It Is a Faithful Thing You Do
Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are... 3 John 5
3 John 1–15 – The Power of Love in Christian Community
Transfiguration – February 14, 2021 (am)
I want to talk to you about something today that doesn’t initially seem to be of great importance. Now you know it can’t be but so unimportant if it’s included in Scripture. But next to subjects like truth, love, and obedience (2Jo.), this topic from 3Jo. could seem to be out on the margins of the Christian life, even as an expression of love. It’s the central subject of John’s third epistle: hospitality.
Now, no one in the church would actually say that hospitality is unimportant. But compared to worship, prayer, evangelism, and personal holiness, some might sense that its importance diminishes. And just in case you may be tempted to feel the same way, 3Jo. has arrived just in time! But this is not the only place where this topic arises.
The Didache (a categorized collection of the Apostles’ teaching assembled before 300 A.D.) included specific guidelines on it (Stott 220-221).
And in Scripture, when Jesus sent out the seventy-two (Luk.10:1-12), hospitality was a primary means by which they could recognize who was ready to receive the gospel.
Paul instructed the Romans to [pursue] hospitality the way an army pursues a retreating enemy! (Rom.12:13 [cf. persecute v.14])
Doing it, we may have entertained angels unawares! (Heb.13:2)
Last week we looked at 2Jo. and saw that hospitality extended to false teachers by the church is equivalent to taking part in [their] wicked works (11).
Now, here in 3Jo., we have the hospitality of one otherwise unknown man being so important that a whole book in God’s eternal Word is dedicated to his commendation and instruction. Hospitality is no small matter! The subject and implications of John’s third letter are best appreciated by exploring them under three headings.
John Expresses His Affirmation to Gaius – 1-8
John’s Greeting to Gaius – 1-4
The greeter here is the same as in 2Jo.: the elder (1). But this letter is clearly to an individual, a dear friend.
Gaius was a very common first century name (Stott 222) so almost certainly this isn’t the same as any Gaius we meet elsewhere in the NT (Act.19:29, 20:4; Rom.16:23; 1Co.1:14) (Stott 226).
It’s not uncommon to wish someone well in body and soul, but it appears here that John’s prayer for Gaius (2) was that his physical health would match his spiritual health (Bruce 147). This doesn’t necessarily suggest Gaius was physically unhealthy. But it does suggest he was spiritually vital! Imagine being so strong spiritually that someone wishes you the same for your physical health! Do you know anyone like that? Are you like that?
John then commends Gaius for discernible expressions of his spiritual health—his walking in the truth (3) which gave John [unmatched] joy (4). He just delighted in Gaius!
John’s Commendation of Gaius – 5-8
Gaius has treated some traveling ministers of the gospel warmly—brothers [and sisters?] whom John knew but Gaius didn’t (5). Yet, he showed them hospitality. Now his name is forever ensconced in Scripture!
And Gaius [sent] them on in a manner worthy of God (6)—likely meaning a second mile-type (cf. Mat.5:41) hosting when measured by the standard expressed in the Didachē.
So, in summary, while we shouldn’t contribute to the health and well-being of false teachers (2Jo.11), we should definitely treat with hospitality God’s true servants.
We should treat them in a manner worthy of [Him] (6) because they shouldn’t need to depend on the pagan world (7, Gentiles, [outsiders]) for their support (8).
And just as welcoming false teachers is taking part in [their] wicked works (2Jo.11), when we welcome true teachers, we become fellow workers for the truth (8). Think of our hosting visiting workers like Mr. O.
John Expresses His Concern to Gaius – 9-15
John’s Condemnation of Diotrephes – 9-10
As John address hospitality, he offers Gaius a negative example and then a positive opportunity. Diotrephes is the negative example (9). Right there in Gaius’ church an ecclesiastical tyrant, a self-promoting bully of unknown office, wielded strong influence. He refused to [show hospitality] to those missionaries John commended (10), then harshly discouraged [anyone else] who wanted to (10). From what John says next (cf. 11c), it appears he may not even have known the Lord!
John’s Command to Gaius – 11-12
Demetrius is the positive opportunity (12). He’s held in high regard by everyone, including John and the truth itself—a triple witness! He’s deserving of hospitality! John’s command to Gaius is to imitate good, not evil (11)—to live like Demetrius, not like Diotrephes.
John’s Goodbye to Gaius – 13-15
V.13 is virtually identical to 2Jo.12—John prefers face to face (13, lit. mouth to mouth [L-N]) meetings to written letters. His final greeting to and from the friends (15) strengthens this impression that his desire to talk [in-person] isn’t because pen and ink (13) are expensive! He just loves Gaius!
Three Lessons We Can Learn from This Letter
Walking in… truth (3, 4) and love (6) generates Christian hospitality.
John points to Gaius’ hospitality (love of strangers [5]) as evidence of his true saving belief (11b) and ministry heart (8). Surveying vv.3-8 shows us that walking in truth (3) = a faithful thing (5) = love (6) = hospitality/support for people like these (8) = fellow workers for the truth (8). And beyond that, it brings joy to godly leaders (4) as they see [faithfulness] (5) in their people—they host these strangers (5) in a manner worthy of God! (6) Love of strangers expresses the heart of God’s love that sent Jesus into the world (Joh.3:16), and of Jesus’ love at the cross, and now of our love because he first loved us (1Jo.4:19).
Resisting Christian hospitality should be addressed as evil.
In v.10 Diotrephes’ words are called wicked nonsense; he’s in need of open rebuke! The insinuation in v.11 is that his behavior is evil! And the loving response of true brothers [and sisters] is to address this evil, [imitating] (11) John here. Such rebuke may be clear and forceful (10; cf.2Pe.2, Jud.). But it still must be demonstrably loving, not coarse or angry, for Jam.1:20 man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires (niv). Yet, even so, as Bonhoeffer wrote (Life Together 107): Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin.
So, the strangers to be loved here are not just the traveling missionaries, or Demetrius, or even John or Gaius. As John addressed the misspeaks and missteps of Diotrephes himself, hospitality, a genuine love of strangers, was the need even there. John wasn’t just ranting in anger or frustration, he was addressing actual wrong-doing!
If we give in to the flesh in our thoughts toward one another, we’ll soon give in to it in our speech.
And if we give in to the flesh while addressing one another’s sin, we’ll soon have no voice even to celebrate their victories! Our words will lose their integrity. They’ll become insincere. And we’ll seek to cover their ugliness with false kindness. Again, it was Bonhoeffer who wrote (Life Together 106-7): The touchy person will always become a flatterer and very soon he will come to despise and slander his brother. But the humble person will stick both to truth and to love.
Listen to this letter from John Newton to a fellow minister who was preparing to enter into a potentially contentious theological debate.
As you are likely to be engaged in controversy, and your love of truth is joined with a natural warmth of temper, my friendship makes me solicitous on your behalf. You are of the strongest side, for truth is great and must prevail, so that a person of abilities inferior to yours might take the field with a confidence of victory. I am not therefore anxious for the event of the battle. But I would have you more than a conqueror and to triumph not only over your adversary but over yourself. If you cannot be vanquished, you may be wounded and I would preserve you from such wounds as might give you cause of weeping over your conquests. As to your opponent, before you set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your answer, you may commend him by earnest prayer to the Lord’s teaching and blessing. This practice will have a direct tendency to conciliate your heart to love and pity him, and such a disposition will have a good influence on every page you write. If you account him a believer, though greatly mistaken, the words of David to Joab concerning Absalom are very applicable: “Deal gently with him for my sake.” The Lord loves him and bears with him; therefore you must not despise him or treat him harshly. The Lord bears with you likewise, and expects that you should show tenderness to others from a sense of the much forgiveness you need yourself. In a little while you will meet in heaven. He will be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that period in your thoughts. And though you may find it necessary to oppose his errors, view him personally as a kindred soul, with whom you are to be happy in Christ forever. But if you look upon him as an unconverted person, in a state of enmity against God and his grace (a supposition which, without good evidence, you should be very unwilling to admit), he is a more proper object of your compassion than your anger. Alas! “He knows not what he does.” But if God, in his sovereign pleasure, had so appointed, you might have been as he is now, and he, instead of you, might have been set for the defense of the gospel. If you attend to this, you will not reproach or hate him, because the Lord has been pleased to open your eyes, not his. Of all people who engage in controversy, we who are called Calvinists are most expressly bound by our own principles to the exercise of gentleness and moderation.
All this is to say, that it’s not just that resisting Christian hospitality that should be addressed as evil, failing to address one another’s failure to love is itself unloving!
Truly loving, especially strangers, is our unique Christian calling.
I don’t think we find it hard to understand the central importance of hospitality as an expression of Christian love. But I do wonder if we have a full-orbed understanding of what hospitality is, this love of strangers, of all the ways it might show itself among us.
Surely it involves hosting people in our homes, whether for a dinner or for a night’s lodging. That was the primary need in the first century, and it remains a need today, even though alternatives are quite a bit more plentiful now.
But these days we face a unique challenge as well, namely, entering back into intentional hospitality on the back side of COVID-19. Are we praying toward that—toward what it will look like for us?
Another aspect of hospitality that’s challenging, especially these days, is the strangers part—love of strangers. Not only are we naturally inclined to host and hang with our friends, we’ve been required to do only that throughout this pandemic season. It’s going to take a double-effort to move back toward true, biblical hospitality, love of strangers, as this season draws to a close.
I want to urge us to do that, or at least to start praying toward it, these days. How are we displaying our unique Christian calling here at GCD? There are many needs. I meet monthly with our GBCM Team. We need people who are willing to listen and encourage people from God’s Word. We have people calling in from outside our body seeking this kind of help. Are you willing to help with a need like this—just loving strangers in Christ?
How about helping in one of our Nurseries? You never know who’s in need, and you take whoever comes!
These are just two examples, but there are many more. And as you take them on for Christ’s sake, just as it was in John’s congregation, it is a faithful thing you do! (5)
Let us love one another, especially strangers; let us Gal.6:2 bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Next Sunday: In the Second Book..., Acts 1:1–3