Read 3 John v1–4
Questions from the Scripture text: Who wrote this (3 John 1)? To whom? What is his relation to him? What does he call him in 3 John 2? What does he do for him? What does he pray that he will do? In how many things? For what two types of prospering, especially, does he pray? How has the apostle responded (3 John 3)? To what—in what two ways does the truth relate to him? Why did this gladden him so much (3 John 4)?
What should be one of the greatest joys in the Christian life? 3 John 1–4 looks forward to the second serial reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that loving others well, and loving the truth well, makes other believers’ walking in that truth one of the greatest joys in the Christian life.
The elder. By calling himself “the elder,” the apostle John was highlighting his relationship to Gaius and the congregation to which Gaius belonged. John is an apostle, but to Gaius and that church, he was their elder.
The locus of love. Later, John is going to talk about receiving and caring for others for the sake of the truth that they bring with them. But first, he points out that Gaius is beloved especially for the sake of the truth (3 John 1). They may not have had much in common. There are several men named “Gaius” in the New Testament, because it is an extremely common Roman name. But what they had in common most of all was the truth about the triune God, the divinity of Christ, the fellowship with God into which one is brought by faith in Christ, and the eternal life that comes from that fellowship. When believers have this in common, they cannot help but love one another dearly.
The desire of love. Because Gaius was beloved to him, John desired and prayed for every possible good that Gaius could receive and enjoy. Of course, this means, most of all, the good of Gaius’s soul (3 John 2). But it necessarily included also his health. Just as our Father’s love runs the gamut from the hallowing of the Father to the bread on our table, our love should desire every good for its recipients, each good in its proper place and proportion. Perhaps Gaius’s health had been in question. But even so, the Spirit employs that providence to give us a lesson here in loving one another well.
The joy of love. In 2 John 4, we saw the apostle rejoicing greatly over the members of that church who were carrying the letter back to them. Now in 3 John 3, we see him rejoicing greatly, and it is for the same reason: a brother is walking in truth.
Gaius is not just walking in uprightness, morality, kindness, etc. Surely, he is doing all of these. But he is especially walking in the truth. This walking in the truth must include accurate doctrine about the triune God, Jesus Christ the God-man, life in Him, etc. But it is more than accurate doctrine. It is a life that is united to Christ Himself, Who Himself is the truth.
The apostle is not merely rejoicing over doctrinal precision that has powerfully produced Christian character. He is rejoicing that the truth itself is in Gaius. Gaius couldn’t make the trip to John, but some brethren had come from Gaius to John (3 John 3). And upon carefully asking after Gaius, John had come to this greatly rejoicing conclusion: Jesus Himself was dwelling by His Spirit within John’s dear brother Gaius! This is cause for great rejoicing. If we know how the Christian life functions, then when we see or hear of other believers genuinely growing in grace, we rejoice greatly: the Truth (Himself) is in them!
It is no wonder that the apostle would proceed that there actually isn’t anything that could give him greater joy than this (3 John 4). He has a fatherly spiritual responsibility for those under his care in the church. And what could be greater or sweeter than to know that Jesus Himself is permeating their life with Himself?! Of course, as we see in the rest of John’s writing (and in all of Scripture), this cannot be separated from the doctrinal truth of Who Jesus is and how He saves. But this doctrine is about a reality, and it produces that reality, and when we hear about believers living that reality, the reality rejoices us!
Dear reader, I hope that you are a beloved one who is walking in truth. And I hope that part of that walking in truth is coming to a place in your life, where there is no greater joy than this for you, also.
What truth about Jesus do you believe? Whom else do you find yourself loving on account of their believing that as well? Whom do you know that walks in the truth? How do you know that you walk in the truth? How does this come about in someone’s life? What makes this such a cause of joy for the believer? How much of a joy do you find it to be to yourself? How can that be increased?
Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us for how we have failed to love one another in the truth. Our hearts and minds often emphasize many things about those whom we love, even emphasizing them above how much we have in common in our faith in the Lord Jesus. Forgive us for how our love for others has been small, not desiring and praying for their prospering in every way in body as well as soul. Forgive us for how we have been satiated by worldly pleasures to the point that we would not be able to say honestly, with the apostle, that we have no greater joy than that other believers are walking in truth. Forgive us, and keep sanctifying and growing us until we are conformed to Christ in this, we ask in His Name, AMEN!
Suggested songs: ARP197 “Christian Unity” or TPH406 “Jesus, with Thy Church, Abide”
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