3 John
3 John 1:1-14
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.
Two opposite examples are provided that will lead to either blessing and prosperity or discouragement and lack. Gaius has given John something to write about by the evidence through his life of the truth that he is walking out from the inside. His faithfulness and love for the church family are apparent in the disciples he makes and not just in the information he obtains. Diotrephes, however, was actively sowing discord and repelling people from the transformation they needed. For these examples, John calls one “evil” and the other “good”. The evil is to be avoided at all costs, while the good is to be released as evidence from a heart of faith.
What/who we follow after is known by the deeds that follow our exposure to Him. To truly behold Him is to have His heart of mercy and love on display in every step. To do otherwise with a critical and divisive spirit is to come in direct opposition to the Father God. What a great thing it is that the Spirit of truth has come to reside on the inside, but how far greater it is when that truth is on display in an every-moment residence of the truth regarding Christ’s love.