Inductive Study: 3 John 1:11

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

3 John 1:11

Dear Heavenly Father, please be with me as I study tonight.  Help me grow in wisdom and be humble in all things.  Please with my daughter on her vacation.  Protect her and bring her back to campus safely.  Please be with my son as he prepares for college.  Continue to encourage and direct my wife.  In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.

We are beginning the conclusion of the letter.  After his rebuke of Diotrephes, John gives instructions to Gaius and summarizes his admonishment.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Beloved" in the Greek is agapetos which means divinely loved, personally experiencing God’s agape love, esteemed, dear, favorite, bound together by mutual affection, fellow Christian.  Gaius, the recipient of this letter, is one who John highly esteems and is loved by God.

"Imitate" in the Greek is mimeomai which means follow, emulating a mentor or example. Psalm 34:14 states "Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it." Psalm 37:27 states "Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore." Isaiah 1:16-17 states "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow."  John instructs Gaius to emulate good not evil and to model his life and behavior on the good example.  But what is good and what is evil?

"Evil" in the Greek is kakos which means bad, evil in the widest sense, inner malice, inwardly foul, morally rotten, contrary to the law (divine or human),  wrong, wicked, commit sin.  In the previous verses in Psalms and Isaiah, "Evil" in the Hebrew is ra or rao which means adversity, disagreeable, unethical, wrong, badness, rottenness, sadness, ugliness, wickedness.  1 John 3:6 states "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him."  John instructs Gaius to not live breaking God's law.  John instructs him not to sin.  Sin is evil.

"Good" in the Greek is agathos which means intrinsically good, good in nature, inherently good, describes what originated from God and is empowered by Him in their life through faith, exhibiting Godly character/moral character/integrity, upright, honorable, acceptable to God.  In the previous verses in Psalms and Isaiah, "Good" in the Hebrew is towb or yatab which means beautiful, pleasant, agreeable to the senses, well, pleasing, do well, right, ethically, absolute toward men.  1 John 2:29 states "If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him."  John instructs Gaius to do what is acceptable to God, upright, and honorable.  "Good" is the direct opposite to "evil."  Therefore, if what we do is not acceptable to God, the action is acceptable to Satan.  It is a question of morality.

In the Stanford Dictionary of Philosophy, "Morality" is defined "descriptively to refer to certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group (such as a religion), or accepted by an individual for her own behavior, or normatively to refer to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons."  God defines "morality" for us in the Bible.  If we venture from that "morality," in reality, our morals become of our own choosing subject to the whims of society at even given point in history.  Without God, there are no morals that are universally accepted by rational persons.  Put simply, being accepted or rational again depends on the whims of society at any given point in history, geographic location, and/or culture.  This is proven by the fact that the world has no universal government.  Every time the world strives for one government, it fails.  People are too full of their own wants, desires, and beliefs in what is right.  People sin.  That is also why the world cannot make peace.

"Seen" in the Greek is horao which means look upon, experience, perceive, discern, beware, to seek with mind, observe, give attention to, has no personal experience with Him, doesn’t know Him.  "God" in the Greek is theos which means God the creator and maker of all things, God the Father, the only true God.  A person who is upright and honorable shines God the Father.  A person who breaks God's law doesn't know God.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.   Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

In September 25, 2015, Scientific America published an article, "Morals, Not memories define who we are."  The scientists stated "Although Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases may powerfully impact the mental functioning of individuals, sufferers can find some solace in the fact that substantial memory deficits—when unaccompanied by changes in moral characteristics—seem to have no effect on how others perceive 'who you are.'"  They further stated "Analysis of the data revealed that participants perceived the greatest disruptions in patients’ identity when they observed changes in moral traits. Other cognitive deficits—like those seen with amnesia—had no measurable effect on the perception of identity. Consequently, those with frontotemporal dementia showed the greatest changes in perceived identity, since it specifically affects the frontal lobe functions underlying moral reasoning and behavior." 

Who we are is defined by our moral character. 

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but [imitate] what is good. The one who practices good [exhibiting godly character, moral courage and personal integrity] is of God; the one who practices [or permits or tolerates] evil has not seen God [he has no personal experience with Him and does not know Him at all].

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Inductive Study: 3 John 1:10

Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

3 John 1:10

Dear Heavenly Father, please give me clarity today as I complete my study of this verse.  Please give me clear thought and understanding.  Please be with my son as he graduates from High School tonight.  Continue to encourage and lead him.  In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.

We are still in the body of this letter, specifically admonishment.  This verse continues the  ethical rebuke of Diotrephes.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Therefore" in the Greek is dia which means through, on account of, by reason of, for the sake of, successfully to the other side, for this cause, since this is so.  "Come" in the Greek is erchomai which means go, arrived, entered, to come from one place to the other.  Since Diotrephes desires to be famous and first in all things, John describes what he will do if he travels to Ephesus.

"Call to mind" in the Greek is hupomimnesko which means remind, remember, to remember because prompted, to cause to remember, recall to mind.  It is made up of the word hypo which means "under" and mimnesko which means "remember."  "Deeds" in the Greek is ergon which means work, labor, action, that which is wrought or made, action that completes an inner desire or purpose.  John will through prompting of everyone's mind cause rememberance of Diotrephes' actions that completes his inner desires.

"Prating" in the Greek is phuareo which means gossip against, talk idly, make empty charge against, talk nonsense, overflowing with speech.  Phuareo only appears once in the Bible.  It's root word is phylaros which means to bubble up, boil over, to bring forward idle accusations. Idle means pointless, frivolous, petty, shallow.  "Malicious" in the Greek is poneros which means evil, bad, wicked, slothful, inevitable agonies that go along with evil, pain-ridden.  John reminds them that Diotrephes loves gossiping about John and his fellow workers bringing forward frivolous and shallow accusations.

"Content" in the Greek is arkeo which means sufficient, satisfied, to be enough, suffice.  "Receive" in the Greek is epidechomai which means accept, admit, welcome, aptly welcome, receive hospitably, not reject.  It is made up of the word epi which means "on, fitting" and dexomai which means "welcome."  "Brethren" in the Greek is adelphos which means brother, member of the same religious community, fellow Christian, fellow believer, united to another by the bond of affection.  Since his gossiping and idle charges against them aren't enough, Diotrephes doesn't hospitably welcome his fellow Christians.

"Forbids" in the Greek is koluo which means prevent, hinder, to cut off, to cut short, deny or refuse a thing, withhold a thing from anyone.  "Wish" in the Greek is boulomai which means will, intend, desire, to plan with full desire, have a purpose, to will deliberately.  Diotrephes prevents and denies his congregation from welcoming fellow believers.

"Putting" in the Greek is ekballo which means throw, cast, banish, expel a person from society, banish from family.  "Church" in the Greek is ekklesia which means assembly, congregation, whole body of Christian believers, people called out of the world to God, a company of Christians.  Ekklesia is made of the word iek (out from and to) and kaleo (to call).  Therefore, people called out of somewhere.  Diotrephes kicks out of his congregation anyone who would receive the brethren.  Diotrephes persecutes anyone who doesn't say or believe like he does.  These people are intolerant in Diotrephes' eyes. 

As the world's morals fade away from Christian teachings, our definition of words change or at least how we use them.  Intolerant is defined as NOT showing willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree or differs from one's own.  This word is now being used as a sledge hammer to people who don't conform to the world's morality.  If the world says, you must like ducks.  However, if you hate them because the quacking is annoying, you are intolerant.  Your opinion cannot exist.  It must be expunged from reality.  What makes this use of the word dangerous is that the world's morality changes.  Therefore one day, you can be on the right side of history and the next day be banished.

As we read in this verse, this use of intolerance is not new.  Diotrephes is systematically culling his congregation to conform to his ideas by not allowing the missionaries into his church and also by removing anyone that sympathizes with them.  Throughout history, this is Satan's convenient strategy that has been employed over and over again, most recently with Soviet communism.  We must hold onto the Truth and use the Truth to counter respectfully other people's ideas and opinions.  By being gracious and fair in our discussions, we can model Christ and continue to spread the Gospel.

For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, unjustly accusing us with wicked words and unjustified charges. And not satisfied with this, he refuses to receive the [missionary] brothers himself, and also forbids those who want to [welcome them] and puts them out of the church.

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Inductive Study: 3 John 1:9

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

3 John 1:9

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise Your name for Your creation.  This weekend I got to spend some time where the ocean meets the land.  The cool light emerald water thrashed when it arrived at the beach.  The sand softened my feet.  I loved the peace that Your world afforded to me as I prayed.  This world just didn't happen.  It was crafted.  The world was designed by You.  I'm humbled my the scope of Your glory and majesty.  Please be with me tonight as I continued to study Your word.  In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.

Still in the body of John's letter, this verse comes after the initial exhortation.  This part of the letter focuses on doctrine, either by a thesis statement (theory to be proved) or ethical admonition (a warning, rebuke, counsel).  This verse is an ethical admonition of Diotrephes.  His name only appears in 3 John.  Diotrephes has been classified as a Judaizer who believes that Christians should follow Old Covenant laws from the Bible.  Galatians 2:14 states "But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, 'If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?'"  The word "to live as Jews" is Ioudaizó in the Greek which means to become a Judaean, i.e. "Judaize." However, these Old Covenant laws were supplanted by the New Covenant in Jesus as told in the New Testament.   To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Wrote" in the Greek is grapho which means pass, it is written, it stands written (in the Scriptures), to write to one, to give information, to give direction, followed by the words written, to be written in a letter.  The English word, church, comes from the Greek word, kyriakos, which means belonging to the Lord.  However in this verse, "church" in the Greek is ekklesia which means assembly, congregation, whole body of Christian believers, people called out of the world to God, a company of Christians.  Ekklesia is made of the word iek (out from and to) and kaleo (to call).  Therefore, people called out of somewhere.  John wrote a letter to the whole body of believers called out of the world.

The name "Diotrephes" means cherished by Zeus, an opponent to the apostle John, foster-child of Zeus, a proud and arrogant man, opponent to Christianity, nourish-feed-pamper Jupiter.  "Loves to have the preeminence" in the Greek is philoproteou which means desire preeminence, strive to be first, I love the chief place, fond of being first, to aspire superiority, surpassing all others.  This word only appears in 3 John.  "Receive" in the Greek is epidechomai which means accept, admit, welcome, welcoming with its effects, welcome in a manner that is appropriate and suitable in the circumstances, to accept what is true, to receive hospitality.  However, Diotrephes, the foster-child of Zeus, who desires, strives, aspires to be superior to all doesn't appropriately acknowledge, welcome, accept John and the people with John.

Do you always have to be first?  Do you always have to be correct?  Do you ignore others because you are better than them?  If so, why do you?  I've seen people so consumed to always be correct or right that they will destroy friendships.  I've seen people be snooty and snotty because they feel superior.  These people have a need to fill.  They are empty inside. They have a hunger that they try to cure by being better than anyone else.  They are addicted to the feeling of preeminence.  This concept can be summarized by the word, "pride." 

In the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, "pride" appears over 51 times.  Proverbs 11:2 states "When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom."  Proverbs 16:18 states "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."  Proverbs 29:23 states "A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor."  In Mark 7:20-22, Jesus said "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

If you suffer from a superiority complex, a psychological defense mechanism in which a person's feelings of superiority counter or conceal his or her feelings of inferiority, there is good news.  Let's be truthful here, if you have to be first, correct, or ignore others because you feel better than them, you are plugging up the empty void in your life.  But, God loves you. 

Philippians 2:5-11 states "Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  Christ died for you.  He paid your debt.  All He asks is to believe in Him and what He did for you.  Be freed.  Accept His free gift.

I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to put himself first, does not accept what we say and refuses to recognize my authority.

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