The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 3 John 1
The little book of 3 John is a tale of three Christians, two of them wonderful men and the other a shameful tyrant. Nothing in this last epistle from the now aged apostle John identifies which Assembly is involved, so we can take lessons for ourselves from these three characters.
John wrote this letter to a man named Gaius, who he regarded very highly. John praises him for being so hospitable to the preachers, those travelling men who carried the Gospel message forth and who visited local assemblies to encourage and edify the saints. Such support for those workers was extremely important then, and it is the same today. How many of us would qualify for as much praise as John had for Gaius?
And hopefully none among us would qualify for the harsh words John had for Diotrephes, a dictator ‘who loveth to have the preeminence among them’ in the Assembly where Gaius was. This overproud overseer had not only rejected John’s apostleship but also rejected any of the preaching brethren who John would send there. May God preserve our Assemblies from such controlling despots as Diotrephes.
But we do need men and women like Demetrius. Nothing is known of this man, apart from John’s mention that he ‘hath good report of all men and of the truth itself’. But knowing this is all we need to know about this good man. The most valuable asset that any Christian can have is a good testimony, like Demetrius.
May you be as hospitable as Gaius and as highly respected as Demetrius. And may you never have to deal with anyone like Diotrephes. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/1P8XOAYPZKg