3 John — Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius: three men, three reputations

Through 1 John, part 9 · 3 John

Care given and received (v. 1)

"The elder: to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth." John has personal care and concern for this man and the church he's part of. That's what being part of a church means — you give care and you receive it. And for either to happen, you have to share and have things shared with you. You can't help people with things you don't know about, and they can't help you with what you never told them. Both come out of real relationships.

A healthy soul (v. 2)

"Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well."

There's some hint that Gaius may have been sick. John's wish is that his physical health would match his spiritual health — Gaius' soul was the metric. So here's the question: if your body were as healthy as your soul, how healthy would you be? F. B. Meyer noted that you wouldn't want to pray this over all your friends, because if their bodies suddenly matched their souls, some would fall ill on the spot. And the reverse is true too — you can't argue someone's spiritual state from their physical one. Sick doesn't mean sinful.

Walking in the truth (vv. 3–4)

"I was very glad when fellow believers came and testified to your fidelity to the truth — how you are walking in truth." It's good to have the truth; it's better to live it. Nothing counts more for God in an age of facts than a holy life. "I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth." The greatest joy you'll have as a follower of Jesus is leading people to Him and helping them keep following Him. If you've never had that, you're missing the fullness of the Christian life. Actively look for someone to help grow in the truth.

Gaius the hospitable (vv. 5–8)

"Dear friend, you are acting faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers and sisters, especially when they are strangers." Followers of Jesus should be hospitable, especially toward those who are serving the Lord with their lives. If you have the chance to help, share a meal with, or host someone in full-time ministry — particularly traveling ministry like these men — take it.

"They have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God." Here's an encouragement for those not called to full-time ministry: you share in the reward of those who are, by helping them. "He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward" (Matthew 10:41). These men "set out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from pagans" — they looked to the Lord alone and depended entirely on the giving of fellow Christians. "Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can be coworkers with the truth."

Diotrephes the self-seeking (vv. 9–10)

"I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive our authority." John had apparently written to this church already, and one man blocked it. We need to be careful never to have the attitude of Diotrephes. It would do every one of us, at every level of the church, to remember who's in charge of this place — Jesus Christ. Each member's position is submission to Jesus and His lordship over His church. Anyone seeking preeminence is seeking something that isn't his to have. And there's a second problem: when a man makes himself first, he becomes the example instead of Christ.

Diotrephes was "slandering us with malicious words" — empty charges — and "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." To hold onto control, he threw people out. He'd turned church leadership into a political game of power instead of a servant's life of submission. Be cautious of anyone who gains at someone else's loss. John intended to deal with it directly.

Good and evil (v. 11)

"Dear 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." Good works come from a relationship with God; evil works come from the lack of one — and John is saying, fairly directly, that Diotrephes is showing which he has. Our culture has a "judge-free" mentality and a lot of Christians have adopted it. We're not to judge on the surface or with prejudice. But Scripture says clearly that people living in sin and doing evil don't have a relationship with God.

Demetrius the commendable (v. 12)

"Everyone speaks well of Demetrius — even the truth itself. And we also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true." Demetrius may have been the one carrying this letter. The good report about him was measured against the truth itself. When your reputation is compared to the truth, what does it look like?

Face to face (vv. 13–15)

"I have many things to write you, but I don't want to write to you with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face." Once again, the heart and care of an old man for his people. Do you have that kind of concern for other followers of Christ?

Three men. Gaius, the hospitable. Diotrephes, the self-seeking. Demetrius, the commendable. Which one are you?

There's a fourth answer

Gaius, Diotrephes, Demetrius. Some of you can't honestly pick one, because you've never been in the family at all. That's not an insult, it's just where you're standing. A good reputation won't get you in and a bad one won't keep you out. Jesus went to a cross for people with nothing good on the record, God raised Him, and He receives every person who comes and says I need You. Say it. Then the question of which man you look like starts to matter.

For the rest of us, John prayed that Gaius would prosper the way his soul was prospering. Run that on yourself. If your body matched your soul this week, would you be walking or laid up? Then go do one Gaius thing. Open your home, feed somebody, help a person on their way who can't pay you back for it. One name, one week.

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