Daily Bread 2010 - 3 John 1
Daily Bread 2010
3 John 1
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.
This letter is similar to 2 John in that the “Elder” (most likely John himself) is commending one of the men (Gaius), who has been sent out by the Church to do missions. Hence the comment, “What you are doing for the brothers and sisters even though they are strangers to you.”
It is clear that Gaius is one of John’s disciples, and John commends him for not only talking about the truth, but also walking in it. For Gaius there is no greater joy than seeing his disciple carrying on the mission so faithfully. Meanwhile he encourages Gaius re: the lack of hospitality and downright hostility of Diotrephes, who was apparently a local leader in one of the churches as well.
But unlike Gaius, it appears Diotrephes is more in it for himself, not the sake of the mission for others. On top of not welcoming Gaius and those with him, he is even spreading false rumors about their intentions et al. Clearly Diotrephes has missed the point about what it means to support and work together with others in the kingdom for the sake of Jesus.
As we look to do ministry in the 21st century there are two things we can learn from this short letter from the apostle. One, how important it is for the church and its leaders to consistently mirror through behavior what they are preaching and teaching.
Secondly, to realize that we are in this together and we should look to partner with other believers, other churches, and other denominations for the sake of the Great Commission and accomplishing on earth what God wants done. The days of just worrying about our own tribe are over. We need to work together, so the world will know we are One just as the Father, Son and Spirit are one.
Dear Jesus, thank you for calling us out of the world to walk in your truth. Help us to live out what we preach and teach with authenticity. Help us to work together with good will and accept and give hospitality to all those who have been called to your mission field. Help us to support them, pray for them and welcome them when they are in our midst. Amen.
3 John 1
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.
This letter is similar to 2 John in that the “Elder” (most likely John himself) is commending one of the men (Gaius), who has been sent out by the Church to do missions. Hence the comment, “What you are doing for the brothers and sisters even though they are strangers to you.”
It is clear that Gaius is one of John’s disciples, and John commends him for not only talking about the truth, but also walking in it. For Gaius there is no greater joy than seeing his disciple carrying on the mission so faithfully. Meanwhile he encourages Gaius re: the lack of hospitality and downright hostility of Diotrephes, who was apparently a local leader in one of the churches as well.
But unlike Gaius, it appears Diotrephes is more in it for himself, not the sake of the mission for others. On top of not welcoming Gaius and those with him, he is even spreading false rumors about their intentions et al. Clearly Diotrephes has missed the point about what it means to support and work together with others in the kingdom for the sake of Jesus.
As we look to do ministry in the 21st century there are two things we can learn from this short letter from the apostle. One, how important it is for the church and its leaders to consistently mirror through behavior what they are preaching and teaching.
Secondly, to realize that we are in this together and we should look to partner with other believers, other churches, and other denominations for the sake of the Great Commission and accomplishing on earth what God wants done. The days of just worrying about our own tribe are over. We need to work together, so the world will know we are One just as the Father, Son and Spirit are one.
Dear Jesus, thank you for calling us out of the world to walk in your truth. Help us to live out what we preach and teach with authenticity. Help us to work together with good will and accept and give hospitality to all those who have been called to your mission field. Help us to support them, pray for them and welcome them when they are in our midst. Amen.
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