walks in truth and love, and actually submits to apostolic authority, which we now have in the New Testament, seeking to serve rather than to be served. How are we fully obeying the truth? Do some parts of us resonate with how Diotrephes carried himself in the church setting? Are we the center of our own world, wanting to be first? Are allowing gossip to take root against each other? Are we manipulating relationships to further our wrong motives? My hope and prayer is that this isn’t and won’t be the case with all of us. Only seeking Jesus and his truth can steady us in living for Him. Let’s move to our last character that John writes about in his letter to Gaius.
III DUPLICATE THE TRUTH
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
In verse 11, John again addresses Gaius, exhorting him not to imitate what is evil (Diotrephes), but rather what is good. John highlighted the fact that there are good models in being faithful in the truth. This is the final person we learn in this third book of John and this man’s name is Demetrius.
Whether Diotrephes was a genuine believer or not, we can’t tell, although John says, “the one who does evil has not seen God.” He was a man that wasn’t reflecting God’s heart. But he was in the role of a leader of a Christian church. He must have had some sort of following, or else John wouldn’t have written this warning. We all need godly examples to follow, but we must be careful in choosing those examples.
How do you know whether a person is worth imitating or not? Look for the fruit of the Spirit in his or her character. Look at their deeds. Are they in line with the fruit of the Spirit or the ways of the flesh? Then, look at the person’s reputation. In the case of Demetrius, everyone testified that he was a godly man. Diotrephes, I’m sure, would not have testified of Demetrius’ good character or deeds. But those who are walking with God will be in agreement about the godly character of a godly man.
We see that John says the truth itself gave witness to Demetrius’ good testimony. This means that his life was consistent with the character qualities and standards of God’s Word. Rather than being domineering, like Diotrephes was, Demetrius was a humble servant. Rather than being self-centered, he practiced biblical love. Further, John added his testimony to Demetrius’ godly character.
If someone walks with God, other godly leaders will acknowledge that fact. When you find godly role models, imitate them! Outside of scripture I’ve found help spiritually by reading about godly men and women. None of them were perfect, of course, but all of them have shown practical ways of what it means to walk in the truth of God’s Word. Demetrius was an excellent role model because he practiced the truth of God’s word in his life.
In familiarizing ourselves with these key people let’s ask ourselves the following questions. How are we reflecting and living out the truth of Jesus Christ today? Is He the front and center of your life? Are we demonstrating or displaying the truth or disobeying it? Church, let’s anchor ourselves to what is true. The Gospel calls us to die to ourselves so that others may live. It calls us to confess, repent and put something bigger than ourselves above ourselves. If we the church start to mimic culture and this world rather than Jesus, we will tear ourselves away from the very thing that will save us. We live the truth of the Gospel not because it benefits us, but because God is always worth it. Let’s remember to live out His truth and know that Jesus Christ is the Source of Truth. What we’ve learned today from the book of 3 John should be a great inspiration for us all to do excellent work and then confess that we do it to the glory of God! Let’s all declare by it being evident in our lives that Jesus is the Source of Truth.
-Rev. Reuben Cabrera