Today we are concluding the trilogy of epistles the Apostle John wrote to the churches. John is responsible for the Gospel of John, the book of Revelation, and these three epistles, 1st, 2nd and 3rd John. This last little letter is the most personal of all. It is written to a particular person named Gaius. But it teaches an important truth which is applicable to all churches.

In that time period of the early church, the church was quite different than what we have come to expect today. Churches met in houses, or in open spaces. But in most situations, they met in houses, which were situated in various neighborhoods or districts of cities. And during this time of church infancy, the congregations were invariably small, they usually did not have the entire scriptures available to them, and they were dependent upon traveling apostles and those appointed by the apostles to minister to the church. Such people would bring letters from the apostles, which would be shared with the congregation. So there was a network of traveling ministers which were sent by more established churches pastored by an apostle to these outlying cities to fulfill the mission which Christ gave the disciples, which was to take the gospel to the whole world.

John is writing to one leader of a small church named Gaius. He probably hosted a church in his home. And as we read this letter from John to Gaius, I believe we can get a glimpse not only into early church life, not simply for a nostalgic look at the early church, but so that we might not forget our roots, and the purpose and practicality of our faith.

As we have seen for months now in our study of these epistles, the theme of John’s letters is that of fellowship. Fellowship with God and with His people is the purpose of our salvation. I wish that I had time to review all that fellowship entails. But in the view of time limits this morning, I am going to have to trust that you can grasp the full significance of fellowship by just a brief mention of the highlights.

Fellowship is communion with God, based on a relationship with Christ, resulting in love of God, which is fleshed out in love for one another, which Jesus said is to keep His commandments, which Jesus summarized as loving God and loving your neighbor. Fellowship then can be boiled down to two words; truth and love. They are the pillars of the church and fellowship flows out of these two essential doctrines.

Now that is the essence of Christian doctrine. Christ is the truth of God, who gave us the truth in HIs gospel, that we might know the truth and walk in the truth. God loved the world with a sacrificial, selfless love, and sent Christ to be our substitute, that we might know the truth and be saved from death. That salvation results in a new nature, which is expressed with the same kind of love for God and love for one another that God has for us. We love God, so we love His truth, and so we keep His commandments, and His commandments are that we love Him and love one another. And as we do that, we have fellowship, or intimacy with God and with His body, which is the church. We are made part of His family, and as such we love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Now all of that was a summary of John’s first epistle. But in this last epistle, we find one final application of fellowship which is the practical working out of love for one another. We find the hospitality of fellowship. Some of the details may have changed in the way the modern church operates this doctrine, but the principles remain relevant for today.

Years ago, I was a manager that worked in the hospitality business. I worked for luxury hotels for many years, mostly in the food and beverage end of it. For the most part, I helped newly opened hotels such as the Ritz Carlton in training employees to teach them the standards of service that they were expected to be able to maintain.

I mention that because I learned and tried to teach new employees that the heart of the hospitality business, or the core value that we sold at these luxury hotels was great service. The reason that we could charge those astronomical rates was our excellent service.

Now I suggest that Christian hospitality is based on the same standard of service. Christ humbled Himself to be our servant. And we are exhorted to pattern our love for one another by the way Christ showed His love for us. In Phil. 2:5-8 we read, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” So Christ came not to be served, but to serve, so that we might be saved.

Now let’s expand on this definition of hospitality for a moment before we move on. What does hospitality mean? Well, we have already seen that it is service, both service to God and to men. And it can be further explained as friendliness, welcoming, helpfulness, neighborliness, kindness, generosity. In short, hospitality is the practical outworking of loving one another. It is loving in deed and not just words. It is loving in truth, according to the truth.

There is a great emphasis in modern Christianity on love. But in most cases, it is centered on God’s love for us. And God’s love is a wonderful thing, make no mistake, which should be celebrated. But God’s love is poured out on us, that we might pour it out to others. Jesus said, they will know you are My disciples by your love for one another. The world needs God’s love, and He has chosen us to exhibit it. The love that is simply focused on receiving is an immature, selfish love. Babies and children are by nature selfish. They want love and attention, but haven’t developed the capacity to give love. But the love of a mature Christian is focused on serving. If we have come to know the truth of God, and we are walking in that truth, then we should be showing the kind of love that Christ showed for the church. We should be looking for opportunities to serve one another with Christian hospitality.

When I was a boy growing up in church in NC, we used to have dinner on the grounds now and then. We set up tents on the lawn and everyone would bring their favorite dish, and we would have this time of fellowship. And perhaps that is an apt illustration of what church is supposed to be; it’s supposed to be like a pot luck dinner. Everyone contributes. Everyone shares what they can bring. But too often today, church is like going to an all you can eat buffet. Everything is all set out for you, you leave your dirty plate and go get some more, and when you have eaten your fill, you can just get up and walk out. That’s not hospitality. Hospitality is sharing, serving, helping, generosity, being a neighbor in the full sense of the word, and putting other’s needs above your own. And when the church is doing this type of hospitality, then it is fulfilling the law to love your neighbor as yourself.

Now John commends Gaius because he has become known as one that truly practices hospitality. And I just want to highlight some of the principles that Gaius illustrates in the hospitality of fellowship.

First of all, Gaius had a prosperous soul. Notice vs 2; John writes, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” I really like the way John worded that. We know that Gaius had a prosperous soul, because otherwise this would not have been a beneficent greeting, would it? If I said that to some of you here today, it might end up being a curse, rather than a blessing. If your physical and financial prosperity were measured out on the basis of your soul’s prosperity, I wonder how many of you would end up in financial ruin?

But for Gaius this was undoubtedly intended as a blessing. And so what that means is that though he had a prosperous soul, Gaius probably wasn’t the picture of health and wealth. And yet John commends him for being an example of hospitality in the church. If Gaius was an elder in his church, possibly the pastor, living under a certain measure of persecution in a hostile environment, then he probably was living under the threat of imprisonment and was dirt poor. And yet out of his poverty, he made many others rich. And I have often found that to be true in the church today, that those who have the least are those who are most considerate of other’s needs.

Paul also found that principle to be true. In writing to the church of Corinth, a rich, sensual, worldly church, he wrote about the Macedonian churches saying in 2Cor. 8:1-5 “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.” That’s quite a testimony, isn’t it? They gave out of their affliction and deep poverty.

Gaius had a prosperous soul. That means he had a successful soul, a soul that leaned upon the Holy Spirit for guidance, and for God to supply according to his needs. The soul is the heart of man, or specifically the mind, will and emotions. And as mature Christians, the soul is to be subject to the Spirit. We don’t rely upon our wisdom or resources, but we rely on God to supply the gifts that we need to do what He has asked us to do.

When Jesus said in Matt. 6:3 “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” He was speaking about calculating how much you could give without it really affecting your bank account. But we are commanded to give according to need, regarding others well being as more important than our own.

The second attribute of Gaius was that he walked in the truth. Vs.3, “For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” Jesus said in His high priestly prayer, “Your word is truth.” So the word of God is truth. The commandments of God, the gospel of Christ, the ordinances and standards of the apostles as contained in the scriptures, these are truth.

Now Gaius not only heard the truth, and knew the truth, but he walked in the truth. And I can tell you, as a pastor and a parent, there is no greater joy than to know that my people are walking in truth. Walking, of course, is emblematic in the New Testament of daily conduct. He knows the doctrine, believes it, walks in it. To obey, to have faith and works in keeping with repentance is to manifest, or walk in truth.

John says he had received a report from others who had been to Gaius’s home that he was walking in the truth. He manifested truth in his actions. And particularly, I think in John’s mind is the truth of love. That Gaius walked in love, showing love by not just his words, but by his deeds. That’s what it means to be a disciple, isn’t it? It’s to follow as you are being taught. To walk in the truth.

We live in an information rich society today. And as Christians, we have access to a lot of information, access to the truth in ways the early church couldn’t have imagined. You can listen to pod casts on your phone, in the car, watch church services online or on TV. There are thousands upon thousands of Christian books available. And while not all of it is truth, by any stretch of the imagination, the truth is available for those who want to find it. Consequently we have a lot of Christians that are rich in knowledge, but poor in application. If you went to their home, and spent much time there with them, it might become apparent that there was big disconnect between the truth they said Amen to in church, and the reality of how they lived in their homes. Gaius though was known for showing hospitality in his home to traveling ministers and fellow Christians, and yet when these people made their way back to John they had nothing but glowing reports about Gaius. “He walks in the truth.” He lived it out.

Let me mention one other aspect here before we move on. And that is that the truth defines the parameters of fellowship. John says, “whom I love in truth.” Love, the expression of fellowship, finds it’s parameters in truth. In other words, truth is the condition for fellowship. In 2 John which we looked at last week, John said you were not to take false prophets into your home, you were not to show them hospitality, not even giving them a greeting. 2John 1:10-11, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.” So there is a limit to fellowship, and that is within the bounds of truth. We find fellowship within the truth. We cannot have fellowship outside of truth. 2Cor. 6:14-15 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”

Now let’s move on. The third principle Gains illustrates in regards to hospitality is he was a fellow worker with the truth. And that principle is found starting in vs. 5, “Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 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. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

So Gaius was known for supporting these apostolic emissaries to the churches, and as he helped them in their ministry he became a fellow worker with them in sharing the gospel. Now I just want to highlight some words John uses there which I think will give us a sense of how Gaius accomplished this aspect of his ministry. The first word is faithful. John says you were acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren. There is a tremendous need in the church for faithfulness, ladies and gentlemen. We live in a day in which faithfulness in church is not considered a virtue anymore worthy of the trouble. After all, I can listen to K Love on the radio, or watch a program on TV, or I can worship God on my boat. Well, as I said, church is not a self serve buffet, it’s a pot luck dinner. And God wants you to bring something to the table. It’s not about being served, it’s about serving. It’s not just about being loved, it’s about loving others. And you cannot serve God without faithfulness. When I grew up in church, I was taught that I should be there every time the doors were opened. Now today we wonder why our kids have abandoned the church in droves. Perhaps it’s because we parents abandoned the church first. We are no longer faithful in the little things. But God says if you are faithful in the little things, I will give you responsibility for greater things. Gaius was faithful, whether he felt like it or not, whether he was rich or poor, whether the Ravens were playing or not. And so faithfulness is a key to hospitality.

The second phrase I would point out is “in a manner worthy of God.” When I used to work for the Ritz Carlton, we would build a new hotel, in a town that had never been exposed to that level of luxury before, and I had the job of teaching waiters and waitresses who had maybe only worked at a Denny’s restaurant before what it meant to give Ritz Carlton service. That was something beyond what their experience could teach them. I had to show them a whole different standard, far above what they were used to doing.

I think that is what John is saying here. Gaius, you would do well to send these men out not with the least, not according to your meager means. But you would do well to send them out in a manner consistent with the excellency of God. We don’t give God our leftovers after we have spent our selves in pursuit of worldly things. But we give God our best. Our first fruits. I like how Paul referred to this principle in Col. 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” We see this principle of “as unto the Lord” again and again in scripture. In Ephesians 5 for instance, husbands and wives are told to love one another and serve one another and submit to one another AS UNTO THE LORD. That’s the principle of being fellow workers of the truth. You do what you do heartily, as unto the Lord. When you give, give generously as unto the Lord. As worthy of God. In other words, show hospitality to those in need as if you were giving to God, not to man. And the God who sees the heart, will repay and reward you as you have given to Him.

Well, that was Gaius, an example of hospitality. But then John gives us a negative example of someone in the church named Diotrephes. He had some negative attributes which John mentions briefly. First note that he disregarded scripture. He did not love the truth. vs.9, “I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.” This guy dismisses the inspired word of God for his own purposes. He does not love the truth, so he doesn’t obey the truth.

Secondly, he was prideful. He no doubt dismissed the word of God because it says we are to be a servant. And Diotrephes wanted preeminence. We see a lot of that in the church. There are various gifts which are promised from the Holy Spirit. And everyone clamors for the ostentatious gifts. Everyone wants to be seen, to be the leader, to be the teacher, to be the prophet. But what is the greatest gift? Love. Love is humble. Love is self sacrificing. Love puts others needs above your own. Or how about the gift of helps? That is one of the spiritual gifts. I have yet to see someone going around bragging about how they have the gift of helps. But I’ve ran into a bunch of people claiming a word of knowledge or prophecy. Diotrephes wanted preeminence.

Furthermore, in vs. 10, notice that his deeds are wicked. They are not in keeping with the truth, they are not in accordance with scripture, they are self serving, manipulative, because he wants preeminence in the church. And notice that instead of receiving the brethren in the church like Gaius did, instead he kicks them out. Why do you think he did that? Because he doesn’t want anyone challenging his position. He wants preeminence.

I tell you what, as we grow in this church, I use these principles as a template for whether or not someone is fit for leadership. Are they a servant? Do they love the truth? Are they faithful? Do they exhibit godly love? Are they a fellow supporter of the truth? And then negatively, do they love preeminence? Do they love to be heard? Do they want to be seen? And by this standard, their deeds make it evident if they are leadership material or not. Jesus said in Matt. 20:26-28 “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

So John gives us a good example and a bad example of hospitality in the church. And so he sums it up in vs.11, saying “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.” Simply put; imitate Gaius. Don’t imitate Diotrephes. Jesus said, by their fruit you shall know them. Those who do good are of God, and those who does evil is not of God. That’s how you know who are of the truth, and who are not.

There is one more guy John mentions here in closing briefly, and that is Demetrius. Who is Demetrius? Well, we don’t know. But I think he was commending him to Gaius as someone to whom he should show hospitality to. I think Demetrius was the guy who carried the letter to Gaius and his church from the Apostle John. So this is one of the brethren that Gaius was known for taking care of and sending them on their way in a manner worthy of God. So John says in vs. 12, “Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.” John sent Gaius someone else to help, someone else to show hospitality to, and in so doing he will be a fellow worker in the truth. God was giving Gaius another opportunity to serve him in helping Demetrius.

Listen, if you are a Christian, God wants to use you today to show love, hospitality and fellowship to someone in the church. They may be a stranger. They may need a helping hand. They may just need a friend. They may need someone to show them the love of God in a real, physical, tangible way. But one thing is for sure, God wants you to serve Him by serving His body. He wants you to be a fellow worker for the kingdom of God. Church is not a spectator sport. God wants you to serve, to humble yourself and put others needs before your own. That is how God has designed the church to function. That is how the church prospers, and how your own soul will prosper. What is the condition of your soul today?

I am going to close by reading Paul’s exhortation to hospitality in Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”
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