Chapter 25
3 John 1:5-8
3 John 1:5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
John opened this third letter with a greeting to Gaius that included a wish that his physical health would be as good as his spiritual health. He also conveyed that after hearing how Gaius offered his support and hospitality to a group of previously unknown Christians, John wanted to let him know how that the news made him rejoice seeing how Gaius was indeed walking in God’s truth. As Christians we need to respond to God’s truth by living God’s truth, here we see how our joy can be complete when we work together with other believers for God’s kingdom (see Luke 6:46-49; 11:27-28: John 13:13-17; James 1:19-27).
John returns to calling Gaius, ‘beloved’ (Greek ‘agapētos’) in verse five, where he acknowledges his efforts and that it was a faithful thing for Gaius to do, especially in this situation since he did not know these people (other than knowing they were fellow believers). John is reminding us that we are to be active with other Christians in ministry. Paul outlined several ways for us to share and help each other out: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” (Romans 12:9-13, ESV, read also Galatians 6:1-10) John said that these unknown Christians shared with John and the local church how much Gaius’ love meant to them.
In response, John lovingly suggests (almost like a ‘please’ in our vernacular) that Gaius send these fellow believers on their journey in a manner worthy of God. What do you suppose John means by that phrase since nothing (especially mankind) is worthy of God? In this case, providing these travelers with sufficient provisions (food, drink, clothing, blankets, guidance, etc.) would be a good place to start. To help us further understand the concept of doing something worthy of God, Paul exhorted and encouraged all believers to live in a manner worthy of God (see 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13) and in his letter to the church at Colossae he wrote: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:9-10, ESV) Paul explains that we must first know and grow in God’s Word in order for us to know how to walk in a way that is pleasing to Him.
3 John 1:7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.
John explains that these workers, “have gone out” (Greek word ‘exerchomai’), the same word he used in his first two epistles to demonstrate the fact that the enemy is active and already moving (in 1 John 2:19 and 4:1 he spoke about the false teachers going out and in 2 John 7 he was referring to the intentional deceivers that had gone out into the world). Now John is saying that these traveling Christians (probably itinerant preachers or teachers) were actively involved in God’s kingdom for the sake of the name, gone out to conquer!
What does John mean by the phrase, “for sake of the name?” In this case John is referring to the name of Jesus. As students of the Bible, we recognize how important the “name of God” is (see Acts 5:41-42 and Leviticus 24:11, 16) and how everyone, regardless of what they might think or believe right now, will bow in response to hearing the name of Jesus (read Philippians 2:9-11). Paul also wrote to the Colossian church, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17, ESV) As discussed in Chapter Four, believing in the name of Jesus carries a meaning beyond just being a name, it also refers to His reputation and trusting that He will indeed fulfill every promise. We are to do all things in His name knowing that we can trust Him!
John next points out that they should not accept (or expect) support from Gentiles. The word that is translated here as ‘Gentiles’ is a slight variation of the word typically used in the New Testament that is translated as ‘Gentiles’ (Greek word ‘ethnos’ generally referring to foreign nations or people from foreign nations, in the Bible the context is usually non-Jewish). This word is ‘ethnikos’ which is found only four times in the New Testament and it points directly to the customs or mannerisms of the people from foreign nations and is often translated ‘pagan’ or ‘heathen’. We are to have nothing in common with them.
3 John 1:8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
John concludes that if Christians are not to receive support from non-believers then they are to be supported by fellow believers. The term John uses here that is translated as ‘support’ is a rarely used word (Greek ‘hyperlambanō’) that conveys the concept of receiving them with actions of rendering aid, help in any way and offering of support (not just financially). John says that Gaius became a fellow worker in their ministry just as we become fellow workers with ministries we support.
Now after reading two more verses we can see that John further explains and amplifies what he meant by, “to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God” (verse 6), we can summarize in these three points:
John might ask us today if we are embarrassed by the name of Jesus. When an opportunity to share Jesus with others comes along and we remain quiet, we are elevating our name above His. After all, we spend the first day of each week celebrating God, singing praises, worshiping, praying, confessing, and then as soon as the carpool picks us up on Monday morning or when get into the office, we are afraid of what our friend or coworkers might think or say if we mention our faith. We might even hear about a friend or family member that needs consoling, or perhaps someone asks us about our beliefs and we avoid saying anything that might be considered offensive. It’s during those times that we are concerned that our name or reputation might be tarnished (or worse), thereby we end up promoting our name over His and never talk about Jesus.
The Bible teaches us to keep God’s name holy. We can do that by living a life in a manner worthy of God and be willing to be used by God. How? First know and continue to grow in the Word of God then know what your God-given gifts are and then be willing to apply those gifts wherever God places you in life. We are to use our vocations (secular or otherwise) always to His glory, we are all in full-time ministry!