Post by Josh on Sept 7, 2008 19:30:05 GMT -8
Books like 3 John might seem a bit strange to us if we come to the Bible expecting to find neat little theological treateses or helpful lists of rules or spiritual advice. That's not what we find in many of the epistles. Our experience might feel a whole lot more like reading someone else's mail, or looking at old, faded family photo albums. We are watching people in action- but we don't necessarily understand all the background information. But what we do get is the continuation of a grand story.
3 John to me is bascially a snapshot of a day in the life of the Church (the kingdom)- a day in the life of a Christian who sees himself as an agent of God. It's just an ordinary day to John and Gaius and Demetrius- but it says a whole lot to us about what it means to live an authentic day-to-day life devoted to Jesus Christ.
1The elder,
The author is a man wise and seasoned in the faith. Note also the frequency of familial terms in this letter.
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
Today in Church I asked you all the question: Who do we reserve the word love for? Normally in our culture we reserve the word only for family members or close friends. We tend to love those who we share common interest with, etc..
But the early Christians put the commonality of their faith "being in the truth" above typcial earthly bonds.
2Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
Here we see prayer and concern for body and soul- a very holistic perspective on how to love others in a complete way.
3It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Another question I asked today was: How often do we praise others for their faithfulness to God, for their Christ-like qualities? Do we get joy from watching others live out Kingdom values? Or do we focus on other things- like our similarities or differences? Or jealousy?
5Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.
Who is our family in Christ? Everyone in the body of Christ. This goes back to the question of who we reserve the word "love" for. The early Christian were able to love (and love deeply, as Paul wrote) even strangers because of the commonality found in the gospel.
6They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
Is the quality of our community much higher than the society at large? This isn't an indictment on individual pagans, but a statement that the Church should stand above the general culture in regard to hospitality and service to others.
9I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. 10So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
What’s going on with this guy? Schismatic? Sectarian? There are a lot of theories but all are basically conjecture. Still, divisiveness is in view here and John is very concerned about it.
The churches in the Johanine community appear to be autonomous but interdependent and there is a very free exchange of people and ideas between them. Diotrephes is actively threatening those values.
11Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
This is very Johannine. He makes it simple so we aren't tempted to live in the gray.
12Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
Again with the praise. As a teacher I'm constantly reminded of research which indicates that in order to create an environment where people can really flourish and grow, there should be about 4 positive comments* to every criticism. I think it would be useful to think along this lines in Christian community as well.
13I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
This is very appropriate in our email/ internet/ texting focused society. To live authentic Christian community is going to require real, face to face conversations.
Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.
Lastly, I love that in Christ we are all individually valuable and all unique creations of God. John knew the believers in those churches were so valuable he specifically wanted them to be recognized by name.
Summing up, I think a little book like 3 John does so much in the way of giving us a living example of how to live.
Here are some points I gleaned that might be worth focusing in on as you go about your day:
A Snapshot of the Kingdom in Action (3 John)
Daily Reminders from the life of John:
3 John to me is bascially a snapshot of a day in the life of the Church (the kingdom)- a day in the life of a Christian who sees himself as an agent of God. It's just an ordinary day to John and Gaius and Demetrius- but it says a whole lot to us about what it means to live an authentic day-to-day life devoted to Jesus Christ.
1The elder,
The author is a man wise and seasoned in the faith. Note also the frequency of familial terms in this letter.
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
Today in Church I asked you all the question: Who do we reserve the word love for? Normally in our culture we reserve the word only for family members or close friends. We tend to love those who we share common interest with, etc..
But the early Christians put the commonality of their faith "being in the truth" above typcial earthly bonds.
2Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
Here we see prayer and concern for body and soul- a very holistic perspective on how to love others in a complete way.
3It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Another question I asked today was: How often do we praise others for their faithfulness to God, for their Christ-like qualities? Do we get joy from watching others live out Kingdom values? Or do we focus on other things- like our similarities or differences? Or jealousy?
5Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.
Who is our family in Christ? Everyone in the body of Christ. This goes back to the question of who we reserve the word "love" for. The early Christian were able to love (and love deeply, as Paul wrote) even strangers because of the commonality found in the gospel.
6They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
Is the quality of our community much higher than the society at large? This isn't an indictment on individual pagans, but a statement that the Church should stand above the general culture in regard to hospitality and service to others.
9I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. 10So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
What’s going on with this guy? Schismatic? Sectarian? There are a lot of theories but all are basically conjecture. Still, divisiveness is in view here and John is very concerned about it.
The churches in the Johanine community appear to be autonomous but interdependent and there is a very free exchange of people and ideas between them. Diotrephes is actively threatening those values.
11Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
This is very Johannine. He makes it simple so we aren't tempted to live in the gray.
12Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
Again with the praise. As a teacher I'm constantly reminded of research which indicates that in order to create an environment where people can really flourish and grow, there should be about 4 positive comments* to every criticism. I think it would be useful to think along this lines in Christian community as well.
13I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
This is very appropriate in our email/ internet/ texting focused society. To live authentic Christian community is going to require real, face to face conversations.
Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.
Lastly, I love that in Christ we are all individually valuable and all unique creations of God. John knew the believers in those churches were so valuable he specifically wanted them to be recognized by name.
Summing up, I think a little book like 3 John does so much in the way of giving us a living example of how to live.
Here are some points I gleaned that might be worth focusing in on as you go about your day:
A Snapshot of the Kingdom in Action (3 John)
Daily Reminders from the life of John:
- Pray for your brother’s and sister’s spiritual and physical needs (3 John 2)
- Value the likeness of Christ in others, not merely external things you happen to prefer (3 John 3-4)
- Get in the habit of praising the likeness of Christ in each other (3 John 3,5-6,12)
- Love the entire body of Christ for Christ’s sake and avoid divisiveness (3 John 5-10)
- Prioritize meeting others’ tangible needs (3 John 5-8)
- Treat others as valuable and individually unique creations of God (3 John 13-14)