Disempowering Powerbrokers Series

You can listen to this sermon at https://www.npbc.org.au/podcasts/media

3 John 1-14

“Disempowering Power-Brokers”

John the Apostle is well into his 90’s – yet he hasn’t retired. John’s ministry is based in Ephesus from where he gives apostolic oversight, and pastoral leadership, to a group of churches which are located in and around Ephesus … and beyond. Smyrna. Pergamum. Thyatira. Sardis. Philadelphia. Laodicea.

Approximately 15 years ago John distributed his Gospel. In the not too distant past these churches have all received a copy of the letter which we know as 1 John, this was followed a little later by the letter we know as 2 John.

In one of these churches which John overseas, we do not know which one, there is a faithful Christian servant named Gaius.

He could be a leader. He certainly is highly regarded and respected within the church.

Gaius has just received a personal letter from John the Apostle – a letter which we call 3 John. This letter gives us an insight into a day in the life of one of the churches in the first century. Let’s read the letter.

You will notice up the top of the screen the reference is 3 John 1-14 (15).

That is because some English translations have a different numbering system for the last four sentences.

1 The elder, (that is John the Apostle)

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, just as you are progressing spiritually. 3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honours God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone – and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

13 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. (15) Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

This is the letter which, initially, was only read by Gaius.

Notice in verse 9 this letter says I wrote to the church. John refers to a previous correspondence which has been sent to all the churches. There are good reasons to believe the previous correspondence is the letter we know as 2 John. Especially when a description of the sinful actions of Diotrephes is that “he will not welcome us,” “he refuses to welcome other believers,” and “he puts those who offer such welcome out of the church.”

As we saw last week, welcoming and offering hospitality are a key element of 2 John. To briefly summarise

Offering hospitality and welcome meant the teacher would go from being an outsider to becoming part of the community.

Through 2 John John is calling us to discern if we are giving credibility and welcome to people in our lives who are deceptively moving us away from the foundational truth that Jesus is the Christ.

This means that there are times when the believers need to be inhospitable. And there are times when you can judge as wicked the work of those who show hospitality to the ones to whom we should be inhospitable.

You can see the thematic connection between 2 John and 3 John. In 3 John Diotrephes thinks his actions are correct – but they are not. We will come back to Diotrephes in a moment, for now let’s keep our attention on Gaius.