I have no greater
joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
3 John 1:4
Dear Heavenly
Father, I praise and glorify You. You
have provided everything. Please be with
me today as I continue to study Your Word.
Help me grow deeper in the love and knowledge of You. In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.
In verse 4, John
completes the thanksgiving statement for the opening of the letter. In verse 3, John expresses his gratitude upon
hearing that Gaius walk with Christ. To
conclude, John reiterates how overwhelmed he is of God's unmerited favor
encouraging his disciples to walk in truth.
To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key
words and their companion or similar verses.
"Greater"
in the Greek is megas which means large,
in the widest sense, abundant. It is
used in poetic comparisons.
"Joy" in the Greek is chara
which means gladness, source of joy, rejoice because of grace, grace
recognized, joyousness caused by the Holy Spirit. As we've studied before, joy has the same
root word as rejoice and grace. The word
is xar which means favorably disposed,
leaning toward. John uses
"greater" as a comparison. He
is overwhelmed with joyousness caused by the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more important to him than what he
says next in this verse.
"Hear" in
the Greek is akono which is where we get
the English word, acoustics. Akono means hear, listen, comprehend by
hearing, reported, to hear God's voice prompting to birth faith within a thing
that comes to one's ears, to find out, hearsay, learn. "My" in the Greek is emos which means mine, that which I have, what
I possess, proceeding from me, pertaining or relating to me. Fellow believers have reported observations
of his disciples.
"Children"
in the Greek is teknon which means
descendant, inhabitant, full dependance on the Heavenly Father, relying in the
Lord in glad submission, friendship, trust, pupils or disciples of
teachers. This word is used several
times in New Testament letters. 1
Corinthians 4:14 states "I do not write these things to shame you, but as
my beloved children
I warn you." Galatians 4:19 states
"My little children,
for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you."
The next Scripture
references in the NKJV Bible, translates teknon
as "son." 1 Timothy 1:2 states
"To Timothy, a true son
in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our
Lord." 2 Timothy 1:2 states
"To Timothy, a beloved son:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord." Titus 1:4 states "To
Titus, a true son
in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ our Savior." Philemon
10 states "I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in
my chains."
The word not only
refers to students of these Apostles but also their hearts. The word illustrates how we must all live in
utter dependence upon the Lord (moment-by-moment). We must draw guidance (care, nurture) from
our heavenly Father. It is the childlike
(not childish) attitude of heart that willingly (gladly) submits to the
Father's plan. John has a personal
relationship with these disciples. They fully depend on God.
"Walk" in the Greek is peripeteo which means conduct my life, live
going full circle, walk around, to regulate one's life, to conduct
oneself. "Truth" in the Greek
is aletheia which means not merely truth
as spoken, truth of idea, reality, sincerity, truth in the moral sphere, divine
truth revealed to man, straightforwardness, true to fact, synonymous with
reality opposite to illusion, the truth as taught by Christianity, respecting
God and the execution of His purposes through Christ and respecting the duties
of man opposed to Gentile superstitions - Jewish inventions - and corrupt
opinions of false teachers. John can
envision no greater accomplishment for his students than to have them fully
devoted to God living in His will.
As Christians, we
dedicate our lives to the One who saved us from our sin. In his thanksgiving
statement for this letter, John shows us the ultimate goal for all
Christians. We should live sincerely and
straightforwardly respecting God. We
should relinquish control of our lives and totally rely on Him. But how do we achieve this? First, we need to understand that our lives
aren't bound by fate or luck but by God's plan.
Second, we need to grow deeper in our relationship with God by filling
our minds and time with His word. Third,
we need to love others and serve them.
Jesus stated this better than I could ever write when he said in Mark
12:30-31, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the
first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
I have no greater
joy than this, to hear that my [spiritual] children are living [their lives] in
the truth.
Amplified Bible
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