3 John 6-10
 
3 John 1:6 (KJB)
Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:
 
John gives another testimony to Gaius that those whom he has shown hospitality to has given solid testimony before that church that Gaius exhibited true Christian love in showing hospitality to many people, including strangers. “Thou shalt do well” is in the future tense stating that if Gaius continues to show true Christian love and hospitality he will be doing it worthily in a Godly manner after the principles of true Godliness. Here John is encouraging Gaius to continue in his ministry of hospitality even to the point of accompanying people on their journey or going with them. These verses which emphasize the ministry of Gaius are not in Scripture just to show us what a nice guy he was, it is there for the purpose of showing us what true Christian character can and should accomplish. (Eccl 9:10 KJV) Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. Ecclesiastes 9:10 gives the principle that whatever our ministry is, we need to do that ministry with all the might that we can muster. Ministry is never half way, true ministry goes the second mile.
 
3 John 1:7 (KJB)
Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.
 
Here is one of the reasons that these brethren needed and deserved help. They had been proclaiming the true Gospel as missionaries and evangelists and like the Apostle Paul, they took no money from those they preached to. They wanted to show that their motives were not the same as the false teachers. There were religious hucksters in those days who peddled religion for profit just as we see the religious hucksters today on TV and hear them on Radio.
 
3 John 1:8 (KJB)
We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.
 
Fellowhelpers - Fellow workers
 
This verse is one of the great principles in Scripture. It is necessary that Christians must support such people who are proclaiming the Word of God and although we do not go with them, by financing them and helping them in other ways, we are fellow workers with them in the truth. It is like supporting missions today, we may not be able to go the field with them but supporting them sends them to their field and we become partners with them in their ministry. Financing them also relieves them of the burden of having to procure finances while on the field. They will not have to split their time between fund raising and Gospel preaching, it can all be dedicated to the furthering of the Gospel.
 
3 John 1:9 (KJB)
I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
 
Preeminence - Love to be first
Receiveth - Welcome or receive hospitably
 
The church boss, there is one in every congregation. Here is a man named “Diotrephes” which means “nurtured by Jupiter or Zeus” had received a letter from the Apostle John and possibly this man rejected the authority of John. Now here is where the blindness of the church boss comes in. Wouldn’t you think the Christians would have loved a visit by a man who walked with Jesus about 60 years ago? Do you not think they would have had a thousand questions to ask? This shows the sad situation when someone in the church is allowed to have so much power that they rob the Christians of a spiritual blessing and stunt their growth. If you have a church boss, then you need to confront him and if he refuses to back off, then he needs to be expelled from the congregation. Spiritual growth is too important to be subject to someone’s pride. Christ is to have preeminence in the church not a man and that includes the Pastor. (Col 1:18 KJV) And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
 
3 John 1:10 (KJB)
Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
 
I will remember - Remind of, mention, or suggest
Prating - Talk nonsense, gossip, or charge falsely
Malicious - Evil
 
Every church boss eventually gets their due. Here John is stating that Diotrephes not only was speaking evil words against the brethren but he went beyond words to actions by not receiving the brethren himself but he also went as far as stopping those who were showing hospitality to the brethren. In fact, not only did he forbid the brethren from receiving the travelers, he would cast them out of the church if they were helping the other Christians. This man must not have been saved because he was basically usurping the preeminence of Christ in the church. John was going to visit and he was going to deal with this situation. He could not allow this situation to continue. When he arrived, he planned on mentioning what this man was doing and hopefully he would have enough authority to toss him out of the church. In ancient times, hospitality was important because the traveling Christians had nowhere else to stay and to stay in the street all night opened them to the possibility of being robbed or killed. This verse should be a reminder to Churches on how seriously church bosses can wreck a congregation.

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