3 John 1 vs 1-4

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3 John 1 vs 1-4

Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek

July 28, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • 3 John 1–4

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The book of Third (3rd) John is by word-count, the shortest book in the Bible. Second John has fewer verses than Third John, but in the Greek, it’s more words. Third John has only 219 words in the Greek. Which means we should finish this book in four years! HA! Just kidding! Just by way of interesting contrast, does anyone know what is the longest book in the Bible? By word-count, the longest book in the Bible is Jeremiah with 33,002 words. Then Genesis, then Psalms. So, there you go…, Bible trivia for the day!

We don’t really know when this book was written. Most likely it was written while John was a resident of Ephesus but we aren’t given enough context in this short letter to know when or from where it was written. We don’t even know if it was his “third” letter in chronological order. It’s called “3 John” simply because it’s the third letter of his that we have…

There is virtually no contention or controversy around its authorship. The first two words of this short letter identify the writer as “The Elder,” which was the common identifier for John the Apostle in the first century church.

This letter has been called, “The Tale of Three Men,” as three people are mentioned here. There is a man named Gaius, to whom the letter is written; another man named Diotrephes, and a third man named Demetrius. It’s a letter of commendation towards Gaius who possibly attended Diotrephes’ church but was perhaps excommunicated and we’ll see that as we get into the book. So, let’s dive in!

3 John Chapter 1 Verse 1

· Gaius is somewhat of a common name in the Bible. We see this name in four books and five places in scripture. Gaius in Acts 19 and Acts 20 was one of Paul’s travel companions. In Romans 16, again a man named Gaius is mentioned as Paul’s host, or the man Paul was staying with. We read in 1 Corinthians 1 that a Gaius was one of only two men baptized by Paul the Apostle. And then we have this Gaius in 3 John. Is it the same person? No real way to tell but it certainly could be. I’m going with it is but that’s just me…

· And John writes, to the “beloved” Gaius, whom he “loves in truth.” I just want to give you a principle that we see in this greeting. One that was articulated very well by the Bible commentator and scholar, Matthew Henry. The principle is, “Love expressed is want to kindle love.” What’s that mean? A lot…

· It’s important to not only love by osmosis. Just being there. Just being kind or good to someone. It’s important to express love. And as you allow yourself the vulnerability and the humility, because truly to tell someone that they are loved is to serve them, as you step forward into this very God-like, Christ-like activity, it force-multiplies the bond in a relationship. (That’s the principle)

· A relationship has two people. One (1) plus one (1). And when love is not intentionally used to serve the other person through overt expression, one plus one equals two. But when you serve them by expressing that love and building them up by reassurance and clarity as to how you feel, your bond and strength in the relationship becomes one plus one equals three. Why? Because God Himself is love… You welcome His heart for that person… And wherever God is, strengthens.

· It’s a simple concept even expressed in a Proverb…, Proverbs 18:24, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly…” Someone says, “Well I’ll wait until they earn my affection or they serve me…, then I will express appreciation and love towards them.” That is absolutely not the heart of God. 1 John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us.”

· So, simple algorithmic conclusion, takes humility, courage, intentionality and care for others over yourself…, if you feel as if you aren’t loved by folks, guarantee it’s due to you not loving folks… Love expressed is want to kindle love… And John, the early apostles, Jesus Himself, God our Father…, they had and have no problem expressing love and it’s not just an emotional reaction but there is intentionality behind it… To make sure you know you are loved. Do you do that for others?

· Look at how John starts his next sentence. Three times in 12 words John tells Gaius that he is loved…

3 John Chapter 1 Verses 2 – 4

· It’s a simple greeting from friend to friend but I wrote this note in my Bible so many years ago and I’d like to read it to you for this verse…

· Verse two sometimes is misapplied as sort of a divine promise for healing but in context and actuality, this is a personal letter from John to his friend Gaius in which he is essentially saying, “I hope this letter finds you well.” It is however notable and profitable to point out that John does link physical health with mental well-being. In actuality, as medical science continues to improve and expand, it has been proven that bad attitudes can create and release harmful chemicals that do attack the body physically!

· A chemical that attacks the body physically, causing physical damage, we call that, “poison.” So, you could say, bad attitudes or even negativity actually are a type of poison being released in your body by YOU! Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones!”

· Doctors have even discovered that laughter aids tremendously in the body’s metabolic process! On the other hand, bitterness eats at your physical being literally. This has all been extensively proven medically and scientifically. Ulcers, destructive chemicals that slow your metabolism, affect your thinking and can alter your long-term health, all a result of an incessant irritation type of approach to life.

· Plus, its catching! Your negativity can and does affect those that are around you! I don’t know if you’ve ever even considered this!? Your critical attitude or negativity in general actually, physically, in REALITY literally poisons people around you and in the case of your family, those that you say you love!

· Consider this in who you choose to be, please AND especially consider this when there is strife. Check this out, Proverbs 17:14 says, “The beginning of strife is like releasing water; therefore, stop contention before a quarrel starts.” What is more destructive than fire? Water… Why? Fire leaves nothing, sweep the ashes and move on… Water leaves mold, bacteria… Fire leaves a mess but water leaves a sort of disease. Unresolved hurt, pride-saturation, relationship-corrosion and ultimately unresolved issues birth and sustain suffering in a relationship. You may move on because there’s just no point in punishing someone for their own wickedness…, wickedness in itself is punishment! So, you move on and under the rug it goes but suffering never subsides… Incessant irritation…

· I want you and my kids and my friends to be aware of this so that when strife kicks up, (because it always will), you become blessed because Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers!” Dealing with issues is a God-given gift to the mature and the wise. The end of confrontation should always be resolve and the kindness of unity in love. And if its not, that strife remains…, even after the yelling ends… And John gives us a link here, the Bible is very clear, that is one of the things that poisons your spirit little by little throughout your life.

· Paul understood this principle very well which is why he wrote 1 Corinthians 6:7-8, “Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!” Essentially what context would lead us to believe that Gaius is doing and yet God deploys John to comfort him and to confront Diotrephes!

3 John 1 vs 9-14

August 11, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • 3 John 9–14

3 John Chapter 1 Verses 9 – 10 · So, we get to the heart of the matter. Gaius receives the brethren which Diotrephes has forbidden. Why? Well, all we know is what John says here, that he loves to have the preeminence among the church. And this has resulted in Gaius, (in his own city), being put out of the church! · “Loves to have the preeminence,” is one word in the Greek and it means to be ambitious towards and fond of being the most important person in the room. The holiest, the smartest, the cutest, the most successful. Man, does that not sound like everything that has to do with modern culture and especially American culture!? WOW! · But this really has no place in the church. Wanting to do your best and striving to do your best is different than having to be the best at the expense of others. One is stemmed in work ethic, integrity and character. The other is stemmed in insecurity and fear! That’s just from a practical perspective… From a spiritual perspective, true maturity doesn’t highlight one’s own name! It highlights the name of Jesus! · Jesus said the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Jesus said true authority and strength is not to make sure they know your name so that you can be somebody in their eyes but that the greatest amongst people are those that serve not themselves but others. Not as a command…, THAT’S A REVELATION! Serving those that aren’t worthy of your service doesn’t degrade your stature…, it reveals the health of your holiness and the strength of your intelligence! The measure of your personal potency! Pride is fear that has been bedazzled and it has no place in the church not only because it is sin but because it is pathetic in all practicality! · If you are so inclined, spend 10 minutes Googling something like how serving others strengthens and benefits you… In terms of rapid increase personally, I’m not sure anything exists that gets that job done faster than setting out to be someone who serves someone else. (And this isn’t just a set out in the personal will, this is a surrender to the receiving and the walking in the grace of God!) Check this out. Just a few things to note about serving others. Serving others cultivates one’s inner strength. Serving others fosters a sense of purpose and resilience. Serving others allows both the giver and the receiver to grow through sharing in experiences. Serving others has the power to give hope, to strengthen community, it is proven to lead to longer life. Serving others leaves a mark on the world. Serving others cultivates empathy, bravery, nobility, mutual life improvement, deep-seeded healing, a sense of belonging, a sense that battles depression and isolation…, activates positive emotions and strengthens even the body’s immune system. · Truly, I could go on and on… You know what works the opposite of all of those things? Being focused on serving yourself or not being a person who serves others! (Surrendering little or nothing to the service of the Lord) There is even proven data-driven conclusive studies that have found and published that the brain and body react almost identically to a person’s favorite meal, their romantic interest, and serving others!! Proverbs 11:25 says, “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” So, serve the Lord because we are following Him, and…, and…, help yourself out! · Oh boy…, offense alert! Bad day? Serve someone. Do something for the benefit purely of someone else with no personal agenda! Fix you right on up! Gods like, “Take two of these and call me in the morning!” This is the priestly prescription from our High Prist Himself! Tough go at it in the home? Get out and serve someone! God taking too long to answer your prayer? Get out and serve someone! Jesus said, “What you’ve done to the least of these you’ve done to Me!” This is part and partial to us overcoming the world! Walking by faith looks like serving! Walking by faith looks like inequality! You give from your resources and overflow what others do not have and in so doing, physically, spiritually, mentally, practically…, you become the overcomer the Bible describes are the people of God. · Ready to be offended? You call me up and, “Oh Matt, I’m so down, I’m so discouraged, I’m so defeated…, I’ve lost my job, my car broke down, I’m not sleeping well, I’m feeling sick all the time…, I’m just in a season of struggling.” Ok…, and…, you’ve been in a prolonged season of not serving… Obeying the Lord, trusting the Lord, serving the Lord and serving others is preparation to win when faced with the worries of the world, y’all! I don’t mean to offend but all that negativity isn’t coming from the negative circumstance…, its coming as a result of a life that isn’t serving others in the Kingdom of God (and I’m not talking only about the church – if you know you know!!)! · So why doesn’t the church slam the door on Diotrephes? Well, perhaps he can draw a big crowd. Perhaps he can fill the coffers with offerings! As sad as that is…, that may be why. Or it could be that people are just ok with being lorded over by someone who has worldly authority… But John even says that Diotrephes’ mouth is a problem… · He is prating against us (John and Gaius) with malicious words. Look, no matter if John is a saint or a sinner, Diotrephes doing this is out of bounds and should not be so in the family of God. 3 John Chapter 1 Verse 11 · John makes clear that the ambition to be first among others, the prating against authorities (John is a well-known and an obvious pillar in the early church), speaking maliciously against another…, John makes clear that these things are evil. No buts, no defenses, no deflections, no excuses…, these things are evil. And good water and bitter water should not both come from the same stream… · And notice the emphasis on reality. John doesn’t say he who believes is of God and he who doesn’t believe hasn’t seen God… John says he who does good… Why? Believe what you want in your head. What you do is reality of who you are… 3 John Chapter 1 Verse 12 · Demetrius most likely is the letter bearer and John provides an introduction for him as he carries this letter to Gaius. One thing I will say about him…, John describing him as having a good testimony from all may make him sound like a people pleaser but not so. Universal integrity, walking in truth and love, (100 truth/100 love), universal goodness to folks no matter who they are, what they believe, how they live, where they’re from…, universal integrity and universal goodness are the pathway to universal applause. · Paul even said in 1 Timothy 3 that a bishop in the church, an overseer, even he must have a (1 Tim 3:7), “good testimony among those who are outside…” 3 John Chapter 1 Verses 13 – 14 · Help is on the way! God deploys John to first remind Gaius how much he is loved. To comfort him and console him. Be a friend…, and, John, the elder…, intends to come in person and help this situation. That point and that promise is ALL throughout the Bible!

3 John 1 vs 5-14

August 4, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • 3 John 5–14

3 John Chapter 1 Verses 5 – 8 · “You do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren, and for strangers,” is a high compliment. John is the apostle and disciple of Jesus Christ. The writer of the Gospel of John, the receiver of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and the very disciple whom Jesus loved. And he thinks extremely highly of Gaius. · Why am I making this point? We are about to be introduced to a person named Diotrephes who does not think highly of Gaius. He speaks against him and John even will say in a moment that he does it with malice, with the intent to harm. · So, here we have a bit of a dichotomy, a duality. And let me tell you, this is common in everyone’s lives at some point or in some situations. I would love everyone to love me. Who wouldn’t. AND…, I pay attention to who does and who does not. Paul wrote to Titus in Titus 3:9-11, “Avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned…” · If a person that is warped and sinning does not have a fond affection for me…, (this is why I pay attention), isn’t that a good thing? If they perceived me to be aligned with them, isn’t that a bad thing? Someone once said, “A lion does not lose sleep over the opinion of the sheep.” · Be awake to this, please. Because in return for the malicious sin against him of Diotrephes, Gaius should not hate him or return evil for evil. Gaius should lead him in love. Forgive them Father for they know not what they do! Diotrephes has not the capacity or intelligence to see his own sin which does nothing but harm himself and others… You cannot hate a blind man for tripping over a chair in a pitch-dark room… · Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:17-19, “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness…” · So don’t get so angry or frustrated with someone who doesn’t treat you right. Someone who doesn’t respect you. Someone who doesn’t love you. Pray for them and look around. Do the disciples of Jesus love you? Do those that walk in wisdom, freedom, living for the service of others over themselves, do they align with you? If so, RELAX, people-pleaser! Now…, if not…, seek to be corrected in love and desire to change… · John has HIGH praise for Gaius and in light of who John is, Gaius should be able to field the malice of some warped and sinning imbecile…, right!? Even, as John says here, the church as a whole testifies of the truth and the love that is in Gaius… · Gaius is praised for his receiving and hospitality of those that serve the Lord. In John’s previous letter he warned the elect lady and the church in her home against receiving and offering support to those that serve themselves… What’s the difference? Well, one of them is the ask… · Jesus said in Luke 9:2-4, “He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.”” There’s no funding drive, no ask for support and when they enter a home, they enter to serve, not to financially profit… · John says here, praises Gaius here, saying, “The servants of God that you helped went forward for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles.” It was common knowledge in the early church that is there was an ask for money then they were a false profit. Micah 3:11, speaking of the servants of a false god, “Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.”” · Now, I’m not going overboard here and throwing the baby out with the bath water… I’m not against ministries or missionaries raising support. I’m saying that if that is primarily what they are after, then how is it they serve the Lord? Jesus had no place to lay His head… If you have the same as Jesus had, are you still going to serve the Father? If the answer is yes then raising financial support is a concern and yet unimportant… · Another bit of common knowledge in the early church was that if someone sought to stay with you for more than three days then that was an indication of a false prophet… The idea is that someone serving the Lord simply serves the Lord. If resources come, they come at the hand of the Lord. If not, hey…, we sleep outside… One of the distinctives of Calvary Chapel is that we are not financially supported by any denominational conglomerate. Where God guides, God provides… 3 John Chapter 1 Verses 9 – 10 · So, we get to the heart of the matter. Gaius receives the brethren which Diotrephes has forbidden. Why? Well, all we know is what John says here, that he loves to have the preeminence among the church. And this has resulted in Gaius, (in his own city), being put out of the church. · “Loves to have the preeminence,” is one word in the Greek and it means to be ambitious towards and fond of being the most important person in the room. The holiest, the smartest, the cutest, the most successful. Man, does that not sound like everything that has to do with modern culture and especially American culture!? WOW! · But this really has no place in the church. Wanting to do your best and striving to do your best is different than having to be the best amongst others. One is stemmed in work ethic, integrity and character. The other is stemmed in insecurity and fear! That’s just from a practical perspective… From a spiritual perspective, true maturity doesn’t highlight ones own name! It highlights the name of Jesus! · Jesus said the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Jesus said true authority and strength is not to make sure they know your name so that you can be somebody in their eyes but that the greatest amongst people are those that serve not themselves but others. Not as a command…, THAT’S A REVELATION! Serving those that aren’t worthy of your service doesn’t degrade your stature…, it reveals the health of your holiness and the strength of your intelligence and personal potency! Pride is fear that has been bedazzled and it has no place in the church not only because it is sin but because it is pathetic in all practicality! · So why doesn’t the church slam the door on Diotrephes? Well, perhaps he can draw a big crowd. Perhaps he can fill the coffers with offerings! As sad as that is…, that may be why. Or it could be that people are just ok with being lorded over by someone who has worldly authority… But John even says that Diotrephes’ mouth is a problem… · He is prating against us (John and Gaius) with malicious words. Look, no matter if John is a saint or a sinner, Diotrephes doing this is out of bounds and should not be so in the family of God. 3 John Chapter 1 Verse 11 · John makes clear that the ambition to be first among others, the prating against authorities (John is a well-known and obvious pillar in the early church), speaking maliciously against another…, John makes clear that these things are evil. No buts, no defenses, no deflections, no excuses…, these things are evil. And good water and bitter water should not both come from the same stream… · And notice the emphasis on reality. John doesn’t say he who believes is of God and he who doesn’t believe hasn’t seen God… John says he who does good… Why? Believe what you want in your head. What you do is reality of who you are… 3 John Chapter 1 Verse 12 · Demetrius most likely is the letter bearer and John provides an introduction for him as he carries this letter to Gaius. One thing I will say about him…, John describing him as having a good testimony from all may make him sound like a people pleaser but not so. Universal integrity, walking in truth and love, (100 truth/100 love), universal goodness to folks no matter who they are, what they believe, how they live, where they’re from…, universal integrity and universal goodness are the pathway to universal applause. · Paul even said in 1 Timothy 3 that a bishop in the church, an overseer, even he must have a (1 Tim 3:7), “good testimony among those who are outside…” 3 John Chapter 1 Verses 13 – 14 · Help is on the way! God deploys John to first remind Gaius how much he is loved. To comfort him and console him. Be a friend…, and, John, the elder…, intends to come in person and help this situation. That point and that promise is ALL throughout the Bible!