3 John Chapter 1

3 John is a rather short epistle, but it discusses a few characters: Gaius, Demetrius, Diotrephes. We can see how Gaius and Demetrius were commended by John, but Diotrephes was criticized.

Gaius – walks in the truth, and brethren testified of the truth that was in him. Shows love toward brethren and toward strangers (v5)

Demetrius – obtained a good testimony from all and from the truth itself (v12)

We can see that both Gaius and Demetrius obtained a good testimony from the brethren. But that wasn’t all. John specifically mentions how Gaius walked in truth and Demetrius received a good testimony from the truth itself. We may appear as good Christians who do wonderful things before others, but how will the word of God judge us? What is important is to walk in truth and obtain a good testimony from God Himself. What will naturally follow are the good works of love toward others and we will grow in favor with men.

Diotrephes – loves to have preeminence among the church. Speaks malicious words against the church. Does not receive the brethren and forbids those who wish to and puts them out of the church (v10).

Unfortunately, there was such a character back then in church. I think today, we do not see such extreme characters in church, but occasionally we may exhibit the same behaviors as Diotrephes.

Do we seek the limelight in church? Are we hoping to get praise and recognition from others? Workers of God have to be very careful of this trap.

Do we find ourselves questioning the decisions of the church leaders? Do we complain against them? It is not that we cannot have a differing opinion from them, but it is how we choose to convey that. Let’s be reminded that while leaders may also be imperfect, they have been chosen by God. Are we willing to submit to God’s will in this aspect?

The problems of Diotrephes, while many, have a single source: Pride. The devil can make use of our pride to make us unwilling to submit to Jesus as the head of the Church (Col 1:18) and seek self-elevation and praise, rather than being servants. He can also make us unwilling to submit to His appointed authority within the church.

I wonder how the believers felt then when they saw Diotrephes in church. Perhaps they thought, if this is the church of God, how can there be such a person here? Very often, we see the imperfections of others, even prominent members or leaders, and we start to lose faith in the church. We may then distance ourselves from the church. Let us be reminded that we members, including leaders in church, are all imperfect and learning in our journey of faith. Indeed, the pre-eminence belongs to Jesus who is perfect (Col 1:18), not us His imperfect servants. While the beliefs of the church are perfect and true, we believers may not be perfect. We must not lose the big picture that this is still the true church of God.

Rather as a church, let us humble ourselves and learn from one another. As John says, let us imitate what is good, and not imitate the evil. Let us not perpetuate bad practices in church but learn from the good we see in each other. Let us accept feedback from all, even if we see faults in the other party. If we can all rid ourselves of pride, we will be able to walk together in truth, as one united church. Seeing children walk in truth caused Elder John to rejoice (v4). How much more will our Lord Jesus rejoice, when we can do so as a church!

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