Epistles of John

We're moving there down toward the end of the general epistles. We've got two short letters tonight that we will look at. The second and third epistles of John. These are shorter, of course, than his first letter. They are personal letters directed to individuals. The third letter we know is written to Gaius. But the second letter is a little bit of a question. It just says it's to the elected lady. We'll talk about some of the possibilities for that here in just a minute. But let me remount and reload here and get ready to go. A little bit of background on 2 John. First of all, obviously we've got the same author, John. If you're interested, which I'm not, but if you're interested, there are commentaries where it seems like almost everybody agrees that this is John the Apostle, the brother of James, the son of Zebedee, the one who was close to Jesus Christ. But there are always those who will debate that. That will know it may have been so-and-so. But I'm not going to waste my time or your time in even discussing that, but just be aware that with both of these, there are those who question exactly who wrote it.

John, as far as we can tell, there are some historical clues. There also is tradition. Place him around the area of Ephesus. His latter years, Ephesus is on that western end of what is today called Turkey. And he ended up in Ephesus, of course, for a while. The Book of Revelation was written. He was out on the island of Patmos out in the Aegean Sea.

But then he was back in Ephesus for the remainder of his life. The date of this would be in the 90s AD. I just say 90s. Some put it a little earlier. Mr. Antion, in the ABC class, he mentioned probably around the mid-90s. Many years ago, I heard he had a set of tapes that Dr. Ward covered generally pistols at Ambassador University, and he put it later in the 90s.

So that's close enough. But that tells us that John was way up in years. He would have been 90 at least, and maybe closer to 100. John, we do have certain records that say that he, I'm trying to remember the names of the Roman emperors, but after Domitian, who was the one that put him out on Patmos, Domitian died. Nerva was the next one, and Nerva just released all these political and religious prisoners. That's when John was freed. He went back to Ephesus and lived into the reign of Trajan.

I believe Trajan started in 98, and he lived just a couple of years into Trajan's reign. So somewhere close to 100 is about as close as we can get as far as when John died, and he, like I say, had to be over 90 by that time. The audience, if you just look at verse 1, the elder, now I'll come back to that in just a minute, to the elect lady and her children.

Again, you have commentaries that will spend a lot of time on this. I have a copy of William Barclay's book on the letters of John and Jude. He will go into it some, but basically the way the church has taken it, you do have scriptures that refer to the church as being the mother of us all, the church being the, like unto a woman.

And so we've taken it in general being a generally epistle to the church, although it most likely, most assuredly went to a specific church congregation. And then her children would be the members of that church at that time. Some have even suggested, and I know from back in worldwide days, I looked up in the old letter-answering department form letters, there was one on who is this elect lady, and there are some that even suggest maybe Mary, the mother of Christ, was still living, which seems pretty far-fetched to me because she'd have to be 110.

And the average life expectancy at that time, I mean, John was pushing it in his 90s, let alone somebody who'd be quite a few years past 100. So I think we've generally discounted that as a possibility, but the theme of this little short 13-verse book is this. Use the truth to detect falsehood. Use the truth to detect falsehood. Now, we know that the Gospels said, the truth will set you free. And it says, Jesus prayed that night, thy word is truth. The truth will preserve us. John uses the word truth in his books more than any other writer of the New Testament. He continually speaks of love over and over and over. You've got love, love, love, but you also have the word truth that he uses.

Truth will be used five times in this little short book and seven times in his third letter. So he speaks of that a great deal. When John wrote, again consider the setting, it's toward the end of the first century. He has seen a lot. The other apostles and then the ones that came later, like Paul, they're all gone.

He's it. When Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia, he said, he was amazed at how quickly they were turning to a different gospel. And then in Galatians 3, he started off by saying, who has bewitched you that you would believe a different gospel? And that was in the 50s.

So here we are 40 years, at least later. So we can only imagine what John has seen. Now we talked in the introduction to the first letter about Gnosticism and some of their ideas and heresies. But he has seen a lot of watering down. In part, he's dealing with a watered down definition of the word love. Because in his first letter, he said, here's how essentially we show we love God, we keep His commandments. We do what He say. We walk as Christ walked when He was here on the earth.

Okay. He is warning them of falsehood, false teachers. It abounded at that day. The Gnostics taught that they had a superior, higher knowledge. One part of that of Gnosticism was Docetism. They taught that Jesus only seemed to have come, that He did not come as a flesh and blood human being. Now that will be important because he's going to come back to that idea of Antichrist.

They denied that Jesus came and literally lived as a flesh and blood human being. He only seemed to be here. He was spirit and manifest. At least that's the way they say it. Okay. Verse 1, the Elder. Now, Greek word presbyteros. You do have an ordained office in the church called Elder.

A spiritual office of service. You have those who are up in years, who are older. I don't know where the line is there. Paul, at one point, referred to himself as Paul the Aged. He was probably 60-something. But John really is up there. But there always were those in the church who had a lot of years.

They were the seasoned citizens of the church. This word, William Barclay, points out this term, the Elder. At that time, he was also used to this. In the case of John, he was an individual who was a connection all the way back across the decades to Jesus himself. He was there. He heard Christ's teaching. He was the disciple whom Jesus loved. And so John was all three. He was already an Elder. He was way up in years. And he was a connection all the way back to Christ. So the Elder to the elect lady and her children whom I love in truth.

And not only I, but also all those who have known the truth. So here we already see the word truth twice. But he also tells them, as he always does, that he loves them. He appreciates them. He's delighted that they are holding on to the truth and holding fast to what they had been given and what they had been taught. Now, as we go into this letter and the next one, let me pause just a moment. There were basically three roles, three ministerial functions, I should say.

Roles with an E on the end. One role was the Apostle. And the Apostles, again, John's it, as far as we know. Another role was the Elder who served local congregation, a congregation or congregations. Maybe as someone who was an Elder in a given set congregation. Maybe as a pastor who had oversight of that congregation, or maybe two or three or of a certain region. Then you also had Elders who were wandering ministers, preachers of the Gospel. And we're going to see a little bit of that in these books because John will talk about how he sent the brethren to go to... Well, we'll see that in 3 John.

But in that book, diocoraphies would not accept them, would not receive them. But we have some of these wandering ministers who go around preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or at least many of them did. Some of them, though, were doing it for the wrong reason. Or they would come through and they were looking for a door to open to bring falsehood and error into the church. So John is writing to them, you know, Love's fine, love's great, but love doesn't mean you let the fox in the hen house.

You need to be discerning, do not be too naive, you need to weigh their fruits. So, continuing, verse 2, Because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. So the truth. Paul's writing, he talked about those who have a love of the truth. And here that truth is something living within us, because John consistently ties together, not only just knowing the truth, but actually walking the truth.

Verse 3, Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. So there's that word, truth, again. But this is a common greeting, a common salutation. Go back all the way through Paul's epistles and usually he'll say, Paul an apostle, he's writing to Timothy or he's writing to those at Ephesus, and he'll say, Grace and peace, the name of God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ.

And consistently, here John 2, he sends greetings in the name of the Father and the Son. He does not, just like Paul never did, and Peter didn't, and James didn't, he never gives an indication that there's actually a third member of a Godhood. Now, some would say that's an argument from silence, but I think that just to look at it logically, if John were writing churches, church congregations, and he gave them greetings from the Father and from the Son, and if the Holy Spirit were some third member of a Godhead, I think there would have been a problem.

But at any rate, verse 4, now he shifts in these next three verses into a reminder of the command that we've been given that we're to love. I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth as we received commandment from the Father.

So John has heard things, and he is delighted because some are still walking in the truth, but he did use the word some. And that would say there are others who are not. But he was thrilled, and then maybe this indicates that John himself had worked in the area where this letter was sent.

It would seem to me to imply that he would know them personally. Denise and I have been in that situation many times. We hear from someone back in Lubbock, Texas, where we went to serve 30 years ago, first pastorate. And to hear that there are people who survived my first pastorate is thrilling, just thrilling.

So, anyhow, it had to warm his heart to hear that they're hanging fast and walking in the truth. I like that phrase, walking in truth. Verse 5, And now I plead with you, lady. So again, the lady likely referring to the church as a whole.

Now, he had mentioned this in the first letter. He's essentially saying nothing new, no new truth here. It's usually not that we don't know what we ought to be doing. It's usually a matter we're not doing what we know we're to do. But he reminds them of this command from the very beginning. This is love that we walk according to his commandments. Now, I don't know how that could be made more complaint. This is love, that we actually walk the walk of what we have been instructed of God's commandments. This is the commandment that you have heard from the beginning.

You should walk in it. Alright. Now, in 1 John 5.3, he talked about the love of God, including the keeping of the commandments. So, God's law is written and given to us as a guide for how to live life. Now, verse 7, he's going to shift into a few verses here where he is going to discuss the importance of sound doctrine.

And there is a difference. Doctrine needs to be sound. There's all kinds of doctrine out there, and a lot of it is not sound. To be sound has to be in harmony with the rest of the biblical record. Verse 7, for many deceivers have gone out into the world.

Now, when Christ was still here on the earth some 70-some years earlier, the Olivet prophecy, that was one of the things he warned of right off the bat, that many are going to come in by name. They're going to claim that they're speaking for me. They're going to claim they have my words. And a little later, he warned the disciples at that time that if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. So, let's see.

Okay, gone out in the world then. Who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh? This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Now, the literal translation where it says, is coming in the flesh. It has more of an ongoing, not only a future tense, but a present and continuing forward sense to it. Jesus came when he ascended back to heaven.

He says, I'm going to come again. All eyes are going to see me. He's going to come in clouds. But he then, with the Day of Pentecost, they were told, wait here for the promise on high, and the Spirit of God was poured out upon them and began living in their lives. Christ lives his life in and through those who were given his Spirit. In the Scripture I think of, there is Galatians 2, verse 20, where Paul said, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live.

But it's not I, it's Christ essentially living his life in and through me. Well, how long had it been? About, say, 30, 40 years? 60 years. 60 years. Look at today how many societies are now being taught the Holocaust never happened. And they've lived that way. And it's been how long? 70 years. How long does it take? It takes, maybe not that first generation, but the second and certainly end of the third, and human beings tend to forget. It's a very short memory span.

It's just a human being. And plus you've got Satan himself working against this all along. Well, and I think that's a lot of the answer to your question. Satan is not deaf, dumb, and blind, and he comes along like he did with Adam and Eve and like when he came to Jesus. And he makes it sound so good. You look at the Gnostics then, and it sounded so good to think, oh, we're a special group. We have higher knowledge. We're better than everybody else. And we have to guard against that. The glory always goes to God. But he wanted him to take the easy route to just believe in your heart, to take Jesus in your heart, but then live your life.

You see, that was a part of the Gnostics as well, that material, flesh and blood, that equals evil. Spirit, that's perfect. And therefore, the distinction that we just take, we live in the Spirit, and then it doesn't matter what we do or how we live. If that answers the question you're getting in. Okay, what verse was that? Seven? Yes, sir. Yeah, okay. This is the Adeous Fever and an Antichrist. Now, Antichrist means just that, someone who is against Christ. And Christ, of course, that's a title. He was the Anointed One, who is to come as King and Prophet and High Priest. They denied that he was born of Mary. That's another thing that they did.

I appreciate that. Okay, so verse 8, Look to yourselves. And we can pause right there, because there are plenty of places in the Scriptures that tell us, like Hebrews 2.1, don't let the things you have slip. And Paul told those at Corinth, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith.

And so we have to continually look into, well, James likened it to looking into this mirror. But we need to remember what we see, what God shows us in that spiritual mirror and change your life accordingly. So look to yourselves that we do not lose those things we work for, but that we may receive a full reward.

Now, salvation is a free gift. It is a gift of God. It is by grace. But we have a reward, and that's based on our rewards, excuse me, our works. Revelation 22, all the way at the end, it talks about Christ, and He is coming, and His reward is with Him. And so that's what He must be referring to here, that there are people who have maybe have decades under their belt in the calling of God, and He's telling them, be careful, be awake, be alert.

You don't want to turn around, you've lost the reward that you have worked so hard for. Verse 9, whoever transgresses... Now, transgresses, we saw that in the first letter, 1 John 3, verse 4, at least in the King James, sin is the transgression of the law. Or the new King James sin is lawlessness. So whoever breaks the law is what He's saying here, and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ, does not have God. Again, you have those who, at that time and all the way to today, want to preach what some would call cheap grace.

Just give your heart to God, and then live as you good and well please. Well, there's nothing cheap about it. It costs the body and blood of our Savior. And God expects us to deliver life accordingly. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. But again, He abides in it. He's living by. The Scripture is the guide for His life. Different places in the New Testament says it is the doers of the law, who will be justified before God.

Alright, verse 10. Here's probably in the old memory Scriptures that we used to have. This is probably the big one, where you remember from 2 John. Verse 10, if anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, nor greet him. Now, go back to the thought earlier that there were some wandering ministers who would go out far and wide, and there were some of them who were truly going out working for God. But then you also had others, and He's saying, you better be discerning and watch out for them.

And if they're coming in trying to take you away from the truth, don't let them in your house, get them out of your house. Don't even bid them, God be with you, or anything like that. So it was something real, and they were at peril. I mean, eternal life is a precious gift to lose, because you let somebody come in there, and Satan uses them to bring error, get you to walking down the wrong path. For he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. All right, now we have the conclusion wrapped up here in verses 12 and 13.

And we're left with some questions, the conclusions of both of these books. Having many things to write to you. Boy, wouldn't you like to know what He had on His mind? I would love to know.

Here we are late in the first century. The church has hit a lot of the ruts of the road by this time. A lot of error has come along, a lot of people have fallen away. I mean, look at all that Paul dealt with and all the letters he wrote. And James and Peter, and now John. You can't help but wonder if He had kept on writing, would He have named names?

Would He have mentioned some of the names behind this counterfeit, this apostasy that was taking place? Well, we can't know. I did not wish to do so with paper and ink. Well, any of you who do email, we know how that is especially. Back in the days when we would write letters, write a letter back to a family member or a friend, or a brother or sister in the church, and you'd write it down, and then you'd lay it down and you'd look at it the next morning, and you'd look at it and think, you just wad it up and throw it away. That didn't come across right. But now in email, it's instant.

You hit that word, send. Many times I've hit send, I thought, oh, wait. Too late. Too late. You cannot unring that bell. So, John was saying, there are things I wanted to write, but I just didn't. Again, email. Or even a telephone conversation. There is so much we lose. You can't read the facial expressions, the body language, the nuances of language, if it's by this impersonal email or a text message that comes across.

But I hope to come to you... Now, how realistic that was for a man up in his 90s. Well, if God wanted him to go and needed him to go, he would have made it. I hope to come to you and speak face to face that our joy may be full. So wherever they were, John... And we just don't have enough evidence to really know where this letter went. But John wanted to go there. The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen. So wherever John was, the other members of the church are sending their greetings there.

Okay, any questions, comments, observations on this second letter of John? I think verse 10 would also mean don't let the literature come into your mouth later. Amen to that. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. There is what some have called the church smorgasbord out there. And I had a personal correspondence question I was working on this morning. A young man grew up in the church, and he and his wife have a number of kids, and it's kind of like he's snapping out of it.

What in the world have I done? And where is the church? But just some of the things he wrote, he was using the name Yeshua. I mean, there are some people who think that if you say Christ's name, the name Jesus, back in Hebrew, that your several notches up. And other things where I could tell he'd been affected by...

I mean, we've got people who have gone out there, and they think the more Jewish you can be, somehow the better you are. It concerns me that we have brethren that just want to go out there and dabble a little here and there, and that smorgasbord's out there. A lot of it may be fine and good, but there's always that risk, that there may be something there where Satan's trying to open the door to your mind.

All right. Well, good letter. I've got the glare on the clock there. Okay, let's go ahead and keep going with 3 John. Not much background to cover because it's same author, same basic timeframe in the 90s. The themes here, he talks about using hospitality wisely and also resist evil. So, use hospitality wisely and resist evil. Now, I say, use hospitality wisely. There are many scriptures.

We'll mention some of those here in a little bit, but we are to be a hospitable people. But again, think of the setting of the day. You had some who were actively marketing within the church, and he had already told them in the second letter, don't let them in your house, and those people do not deserve your Christian hospitality. Now, in this book, it's going to be a little different flavor. We have four main characters. We have Gaius, and I'll come back to each of these.

Gaius is the one receiving the letter and probably going to share it with the church. We have John, the aged apostle, writing it. We have a man named Diatrophys, who is a local leader. Maybe he was an elder, and he might have been a pastor. But obviously, pride has gone to his head. Then we have a man we see at the end called Demetrius, and he is a man sent by John. So Gaius, John, Diatrophys, and Demetrius.

Now, John again is the aged apostle. Gaius, we don't have enough to determine whether he was, say, a deacon, possibly an elder, but at least kind of a host, kind of a local pillar, who was doing a lot. But he was a very caring, serving, hospitable man.

As I said, Diatrophys could have been a pastor or an elder. Gaius was, I get the feeling he was more gentle by nature. And you know, some who are pretty gentle, and, well, Clark Kent. He was Superman, but he was kind of this mild-mannered reporter. Isn't that what the old TV show? Mild-mannered reporter. Yeah. Yeah.

Until he pulled off and went out in his red suit. But Diatrophys was a type, obviously a dominant nature. And he wanted power. You know, remember that old saying, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. French poet Bolaire, I think, is the one that wrote that. And it went to his head. And then here's Demetrius. We don't know much about him, but with what happens, Demetrius might have been one of the local members who got put out of the church by Diatrophys. And he ran the Ephesus to John to get some apostolic backup and clout.

I mean, just all kinds of possibilities, but we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle here.

Now, hospitality. Let's go back to that, because we're going to see that. Let me, number, you're taking notes, so let me just mention several scriptures. But just quickly in passing. 1 Peter 4 9. 1 Peter 4 9, Peter said to be hospitable to strangers.

Hebrews 13 verse 2. Hebrews 13 2. That's where it was the author mentioned some of entertained angels, unawares.

1 Timothy 5 verse 10. 1 Timothy 5 verse 10. It was actually there speaking about some of the widows, and a widow was to receive a special honor, and for a number of reasons, but in part because she was hospitable to people who had come through.

Romans 12 verse 13. Romans 12 13. Paul told those at Rome to be hospitable. Extend the hospitality to those. And of course, then 1 Timothy 3 verse 2. 1 Timothy 3 verse 2, where it's giving some of the traits or criteria for those who can be ordained as elders, and they are to be known for their hospitality.

Okay, now with that background, let's go on then. Chapter 1. We'll just start here. Here's only one. So verse 1. The Elder. So same comment as before. John was an ordained Elder. He was a connection all the way back to Christ. And he really was an Elder, as far as years. To the beloved Gaius.

So John continues to use the word love, or in this case, beloved. He loved this man. Whom I love in truth. Now, Gaius. We... Well, William Barkley points out, Gaius was one of the most common male names of that day and age. There are other places in the New Testament where someone is referred to whose name was Gaius. We don't know enough to connect whether this Gaius may have been one Paul referred to in Acts. But let me mention to you just very quickly there are three Others...

Well, maybe I shouldn't say Others. There are three named Gaius that are mentioned. There is Gaius the Macedonian. And that's Acts 19 verse 29. Acts 19, 29. Gaius the Macedonian. That story. Gaius was there with Aristarchus, who was with Paul, and the riot broke out at Ephesus. But it mentions this Gaius from Macedonian. Okay, a second one is there was a Gaius from Derbe. Derbe was one of those cities in the region of Iconium. Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium.

Derbe... Okay, Acts 20 verse 4. And in the early part of Acts 20, that's where... Remember there was a drought of famine down in Judea. And where Paul was, he was asking congregation to collect some supplies, donations, the collection for the saints, he called them. And Derbe, the congregation, had gathered some goods, and they sent it to Judea, but they sent some men along.

And there was a man named Gaius from Derbe, who went with that donation. Somebody had to carry it. But also, then that man's going to come back and let him know, well, what you donated actually got there. Okay, thirdly, there is a Gaius in Corinth. Excuse me. Gaius of Corinth. But he was in Rome. And that's in Romans 16 verse 23.

In fact, he was the host of the church there. They were meeting at his house. So Gaius, who was from Corinth, but he lived in Rome, was the host of the church there. So we have those three. And Paul mentioned in his letter to Corinth, the first letter, that there was a Gaius that he had baptized. But anyhow, we don't have enough information to connect this Gaius from 3 John to any of these fellows. Okay, continuing. He mentions love. He mentions truth already. Seven times we're going to see the word truth in this book. Verse 2, Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers.

So he not only calls Gaius beloved, but the congregation was loved. And he was concerned for their welfare and well-being in every way, physically and spiritually. And certainly God wants us to prosper and be in health. And that refers physically and spiritually. He prayed that they would prosper in every way. Verse 3, Four, I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you just as you walk in the truth. So here's this word, truth, another couple of times. And he rejoices that some came traveling through and wherever this Gaius was, the report was that the people are walking in the truth.

And I can't think of a much higher compliment. Be passed along. You know, many of you were here. You had Ken Martin. You had Bob Dick as pastor. And you know, can you imagine how it would warm their hearts to hear that, well, you know, so-and-so is holding fast. And he's still there. And here it is 30, 40 years after they worked in this area.

So that's the way it strikes John. He prays them. Now, in verse 4, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. marginal note, some of the manuscripts say the truth. But he called them my children. And in the first letter of John, several times he would write to them, my little children. And he was a kind of a spiritual grandfather to them. And he had the right to call them that. And they had thrived under his tutelage as far as the truth of God. Verse 5, Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers.

So here we begin to shift into this thought of faithful service, including hospitality. There are brethren who come through. There are people you don't know from Adam or Eve who come through. And you have, he commends them, you have taken care of their needs. You put them up, you fed them, you sent them on their way. But he's beginning to get to the point where he says you need to be careful. Verse 6, who have borne witness of your love before the church. So somehow people have traveled through, they've been cared for and shown love and hospitality, and the Word got back to John.

If you send them forward on their journey in a matter worthy of God, you will do well. Again, think of some of these traveling preachers of the Gospel. Some might come through, work there in that area, go and try to think of how Paul would go. He would go to the market there at Athens. All these pagan idols, and he'd strike up a conversation. And they'd say, well, what does this babbler have to say?

But it opened a door where he preached, he didn't even use the name of God or Christ, and he preached the Gospel to him, this unknown God. You better fear that one. So these type would come through, and if you took care of their needs, send them on their way, you did well.

That's what God would want you to do. Verse 7, because they went forth for his name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. And that was only right and good. That was something Paul consistently wrote about, but in one place wasn't a Corinth, it was a problem. So he and Barnabas went back, and they would go and make tents, so tents in the day, so that they'd pay their own way to go and preach the Gospel. Anywhere else, he told them, you need to take care of the needs of those who preach of the Gospel, should eat of the Gospel.

Well, verse 8, we therefore ought to receive such that we may become fellow workers for the truth. So again, those who come through and they are truly going forth for the name of Christ, we need to receive them, take care of them, share with them, send them on their way. Fellow workers, that's probably where Mr. Armstrong so long ago used that term, co-workers. Many of us remember getting those monthly co-worker letters for years, and he really was a master at, well, he was trained in advertising, but he was just a master communicator, and it gave a sense of ownership to people all over this world who would get that monthly letter, and give them an update or tell them of some new developments in the work or some of his travels.

And as I remember, back across the years, basically, the overall income of the church for the work, 14% of that came from this category called the co-workers. They were people who, in fact, you look at the latest good news, and there's a page back there, the letters to the editor, and you have different ones right in from all over the world, but once in a while, somebody will say, well, you know, I love your magazine, thank you so much for thus and such booklet, Love Your Beyond Today program, and I'm including a donation.

Now, it's God's job if they're ever going to be called and brought then to the next level to come to the church.

But there's always been this group that I think of when I read that phrase, the fellow workers for the truth, because they really do help. I mean, 14% of the income all across the years, and it may still be somewhere close to that.

All right, now we're going to shift to probably the real reason for his letter.

Verse 9. Here's where the other shoe drops. Here's the difficulty.

Verse 9, I wrote to the church. So here you have the aged apostle writing to this congregation wherever it was.

Now, there actually is a tradition that says that John later ordained this Gaius to be the pastor at the church of Pergamos.

So it might be Pergamos, you know, one of the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3.

But again, awfully sketchy. We don't have enough.

I wrote to the church, but diatrophies, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

Well, we have a problem. Preeminence means he loved to be first.

He did not receive John's letter. He did not receive representatives John sent there.

He loved to be in charge. He presumed that.

Now, we must always have our guard up, because Christ warned, and various writers of the New Testament after him warned.

Christ, well, he told the story of two men who went up to pray.

Well, the one went home justified before God, and then he said, whoever exalts himself is going to be abased and brought down.

Whoever humbles himself will be received.

And then the proverb, think of the wording, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

If God resists those who are driven by pride, shouldn't we as well?

I think we should.

Always be on guard, because it seems that's where it started with Lucifer, Ezekiel 28.

His heart was lifted up, and he uses that word pride, and that's how sin entered the universe.

And his tactics are the same. He'll try to see if he can find the door to open us up to pride as well, unless we're always on guard.

He loves to have preeminence.

Okay, verse 10.

Therefore, if I come, so John wanted to come to this congregation as well, I will call to mind his deeds.

And here he is listing some of this man's sins.

His deeds, which he does, preying against us.

I thought it's interesting, in this New King James, the marginal note is, he's talking nonsense against us.

Preying against us with malicious words, and not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to putting them out of the church.

So that's quite a list he gives.

Malicious words, he doesn't receive John's representatives.

He forbids other members from doing so, and he threatens them to put them out of the church if they do.

So, we've got a problem. And those at this congregation have a problem.

And that's where I wonder, like Barkley suggests, there are those who say, well, maybe this Demetrius we're about to be introduced to was one who was kicked out, and he ran to John in Ephesus saying, help! It's falling apart back home.

And so, anyhow, well, verse 11, Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.

Well, he just defined what was evil.

Don't do what diatrophies is doing.

An evil tree is going to bear evil fruit, and that's what you're seeing there.

He who does good, see here again, walk the walk.

Don't just know what's true, but actually live it.

He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

It's inconsistent.

A person where there's this evil that comes out of him, there's a disconnect.

The Spirit of God is not leading that person's life.

Now we are introduced to Demetrius.

There's one verse here.

Verse 12, Demetrius has a good testimony from all and from the truth itself.

Well, it'd be a pretty nice thing to have written about you.

Paul said something similar about Timothy.

He says, I don't know anyone else who will naturally see your needs.

But John says the same about Demetrius.

He has a good testimony from all and from the truth.

We also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.

This would imply that this is the congregation they knew John.

John had worked there.

He's saying, I can vouch for this guy. He's a good guy. He's for the truth.

He's not there trying to lead you in the error.

Alright, then the conclusion. Last two verses.

I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink.

So it's very similar to the last letter.

But I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face, peace to you.

He realizes they are in tough straits there, and he prays that they'll have peace.

Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. I think that's his code for those who are truly of the flock.

Those with me who are in the body of Christ and greetings, and those who are there.

He's saying to Gaius, those who are really in the truth. Tell them we said hi.

Now the book rather abruptly ends. What's missing?

Amen. Amen to that.

There are three books in the New Testament that do not end with amen.

All of the others do. You had Acts, and of course that's pretty obvious.

It just kind of glomps. It just ends. Paul's there in his own house in Rome waiting for his trial, and it just abruptly ends. But we've got pushing a couple thousand years of the Acts of the Apostolic Church that I look forward to reading that one day.

The book of James, no amen, and now 3 John, no amen.

But the subject matter at this time, I suspect there were things God didn't want clues to be given away, did not want names to be written, did not want clues to be given as far as where this church was, like James, it was written to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, and if we knew exactly where it went, we would have known where the migrating tribes of Israel were at that time.

For whatever reasons, God didn't want it to go forth, so there's not that stamp of finality, that twenty-four books of the New Testament had.

Okay, that's 3 John. Any questions, comments, or other thoughts on that book? Good material.

Alright, well, we'll wrap it up with that.