SERIES: The Letters of John
TEXT: 3 John 1-14
MESSAGE: “What Matters Most”

Q: Who was your best friend growing up?

• Studies show that friendships are among the most influential aspects of our lives during our teenage years — and many early church fathers believe that John met Jesus during his mid-to-late teen years.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” — John 15:13-15

Q: Are you a friend of Jesus?

TEXT: 3 John 1-14

“Four times John will address Gaius, the recipient of this letter, as “dear friend.” It expresses deep, heartfelt love for this man. John loved this man and he told him. He also knew his spiritual life was in good health, and he told him this as well.” — Daniel Akin

Q: What does John say matters most? (1. A Genuine Love 2. A Healthy Culture 3. A Common Allegiance)

1. A Genuine Love (v. 1-8)

“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 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. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”

“My most important identity is not my name but my being loved by Jesus the Son of God.” — John Piper

• “Prosper” conveys the idea of having a good journey. His prayer for “health” is similar to our idea of hygiene. Gaius had a clean bill of health spiritually. Perhaps he was suffering some physical difficulty, but his soul was “ship shape,” in top condition.” — Daniel Akin
• “If he loves him in the matrix of the gospel, first things first. The first thing is not, “Get your physical health right and then hopefully you can sort of do enough to be spiritual enough to maybe get that up to second place,” but the other way around. In the light of eternity, it’s the only thing that makes sense.” — D. A. Carson

2. A Healthy Culture (v. 9-10)

“I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.”

3.  A Common Allegiance (v. 11-15)

“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. 15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.”

Finally, we see a common allegiance. What binds the church together?

“What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together…because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance. In the light of this common allegiance, in light of the fact that they have all been loved by Jesus himself, they commit Jesus Christ has saved them to doing what he says—and he commands them to love one another. In this light, they are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’s sake.” — Don Carson

TAKEAWAYS: How can we focus on what matters most?

• Remember whose you are 

• Obey what He commanded