Journey Through 3 John

The little letter of 3 John is the shortest book in the New Testament. It only has 299 words. But its message is powerful. Let us journey through 3 John and see what God wants to teach us.

Listen: Journeying through 3 John

Unchanging Truth for Men

As you open your Bible to 3 John, you will notice that it is only fourteen verses long. Yet, it is packed full of truth. Much of it is especially pertinent to men. (Now stay with me if you are a lady reading this.) Remember that 2 John was written to a lady and her children? Now, 3 John is written to a man named Gaius, and to those that he is leading and influencing.

Significantly, these two brief letters share a common theme: truth. Truth does not vary from men to women, from person to person, because truth is truth. It is rooted in an unchanging God. The only thing that will change is the application of that truth.

I love to read and study 2 John alongside 3 John. One reason 3 John has so much to say to men is that there are three main characters in 3 John; they are all men, and they all have a message for us.

Theme of 3 John

The theme of the book (see if this does not sound familiar) is walking in truth. Remember that in 2 John, we had the same thought about the truth. It is repeated here. The word “truth” is used six times in this one little book.

The key to the book I found in verse 3-4: John writes, “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.”

I want to say Amen to that. As a father, there is no greater joy than when I see my children following the Lord Jesus Christ. And John speaks to his spiritual son here and says, there is no greater joy than me seeing you following Christ and walking in the truth.

This phrase is convicting to me. He says, “the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee.” I wonder what the brethren would say of me today? I wonder what the brethren would say of you today? It is not just what you think of you. What do others say about your testimony of faith? And so, the great theme of 3 John is the great theme of 3 John. It is walking in the truth.

He had walked in the truth, and John exhorts him again to keep walking in the truth. And we are to reject those who do not accept the truth.

Three Main Characters of 3 John

John, once again identified as the elder, is the one writing 3 John. Verse one says, “The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” And then he says in verse 2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” That is quite a prayer! That is not a health-and-wealth gospel. He is saying your soul was so healthy and so wealthy that I am going to pray God will make your body and your material goods to match that.

Gaius

Now that is a scary thought. How well is it with your soul? What if God made your bank account to match your spiritual wealth today? What if God made the health of your body to coincide with your spiritual health, in your own relationship with Christ right now?

Obviously, Gaius was a deeply spiritual man, a man of truth. We do not know for sure who this man was. It is one of the most common names in the Roman Empire. But we do know that John referred to him as his “beloved” four times. This implies he was someone that John led to Christ; he had invested a great deal in him. Gaius was a faithful Christian man.

Diotrephes

That brings us to the other two main characters. We also meet a man named Diotrephes. In verses nine and ten, the Bible says of this man, “who loveth to have the preeminence.” In other words, he wanted to be in charge. He wanted to be the main man; he did not care about the truth. It seems he did not care about anybody else. He loved himself.

Did you know that the word “preeminence” is only found one other time in the whole Bible? And that is in Colossians 1:18 when the Bible speaks of Jesus Christ and says that, “in all things he might have the preeminence.” This is a powerful contrast here. Either Christ gets the preeminence, or I seek it. Either Jesus gets the preeminence or man does. Only Christ is worthy of the preeminence.

Third John is a local church book. I am in lots of local churches. Do you know the great struggle, sometimes in local churches, is that some prominent personality wants to be the preeminent one? Some prominent person wants to have his say and get his way all the time.

My friend, there is only one Person that ought to get their way all the time…the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the preeminent One. WhenChrist is preeminent, that will solve a lot of problems in local churches. Jesus is an example of the kind of man that the truth was in, but Diotrephes is an example of a man who rejected the truth. As a matter of fact, God tells the truth about him and reveals him.

Demetrius

Then there is a third man by the name of Demetrius. In verses eleven and twelve we read, “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.”

So we have the truth in Jesus, we have the truth about Diotrephes, and we have the truth concerning Demetrius. The truth always tells on you one way or another. Demetrius was a man who had a good report. The Bible says that of all men he had a good testimony, “and of the truth itself.” His life matched up to the Word of God.

Which Character are you?

Which one of these men does your life match up to? Not who do you want it to be, but who does it truly match up to? Which line are you in?

Are you a man like Gaius, with a healthy soul that the truth is in?

Are you Diotrophes? Here is the dirty secret: there is a little bit of Diotrophes in every one of us. It is the self-life, and it has to die if Christ is going to be preeminent.

Are you a Demetrius? Do you want to be?

My friend, run from Diotrophes. Get as far away from that man as you possibly can, but make friends with people like Demetrius. Good people with a testimony concerning the truth, who have a desire for the Word of God to go forth, and the work of God to move forward. Those are the kind of people walking in truth who make a difference in this world.

WATCH: Which Line Are You In?

*This message was given at a men’s conference and deals with these Bible characters further

I want to pray for myself, “Lord, let me be a Gaius. Let me be a Demetrius. And please, Lord, deliver me from being Diotrephes.”

The Great Main Character of 3 John

In verse seven of this book, we get a beautiful picture of Jesus. It says, “Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.” Friend, the great Character in 3 John is not Gaius, it is not Diotrephes, and it is not Demetrius: it is Christ. It is His name’s sake.

Everything in our life ought to be done for His name’s sake. Every choice we make, every step we take, every day we live, ought to be lived walking in truth, because Jesus is worthy. Christ is a worthy Savior. The Lord is a worthy Lord. He is worthy of our best. His great name should be glorified and exalted in us today. 

There is a danger in these brief portions of Scripture that we sometimes just kind of breeze over them, and we miss the great message of a little book like 3 John. But friend, it is a sword. It digs deep. It severs things from our life. It wounds, and it heals. It is that two-edged sword. Let it work in you today. Let it reveal you to you, and let it remind you that every one of us has a responsibility in this age to walk in the truth.

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About Scott Pauley

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