
10.22.23
Walking in Truth:
“Characters in the Church”
3 John 1-15
I. Gaius: A
1. He was spiritually healthy. (vs 2)
2. He lived what he believed. (vs 3-4)
3. He was hospitable. (vs 5-8)
II. Diotrephes: A
1. Selfish
2. Selfish
3. Selfish
“The greatest among you shall be your servant.” Matt 23:11
4. Selfish
Matthew 13:24-25
III. Demetrius: An
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:13-14
DIGGING DEEPER:
1. Discuss what is “truth.” Read John 5:32-38 and I John 1:6-2:4. What tests will show whether the “truth” abides in us or not?
2. Apply those tests to the 3 characters in 3 John. What are your conclusions?
3. Read Psalm 119:89, 152, 160; Malachi 3:6; and Hebrews 13:8. In the light of John’s definitions of the “truth”, what do these verses tell us about whether the “truth” is changeable or negotiable?
4. Read I John 4:11-21. While we must not love one another for selfish ends, what are some of the blessings that can come to us as by-products of loving others?
5. Read Acts 9:36-40, Philippians 2:19-30, 2 Timothy 1:16-18 and Philemon 4-7. In what ways did the individual Christians in these brief pen-portraits obey the command to ‘love one another’?