3 John

1Chapter

Greeting

1The elder: To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
2Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well. 3For I was very glad when fellow believers came and testified to your fidelity to the truth—how you are walking in truth. 4I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth.

Gaius Commended

5Dear friend, you are acting faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers and sisters, especially when they are strangers. 6They have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, 7since they set out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from pagans. 8Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can be coworkers with the truth.

Diotrephes and Demetrius

9I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive our authority. 10This is why, if I come, I will remind him of the works he is doing, slandering us with malicious words. And he is not satisfied with that! He not only refuses to welcome fellow believers, but he even stops those who want to do so and expels them from the church.
11Dear friend, 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. 12Everyone speaks well of Demetrius—even the truth itself. And we also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

Farewell

13I have many things to write you, but I don’t want to write to you with pen and ink. 14I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
15Peace to you. The friends send you greetings. Greet the friends by name.
Study
Chapter 1
CSB

TWISTED SCRIPTURE

3 John 2

Prosperity preachers say that as children of the King every Christian has a right to wealth and health, and that these can be ours if only we’ll have enough faith. These preachers often wear expensive clothes and drive expensive cars, and they have television ministries in which they promise prosperity to anyone who financially supports them. While it is not wrong for a Christian to be healthy and wealthy, this verse does not promise that Christians will experience these benefits. In the context of John’s letter we can see that prosper means spiritual prosperity, which he primarily measures by a disciple’s faithfulness to the truth. In fact he mentioned truth three times in verses 3-4. Looking outside John’s letters, we see that the other apostles never promised riches to Christians. Paul, for example, suffered many bad experiences. He was lashed, beaten, stoned, and shipwrecked. He faced dangers and often lacked the finer things that accompany wealth (see 2Co 11:22-27). And yet judging by 3 John 2 we would say that Paul prospered.

CSB

John encouraged Gaius to continue his hospitality toward the missionaries. Such a ministry was important because these ministers were laboring on behalf of God. Underlying this discussion is a contrast between Christian missionaries and false teachers. An individual who welcomes a false teacher basically shares in his evil deeds (v. 11; 2Jn 10-11), but those who receive Christian missionaries are “coworkers with the truth” (v. 8).

CSB

Most likely the words “I wrote” refer to a previous letter now lost. It probably contained instructions from John that Diotrephes disregarded. Diotrephes, a man of influence and authority in the church, evidently was hostile toward the apostle John. The nature of his rebellion was observable in three distinct areas. (1) He loved to be in the first position. (2) He spread malicious gossip about John. (3) Failing to be content with those evil actions, he refused to receive believers from other assemblies and cast out of the church those who did receive the brethren. The sins of pride, gossip, and intolerance are frequently found together, and they compromise witness to the gospel.