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3 John
3 John
The early church was spread as Christians went everywhere preaching the word. We get a glimpse of how this worked by our reading of 3 John. Many believers did the actual work of spreading the gospel and are not even named in the writings of the New Testament. God knows who they are and what they did and will reward them according to their faithfulness.
John describes some of these men: "For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth” (vs. 7-8). They went not knowing how they would provide for their own existence, trusting in brethren to follow the teaching of the Lord who said ‘the worker is worthy of his hire’.
Apparently they would get ‘letters of recommendation’ and thus there was a form of a network of communication concerning these men and their efforts. Hence we read of Demetrius having received a good testimony.
Along the way such men would find people like Gaius. He was in a position financially to help such men by providing for their support. John not only commends him for such but prays that things in his life would continue to go well that such efforts on his part would continue.
Of course, there seems also to always be a self-serving, arrogant, trouble-maker like Diotrephes. I always marvel at such big ducks in small ponds and wonder how they get so skewed in their thinking. So he could ‘control’ things in a local congregation, so he could wield ‘self-appointed’ authority over who would be supported and accepted in a local setting, so what? Such are serving themselves and not the Lord.
Brethren, let us serve the Lord in sincerity and humility. Let us not be puffed up but recognize that we are a temporary and small part of God’s working here. Let us use what abilities and worldly goods that we have to help further the gospel. We need more men like Gaius and none like Diotrephes! “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; and whoever does evil has not seen God” (vs. 11).
Hugh DeLong
