The Third Epistle of John. We will read the whole letter.
The elder unto the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
Beloved, I pray that in all things thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
For I rejoiced greatly, when brethren came and bare witness unto thy truth, even as thou walkest in truth.
Greater joy have I none than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.
Beloved, thou doest a faithful work in whatsoever thou doest toward them that are brethren and strangers withal;
Who bare witness to thy love before the church: whom thou wilt do well to set forward on their journey worthily of God:
Because that for the sake of the Name they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.
We therefore ought to welcome such, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
I wrote somewhat unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works which he doeth, prating against us with wicked words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that would he forbiddeth and casteth them out of the church.
Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
Demetrius hath the witness of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, we also bear witness; and thou knowest that our witness is true.
I had many things to write unto thee, but I am unwilling to write them to thee with ink and pen:
But I hope shortly to see thee, and we shall speak face to face.
Peace be unto thee. The friends salute thee. Salute the friends by name.
Let us look to the Lord.
Dear Heavenly Father, we are in Thy presence, and we do pray that the light of Thy countenance will shine upon our hearts. We pray that Thou wilt remove any veil that may be upon us, that we may behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, that we may be transformed by Thy Word, through Thy Holy Spirit, from glory to glory, according to Thine image.
Our Father, we just commit this time into Thy hands and trust Thy Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
The second and the third letters of John are very closely related. We know both these letters were written by John the elder. As we mentioned last time, John the elder is none other than the Apostle John, who is now in his advanced age. He is the aged John. He has known the Lord for many, many years, and he is writing this personal letter.
Now, these two letters, Second John and Third John, were written approximately around the years 95 to 98 A.D. In the second letter, we have some problem with the receiver of that letter, because we are not sure whether the elect lady is an individual or whether she is representative of a church, or the church in general.
But so far as Third John is concerned, we do not have such problems, because this third letter of John is written to Gaius, the beloved.
Now, we know in the New Testament there are a few Gaiuses, because this is a common name. For instance, in Acts 19, we have Gaius, a Macedonian. We remember that during the tumult in Ephesus, the people took hold of Gaius and put him into the theater.
And then, when you come to Acts 20, you will find there is another Gaius, Gaius of Derbe, and he is among those people who traveled with Paul to Asia. Then, if you read 1 Corinthians, you will find there is another Gaius. He is the host of the Apostle Paul, and not only the host of the Apostle Paul, but he is the host of the whole church. He is among the few whom the Apostle himself baptized.
But most likely, the Gaius that John the elder addressed is not any of these three. Now, even though the last Gaius we mentioned, Gaius of Corinth, was a very hospitable person and had the same character as the Gaius in this letter, we feel that he may not be the same one.
Why? Because the Gaius of Corinth is more related to the Apostle Paul, and this Gaius is more related to the Apostle John. John mentioned in this very letter that he feels extremely glad when his children are walking in truth. So evidently this Gaius must be one of the children of John in faith, and therefore we feel that this must be a very different Gaius.
But anyway, we find this Gaius, of whatever city he may be, is a brother in the Lord, and he is a very hospitable person. Because he loved the Lord, he was loved by God and by the apostle. Now, the Apostle John said that he loved Gaius in truth.
Now, this love is not human love. It is not that emotional type of love. This love that John has for Gaius is divine love. It is selfless love, and it is a love that is based upon truth.
Because we know the Apostle John, he loves the truth, and he loves everyone who walks in the truth. You know, this letter is very, very interesting. Even though it is a very short letter, yet we find there is so much in this letter.
For instance, the second verse in this letter says:
Beloved, I pray that in all things thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
You know, this is a standard quote for people who preach the gospel of prosperity. We know today there is a gospel being preached, and it is very popular in Christianity, especially in this country. It is the prosperity gospel. In other words, God wants you to prosper. God wants you to have wealth. God wants you to have health, and God wants you to have everything. Prosperity gospel.
And who does not want to be prosperous? This is a standard quote. But unfortunately, people forget, in quoting this verse, they quote the first part of it and forget the last part of it. In other words, they say, “I desire that in all things thou mayest prosper and be in health.” Period.
Instead of seeing, “even as thy soul prospereth.” In other words, the reason why the Apostle John wishes that Gaius be prospered in wealth and in health is because his soul is prosperous.
Now, you dare not pray for a person that God will bless him and make him rich and give him good health if his soul is not prosperous. Why? Because that will be most dangerous. That will lead him into many temptations, and that may also mean his destruction.
But for a soul that is prosperous in the sight of God, then you will find wealth and health will be of great service to the Lord. Now, this man Gaius has a prosperous soul. Now, what does it mean?
It means that he has a soul that is being saved. You know, in the Bible we find the salvation of the soul. Not only is our spirit being saved; our spirit is being saved by believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior.
That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
So, when we believe in the Lord Jesus and accept Him as our personal Savior, we are born again. Our spirit is being renewed. That is the salvation of our spirit.
But in the Bible, we find that salvation is for the whole being. Not only does our spirit need to be saved, but even our soul—our personality, our very person—needs to be saved. In other words, our mind, our emotion, and our volition need to be renewed so that Christ may be expressed through us.
Now, how can a soul be prosperous? How can a soul be saved? A soul can be saved by losing your own self. In other words, you remember our Lord Jesus said:
Deny thyself, and take up thy cross, and follow Me.
He that would save his soul-life shall lose it;
But whosoever shall lose his soul-life for My sake and the gospel’s shall save it unto eternal life.
So, dear brothers and sisters, our soul needs to be saved. Only when our soul is saved and prosperous in the sight of God can it be said to prosper. The only way to have our soul saved is to lose our soul-life.
In other words, we are willing to deny ourselves. We are willing to take up the cross and follow the Lord Jesus, so that our soul-life will be purified. Christ will reside in our heart, and He will rule in our soul. Therefore, our soul is prosperous.
Now, such a person, no doubt, walks in truth, just like this Gaius walked in truth. Because his soul prospered before God, the prayer of the Apostle John was that God would prosper him in physical things and in health.
Why? Because the more God prospers him, the more he will serve God. In other words, to a person whose soul is saved, he does not live for himself anymore. He lives for God.
And because of this reason, you find one character of this man Gaius is hospitality. He lives a selfless life. He is hospitable to people. He is serving other people.
Brothers and sisters, with such a person, I think we can pray that God will prosper him in all things and in health, so that with good health he may serve the Lord more, and with many more resources he may use all for the glory of God.
So, brothers and sisters, let us remember: God does want us to prosper. But remember, basically, the soul needs to prosper. That is more important than anything else. And with the prosperity of the soul, then may God prosper you in all things and in health.
You know, in the old days, there were many believers who traveled from city to city for various reasons. Some people traveled because of business. Other people traveled because of visiting relatives or friends, or for many other purposes, just like today.
And more than that, in the early days you find there were many servants of the Lord. God gave to the church some apostles, some evangelists, some pastors, and teachers. These people were sent by God to visit assembly after assembly in many different places in order to perfect the saints and help the saints.
So in the old days, you find there were not only many believers traveling, but there were many so-called wandering preachers. They were traveling around, helping different assemblies.
And in those days, you find there were not many good hotels. Inns were not only few, but they were very poorly managed. Not only that, the atmosphere in those places was not conducive to Christians.
Because of these reasons, you find hospitality among the believers was something very necessary and very important. It was not only for the sake of lodging brothers and sisters who were traveling, but it also gave a good opportunity for fellowship.
When you have people visiting you, whether brothers or sisters, or servants of the Lord, it is a good opportunity to have fellowship. Through fellowship, people are built up and united in one spirit and in one soul. So, in the early days, hospitality was a big thing. It was a necessary thing, and it was a practice among God’s people.
Hospitality is one of God’s characteristics. When we think of God, our God is most hospitable. Our God is a giving God. Our God is a loving God. Our God is a caring God.
Before He created man, He first created other things. So when man came into the world, you find God had made every provision for man. Even when man fell into sin, you find God again provided salvation for mankind.
You find that our God lets the sun rise over the good as well as the evil, and He sends rain to the wicked and to the good. Our God is such a generous God. He is so kind, so generous. He is so hospitable. You find this is God’s character.
You cannot think of God as very stingy, as very selfish. No, you find God is selfless, generous, giving, hospitable. That is God’s character. And because this is God’s character, you find in Old Testament times how He commanded the children of Israel to be hospitable, just as He is hospitable.
You read the Old Testament. For instance, if you read Deuteronomy 15, you will find God said that your hand should be bountiful to your brother, to the poor, to the needy, and to the stranger.
And in Deuteronomy 16, it says that when you go to the Feast of Tabernacles, you should include the Levites, the strangers, the widows, the fatherless, and the poor in your city with you.
If you read Deuteronomy 24, you will find God again said that when you are harvesting and leave some sheaves behind, you cannot go back and pick them up, because those sheaves that you forget to pick up should be left for the strangers, for the widows, and for the fatherless.
When you are shaking the olive trees, you cannot shake them again, because whatever fruit remains is for the poor, for the strangers, and for the fatherless. When you are reaping, the same thing is true. Whatever is left there, you cannot go back and pick it up again, because it is for the strangers, for the poor, and for the fatherless.
You find throughout the Old Testament, in God’s commandments, statutes, and precepts, it is just exhibiting and manifesting the character of God. God’s character is such that He is most hospitable. He always thinks of the need of people. He is so selfless, and He wants His people to be like that.
Now, when you come to the New Testament, you find in Romans 12:13 it is said, “Be hospitable.” This is a command to all God’s children.
So far as gifts are concerned, different people may have different gifts. But so far as grace is concerned, everybody has the same. Hospitality is not only a gift; it is a grace.
Here it is said that we need to be hospitable. In other words, we need to think of others. We need to care for others. We need to share with others. Hospitality is fellowship. Hospitality is a practical way of fellowship, sharing with others whatever God has given to us.
And if you read Hebrews 13:2, you will find it is said again:
Let brotherly love continue.
Forget not to show love unto strangers:
For thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Messengers of God. So it is in the Word of God that we need to be hospitable.
Brothers and sisters, if you read Titus 1 or 1 Timothy 3, you will find one of the qualifications of an elder is hospitality. So this is something that God really desires His people to have: to be hospitable, just as He is hospitable.
Of course, the classical example of hospitality you can find in Genesis 18. You find there Abraham, at the heat of the day, was sitting at the door of his tent. Three men suddenly appeared before him.
The Bible says that Abraham ran to meet them and bowed down before them and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray Thee, from Thy servant. Let a little water be fetched, and wash Your feet, and rest Yourselves under the tree. Let me fetch a morsel of bread, and strengthen Ye Your hearts.”
You find the Lord said, “All right.” Abraham hurried back and prepared the cakes. Not only that, but he even took a calf, tender and good. He prepared everything, put it before them, and stood by and served them.
During the time of eating, they had fellowship. The Lord said to Abraham, “Where is Sarah?” And God promised Abraham on that very day that Sarah would have a son.
When they finished the feast, the Bible says Abraham went with them for a distance. In other words, he would not just say, “All right, now you can go.” No, he went along with them for a distance, just to send them off. That is hospitality.
Because of his doing that, God revealed to Abraham what He was going to do with Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham was able to intercede for Lot.
So, brothers and sisters, here you find hospitality is not a burden. Hospitality is a favor. Sometimes we think hospitality is a burden. Now brothers and sisters have come—what should we do? We have to do something for them. It is as if it is a burden.
But no, brothers and sisters. You find Abraham said, “If now I have found favor in Thy sight.” Oh, brothers and sisters, if anyone is willing to be entertained by you, if anyone is willing to be helped by you, it is a favor. They are doing you a favor.
We should not consider hospitality as a burden. We should consider hospitality as a great favor from God. When you are doing that, you do it in such a way as God would do. You do it generously.
You do it in such a fashion. Abraham just said, “I will bring You a morsel of bread,” but he brought the calf. Now, that is hospitality.
Hospitality is not merely saying, “Now you have finished eating. All right, you can go now. I have other things to do.” No, go a distance with them. Send them away in a royal fashion. Brothers and sisters, that is Christian hospitality.
Now remember, hospitality is not sociability. Sociability and hospitality are two different things. Why? Because the very word hospitality, in Greek, is philoxenia. Philo means love; xenia means a stranger. So hospitality actually means love for a stranger.
Now, what is sociability? Some people are very social, you know, and because you are very social, you entertain a lot. But whom do you entertain? You entertain people of your own status, your own peers, people of your own rank. No, that is not hospitality.
Hospitality is love for a stranger. Love for a stranger. That is the reason why our Lord Jesus said in Luke 14, when you entertain, do not entertain those rich people, those people who are able to repay you. Now, that is sociability.
If you invite someone for a meal and expect that someone to invite you back, that is sociability. But hospitality is different. Hospitality, the Lord said, is to invite the poor, the blind, and the crippled, those who have no way to repay you. So God will repay you. Now, that is hospitality.
Dear brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus is most hospitable. You remember one day He was preaching, and these people loved to hear Him preach. They were with Him for three days. They had eaten all the food they brought, and the disciples came and said, “Now it is toward evening. Send them away so that they can buy food.”
But the Lord said, “No, let us feed them. Let us feed them.” The Lord just could not allow people to leave His presence hungry. Oh, how hospitable is our Lord.
You remember that on that night when He was betrayed, as He was gathering with His own, how He got up, girded Himself with a towel, poured water in the basin, and washed His disciples’ feet. That is hospitality. Our Lord Jesus is most hospitable.
When He sent His disciples to preach the gospel in Matthew 10, He commanded His twelve disciples to go to the house of Israel. “Do not go to the Gentiles, but go to the house of Israel. Bring nothing.”
Do not bring gold or silver or brass; no wallet, no two coats, no sandals. Why? Because a workman is worthy of his food. Whenever you come to any city, inquire who is worthy, and then go and stay with him until you leave.
When you enter the house, salute it. If that house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Now, brothers and sisters, why is this so? Because the children of Israel, being God’s chosen people, were commanded to be hospitable. They were supposed to be hospitable. That is the reason why the Lord said, when His disciples went to the house of Israel, they did not need to provide anything for themselves.
At the end of that same chapter, the Lord Jesus said:
He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward:
And he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Brothers and sisters, in the early days, they did not have what Christianity today has: the pastor system, the resident pastor. In other words, every church has a pastor residing there, and he takes care of their spiritual needs. Now, in the early days, you did not have this kind of system.
In the early days, you find when God’s people were together, there would be elders who would govern, supervise, and shepherd them. In some churches, like the church in Antioch, there may have been prophets and teachers raised up for the local need of ministry. But lots of ministries were being done by traveling preachers.
Those apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers whom God gave to the church did not reside in one place. They traveled from place to place, visiting different assemblies, and there they ministered the Word of God to them.
So, in those early days, you find they went out in the name of the Lord Jesus. They did not accept anything from the Gentiles, from the unbelievers. Naturally, they would be entertained and helped by the brothers and sisters in various places. Now, that is the natural thing to do.
I do believe that as we begin to return to what the Word of God says, as we begin to return to the recovery, to the practice of the early days, you will find the need of such hospitality will increase.
In other words, God will send out His servants traveling from place to place in order to help the people of God. In doing that, hospitality is something that is very necessary.
Now, of course, with hospitality you have problems. Why? Because when people begin to travel around, the problem is whom to receive and whom not to receive, whom to entertain and whom not to entertain.
In Second John, you find the Apostle John made it very clear: if anyone should come to you and does not preach that the Lord Jesus came in the flesh—in other words, if anyone should come to you and does not believe that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God, who has come into this world to be a man, to be our Savior—then do not receive him.
Do not even greet him. Do not receive him into your home. Why? Because if you do that, you will partake in his evil.
So you find that in those days there were people like that. These servants of the Lord were traveling around, and in a sense they had a special position, a kind of prestige. When they came to your place, you received them and entertained them.
Suppose there was an unscrupulous person, a person of bad character. He could very well take advantage of this hospitality. People could make a very good living out of it and have a very easy and comfortable life. They would not need to work. They would just travel from place to place and take advantage of the local assembly. There were such people, and there are still people doing the same.
That is one reason why the Apostle John said, if anyone should come to you and he does not preach that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, if he does not believe that the Son of God has come to be a man, to be our Savior, then do not receive him.
You do not need to be hospitable to such a stranger, because if you do, you will be partakers of that evil. In other words, you will be influenced by that evil.
Because of that, you find the early church practiced what we call letters of commendation. When brothers and sisters were traveling to strange cities, usually they were given a letter of commendation.
For instance, Paul wrote a letter to the Romans. In the letter to the Romans, in Romans 16, you find he was using that opportunity to recommend Phoebe. Phoebe was visiting Rome from Cenchreae on business, and she did not know anybody in Rome.
Paul knew some of God’s people in Rome, the assembly there, so he wrote a recommendation and sent it with Phoebe: “She has been a patroness to me and to many people. She has helped many people. So, if she needs help, give help to her.” You know, a letter of recommendation.
Not only that, you find that Apollos, that man of great biblical knowledge, came to Ephesus. He preached Christ, but he only knew the baptism of John. Finally, Aquila and Priscilla helped him. Apollos wanted to go to Corinth, so they wrote a letter of recommendation, recommending him to the brethren in Corinth. He went to Corinth, was received by them, and greatly helped the people there.
In 2 Corinthians, you find how Paul recommended Titus. So you find it was a common practice in the early days because of the abuse.
Therefore, there was a common practice to write a letter of recommendation. But not because there was abuse were they no longer hospitable. In every good thing, there will be abuse, but you cannot go by abuse. You have to walk in truth.
If anyone should walk in truth, he is beloved of God. So here you find in the third letter, whereas in the second letter John dealt with the negative side—if anyone should come with false doctrine, do not receive him—in Third John he deals with it in a positive way.
He commends Gaius because Gaius is hospitable. Evidently, John wrote a letter to that church. He said, “I wrote somewhat unto the church.” Evidently, he wrote a letter to the church, probably recommending some brothers who were traveling and preaching the gospel at that time.
But unfortunately, they were not received. Gaius, in that church, walked in truth. He received these brothers. He was hospitable to these brothers. So John wrote this letter to him to commend him, in other words, to encourage him.
Since the church did not receive these brothers, but Gaius did, John encouraged him and said, “Now, you did what you should do, and you can do more—not only to receive them, but even to send them onward—because they do not receive anything from the nations.”
Hospitality is a virtue, a virtue that we all need to have. In other words, it is not a matter of how able you are; it is a matter of love. It is not a matter of how sociable you are; it is a matter of your walking in truth.
So here in this letter, we see Christ in hospitality. Because when God’s people practice hospitality, Christ is being manifested. You do not do it for any other reason. You do it for the love of Christ. You love a stranger because you love Christ, and in doing that, Christ is being manifested.
I do believe that this is something that we need to learn more together, brothers and sisters. It is not just for a few to practice hospitality. Hospitality must be practiced by all.
Not just lodging people. Maybe your house is too small, and you cannot lodge people. Now, I remember back in China once, someone came to a certain place, and a brother invited him to stay with him.
When night came, he had only one room and one bed. He asked that brother to sleep in the bed. After midnight, the brother heard some noise. He did not know where the sound came from. He looked around, and he saw the brother who was entertaining him sleeping under the bed.
He had very little with which to entertain, but he did his best.
I remember another story about J. N. Darby. Darby was a great brother in the Brethren movement. One day, a poor brother asked him to come and have a meal with him. Darby consented because Darby was a very humble person.
This brother had nothing to serve him, but his son had a rabbit. So he killed that rabbit to entertain that great spiritual man, Darby. Darby came to the house, and the rabbit was cooked and put on the table.
Darby noticed that the son was crying, and he did not understand. He tried to talk to them. Then he discovered that the rabbit was the boy’s pet. So Darby would not eat it. He would not eat it.
Brothers and sisters, I use that as an illustration. It is not just a matter of how able you are. It is a matter of your heart. We need to have the character of God. God’s people need to be hospitable.
Now, it is true that there are abuses. That is true. There are ways, in a sense, to control these abuses. For instance, just as we have said, if people come with strange doctrine, do not receive them.
Furthermore, if you read on, you will find another criterion: the character of that person. Not only his teaching, but his character needs to be considered. Because unfortunately, in this world there are people who take advantage.
If you read church history, there are many funny things, many abuses. Sometimes they even made a rule: if any preacher should come to you and stay over three days, he is a false prophet.
Well, I am not endorsing that. But anyway, it shows that there are abuses. That is true.
But as the Lord says, at the end, when lawlessness prevails, will He find love among His people? You know, it is very easy to close our hearts, very easy. But that is not God’s character.
God’s people need to be characterized by the character of God. Brothers and sisters, this is fellowship. This is something everybody can do. This is something that is not limited only to a few.
We do look to the Lord that He will stir our hearts up. Oftentimes, when some strangers come into our midst, after the meeting is over, we let them go. You do not know whether they will go hungry or not. Where is our sense of hospitality?
Brothers and sisters, it is true: practicing hospitality needs some sacrifice. But our God is a sacrificial God, and He never draws back. He always gives, and He expects us, who have His very life in us, to do the same.
Thank God for Gaius. He may be a man of means. He was able to do quite a lot. Because his heart was right, John prayed that God would prosper him more so that he could do more for the Lord. Nobody lives for himself or herself. We all live for Christ, for God.
But you find in that church—we do not know what church it was—there was another problem. Thank God for Gaius, who was so hospitable. But you find in the church there was this problem because there was another man called Diotrephes.
Now, evidently Diotrephes probably was one of the elders there, one of the leading brothers there. But he was a man of ambition. He was not contented just to be one of the leaders.
You know, God has great wisdom. That is the reason why you find in the New Testament elders are always in plural number. In other words, God always wants collective leadership in the church. Why? Because Christ Himself is the Head, and no one person can represent Him as the Head of the church.
So it needs a collective eldership to represent Him, so that no one man will take charge or take over the church. But you find through church history, like here at the end of the first century, there were people who were very ambitious.
Do not think that you find ambitious people only in the political world. You will find there are more ambitious people in the religious world. Unfortunately, this is Diotrephes. He wants to have the first place in the church.
In other words, he is an ambitious person. He wants to control the church. He is not contented just to be one of the leaders, but somehow, through his maneuvering, he is able to control and hold the church in his hand. He made the flock of God his own private property.
He did it in such a way that when John the Apostle wrote a letter to the church, recommending some brothers who would be a help to the church, he rejected them. He would not receive the letter. He would not receive these people.
Furthermore, he said something slanderous against John and against these brothers. When other brothers and sisters were willing to receive these people, he forbade them. Not only did he forbid them, but if they wanted to receive them, he cast them out of the church.
We do not know whether that was excommunication or not. People can so abuse authority and excommunicate whoever they are not pleased with. He cast them out. There was such a person in that church.
He deprived God’s people of the privilege of the ministry of those whom God had sent to them. He was a dictator in the church. Now you have this problem.
How do you deal with such a problem? We are supposed to be hospitable, walking in truth. But here you find a man who will try to control the church and will not allow this hospitality to be exercised for those who are worthy of it. How are you going to deal with the situation?
Number one, John said, “When I come, I will bring to remembrance his works.” In other words, it will be a matter of spiritual authority against the abuse of authority.
When authority is abused, it can only be dealt with by true spiritual authority. With true spiritual authority, that abuse of authority will be dealt with. Now, that is one thing.
The other thing is, John said, “Do not imitate evil, but imitate good.” Because what is evil is not of God, but what is good is of God.
So, brothers and sisters, here you find maybe Gaius was in great difficulty. Diotrephes forbade people to be hospitable, and here you find Gaius was hospitable. So I do not know whether he was cast out or not. Probably he was.
John encouraged him: when you are in that kind of situation, how do you deal with it? You have to imitate good and not imitate evil.
So, brothers and sisters, when authority is wrongly used, then your responsibility is to obey God rather than obey man. Submit in attitude, but you may not be obedient to men when obedience to men would mean disobedience to God.
To God, we have to be one hundred percent submissive in attitude and obedient in practice. But with men who represent God, because they are men, if we are under authority, we can submit in attitude but not necessarily obey. We have to obey God.
Now, do not misunderstand this. It is not because something does not please you that you say, “I do not need to obey.” But it is a matter of obeying God or obeying man. Gaius had to obey God. Even though he might have been cast out, he had to obey God, not obey man.
So this is another problem you find in the church there. Now, thank God for this letter, because otherwise, when we encounter such situations, we do not know what to do.
Then you find in this matter there is a third person mentioned: Demetrius. Evidently, Demetrius must be one of those wandering preachers. He must be one of those whom God had sent to the churches—a prophet, maybe; an evangelist, maybe; a pastor-teacher, maybe.
Evidently, he is the bearer of this letter. John wrote another letter, not to the church, because the church had rejected it, but to Gaius. Probably this man was the bearer of this letter, and he was a servant of the Lord.
Notice his character. He is recommended by all. Everyone who met him recommended him. He was recommended by the truth. He was faithful to the truth. He was recommended by John.
Now, with such a recommendation, I do not think you need to have any problem being hospitable. So, brothers and sisters, here you find another side in this matter of hospitality.
On the one hand, it is our duty, our privilege, and our honor to do it. On the other hand, we do need to be discerning. In discerning, not only do we need to discern the doctrine side, but we also need to discern the character side.
If there is no problem with the doctrine nor with the character, then, of course, we should be hospitable to these people.
Now, thank God for this letter, because it does show us fellowship in practice. Fellowship is not a theory. Fellowship is a life. It is daily life. It is something that we all can practice.
Of course, brothers and sisters, you do not limit hospitality merely to providing lodging. You do not limit hospitality merely to providing food. Even if you give a cup of cold water to one of the little ones, it is hospitality.
The Lord said that if you visit the sick, you are visiting the Lord. If you visit those in prison, you are visiting the Lord. If you clothe the poor, you are clothing the Lord. In other words, hospitality is very broad. Do not think it is just limited to food and lodging.
It is very broad. You can be hospitable in many, many different ways. Just as it is already being practiced, thank God for that. If some family has problems, perhaps someone is sick, perhaps the wife is sick, some other sisters may cook food for the family or send something there. Things like that help.
Visiting the elderly sisters, for whom people may long—now, that is all hospitality. All these are included. We can find areas of hospitality everywhere. The thing is, do we have such a heart?
With a heart like the heart of God, the opportunity for hospitality is never lacking. So may the Lord help us.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do desire to have Thy character characterize us. Lord, we do acknowledge that we are small people. We need Thee to enlarge us, that we may be kind, that we may be generous, that we may be hospitable, that we may be all-embracing as Thou art.
O Lord, do create in us a heart like Thine. Also give us discernment, that we may know what to do and what not to do, that we may be a people who not only know the truth, but walk in truth, to the glory of God.
In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.