3 John 1

Ver. 1, 2. My dear Gaius, whom God has loved with an everlasting love, and drawn with his loving kindness, and whom I sincerely and heartily love as a true Christian, who faithfully adheres to the truths of the gospel in his profession and practice.—I, who am now a very aged ruler of the Christian church, earnestly wish all manner of temporal prosperity and bodily health, as I have reason to believe that your soul prospers in an increase of spiritual knowledge, familiar fellowship with Christ, and delightful conformity to him, in a lively exercise of faith, hope, love, and new obedience; 3, 4. For I was exceedingly filled with joy and comfort when some of those who go about preaching the gospel informed me of your remarkable experience of the power of Christ and his gospel truths, and with what faithfulness and integrity you profess, adhere to, and improve, them, in a delightful, edifying, and progressive, practice of holiness; for nothing gives me greater pleasure than to hear that those, who have been converted to Christ by my ministrations, conti- 2nue stedfast in their holy profession of gospel truth, and more and more adorn it by a lively Christian conversation.——5—8. You act like a true believer and a faithful follower of Jesus Christ in your candid and disinterested benevolence to poor saints, particularly to such as are driven from their homes for their adherence to him, or go about preaching his gospel;—some of whom, being greatly affected with your distinguished kindness, made mention of it in our public worshipping assemblies.—And you cannot employ your substance better than in further assistance of such in carrying on their work, as an imitation of your kind and merciful God, and a token of your gratitude to him, for calling you, by his grace, to his kingdom and glory.—For, to the honour of Christ and his gospel, and to manifest their entire disinterestedness in their labours to win souls, these ministers have freely preached the gospel to the Gentiles, refusing to accept of a necessary subsistence from their new converts; we ought therefore cheerfully to entertain them in our houses, and, according to our ability, supply them with necessaries; that we may thus assist them in the propagation of the glorious gospel, to the honour of Christ and the salvation of multitudes. 9, 10. I indeed wrote to your church to provide for such preachers; but Diotrephes, that proud ambitious man, who attempts to lord it over his hearers and fellow ministers, refused my letter a public reading, or hindered the people’s compliance with its contents: but, if the Lord will, I intend to visit you, expose his wicked conduct and censure him for it; for he not only throws out a multitude of false and ill-natured reflections on me and other faithful ministers of Christ, and refuses to shew any kindness to persecuted and travelling preachers, but does all he can to hinder such as have inclination or ability to supply them;—and even pretends to excommunicate from the church, and deliver up to Satan, these afflicted brethren, if not also such as entertain them

3 John 1:11

Dear friend, never make him, nor any other, your pattern in any thing sinful; but, in imitation of Jesus Christ and his Father, exercise yourself in brotherly kindness, and in every other branch of holy conversation. For it is only those who do so that are the children of God and heirs of his kingdom. But they, who indulge themselves in pride, hatred of brethren, or the like, have no spiritual knowledge of, nor fellowship with, him.——12. Demetrius is a most excellent person, whom I, and all that regard either truth or the gospel, do and must speak well of. Let him, under Christ, be a pattern which you study to imitate

Bodily health is an invaluable mercy when it enables us to improve our spiritual gifts and graces for the extensive benefit of mankind. And delightful is it when Christians remarkably increase and flourish in grace and good works; and when their faith and love to Christ, and his ministers and people, are such as cannot be kept secret.—Alas, what a plague to the church are proud, insolent, domineering, imposers of their tenets, and malicious revilers of Christ’s truths and faithful ministers, who will neither do good themselves, nor suffer others that would! Richly they deserve to be detested by every Christian, and exposed and censured by every church