EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/24/2025 8:34 PM
My Worship Tim Focus:
PT-5 “Sacrificial Love for Those
Faithful to the Truth”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 3 John 1-8
Message of the verses: “1 The elder to the
beloved Gaius, whom I love
in truth. 2
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health,
just as your soul prospers. 3 For I was very glad when brethren came and
testified to your truth,
that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear
of my children walking in the truth. 5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you
accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6
and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their
way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name,
accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be
fellow workers with the truth.”
I
have been writing about Gaius and it is not really known who this Gaius is as
there are several other men with that name in the New Testament. But since Gaius was one of the most common
names in Roman society, it is impossible to identify this individual with any
of those men. Gaius was evidently a prominent member of the local church,
probably somewhere in Asia Minor, who was known by the Apostle John.
Now
as stated we do not know who he was as his life remains hidden, Gaius’s
sterling character is disclosed in what could be called a grand tribute by the
noble apostle. MacArthur writes “The
rich term agapetos (beloved) can
include not only the thought that this Gaius was loved by the Christian community,
but also by the Lord. John addressed the
lady to whom he wrote his second epistle as ‘chosen’ (2 John 1); here he
addresses Gaius as beloved. All who love the Lord Jesus Christ are both chosen
by God and loved by Him. In Colossians 3:12
Paul referred Christians as ‘those who have been chosen of God, holy and
beloved.’ The Bible repeatedly speaks of
God’s love for His elect.
“John,
too, loved this man (cf. vv. 2, 5, 11) and confessed so by saying that Gaius is
a man whom I love in truth (cf. 2 John 1).
Truth, as always, is the common sphere in which genuine biblical love is
shared by believers; again, love and truth are inseparably linked (cf. vv. 3,
4, 8, 12). There is a sense in which
Christians are to love all people (cf. Gal. 6:10), just as God loves the world
(Matt. 5:44-45; cf. John 3:16; Mark 10:21).
But the love John spoke of here is unique love that believers have for
those who are in Christ and faithful to the truth.
“This
letter revolves around three individuals and their relationship to truth and
love: Gaius, who walked in the truth and
loved sacrificially (vv. 1-8); Diotrophes, who rejected the truth and hindered
sacrificial love (vv. 9-11); and Demetrius, who was to receive sacrificial love
for his faithfulness to the truth (v. 12).
John opens by expressing to Gaius his concern, commendation, and
counsel.”
Now
that I am done with the introduction in the next SD I will begin looking at “John’s
Concern For Gaius.” 5/25/2025 11:54 PM
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