I. God’s big mission is one of truth and love.

A. The apostle John uses the word truth four times in the first four verses of 3 John. And he uses the word love or beloved three times in the first two verses. The truth in 3 John has to do with being faithful to the truth concerning Jesus Christ and the good news Jesus has brought into the world. Truth equals faithfulness. Jesus said in John 14:6: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

B. The mission of Jesus was to connect people with God the Father. Jesus i s the only truth that can connect people to God and His love. For Christians truth and love are not opposites that you have to keep in balance. Rather, truth and love are two sides of the same coin. Truth and love must be held together in our thinking and behaving. We must believe the truth about Jesus and live the truth about Jesus.

II. God’s big mission is accomplished through missionaries partnering with the church.

A. These missionaries are the brothers mentioned in verse 5 who used Gaius ’ home as a base f or their mission. The missionaries were the ones telling people in this community the good news that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and rose again on Easter. But Gaius had his part to play in God s big mission. He partnered with the missionaries by hosting them and providing for their needs at his own expense.

B. These missionaries have gone out for the sake of the great name of Jesus (vs. 7). Philippians 2:9 11: Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

III. God’s big mission is accomplished through a unified church.

A. In verse 9 w e are introduced to a character who works against the church s unity: Diotrephes. Diotrephes is described by John in vs. 9 as someone who likes to put himself first. He wants to be large and in charge. He did not acknowledge even the apostle John s authori ty (vs. 9). He was a slanderer (vs. 10). And he excommunicates from the church anyone who receives into their home the missionaries sent by John. 1 John 3:6: No one who abides in (Jesus) keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

Application: Speak the truth in love. Pursue church unity and love your missionaries.
Sources:
The Bible
Commentaries by John Stott, Karen Jobes and Colin Kruse.