3 John: Imitate What is Good

Today, we are looking at 3 John, which is the last of the three books that comprise 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. This letter was written to a believer named Gaius, and just like the second letter addressed to a woman who is possibly named Kyria, we don’t know any further information about him either. But also, like that letter, it shows us a real-life example of how we believers can apply the words of 1 John and walk in the light as Jesus walked, loving one another and imitating what is good.

Let’s read it in its entirety, and then we will go back and read it a verse or two at a time. 3 John 1:1-14 (BSB) says:

1 The elder, 

To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth:

2 Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.

3 For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk. 

4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

5 Beloved, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you. 

6 They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 

7 For they went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 

8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

9 I have written to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not accept our instruction. 

10 So if I come, I will call attention to his malicious slander against us. And unsatisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers and forbids those who want to do so, even putting them out of the church.

11 Beloved, 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.

12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true.

13 I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink. 

14 Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak with you face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send you greetings. Greet each of our friends there by name.

As you can see, it is a very brief letter, but it’s rich in application. Let’s read it again, starting with verses 1-2, which say: “The elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth: Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.”

I don’t think there’s any doubt about who wrote this letter. It is so similar in style to the other two. As Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says, “It has been the common opinion that they were written at Ephesus, and when John was old.”

Part of the proof of that is again we see John’s focus on truth. This is obviously paramount in importance to John, as it is a consistent theme in his writings. I understand why he is focused on truth, though, because if we are not walking in truth, then we are not following Jesus. If someone wants to be a child of God, he or she must believe the truth. That’s why John warned the believers that they must be on guard against deceivers and antichrists who do not believe the truth about Jesus being the Christ.

The truth is what separates believers from unbelievers, because children of the devil do not believe the truth about Jesus. John 8:42-45 records Jesus saying something very important to the Jewish leaders who did not believe in Him. He said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!”

John documented those words of Jesus, and they are the foundation of what he is writing in these letters. He is saying that only those who remain in the truth are of God and are following God. Only those who are following Jesus will accept and understand God’s Word. Jesus says that if someone is not following Him, then that person cannot listen to or understand what He is saying. That must be because that person is deceived, and whether they know it or not, they are ultimately following the devil, who is the father of lies. This is why adhering to the truth is so vital. And this is why the devil works so hard to manipulate and destroy truth. He has done such an effective job at it that I am afraid much of Christianity has been taken in by his deceptions. Think about a lot of the language that is used today, even within the Church. We’ve been conditioned to use phrases like “my truth” or “what’s true for me” or “it’s all relative,” and by using those words, we unknowingly support the idea that there is no absolute or objective truth. The world thinks everything is relative and subjective, but that is a lie.

Look at what John says in verse 3, “For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk.” When John says “truth,” he doesn’t mean Gaius’ personal truth that is relative to him. No, he is using truth as a noun. John is pleased that Gaius has shown he is devoted to the truth.

And as he says in verse 4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” He doesn’t say, ‘I’m so happy that my children are following their truth’ or ‘living their best life’ or some statement like that. It is “the truth.” Again, it is “the truth” that does not change or waiver. There is only the truth; otherwise, it’s not truth—it’s opinion or belief or preference. Truth is not relative; it is fixed and constant.

Also, did you notice that John calls Gaius his child? He means that Gaius is his spiritual child. That is consistent within all three of John’s letters, including in 2 John when he writes to a woman and her children. The aged John, in his role as a spiritual leader, views all believers he has led to Christ or mentored, as his spiritual children in the family of God. And he viewed the believers that woman had discipled, as her spiritual children as well.

With that same frame of mind, then John writes in verse 5, “Beloved, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you.”

When he says “brothers,” it is the Greek word adelphos, and it can mean brother or brethren, which means humankind. Some other translations say “brothers and sisters” because usually this word is used without gender exclusivity. It’s the same word John used in 1 John 3:17 says, “If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?” So, John is praising Gaius for how he has been hospitable and supportive of the fellow Christian workers who—though they were strangers to him before he helped them—are his brothers and sisters in Christ.

These workers for the Gospel have apparently come back to where John is, and as verse 6 says about them: “They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.”

They gave the church a positive report of how well Gaius treated them. But, before I go on, I want to make a note of something. As I’ve mentioned, some people think John’s second letter is written to a church and not a woman, and the reason they say he doesn’t refer to it as a church is because he wants to keep it secret because of persecution. But this verse puts more evidence on the side of those of us who believe 2 John was written to a specific woman, and not to a secret church. It seems clear that if it were a church, he would have referred to it as a church, just as he does here and in 1 John. In these two letters he’s not trying to hide anything.

Back to the text, then verses 7-8 say about these Christian workers: “For they went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers for the truth.” This means that they did not take support from Gentiles, which in this instance doesn’t mean non-Jewish Christians, but means non-believers. The Greek word here is ethnikos which is usually translated as pagan or heathen.

Just like when Jesus sent out the disciples and instructed them to go from house to house, relying on the Christians in each town to host them, it seems this was still the practice. Gaius must have opened his home to these traveling evangelists. By doing so, Gaius became a fellow worker.

It is the same today; when we support people who are working “for the sake of the Name,” then we, too, become fellow workers. The Name is of course a reference to Jesus. Some scholars think that because of the hostility to Christians at that time, John uses “the Name” instead of saying Jesus. But maybe he just chose it because it is a fitting title for Jesus. For He is “the Name above all names” as Philippians 2:9 says.

Then John adds in verses 9-10, “I have written to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not accept our instruction. So if I come, I will call attention to his malicious slander against us. And unsatisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers and forbids those who want to do so, even putting them out of the church.”

About this situation, Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says, “From this it is clear that there were those in the church who were disposed to receive [the workers] in a proper manner; and from anything that appears, the church, as such, would have been inclined to do it, if it had not been for the influence of this one man.”

In all three letters, John has been emphasizing the need for both truth and love. Diotrephes is perhaps a stickler for protocol, but he is not walking in love. So, John is letting Gaius know that when he sees him, he is going to call attention to Diotrephes’ bad behavior and confront him. In other words, he is going to truly love Diotrephes by telling him the truth. This is far more loving than if he overlooked what Diotrephes is doing. Which seems to be that he is kicking people out of the church, but not for legitimate reasons.

Wouldn’t it be terrible to be Diotrephes and have your name recorded in the Bible like this? I think it’s so interesting how John words this verse, though: Diotrephes loves to be first and will not accept our instruction. He’s not loving others; he’s loving himself by wanting to be first. It’s selfishness that puts ‘me’ before ‘you.’ It’s what Selwyn Hughes refers to as the sin of demandingness.

If Diotrephes loved others the way John has been saying we must, then he would not seek to be first. In his first letter, John told us that perfect love drives out fear. Diotrephes clearly still has fears. He’s acting this way because he wants to be first. He wants to be in charge. He must have a fear of losing out—of being unimportant. Is he really any different from any of us?

If we fear that God won’t provide for us, then we might act unloving toward other people and be jealous and self-seeking. Trying to be first is really just a result of insecurity, isn’t it? When we are insecure, we might respond to situations with demandingness and try to control and exclude others, as it seems Diotrephes was doing. But if we understand just how much the Lord loves us, and we love others with that same wholehearted love, then we won’t try to be first. We won’t be worried and feel like we need to watch out for ourselves and seek the limelight. Instead, we can love others and trust that God will take care of us.

By trying to be first, Diotrephes is causing a lot of trouble. He is accusing John, using ‘malicious words’ and, if anyone disagrees with him, he ‘puts them out of the church.’ Maybe Diotrephes had heard John’s teaching not to welcome people who denied Jesus had come in the flesh, but he had taken it too far? Maybe he thought that gave him a license to kick out anyone he disagreed with?

We don’t know for sure, but what we do know for sure is this: back in 2 John, John wasn’t saying that we should refuse to greet anybody who doesn’t agree with all the finer points of our theology. He was speaking specifically of those who claim to know God, but they deny the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the very Son of God, who came in the flesh to save the world.

That said, I find it very insightful that in his commentary, The Early Christian Letters, N.T. Wright does not limit John’s prohibition of giving a greeting to only those who do not think Jesus came in the flesh. He applies that warning to anyone who claims to follow Jesus but is “simultaneously worshiping one of any number of other gods.” He also says we must be careful not to accidentally give approval to people’s deception. He says, “If this seem harsh, as indeed it does, we need to remember the way in which even casual greetings, let alone hospitality, can then be used and are indeed regularly used as a sign that such people are approved of: ‘Well, so-and-so had them to dinner, so they can’t think it’s so bad after all.’” (p.179)

I really like N.T. Wright’s example. I think he is correct in applying that warning to include all major theological deceptions. He used inviting people to dinner as an example, but another example we could also use is from social media: ‘Well, so-and-so follows them on social media and likes all their posts, so they can’t think it’s so bad after all.’ That would be another way in which, if we do things like that, we are signaling our approval.

Some of these things John writes in all three letters probably seem to go against modern ideas. We are constantly being told that ‘Christians should not judge’ and that to be a ‘true Christian’ means we love everyone. We should ‘be tolerant and accepting of everyone, and ‘Jesus ate with sinners, you know.’ Yes, Jesus ate with sinners, but they were sinners who had repented. They were people being changed by Jesus. Jesus did not turn a blind eye to anyone’s sin. He called people out, telling them to leave their sin and follow Him. He called them to walk in the truth. John is simply imitating Jesus.

Again, this might seem so opposite of what we are seeing in mainstream Christianity, though. There are pastors and leaders within Christianity who teach that we need to be tolerant and accepting of all people, regardless of their anti-biblical, anti-Christ behavior and beliefs. But in their effort to welcome everybody to church, they are simultaneously giving their nod of approval to people who are denying who Jesus really is. They are welcoming people who are worshiping different gods and who are living lifestyles that are opposite to what the Bible clearly teaches. These churches would disagree with me and would probably tell me they are welcoming everyone in the hope that eventually they will repent and get saved. But the problem is, they never tell the people this. The people who are welcomed, and the rest of the congregation, don’t see the pastor’s strategy. Nobody ever confronts anybody and offers correction. Why would anyone repent if they don’t think they are doing anything wrong? And what about all the other people, namely the children in attendance at the church, who now think these things are not so bad after all?

Jesus warns us in Matthew 18:6, “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

That tells us that we had better be careful to not do anything that creates a stumbling block for other people. If we approve of sin by welcoming it with our approval, or we neglect to offer correction to believers who are clearly in error of what the Bible teaches, we are in danger of creating stumbling blocks.

At the same time, if we exclude people from fellowship over minor disagreements, then we are also in danger of creating stumbling blocks. And there are other groups within Christianity who are doing this. They are labeling anyone who disagrees with their denomination’s finer points as a heretic and excluding them from the Body of Christ.

Can you see why it is so important to read the whole Bible? If we don’t read 2 John carefully, we might think that we should not give a greeting to anybody we disagree with over any issue and willy-nilly kick people out of church like Diotrephes was doing. Or if we only read 3 John, we might think that ‘putting people out of church’ is always bad. When we read the whole Bible, we see that we need to be mindful of everything we do. We should not blindly go along with the world, partnering with anyone and anybody who claims to follow God. We should be careful to discern the spirits and walk in the truth. We should be on guard. But at the same time, as John keeps emphasizing in these three letters, we should love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be hospitable and care for those in need.  

If this seems overwhelming, please be encouraged that it is not. It is only difficult if we stray from what John has been emphasizing throughout these 3 books. We must hold fast to what Christ has taught us, walking according to the truth of God’s Word.

We are to focus on the truth and stick to the teachings that do not change. These teachings are the things John has been saying in each of these letters: that Jesus is the only way to the Father; we must obey His commandments; and we must love one another. We do that by staying alert, staying in prayer, and studying the unchanging Word of God, so we are not taken in by new doctrines and deceptive lies of the devil. We must test the spirits and hold to the truth that does not change. We must walk in the truth.

Then, John goes on and says to Gaius in verse 11, “Beloved, 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.”

Like John’s other methods for discerning what is of God or not of God, here, John offers another method. The one who does what is evil is not of God. This is reminiscent of what he said in 1 John 3:6-7, “No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.”

If we are following Jesus, then we will not embrace evil. We will not imitate or give approval to evil things. We will do what is good. We will strive to live lives pleasing to God. We will walk in the truth. And we will walk in love.

In each of these letters, we can see how important walking in love is to following God. We are not to love in words only, but by our actions. As 1 John 3:18 says, “Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.”

John is telling Gaius, don’t imitate what Diotrephes is doing. Don’t imitate that evil behavior. Diotrephes is in the wrong and he’s not doing what God would have him do: he doesn’t accept John’s teachings, he’s not being hospitable, and he’s spreading malicious talk.

Gaius, in contrast to that, has proven that he’s walking in the truth, being faithful, and showing love to fellow believers. John doesn’t want him to imitate Diotrephes’ bad behavior. He wants Gaius to show Demetrius the same hospitality he’s shown to others and welcome him in—and ignore what Diotrephes might say. John vouches personally for Demetrius and says in verse 12, “Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true.”

Then John ends the letter by saying, in verses 13-14, “I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak with you face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send you greetings. Greet each of our friends there by name.”

This is how he ended 2 John, and it’s also similar to how he ended his Gospel account. John 21:25 says, “There are many more things that Jesus did. If all of them were written down, I suppose that not even the world itself would have space for the books that would be written.” Don’t you wish John had written even more? I often wish that the Bible was longer, and we could read more and learn more about what else Jesus did and spoke, but I trust that God has a purpose, though, in every word He caused to be written in Scripture and even in what He chose not to include.

In this letter, Gaius is praised because he’s walking in the truth, being faithful, and showing love to fellow believers. That’s the three-fold test that John talked about in his first letter, isn’t it?

The test that proves if someone is from God or not:

Does the person know the truth—do they know that Jesus is the Christ?

Does the person keep God’s commandments—are they being faithful to practice righteousness?

Does the person love their fellow Christians—are they hospitable and walking in love?

Those three things reveal whether someone is a child of God.

As 1 John 2:3-6 says, “By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. If anyone says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.”

Gaius passes that test. He can be assured that he knows God, and the love of God is truly being perfected in him. He is imitating what is good by walking as Jesus walked.

He knows that to walk as Jesus walked means keeping His commandments. And as Jesus explained to us in the Gospels, the commandments can be summarized to be this: Love God and love others. All along, isn’t that what John has been telling us to do? He’s been explaining that the only way to love God is to know Jesus. And the only way to love others is to love them in truth. So, if we truly love God, we will imitate Jesus and walk as He walked.

As we conclude this study of John’s three epistles, let us apply these lessons. Let us imitate what is good. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to walk according to the unchanging truth of Scripture. Let us pray to be wise so we can discern deception and not be taken in by the devil’s lies. Let us pray that God will help us to be bold in loving people, so we will tell people the truth in love, and serve one another. In that way, we will imitate what is good, and not what is evil.

Pray: Heavenly Father, we pray that You would help us by the Holy Spirit to walk according to the truth of Your Word. Please help us discern truth from lies. Help us see through the enemy’s deceptions. Please help us to truly love people by telling them the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable to do so. And as John prayed for Gaius, we pray that You would prosper us and give us good health all the days of our lives so we can be good witnesses for You. We love you, and in the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.