Introduction
The Beloved Apostle John seems to love to write and instruct in Godly, unconditional and unselfish love and here in this short third Epistle or letter, we see one written on a personal basis, to commend someone who is loving others in a practical way. Though it IS a personal letter, as I stated it IS practical also in its demonstrable way of showing true Agape love.
John focus’ on three men to deal with the contrast of TRUE Christ-like love and the value it is to others and especially when associated with Christian values. Gaius, who had a habit of demonstrating hospitality to others, many times strangers, Diotrephes, who in John’s writings is a self-proclaimed leader in the church who appears to be only interested in his “power” and prestige and Demetrius who appears to love the truth.
As with all of John’s writings, the prevailing theme is Godly love, but here, since it is also a personal note, we can read it and use it as a self-examination of where we stand in relation to these three men. To which do we most readily identify? Do we generously give of ourselves and our resources to others in need, do we love the truth as a rule or as an exception OR are we like the self-proclaimed leader who is interested in “things” rather than the eternal condition of God’s creation? Or, as the case may be, are we a mixture of all three to one degree or another as the case often is?
This letter WILL cause the person reading it to reflect on their own personal relationships AND values to the extent that we are willing to open up ourselves to meet the needs of others.
3 John 1:1-4, “THE ELDER, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
Again, John refers to himself as the Elder, and to see my comments on that, you can refer back to the introduction and the first few verses of 2 John.
As stated above in the introduction, this is a personal letter AND a commendation to someone that appears to be a very dear and special person to the Apostle’s heart. It could be that John met Gaius on one of his own journeys and was extended hospitality from him as Gaius is known and has a reputation for this.
There are just a few themes that the Apostle touches on here, but the main one of course is the theme of hospitality and the love that is demonstrated to others through that hospitality. This letter also gives us a bit of an insight into the times of the very early church. As we know from the Book of Acts and even the Gospels, as well as some of the letters from the other Apostles we realize that early Christian teachers and missionaries traveled around and depended solely upon the generosity of then Christian people in the cities and towns they visited. The traveling missionaries relied on and needed that support for many, even unto Johns time, relied on what Jesus commanded the disciples upon entering a town and John, being the last living disciple who knew Jesus personally most likely had this in mind when commending Gaius. (Matthew 10:9-15, Mark 6:7-11, Luke 10:4-12).
Now I also want to point something out in verse two that is often used to promote material prosperity in this life. Prosperity teachers LOVE to take this out of context and use it to promote there wealth messages! I have no problems with Christians earning and accruing wealth in a business sense and especially if they are liberal givers as well. God blesses some to be that way, but it is not a far cry or a stretch of the imagination to hear in many messages the LOVE of that wealth conveyed. Over my years as a preacher and a teacher I have probably heard ALL the lies used to promote wealth in the Church of Christ Jesus and yes, they are LIES from the pit of hell as far as I am concerned. I actually have peers that would debate with me on the subject and you could not dissuade them no matter what from that hellish teaching!
As I stated, I am not opposed to Christians with wealth, but I am opposed when that wealth and the security of that wealth overshadows the Love of God towards others and seems to be the reason for their very lives. If this offends some of my brothers and sisters reading this, THAT is between you AND God and I say that in sincere love, but the prosperity teaching of today only serves one purpose and that is to subtly get your eyes off of those things that are above or heavenly and unto those things that are earthly or below.
The very fact that Jesus, Himself, sent out the disciples two by two with no extra resources, and the fact that the Apostles in their writings and especially the Apostle Paul’s tells us they took this very, very seriously and then hear is the last remaining Apostle, respected as the living Elder of the Christian Church, stating to his beloved brother in the Lord, that he desires his BODY to prosper in health JUST as his soul prospers! This is another slam to the Gnostics teaching of John’s day.
Now granted, we have no idea what kind of status, Gaius held in the community, materially, but riches and “things” were not brought up in this letter concerning Gaius. From all indications and for all intents and purposes, Gaius could be one that was just willing to share with others what little he did have. The theme isn’t to accrue wealth to disperse it, as so many are preaching today with a socialist-type message, but rather, to share what you DO have with those who have need, when the need calls for it. There was a purpose to Gaius’ giving as well. Gaius is the perfect example of the ministry gift of “giving” which the Apostle Paul described in Romans 12:8, 13 and 2 Corinthians 9:6-9. Giving in this way is a ministry gift that is necessary as a part of the overall Body of Christ and it is displayed here in John’s third letter.
Now understand something; this does not negate the responsibility of the individual in giving as your heart dictates by the Holy Spirit in your everyday giving. My wife and I are always looking for ways on a daily basis to be able to give what little we do have to help others with a need no matter whether they are Christians or not. You just have to use discernment and spiritual wisdom, for you want God’s love to be conveyed in it and you want the Lord to get the glory.
Now I have heard it preached and taught that if you are not wealthy (or healthy) then you LACK faith in the Lord and that is a sin! Wow! What a stretch to try and make that a “Spiritual Principle,” as I like to call certain things the Lord as set up and you see in the Bible. By this reasoning, those who use their faith on a daily basis to trust the Lord to meet their needs do not qualify in the faith department because they HAVE to rely on God to meet their daily needs. So much for the validity of the Sermon on the Mount. So much for the Scriptures I gave above from the Apostle Paul and especially this one; “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8.
How could I have been so blind all these years?!! Yes, I’m being sarcastic! I have HAD to deal with the consequences of that false teaching in the lives of people who started to doubt their ability to have faith in the Lord! I have had to apply SPIRITUAL healing to those who were cursed with doubt because of the hellish prosperity teaching! I thank God for His never changing Word that tells us emphatically that His Word is given “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, for every good work!” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
So, God will supply your needs, but He will also supply you health as your soul is also healthy. This does not mean you don’t or won’t get sick or diseased, for that is part of life and it is also a very important part of learning how to rely on God in every aspect of His will and to be thankful in ALL things. Just be careful when hearing people preach or teach on subjects where it is so obvious they are taking things out of the context with which the Holy Spirit inspired it to be written!
John reiterates to his friend that Gaius’ reputation has reached the Apostle for it has become a testimony of his good works. So it is when we do things straight from the heart with the proper motive. We don’t have to “blow our own horn” as it were, for the works themselves will speak for themselves and even more so when those things are done with a pure motive. Gaius’ reputation for his hospitality was evidently well-known.
Then John also assures Him in his greeting that as an Elder, as an Apostle who knew Jesus personally face to face, that his joy was greatest and most complete when those that were his disciples also walked in the path of truth as preached by the Gospel of Christ Jesus.
Let me tell you this just from personal experience, John’s appraisal is very true, emphatic and words cannot express the true depth of the joy one experiences when they see their family or those THEY have discipled in Christ Jesus, walk out on their own and follow after the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus! Too many, oh so many pastors in churches today do NOT know the greatest joy because they are so enamored with keeping their “flock” to themselves, rather than following the pattern of Jesus and His disciples and discipling those and equipping others to go out and follow after the Holy Spirit! It is no wonder the TRUE Church is so small in comparison to all institutionalized religious organizations! The church was NEVER meant to become an enclosed, selfish entity. “Bring people in,” is the cry of most preachers today, NOT “go out into the cities and streets and baptize them in the name of Jesus!”
Can you imagine, that for as big as some of these meg-churches are, if they truly followed the pattern that Jesus and His disciples laid out, rather than the example that Emperor Constantine instituted way back in 325 A.D., just how many of our cities would be Christian havens instead of the liberal, worn-down, rotting and infested, God-rejecting cities that they are today?
One day, and I don’t believe it is far off and in fact I would guarantee that some alive today are going to see the culmination of Christ Jesus’ plan to set up His Throne in Jerusalem after the Anti-Christ and his hordes are finally destroyed and chained up! A thousand year reign of what TRUE leadership, uncorrupted, holy and righteous will definitely be, Paradise on earth! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Your Bride awaits!
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6 (NKJV).
“You felt so secure in all your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,’ you said. Your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have caused you to turn away and reject Me and claim, ‘I am self-sufficient and not accountable to anyone!’ So disaster will overtake you suddenly, and you won’t be able to charm it away. Calamity
Are you amazed and incredulous? Do you not believe it? Then go ahead and be blind if you must. You are stupid, but not from wine! You stagger, but not from beer! For the Lord Himself has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of those false prophets and visionaries that you rely so much upon. All these future events are a sealed book to them. When you give the facts to them to read for themselves, they will say, “We can’t read it because it is sealed.” When you give it to those who cannot discern or read, they will say, “Sorry we don’t know what it says.”
In that day the heir to David’s throne, will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to Him, for the land where He will live will be a glorious place. Look, a righteous King is coming! And honest princes will rule under Him. He will shelter His people from the storm and the wind. He will refresh them as a river in the desert and as the cool shadow of a large rock in a hot and weary land. Then everyone who can see will be looking for God, and those who can hear will listen to His voice.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the “Prince of Preachers.” He was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day.
It is obvious we are definitely in the times that Jesus described in 
Knowing this, it is our duty to pray for one another, for strength that can only come from Christ and His Holy Spirit, we need to pray for wisdom and discernment, so that we know when to step out in the gifts that we were equipped with to either build up the Church, the Body of Christ or to win souls as the time is right. It HAS to be in God’s timing, otherwise it is for nothing. We NEED to ever continue to pray for the lost for it is by our fervent prayers that God through His Holy Spirit can move upon those He has gifted to spread that Gospel message! AND we must not forget those who have been “lukewarm” and “sitting on the fence” as it were that they would take a step one way or the other, again their choosing.
Now, some time ago the Lord told me He was going to change the direction of my ministry, (my service to Him and others), and at the time I couldn’t imagine how or why. But it was like my eyes were being opened to a whole new aspect of the world I was living in and how the Scriptures applied to it. I can look back those few months ago and see the transition the Lord has led me through, but then I had no clue.
The Lord is speaking to Solomon about the Temple and the land of Zion, Jerusalem. The Jewish people and the land were God’s chosen. Remember, in Revelation the Lord tells us that when He creates a new Heaven and a new Earth, even then Jerusalem will be the Capital where He sets up His throne on earth!
Can you imagine His disciples, following Him as they are entering Jerusalem for the Passover, one of the most Holiest of Jewish celebrations, and they are watching Him and listening to Him. On the journey, they were probably also talking among themselves about the upcoming celebration.
They most certainly could tell that His demeanor had changed, His countenance darker than normal and especially in what to them seemed like normal preparation for the upcoming Passover. For this “business” was not new, but had become the custom in preparation for the Passover. But this was the first time that the disciples were preparing to celebrate with their Master, Jesus in Jerusalem. You can imagine, they were all a bit excited about the prospect, but then Jesus is silent and yet evidently upset about something.
The disciples also remembered later what was written in the Scriptures in 
When I look at the church world around me, the institutions of religion, filled with politics and defining their denominations behaviors and doctrinal beliefs, I see buildings that are filled, for the most part, exactly what Jesus stated of the religious leaders of His day, 
Notice that the Apostle Paul is talking about the nature of men in the last days. They shall APPEAR religious. Religion and a religious attitude or nature is not necessarily SPIRITUAL! Believe it or not, true spirituality resides in God Almighty and not in the “supernatural.” Those who ABIDE in Christ and the Father, those who have the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus abiding in them ARE spiritual because they have been spiritually reborn! You do NOT become spiritual by worshipping Buddha or Mohammed or Krishna or any other false deity, ONLY by worshipping and abiding in God, the Father Who IS Spirit!
But as I stated in a recent ministry video I created, there are many institutions that would like to be identified with the True Church of God, unfortunately, they fall into that very category that Paul warned Timothy about. We are seeing the Bible unfold before our very eyes in this day and age.
Love for instance. The devil’s had a long run to twist and pervert that concept. Today in the world especially it resembles NOTHING even close to the Character of God Almighty, Himself. It’s all based on feelings and emotions now. “If it feels good, then it is good,” is a long-time saying that has had time to ingrain itself in the modern psyche.
EVERY person ever born and created, past, present and even future, will one day, and seemingly not far off, will stand before Christ Jesus not JUST to be judged, but to acknowledge that in truth He IS the Lord of Lords and King of Kings for all eternity! So in essence, no matter what you do or how you live, you WILL be led to the feet of Jesus at sometime in the future. Of course, this is NOT the context she meant, but unknowingly, she DID proclaim the truth in that regard!
Now understand one thing here; Jesus didn’t go into extreme detail about the days of Noah or even the days of Lot and his family. The people whom He was sharing this with KNEW from their Scriptures, (our Old Testament writings) just how bad things were back then.
Notice that Peter starts out by saying, 
It was only a couple of months ago, I ran across a man who joined my Facebook group and was trying to spread the very doctrine that Jesus is the Son of God, but is NOT equal with/or God. Of course since he had his mind made us, I had to block him. We as shepherds and teachers cannot afford to allow those young in the Lord, those just learning of His Glorious Nature to succumb to this false teaching when it is in our power to teach the truth! I may not be on par with a lot of well-known and skilled Pastors, but in this instance, I can utterly understand how the Beloved Apostle must have felt when facing this destructive and vile teaching. There are too many Scriptures that PROVE beyond doubt, the deity of Jesus Christ! Since God Almighty, our Heavenly Father is a Spirit, it is ONLY through Jesus Christ that we can know Him as He is! There is a reason why the Word of God tells us we were made in His likeness and carries that theme throughout the entire Counsel of the Word.
If I can interject here; false teachers are so insidious, because they tend to cater to our carnal desires and wishes in such a way as to make it seem it is actually what God, our Heavenly Father wants for us. If anything is taught that is evenly slightly contrary to following after God’s perfect will or plan for His children, discard it as false. Remember, Christ Jesus came to SHOW us and to reinstate a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Salvation is a product of that, but it is the RELATIONSHIP with God that is the key. When we accept Christ’s gift, His sacrifice, we are telling Him in essence that we understand the sacrifice that He and the Father made AND we are willing to surrender our natural and failed wills for His perfect will. That puts our perspective, spiritually, in a whole new light and arena of thought. We start to think about and desire KINGDOM (of God) thoughts and desires. That is the true evidence of being spiritually reborn. We no longer put priority on what we want in the natural, but rather on what God wants in the spiritual realm for eternity.
Gospel of 
I mentioned I’ve been praying and seeking understanding because I don’t just write something because it seems good to do. God, by His Spirit has called me to speak His Word and for many years, though I knew my calling, I just “dabbled” in it. It took me a while back then to realize the seriousness of this calling but I finally started “listening” intently to the prompting and teaching of the Holy Spirit. Maybe it was because so many of my peers back then called what I was doing a “hobby” ministry, not necessarily the real thing. Maybe that stuck for a while. At least until the Holy Spirit got hold of me and started showing me the need AND the results! But this isn’t really an exposé on my ministry, it is an introduction into what the Lord has been speaking to myself, my wife and many others in ministries far more widespread than my little service.
However, BEFORE God judges a nation, He always judges or TESTS His own people, His children, His CHURCH! I do NOT believe that all that has happened over the last several months, leading up to the massive civil unrest we are immersed in today is a result of God judging our nation. I believe God is allowing the wickedness and corruption to proceed AT THIS TIME, for one specific reason, to awaken His Church!
Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758) was a North American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian. Edwards is widely regarded as one of the America’s most important and original philosophical theologians. Edwards’ theological work is broad in scope, but he was rooted in Reformed theology, the metaphysics of theological determinism, and the Puritan heritage. Recent studies have emphasized how thoroughly Edwards grounded his life’s work on conceptions of beauty, harmony, and ethical fittingness, and how central The Enlightenment was to his mindset. Edwards played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening, and oversaw some of the first revivals in 1733–35 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. His theological work gave rise to a distinct school of theology known as the New England theology.
The Beloved Apostle considers himself to be an Elder, as we established earlier, this would be more appropriate for a group of people rather than just an individual, but it also lets us into the mind of the Lord in the sense that we are members of His True Church, the Bride of Christ Jesus. The Lord is OUR Elder in the same sense as the Apostle is writing, but just in a greater sense. He rejoices when He sees us continuing to walk in the same truth that He established through His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Holy Word reminds us. We ARE His children and thus it is only reasonable that us following His commandments would result in His joy as well!
Anyone who has walked with the Lord for a significant amount of time, can recognize that the way John expresses himself to those he loves is the same way the Lord expresses Himself to us His children. He is quick to remind us of His pleasure and joy when we walk in faith and follow His commandments, yet He is not slow in reminding us to continue to walk in what we know to be true. Like the loving Father that He is, He gives us all the necessary means to not just be obedient children, but successful children in our example of His Son, Christ Jesus and as co-heirs to Christ Jesus!
Politics aside, I was seeing how much God truly hates sin, corruption and wickedness. Listen, God IS love! There is no denying His Nature and Character, but I do not use the term “He hates sin,” lightly at all. He abhors sin and He cannot, because of His Holy and Pure Nature, be in the presence of sin.
Which leads me to some GOOD messages from the Lord, especially concerning His children. As I was reading the Book of Haggai, it dawned on me that this wasn’t so much a message to God’s people of warning, though some is implied, as it is messages of hope and renewal and regeneration. The Holy Spirit led me to think about how this applies to us, His children today, since it is not an earthly Temple we worship in.
However, in this modern age we are living with all of the distractions of life and that fact that our Heavenly Father DOES allow His Spirit to abide within, some of us have neglected the spiritual Temple and this is what the message of Haggai addresses. Let’s not fall into the trap of many that believe the Old Testament has no bearing on the lives of today, for that would be a great disservice to your brothers and sisters as well as to yourselves.
When it comes down to it, whether the letter was written to a specific woman and her children, to a local church and its offshoots, or to the Body of Christ as a whole, its Spiritual Principles stand through the centuries to all who will take the time to take them to heart.
Today, many occupations and careers that involve serving others, have had title changes to remove the stigma associated with serving others, thus, in their own minds at least, those doing that kind of work can “feel” better about themselves or to some extent, even above others!
The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Romans, 
It would stand to reason that if we know, by the Holy Spirit’s witness, that we are children, individually a child, but as a whole, God’s children, then we just aren’t brothers and sisters of one another, we will KNOW through the witness of the Holy Spirit who truly is our brother and sister!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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