The Three Kinds Of Believers

The Three Kinds of Believers

III John 1-14

1 The elder, 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, even as your soul is getting along well. 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,[a] 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 honors 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 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. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the very first Face-to-Face worship of MMIM North EDSA after 8 long months of home quarantine. Praise the Lord, though we are still in GCQ the government is becoming lenient in allowing religious gatherings like this but limited only to 30% of the venue’s capacity.

This month of November we will have a series of studies in the book of 3 John, a short writing yet full of truth and wisdom.

It is not unusual for people to wonder… What was the early church like? We know a lot about its early leaders, such as apostles Paul and Peter; but what about the average Christians themselves? Were they more spiritual than Christians today? Did they experience the kind of problems seen so often in churches today?

When one examines the portraits found in this letter, we learn that there is not much difference between people back then, and in the church today. Therefore this epistle is very relevant, though we may live 2000 years later. In this lesson, we shall… Consider some background material concerning the epistle. Notice the difference between the three men described in the letter. Summarize with some lessons that can be gleaned from this book

[Let's begin with some...]

I. THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A. THE AUTHOR - "THE ELDER"

As with 2 John, the "elder" is believed by most conservative scholars to be the apostle John. The INTERNAL evidence… The three epistles of John utilize much the same language and ideas. All bear similarity to concepts and language to the Gospel of John. The term "elder" would be a fitting description of John as the author, writing in his old age.

B. RECIPIENT - "THE BELOVED GAIUS"

Gaius was a common Roman name, and appears five times in the New Testament - Ac 19:29; 20:4; Ro 16:23; 1Co 1:14; 3Jn 1. Whether he is one of those mentioned by Luke or Paul cannot be determined. He is evidently a dear friend of John, and known for his hospitality (more below).

C. PLACE AND DATE OF WRITING

Ephesus is usually suggested as the location from which John wrote this epistle, as he was known to live there in the later years of his life. Estimation of the date of writing varies widely, some placing it before the destruction of Jerusalem (70 A.D.), most however placing it around 90-95 A.D.

D. PURPOSE OF THE EPISTLE

To confirm that Gaius did right in supporting those teachers who came his way, encouraging him to continue this hospitality - 3Jn 5-8. To express his condemnation of Diotrephes for rejecting John and others whom he should have received - 3Jn 9-10. To encourage Gaius to imitate what is good, commending Demetrius as a good example - 3Jn 11-12