Book -- Chapter 5 -- III John

     Here is the next chapter in the book.

Chapter 5 – III John

     We now move on the John’s third epistle and examine what this work has to teach us.  As part of our study of III John, we will examine one of the most misused verses of Scripture which is found in this short epistle. 

     By way of introduction, let us set up III John.  Like the other two epistles of John which precede it, III John’s author has been traditionally held to be the Apostle John.  As with II John, there is a strain of thought that holds to the idea that an elder named John, and not the Apostle, penned this letter.  As with II John, it is my belief, and the consensus from church history, that John the disciple of the Lord Jesus wrote III John. 

     As to when it was written, we are not entirely certain.  Some believe that of all the New Testaments letters, this may be the one that was written last.  It was most likely written in the 90s AD when John was a very elderly man.

     Unlike II John, the audience for III John is very evident.  III John was written to a man named Gaius.  There are a few men with this name found in the New Testament.  However, Gaius was a very common name in the Roman world.  This Gaius is probably not one of the others with that name found in the New Testament.

     The Gaius to whom John addressed III John is some type of leader in the church that John at one time pastored and may have founded.  This Gaius was a man who showed great hospitality to the travelling ministers who came to share the message of Jesus from church to church.  John commends Gaius’ acts of hospitality, but some in Gaius’ congregation weren’t happy with what he was doing.

     Part of the reason that III John was written was to encourage Gaius and speak well of those in the church who were acting in a Christ-like manner.  Conversely, John also points out in this letter a person in the church who acted contrary to the teachings of Jesus.

     Diotrophes was intent on being the most important person in the church to which III John was addressed.  He wanted to be the sole leader and teacher.  This man did not want anyone else speaking to his congregation.  In fact, he would not show any type of hospitality to those who were going around to the different churches to teach.  John has harsh words for this man and his actions.

     Just like the other small books of the Bible that we have studied thus far, III John is extremely relevant to us today.  One aspect of III John that I want to focus on directly is the greeting that John gives to Gaius at the beginning of the epistle.  This simple greeting is used as a proof text by many of the faith and prosperity teachers who twist this verse to mean something that was never in any way intended.

     The verse in question in III John states, “I would that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.”

     Now, the teaching of the faith teachers on this verse proceeds this way.  Since Jesus makes our souls prosper, and He has given us all good things spiritually through saving us and granting us eternal life, we have abundant soul prosperity.  So, we are to be in health and prosperous just as our souls are.  That means that we should have perfect health and financial blessings as long as we walk faithfully with the Lord.

     Now, this is not what this verse is trying to get across at all.  The Bible clearly does not teach that God wants us all to be rich and that if we follow the Lord we will always be free from sickness and the other hardships of this current life.  There are many people in the Bible and in the history of the church who faithfully followed the Lord and they had terrible health, they were in poverty and they faced great challenges and difficulties in life.

     Let’s analyze the verse.  What John is expressing is a simple greeting to a friend.  He is not trying to make some kind of great doctrinal pronouncement.  John in his greeting is hoping that good things are happening in the life of his friend Gaius.  It would be like saying this if we wrote a letter, “I hope this letter finds you well and that all things are good in your life.”

     To the issue of God desiring that everyone who follows Him to be rich, this is not the teaching of the Scriptures.  Some of those who served and worshipped God did not experience financial prosperity in this world.  The words found in Hebrews 11:36-39 are helpful in addressing this matter.  They state, “Still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes and of chains and imprisonments.  They were stoned, and they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.  They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of who the world is not worthy.  They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.  And all of these having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.”

    Another example is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  Once He said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  When the Pharisees questioned Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus didn’t even have a coin on His person; He had to ask someone to give Him a coin to use for an illustration.

     Furthermore, in the Beatitudes as recorded in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus said that those who are poor are numbered amongst the blessed.  The rich receive a pronouncement of woe from the Lord Jesus.  This same sentiment is expressed by the Lord’s brother James in his epistle.

     I believe that this points out quite clearly that God has not promised health and wealth to all who believe. 

     Also, let us touch upon the idea that having enough faith will cause one to be healthy and wealthy.  This has with it the corollary idea that if you are not in good health and/or you are poor, you must have some sin in your life or you lack the necessary faith to receive a blessing from the Lord. 

     This false teaching is clearly refuted by the life of Job and the teachings of the Lord Jesus.  Job was a righteous man, yet Job suffered greatly.  He lost his health and all of his possessions.  These trials did not come upon Job because he lacked faith or he had sin in his life.  Job was called upon to suffer in order to demonstrate the greatness of the Lord and the futility of the plans and purposes of the evil one. 

     Jesus had to confront this false teaching during His earthly ministry.  In John 9, Jesus and His disciples come upon a man who is described as someone who was blind from birth.  The disciples asked Jesus who sinned in order to cause this man to be born blind.  They wondered if the man sinned or if his parents had been the sinners.  Jesus told them that neither party’s sin had caused the man’s current state of affairs. 

     This type of teaching causes many people great spiritual harm.  I will give you an example from my own life.  When I was born, I was born with a congenital immune system disorder.  It particularly affected my ability to fight off respiratory infections.  In the seventh grade, I missed much of the school year due to multiple hospital admissions.

     The church that my family attended had the false notion that if you faced a lot of sickness in your life, then there must have some type of sin in your life.  I always felt condemned and looked down upon.  It took me many years to understand who Jesus really is and what a correct view of God as the Heavenly Father looked like.

     One day, when Jesus returns in power and great glory, all sin, sickness, disease, war and death will be eliminated from the earth.  Now, let’s delve into what the rest of III John has to teach us.

     John commended Gaius for demonstrating hospitality to others and John condemned Diotrophes for not having an hospitable nature.  As followers of Jesus, we should show hospitality to others.  I believe that this means that we are to help those that are in need of our help. 

     There is a great deal of hurting and suffering in the world today.  Many people right in my own nation do not have enough to eat and they don’t have the proper clothes to keep them warm during the winter.  The problem of homelessness continues to confront us here in the United States.

     I thank the Lord for the fact that many churches have started food pantries and clothing ministries to help those in need.  These are important ministries that more and more churches need to become involved in.

     There is so much that needs to be done.  The church of Jesus Christ has a responsibility to step up and help those in this troubled world during these difficult times which we are facing.

     Those who are in the church should have their needs met by those who are their brothers and sisters in the faith.  If there are members of a congregation that need assistance during a tough economic occurrence, the other members need to come alongside and provide whatever help that they can for the brother or sister in need.  This is vital.  It demonstrates to the world that we are truly followers of Jesus Christ.  The world will know that we are Christians when they see the love that we have toward one another which can only overflow to all those for whom Christ died.

     Something else that is important for us to learn from III John comes from the naming of three individuals in this short epistle.  John mentions Gaius, Diotrophes, and Demetrius.  Gaius and Demetrius receive praise.  Diotrophes does not.  What really stood out to me in reading III John was the importance of having a good name spiritually.  Just think about this, Gaius and Demetrius have been recognized for their goodness in churches around the world now for over 2000 years.  Diotrophes is just remembered for his surliness and lack of good behavior. 

     It should be our goal as followers of Jesus to have a good name and a good reputation.  We should be people of an upstanding character that allows us to be effective witness of life in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

     Jesus said that we are to do good works.  When we do what is good, those who are not yet Christ’s will see our good works and give glory to the Lord who is in Heaven. 

     I want to be remembered as someone who tried to follow Jesus with all that he had.  I want to follow Jesus’ commandments, and it is my goal to try to be more like Jesus every day.  I hope that this is the goal of every person who names Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

     III John 11 tells us what the life of a Christian should resemble.  We should not imitate what is evil but we should do good.  John says, “Anyone who does what is good is from God.  Anyone who does evil has not seen God.”

     When a person claims to have faith in Jesus, that faith must be demonstrated by a life of good works.  John speaks about this in I John, and Jesus’ brother James says the same thing very extensively in the epistle that bears his name.

     If someone says that they are a Christian, but they are not doing good, it reflects a lack of possession of faith.  Let us all be faithful followers of the Lord Jesus who are doing as much good in the world as we possibly can so that we can leave this world a little bit better than the way we found it.

     As you can clearly see, for a small book, III John has a lot to teach us.  However, of all the small books that we have studied, none compares with the amount of spiritual teaching we will encounter in the book of Jude.