Christ in 3 John -- The Name

The book of 3 John is the shortest book of the Bible (by word count, with only 219 words).  It was written about the same time as John’s first two letters, around 85 – 95 A.D.  It was a personal letter to a man named Gaius, not a letter to the church as a whole.  However, the message it contained was an important encouragement to the church, as well as to Gaius.  As we learned in last week’s study of 2 John, the gospel was being spread throughout the land by travelling missionaries.  In this letter, John was commending Gaius for receiving those travelers into his home and providing for their needs:

Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you (3 John 3-5).

As faithful as Gaius was to show hospitality to his travelling brothers, a man named Diotrephes was equally inhospitable.  He is typical of some people who have the gift of leadership but who are unable to submit to those who are in positions of authority over them.  He refused to acknowledge John’s authority, and John made it very clear that he would straighten him out on his next visit!  I would not have liked to have been in Diotrephes’ position during that visit!

I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church. Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you (3 John 9-11).

The main lesson we can learn from this short epistle is that of submission to authority.  John had walked with Jesus.  As a matter of fact, he was one of those who had been closest to Jesus during his three years of earthly ministry.  So John had reason to be in a position of authority.  But John was always submissive to the authority of the name of Jesus.  When he spoke about the traveling missionaries, he said that they were working for the Lord, just as John was working for the Lord:

For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers (3 John 7).

 

The original Greek translation of the above verse reads, “They went out on behalf of the Name.”  The name of Jesus demands submission to His authority:

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names (Philippians 2:9).

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent (Luke 24:47).’

He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name (Acts 10:43).

But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name (John 20:31).

John builds on his lesson about authority by reiterating what he said in his first two letters – children of God will be known by their obedience to Him, and in this case, submission to His authority:

Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God (3 John 11).

My prayer for you and for me this week is adapted from 3 John 2, 5 & 6:

Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray that all is well with my friends all over the world who are reading this and that they are healthy in body and strong in spirit.  I pray that we will continue to be faithful to You and that we will remember to care for Your missionaries as they spread Your Name throughout the world today, just like the missionaries that John wrote about so many years ago.  Help us to provide for these teachers in a manner that pleases You.
Amen.

All scripture references are from the New Living Translation.