Here's the video link https://vimeo.com/103128846
Meditation on 3rd John
Aug. 10, 2014
***
The elder to
the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
Beloved,
I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just
as it is well with your soul. I was overjoyed when some of the
friends arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely,
how you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear that
my children are walking in the truth.
Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the friends, even
though they are strangers to you; they have testified to your love before
the church. You will do well to send them on in a manner worthy of
God; for they began their journey for the sake of Christ, accepting
no support from non-believers. Therefore we ought to support such people,
so that we may become co-workers with the truth.
I have
written something to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself
first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will call attention
to what he is doing in spreading false charges against us. And not content with
those charges, he refuses to welcome the friends, and even prevents those
who want to do so and expels them from the church.
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever
does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Everyone has
testified favorably about Demetrius, and so has the truth itself. We also
testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true.
I have
much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and
ink; instead I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to
face.
Peace
to you. The friends send you their greetings. Greet the friends there, each by
name.
***
With today’s message we conclude our series
on 1, 2 and 3 John. You can go home today and boast to your
friends and relatives that you read 3 whole books of the Bible with your
congregation since July! And 2 of them you read during this morning’s worship
service. You don’t have to tell them that the two books we read today are the
shortest in the entire Bible!
But don’t be
fooled by their small size and location near the very end of the New Testament
—right before Jude and Revelation. This does not mean they are not as worthy as
other biblical letters to which we may give more attention during the church
year. The letters of John, unlike
Revelation, have never been disputed for their authenticity. And the Church has always viewed them as
Scripture, belonging with all the other New Testament writings.
As we take a closer
look at 2 and 3 John today, we notice right away they are similar in length and
form to one another, but they are really different from 1 John! Second and 3
John are definitely letters, while 1 John is called an epistle, but it isn’t
written in letter format. 2 and 3 John begin like traditional Greek
correspondence—with sender, recipient, and salutation. And they end with final
greetings, including almost the same comment about the author wanting to write
more but is hoping to visit soon and talk face to face. 3 John also includes a
familiar blessing, “Peace to you,” and sends greetings from “the friends” to
“the friends there, each by name.” It’s not quite a “Minnesota long goodbye,”
but it is similar to a Southern farewell, in which we tell the other person to
say “hello” to their spouses and kids, and, if we know them, we mention them by
name, inquire about their health, and may even say, “Give them a hug and kiss
from me!”
Unfortunately, both
2 and 3 John fail to mention the sender by name, so we don’t know for sure the
author is John. Only the tradition of
the Church tells us this is so. 2 and 3 John say simply that he is “the elder”—presbuteros in Greek, which is where we
get the word Presbyterian. It would
be nice to know the original recipients of these letters. But John doesn’t
identify the churches by name or location. Scholars believe these were house churches under
John’s care and supervision, perhaps in and around Ephesus. We can tell he
feels particularly responsible for and close to the church in 3 John, to whom he says in verse 4, “I have
no greater joy than this, to hear that my
children are walking in the truth.” He uses the word “beloved” 4 times
to address the church and its leader, “the beloved Gaius,” while in 2nd
John, the author is overjoyed to find only “some of your children walking in the truth.” The word “beloved” doesn’t appear in 2nd
John, and he doesn’t address the leader by name. He writes directly to the church,
affectionately calling it, “the elect lady and her children.”
Hospitality to
fellow believers is important to John. In 3 John, he commends Gaius and his congregation
for welcoming Christian missionaries, whom John calls “the friends” or “the brothers,”
as some translations say. The congregation has shown love to those who are
“strangers to them” but “journey for the sake of Christ, accepting no support
from non-believers.”
Withholding hospitality
to the “many deceivers” that have gone out in the world is also important to
John. The “deceivers” John warns against in 2 John are “antichrists,” like he
spoke of in 1 John. These are traveling teachers that the church must not welcome or receive. They are “those
who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh,” John says. And, “to welcome (them) is to participate in the
evil deeds of such a person.”
This may sound
harsh coming from John, who teaches that Christians should love one another so
all the world will know we are Christ’s disciples by our love. But as important
as “love” is to John, so is “truth.” 2 and 3 John speak of “love in the truth,”
those who “know the truth,” the “truth that abides in us and will be with us
forever,” and becoming “co-workers with the truth.” Despite the differing
circumstances and problems the churches are dealing with, John says in 2 and 3
John that he writes to both for the same reason—to express his joy that his “children” are “walking in the truth.”
And
what is “truth” to John? Right understanding of the identity of Jesus. Knowing who
Christ is—the Son of God come in the
flesh.
***
Friends, I worry
about how my message today could be misunderstood. What I don’t want you to
walk away with is that it is OK to withhold love from a brother or sister in
the faith when you disagree on “right belief.” These kinds of disagreements tear churches and
denominations apart—dividing the Body of Christ, stifling the reconciling work
of the Spirit, and ruining our witness to the world.
And yet, I do
believe there ARE certain beliefs that are foundational and not open to
compromise. One is John’s call to obey our Lord’s command to love one
another—and to be known as His disciples by our self-giving love. We are called
to imitate the One who loved by laying down his life for us—so that we may have
the hope of eternal life with Him. And I do believe that if we have faith, we can love and obey the Lord through His
Spirit that lives within us, guiding and strengthening us to do His Will.
But the one thing that is not open to compromise is our belief in God’s
grace and mercy. This has been revealed through His Son, Jesus Christ, who
accomplished our salvation through His atoning death on a cross for our sins. This
is the way to eternal life!
Friends, God’s grace is sufficient! Jesus Christ
is all we need!
Imitate what is good, but don’t try to earn
your salvation. And don’t go beyond Christ’s teaching. For whoever abides in
His teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Scripture assures us that we are God’s beloved!
And I pray for you, as John writes, and will continue to pray for you while I
am away next week. That all may go well with you. That you may be in good
health, just as it is well with your soul.
And I hope you will
remember that there is no greater joy than this – to live as God’s beloved
children, walking in the truth!
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, whom
you sent to us to suffer and die for us that we may be forgiven for all our
sins. We ask that you bring peace to our hearts and to our Church around the
nation. Lord, we pray that you will restore joy to our denomination, which is
struggling with conflicts over right belief and what is foundational and what
is not. Please draw us-- your
children--back to you. Help us to mend broken relationships. Stir us to love one
another, as you have always loved us! Forgive our stubborn and divisive ways, for
when we have chosen to use our words to hurt others rather than build one another
up. Help us to forgive those who may have hurt us. Change us so that we may
become more like your Son. Keep us from sliding back into our sinful ways. Empower
us by your Spirit to walk in the truth. In Christ we pray. Amen.
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