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3 JOHN KJV WEB 3Jn-1 (86n) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> Love the truth – John the elder wrote a short letter to Gaius and had a few criticisms to say about others who were trying to tamper with the doctrines of the Church, who tried to subvert the brethren and run roughshod over the leadership in attempt to take over the church. His name was Diotrephes, and he was an evil man. John said about people like him, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1Jn 2-19). John encouraged Gaius to remain faithful to the Lord and not to follow people like Diotrephes. (124m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love is the action of faith >> Love is the motive of faith 3Jn,2-11 (182g) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Three causes of interpreting Scripture falsely >> Because they want to be approved by men – John’s prayer was, “that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” We know that God wants our spirit to be healthy, because the entire word of God is devoted to that one subject; then he said, 'to the degree our soul prospers.' To the degree that our soul prospers is the likelihood that we will receive a miracle from God, so where is it? Charismatics have seized upon this statement and made it one of the most quoted verses in the Bible, though they consistently cite it out of context, quoting verse 2 in ways that seem to suggest that they are entirely incognizant of the many other writings of John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, because John's heart was in synch with Jesus, who taught as much against the love of money as He did about hell, equating the two. So, to use this verse to support the idea that God wants us rolling in dough is ludicrous. We have probably all heard televangelists misuse verse 2. In this very short letter John tells how to receive a miracle and how not to receive one—the one thing to do is walk in truth, and the second thing to do is not join a cult. Often, a pastor can have cult-like tendencies and the assembly not even know it, because they are not trained to discern the signposts that blare the warning signs against such a person. See also: Prosperity; 214g (214g) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> Dispensation of God’s revelations >> Dispensation of the last days – When God sent His Son to die for our sins, it was a significant time that God set aside to do extraordinary things. He needed to get our attention, and one of the ways He did that was through signs, wonders and miracles, suggesting that whenever God makes a change in covenants with man and needs our attention, He uses miracles, signs and wonders. Therefore, getting a miracle from God is easier during divine events, but between these events there have been long, dark periods when God infrequently performed miracles among His people. The early Church had something else we don’t have—unity. God was busy establishing His Church, and He knew that darkness would soon overtake it (the dark ages), so He needed to give them a good sendoff. See also: Prosperity; 3Jn,2-8; 115g 3Jn,2-8 (115g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Laying on of hands >> Seeing signs, wonders and miracles – This is a very popular verse with the Charismatic group, who claims to believe the full gospel and wants to see everybody in the congregation financially prosperous and in good health. They use Jesus’ example, who went about healing people with the touch of His hand. They try to emulate Him, which is commendable, but there are a couple of big reasons for the discrepancy between Jesus ministry of power and our deflated experiences. For one, Jesus was the Son of God and we are not. That could explain why He could perform miracles and we can’t, but there's more to it than that. Jesus never claimed to perform a single miracle but gave all the glory to His Father, whom He served. Therefore, Jesus didn't perform miracles based on His own will but on the will of His Father. Jesus said, “Greater works than these shall you do, because I go to the Father,” suggesting that it is the will of God that the Church be fruitful, which includes performing miracles. However, if we are unwilling to perform other aspects of His calling, then He is unwilling to perform miracles through us. That is, there are extenuating circumstances that cause our prayers to go unheeded. Unity appeals to God like prayer, so without unity, it seems to God that we are not praying. Unity proves that two or more people in the congregation are fully committed to the faith. In fact, unity proves that a large nucleus is devoted to the word of God and prayer, who are committed to seeing the Kingdom of God manifested through the members of the Church. Divine healing is a manifestation of God's Kingdom, so is the fruit of the Spirit, and we have complete control whether we produce the fruit of the Spirit. If we control what we are able, maybe God will guide miracles in our direction. Through the fruits of the Spirit in devotion to prayer, we can ask God for whatever we want and he will give it to us, just like He said (Jn 14-14,15), but there are other factors involved that we will not discuss here. Genuine unity, which the Church has scantly seen since the early church, that is the lack of it, confirms that there are some important things out of place. Unity guarantees love exists among His people. As a close second, unity proves we understand and believe the true doctrines of the faith. Therefore, a lack of unity indicates that these things are missing or partial among the members of God's Church. The fruits of the Spirit are the core factors of unity, which double as a means of appealing to God. If we want God’s attention and His hand to move, then we must develop unity within our assemblies, which is above socializing about their lives in the flesh. The early Church's unity was based on spiritual fellowship. See also: Prosperity; 3Jn,2-4; 182g / False unity; Rev 17,15-18; 160c 3Jn,2-4 (145e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Healing >> Pursuing the healing power of God – John speaks of walking in the truth right after mentioning his desire to see us remaining prosperous and healthy, so walking in the truth becomes the condition for receiving from God. If we want our bodies healed, then we must walk in the truth, for how can we remain prosperous or expect God to heal us if we are not using our bodies to live according to His purpose and glory? Walking in the truth is the same as walking in the Spirit. According to Jesus’ term “Spirit of truth,” He combined these two ideas to show that the Holy Spirit and the word of God are essentially the same in the sense that the Holy Spirit only speaks the word of God. When we walk in truth, it proves we know the truth; James called it “Perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” This is the goal of the Spirit in our lives, and if we are busy working on this, the doors of heaven will swing open for us to effect signs, wonders and miracles. Expectation is tied to hope, which is a spiritual environment validated by meeting the conditions of receiving a miracle from God. See also: Prosperity; 3Jn,2-11; 182g 3Jn-2 (82a) Thy kingdom come >> Three elements of prayer >> Direction (Attitude) >> What to pray for (247b) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> God’s interests >> God is interested in His people >> God is interested in our spiritual health (249h) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> The infinite and eternal wealth of God >> Being rich in Jesus KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 3Jn 3-8 (44j) Judgment >> Transformed >> Fulfill your ministry according to the will of God (92c) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> Practice walking a straight line -- These verses go with verse 11 (234d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seeking the glory of the body of Christ 3Jn-3,4 (72l) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> Authority makes you accountable >> Parents are responsible for their children (86j) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Walk the truth -- These verses go with verses 7&8 (116a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through Good Works >> Works that God put in your heart (125e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Joy >> Joy is the result of partaking of the Holy Spirit >> Joy of the revelation of Jesus Christ 3Jn-3 (155i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> The Church bears witness of the believer -- This verse goes with verse 6 3Jn-4 (33h) Gift of God >> Believers are children >> God is our Father >> Children are being molded after their heavenly Father (248j) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Values >> The Highest Values >> Top Priority – “My children” refers to people John had personally converted to the faith and were under his discipleship. This phrase, “walking in the truth”, what does it mean? Paul commanded us to walk in the Spirit, and there is no difference between these two. Jesus spoke about the Spirit of truth (Jn 14-17), and so whether we walk in the Spirit or walk in the truth is a matter of semantics. Truth comes from the Spirit, so to walk in the truth is to walk in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit, and walking in the truth produces the righteousness of God’s kingdom, and there is no difference between them, as Paul said in Rom 14-17, “The kingdom of God is… righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” When we walk in the Spirit, we produce: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, whereas walking in the truth leads to freedom, as Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn 8-32). 3Jn,5-8 (14n) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers take the last place as a better service to you (101k) Thy kingdom come >> Ambitious to promote the Kingdom of God >> Building up the body of Christ (130h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Committed to caring for the needs of the body >> Commitment stimulates intimate bonding (235g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Hospitality (providing a temporary home) >> Being a good host – These strangers were missionaries, people devoted to the faith, who came through the area and sought haven among the saints. Once these missionaries went on their way, they spread the word of their hospitality, which added to the reputation of the Church in John’s care. Our ministry pertains primarily within the Church, and what ministry exists outside the Church is mostly evangelism. Spending our resources on people outside the Church is playing the role of the Good Samaritan, but spending our resources in this manner is not like the investments we make in the Church. Our money and resources such as our time and energy are better spent on the Church than on people in the world, in that those in the world may not seek to pay the blessing forward. This is not to deter anyone from being a Good Samaritan, for there can never be enough of them, but our investment on the people of God will surely multiply, as in this case their efforts increased their name throughout the region as full of love and hospitality, and this in turn spread to other churches who wanted to emulate what is good. It gave John great joy for the opportunity to commend them for their generosity of heart. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 3Jn-5 (102e) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Faithfulness is dependable >> Dutiful – The Bible uses the word “faithfulness” more than loyalty. Although they are synonymous, they don’t mean the same thing. People who are loyal may not always be faithful; they might be klutzy or forgetful, and allow their weaknesses get in the way of their loyalty. With that, “faithfulness” is always loyal, though ironically God is more after our loyalty than our faithfulness. God is faithful, and we are loyal to Him, and that is the relationship between God and man in a nutshell. He wants us to be faithful because it guarantees loyalty, and in heaven He won’t have to worry about faithfulness, because all our weaknesses will be resolved. John gave the brethren a good report and confirmed their faithfulness and said they were especially faithful to strangers. We are living in desperate times. Being kind to strangers these days is a tremendous risk. Sometimes people get the wrong idea about our motives when we are kind to them. People are deathly afraid of other people; we live in an isolationist society; it’s hard to talk to people; they don’t want anything to do with strangers; they want to be left alone, because they are afraid. They don’t want to take any chances, and they don’t like to interact with strangers for fear of their motives. Today with so much sin and corruption in the world, the gospel moves very slowly. Many people are in bondage to drugs and alcohol and just fear. It is hard to present the gospel today, because it is hard to communicate with strangers. 3Jn-6 (71f) Authority >> Ordained by God >> Worthiness of man >> Preachers are worthy of their support – To support missionaries is to be fellow workers with them and fellow beneficiaries of their reward. Not everyone is called to be a missionary, but everyone is called to support them. (124a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love >> Acts of love >> Love takes from the rich and gives to the poor >> Love takes sacrifice (143a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Having a reputation for knowing God >> known for walking close to God -- This verse goes with verse 12 (155i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> The Church bears witness of the believer -- This verse goes with verse 12 (249d) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not try to hold on to your money 3Jn-7,8 (86j) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Walk the truth -- These verses go with verses 3&4 (116j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through giving – John was talking about missionaries, who came to the Church to be refreshed and replenished in their needs and then return to the field seeking more converts, making more disciples and establishing more churches. These churches that were already established become support structures for the missionary work that was happening all around them. It says they accepted nothing from the gentiles (unbelievers), but came seeking sustenance and support from the Church, from those who believed. John was describing a support system for missionaries. These bases were meeting places for Christians to fellowship, known to the missionaries but incognito in the world. They were not churches as we understand them, because of persecution; they were disallowed to build meeting places for Christians. Instead, they usually met in people’s homes, and not always the same houses but regularly switched them to keep their persecutors on their heels. These locations were communicated among the brethren, meaning there was also a sophisticated communication system in place, so that missionaries knew where to find these churches, but their enemies didn’t know. Missionaries would have a good supper, be among friends and fellowship, take a bath, receive new clothes and shoes if needed, fresh water and sent on their way, filled in body and soul. 3Jn-7 (62h) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Do not commit yourself too hastily (67i) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority >> Preaching the gospel in Jesus’ name 3Jn-8 (129d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing the fruit of evangelism >> Bearing the fruit of the gospel (226c) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven >> Reserved in heaven >> God crowns us with glory for sharing our rewards 3Jn, 9-11 (164d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan rules the world >> Satan is a tyrant over the world (172c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Devils among the saints >> Wolves among the sheep – If pastors receive the brethren, their church will flourish, but if they don’t, their ministries are doomed to attract mediocrity and sluggish people, who have no vision of developing a genuine relationship with Jesus. Their ministries will never go anywhere; they will never realize the truth; there will never be any insight in their preaching, and the people will never receive anything from the Lord. This unfortunately is the Case with American Christianity, the complacency having gone on for too long, and it has become the new norm in Christendom. Diotrephes tested the water and found the apostle John a formidable opponent, but after the original apostles fell asleep, the sheep were supposed to monitor themselves, and many were willing to keep the torch burning, but some like Diotrephes wanted to take over the Church and turn it into something that glorified themselves instead of God. After the original apostles fell asleep, false shepherds had better success turning the disciples away from the true faith with the hope of personal gain. Thus, Catholicism was born. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 3Jn-9,10 (6l) Responsibility >> Protecting the Gospel >> Expose hypocrisy in the Church – Diotrephes saw the darkness in himself and projected it onto the apostles, as Paul said in Rom 2-1, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” When it comes to cult leaders, this statement is law! False judgments made against the saints occur in every cult. Their accusations invariably revolve around the very things of which they themselves are guilty. This is a form of witchcraft, a type of demonic spell pronounced against their enemies that eventually backfires on them. Anyone who came to Diotrephes in the Spirit of God and tried to reason with him was immediately excommunicated and put on a blacklist consisting of those whom his congregation should avoid, and if we receive into our home or are caught associating with those the cult leader has vilified, we too will be blackballed. This is an attempt to separate light from darkness to keep truth at bay. Even something innocent as sitting next to someone in church who has been shunned can lead to being shunned ourselves. Every cult follows this pattern, and satanic entities never change. All cults are based on hypocrisy and the desire to be first. See also: cults; 158f / Christianity is the one true cult; 2Tim 2-1; 36m (18d) Sin >> False Judgment lacks evidence >> Undefined charges (23d) Sin >> Pride wants to be first (56b) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Lose your place by seeking the first place (56j) Paradox >> Opposites >> He who exalts himself shall be humbled (84k) Thy kingdom come >> Your words can lead to your own demise >> They will condemn you (130j) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Accept one another >> Accepting the great and the small >> Small people cannot accept great leaders (158f) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Jealously seeking prominence in the body – Many callings have been squandered in the Church by pastors like Diotrephes. Some people get saved and really understand Christianity. They sit under a pastor a couple years until he begins hearing reruns from the pulpit. He knows there is more to the gospel than that, so he begins to grow beyond the ministry of his church, but the fact that he is growing in spite of his fellow believers means that no one recognizes his gifts. He keeps hoping somebody to be faithful enough to notice him nurturing his calling from the Lord, but nobody does. Eventually he comes to the inevitable conclusion that nobody is scouting for giftedness in the Church. The pastor who wants to be first jealousy suppresses giftedness in the assembly, pushing them aside to make room for his own gift, defrauding the saints. So the gifted person embarks on his own relationship with God and grows apart from the Church, and he receives flak from his fellow believers, who accuse him of feeling superior, so he goes to church less and less until eventually he stops going altogether, and then he is considered a renegade. His own fellow Christians have rejected him; the Church is his greatest persecutor, and of course the world persecutes him too. There is no place for him in the world, and so his kind grows fewer. There is a saying, “Your gift will make room for you.” That is easy to say, but with so much jealousy and disloyalty in the Church this is never realized. See also: cults; 166k (166k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind cannot discern between good and evil >> The carnal mind’s idea of justice – When we compare righteousness and holiness of the truth with worldly, pretentious replicas of faithfulness, they look about the same, passing as mere variations of truth that can be misconstrued as flavors of Christianity, mimicking idiosyncrasies and opinions, but the discerning Christian knows better. Diotrephes tried to bluff believers into accepting a facsimile of godliness, while replacing the substance of faith and love with a cheap imitation of righteousness engendered by the flesh. Some might say that truth and error are hard to distinguish; this is why cults can fool people, convincing them to give their money, because they appear to be doing the will of God. However, the difference between what they are doing and the true Church is the difference between light and darkness. According to this passage, the means of determining whether a church is a cult or not is to observe how leadership treats those who are faithful in Christ. If they are treated with honor, then Church leadership is seeking the will of God, but if the disciples of Jesus are treated shamefully, then leadership is running a racket like Diotrephes. Are the leaders of your church scouting for giftedness, striving to employ the people's strengths in the ministry while helping them rise above their weaknesses? That's great; however, leadership like Diotrephes did just the opposite; he exploited their weaknesses and suppressed their gifts. See also: cults; 180a (168f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world listens to itself >> The world receives itself (178e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for rebellion – John said that if he comes (he didn’t know if he could), he would deal with Diotrephes. Note that John didn't speak with threatening words; he wasn’t intending to start a fight. Rather, if he came, he would tell everybody what Diotrephes was doing. With the world, those who don't know God start wars and kill people to resolve their problems, but with the Church merely calling attention to his deeds was sufficient to render his ministry of deception inoperative. God uses His people's conscience to direct them into what is right and good; the world only pretends to do this. Diotrephes was attempting to reproduce righteousness and holiness in the ways of the world, pretentiously, making matters of morality and conscience irrelevant; showing a mere appearance of righteousness. (180a) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people for sordid gain – Diotrephes was clearly a cult leader, which was something the original apostles could not endure. There is not much left to say about some of the tactics of a cult; it’s all right here in these verses. The cult leader sets himself above the rest and becomes the focus of the ministry instead of Christ by overemphasizing his importance in the Church and increasing the strength of central leadership, as though without him the ministry would flop. Compare that with the importance of Christ in the Church. The cult leader obligates his worshippers to defend him from those who would confront Him about his abusive ways; hence, there must be a reward/punishment system in place to reward good behavior and punish the dissonance. Eventually the reward for loyalty reduces to not being punished. The entire motive of a cult leader is to inflate his massive ego, and of course it is always about money. To achieve his goals he starts a smear campaign to suppress the truth, according to our example of Diotrephes, who did not accept what the apostles had written. Defying their authority as Christ's lead apostles, he ruled by his own authority, as though he had status with those whom Christ handpicked to establish the Church of God. This is a level of arrogance that is hard to top. No one has ever received status that Christ gave His original apostles, yet Diotrephes vilified them and spoke evil against them, accusing them of his own sins. We should know the difference between genuine unity and forged unity, the kind that a cult leader might try to generate by making everyone agree with him instead of agreeing with the truth. See also: cults; 198h (184g) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Spending His grace on your pleasures >> Abusing your position (198b) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unteachable >> Too busy being a teacher to learn anything (198h) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Having evil motives for seeking leadership positions >> Seeking to gratify their flesh through the ministry – We cannot expect God to prosper our body as our soul prospers in a ministry where spiritual and emotional abuse is rampant; nor can we expect God to work miracles in an environment of a cult. Diotrephes was excommunicating the faithful brethren from his church, no doubt because they were confronting him about his abusive ways. He did not receive the brethren because they were blowing the whistle on him, saying, ‘This man is a fraud!’ This is precisely what John would have done if he came, and the Church would have listened to him, but those who try to expose a cult today go unheeded because of a lack of credentials, and so the problems of spiritual abuse continue. See also: cults; 199f (199f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Throwing God away >> Rejecting Christ to steal His glory – All cults pose as Christian organizations, yet their so-called ministries are performed in the dark. This is the deceptive thing about cults: they appear to give glory to God; and this is the part that really gets demented: cults are capable of twisting our mind into knots, regardless how well we know the Scriptures. People are capable of doing much wickedness under the influence of a cult, all for the reward of staying on the leader’s good side, who knows how to use social order to his advantage. Most victims of a cult are more willing to receive glory from one another than they are to seek the glory of God (Jn 5-44), but even sincere Christians can get sucked into a cult, as this passage suggests. Social acceptance is like a drug; woe to the man who gets addicted to it, for it makes him sick in his mind. Religious manipulators are increasing in numbers, so we should beware of them. See also: cults; 6l (200l) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He is against Christ who does not receive Him >> Whoever does not receive the Church is against Christ – Those who seek God are being kicked out of the Church, and those who would contribute their faith to a lazy people would be insulted. Proverbs 9-7 says, "One who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, and one who rebukes a wicked person gets insults for himself." If we are forbidden or refuse to receive the brethren who are seeking God with all their hearts, it is a sign that many other things are wrong. Any pastor who claims to be seeking the will of God is obligated to receive the brethren who are devoted to walking in the truth, or his ministry would resemble the cemetery outside his church (Psalm 55,12-14). (240i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Taking away the key of knowledge >> Hindering people from entering the kingdom KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 3Jn-10 (24h) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Being envious of your brother – The word “brethren” in this context (and in virtually every context in the New Testament), refers to those who are faithful in Christ. The brethren attempted to go to Church, but Diotrephes excommunicated them, and no doubt he invented excuses for his behavior that turned the circumstances upside-down to make the brethren appear to be the culprits. The reason Diotrephes hated the brethren and persecuted them and refused to let them in the church was because they were in the light and he was in darkness, and their light exposed him. (97h) Thy kingdom come >> Attention >> Facing the direction of God’s will >> Focusing your attention on what matters to you – The saints were being persecuted by Diotrephes, a wicked man who pushed his way into leadership. He was not allowing the saints to act like Christians or to love the brethren or to seek their fellowship. He was afraid they would meet in their homes and discuss his deeds among themselves. The saints were afraid of him, because he had a mouth like the antichrist, who used it to blaspheme God (and those who dwell in heaven; Rev 13-5,6). If John came, he would confront Diotrephes, for he was not afraid of him, for he spent three years with the Master and inherited His boldness that destroys his enemies with the truth. The one thing that man has always feared since the beginning of time is his own conscience. Man runs from the very thought of having a conscience; they deny it even exists, and they condemn the righteous for making them feel guilty. They say if it weren’t for the Church, guilt would not exist; they may possibly be right about that; imagine the world without a conscience. People have learned to ignore and manipulate their conscience until it quits working. This is what psychopaths do, and Diotrephes may have destroyed his conscience so he could do what he wanted without remorse or shame. John could tell Diotrephes things that would destroy him even without a conscience, as Jesus did to the Pharisees. He would tell Diotrephes that his future was the lake of fire if he didn't repent of his unbelief, and that he would burn in hell with the devil and his angels forever and ever. (138e) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Reproof >> Reprove your brother for spreading false doctrine (178b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presuming the facts about the circumstances >> Presumption is not founded on facts 3Jn-11 (12a) Servant >> Examples of God’s people >> Good examples (42h) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformed >> Conform to the purity of Christ (92c) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> Practice walking a straight line -- This verse goes with verses 3-8. The one who does evil has not seen God, yet John also said in 1Jn 1-18, “No one has seen God at any time,” though Moses sort-a did, and so did Paul, yet according to John neither of them saw God in all His glory. Those who practice evil have no vision, but the one who does good can see Him through the eyes of his spirit. No one has ever seen God face-to-face, but those who practice righteousness are in His presence. He is in us, and He helps us see into His word, and by that we come to know Him. We don’t have to wait for heaven to finally meet Him; we have already met Him, and we have fellowship with Him, and though we have not physically seen His face, spiritually we are never apart. We fellowship with Him as though He were in front of us, as we will in heaven. We converse with God by the Spirit that He has given us. We see Christ through the Spirit, and we see the Father through His Son. (127o) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Overcome evil with good (155k) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> You will know them by their fruits >> You will know them by their good deeds >> Good works that prove we belong to Christ – Don’t let anyone lie and say, ‘Even though I don’t walk in truth, I still know God.’ John advised us not to listen what a person says but to listen what he does. Consistently, a good man cannot do evil and an evil man cannot do good. A man who does not walk in the truth does not know God. (156k) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Living an ungodly lifestyle >> Practicing sin (169f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> Willful blindness – John said that the one who does evil has not seed God; the fact is, nobody has seen God, except John. He said in 1Jn 1-1, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life.” Jesus is God and John saw Him, but the rest of us haven’t seen Him. The fact that John and the other disciples saw Jesus in the flesh did not benefit them as much as we might think. Paul never saw Jesus in the flesh but in the Spirit on the road to Damascus and it changed his life forever. That was his testimony, and he virtually turned the world upside-down as a result of that flash encounter. Seeing Jesus in the flesh was great, but seeing Him through the eyes of our spirit is better (Eph 1,18-23). God is looking for those who are willing to be transformed into the image of Christ more than He is looking for people with leadership skills, for the person who knows Christ is a leader of the Church. (194h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Victory over sin >> Hate evil by doing good KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 3Jn-12 (40k) Judgment >> Judgment of Christ >> God’s word judges the Church (143a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Having a reputation for knowing God >> known for walking close to God -- This verse goes with verse 6. Diotrephes persecuted Demetrius and tried to destroy his reputation, and John was making efforts to restore his good name, vouching for him. If the wicked can destroy our reputation, they have won, because reputation is all we have to reflect our character in the world. Paul valued his reputation above his position as a minister of the gospel, for without a good name, his ministry was worthless. John was protecting Demetrius, because he was useful to the gospel; he had a strong faith and willingness to serve the Lord, and he was good to the brethren. One of the tricks of the devil is to slander those who carry the gospel, usually taking a grain of truth and warping it into a bombastic lie that spreads throughout society, hoping others replicate the meme to become assumed without question. (155i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> The Church bears witness of the believer -- This verse goes with verse 3 3Jn-13,14 (61c) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Author—Paul or John / Jesus (104j) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see Jesus >> We shall see His face (108ha) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation >> Revelation of His return (112j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Being in the presence of truth (123g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love >> Spiritual affection >> Ministry of the saints >> Emotional benediction toward helpers – Many of John's communications with Gaius he wanted to say face-to-face, things that mattered only to them that could only be discussed in person, pertaining to their friendship and history. John wanted to hear his voice; pen-pals miss a lot in their friendship. A relationship with pen and ink is currently what we have with God in this life; we are pen-pals; He has written us His Bible and has given us His Spirit, and we are to follow His word and walk in His Spirit, until we meet Him one day face-to-face and are able to embrace, hear each other’s laugh and see His face, furthering the relationship and strengthening the bonds between us. (208i) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Having fellowship with God (214h) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s time is soon >> Relatively soon (234c) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seeking the glory of His Spirit (245n) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Spirit realm superimposed upon the natural realm >> The spiritual manifesting into the natural 3Jn-14 (83j) Thy kingdom come >> We have the ministry of intercession >> Church prepares itself to meet Jesus – John was writing to a man named Gaius, saying, “I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.” This is how the Lord would like to speak to us, for He has the same sentiments. He too hopes to see His Church soon and speak face-to-face with each of us, and we feel the same about Him. We long for His return, to finally see Him and talk with Him in person, instead of always communing with Him in prayer. We speak to the Holy Spirit and He relays the message to Christ, and He relays the message to His Father in a hierarchy of authority. Christ and the Church long to be together, so we can start our relationship in earnest, starting at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which represents the very first time that Christ and the Church are together, and it will be a celebration like no other. (126a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> God is at peace >> The peace from God