Receiving Good Report From Everyone (3 John 1:11-12)

RECEIVING GOOD REPORT FROM EVERYONE (3 JOHN 1:11-12):

After writing about Diotrephes who was doing inappropriate things, Apostle John writes not to imitate evil but imitate good. Apostle John addresses the recipient, Gaius as beloved which is a usual way of John’s calling of his spiritual children, which shows his feelings of closeness, care, and concern in heart. Apostle John quoted a negative example and then immediately after that he advised the believing leader that he should not imitate things that are not Godly, instead he advises the believing leader to imitate what is Godly, which is absolutely good because a person who is genuinely and truly from God could not do something evil and he would surely try to do good in everything and towards everyone though it may cost even the life, on the earth. The person who does something evil could not be from God neither known Him as the way he ought to know Him.

Apostle John doesn’t just end by telling the believing leader to do good but quotes an example of a person who is already doing good as he did quote an example of a person who did evil things. Apostle John writes that Demetrius had received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth, and the Apostles also add their testimony, and Gaius know that their testimony is true. Demetrius would be most probably, one of the members or the leaders of the Church where Gaius belong. Demetrius could have been imitating the good and that would be the reason he had been acknowledged. Demetrius also got a good name from all the people who could be everyone who had known him. He wasn’t just acknowledged from the people but from the values, morals, and virtues which are from God, which are unchangeable standards. Also, Demetrius receives a good report from the apostles who are genuine and fully submitted themselves for the cause of goodness and truth in people’s lives, and therefore Apostle John reminds Gaius that they would never appreciate and show a role model just like that, but only after analyzing what is right and trustworthy.

Stimulations for Self-Reflection:

1.      What the author writes not to imitate? Why?

2.      What the author writes to imitate? Why?

3.      How whoever does good is from God?

4.      How whoever does evil has not seen God?

5.      Who had received good testimony? From Whom?

6.      How Demetrius could have had good testimony from others as well as truth?

7.      Who adds to the testimony to Demetrius? Why?

8.      Why does the author write that Gaius know that Apostles' testimony is true?

9.      How we can imitate God and receive the testimony of others as well as truth?