{"id":2194,"date":"2019-09-01T17:19:10","date_gmt":"2019-09-01T17:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/?p=2194"},"modified":"2019-09-01T17:19:10","modified_gmt":"2019-09-01T17:19:10","slug":"three-kinds-of-christians-gaius-diotrephes-demetrius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/01\/three-kinds-of-christians-gaius-diotrephes-demetrius\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Kinds of Christians (Gaius, Diotrephes, Demetrius)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Text<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 III John 1-14.<\/li>
Introduction<\/strong>:
Today many churches are\nbeing destroyed from within by the sins of professing Christians. <\/li><\/ul>
One person wants the\npre-eminence, so he has to put others down.<\/li><\/ul>
This results in loss of:
a) Love to Christ, <\/li><\/ul>
b) Peace of God, <\/li><\/ul>
c) Freedom to serve God, <\/li><\/ul>
d) Joy in service,<\/li><\/ul>
e) Soul Winning drive<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
Each Christian is a good or\nbad witness.
We are either helping or hindering the truth.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
We need to ask ourselves:\n\u2018Are we part of the problem or are we part of the solution?\u2019 <\/li><\/ul>
III John was addressed to\nGaius, a church leader.
John discusses Diotrophes and Demetrius. <\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
Consider each man\u2019s ways:<\/li>
1.\u00a0\u00a0 GAIUS the Encourager. <\/strong>(v.1-8<\/strong>).
i) Gaius was well beloved\n(v.1) and beloved (v.5<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul>
ii) Gaius was Spiritually\nHealthy (v.2<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul>
John wished that Gaius would\nbe as physically healthy as he was spiritually healthy.<\/li><\/ul>
Spiritual health results\nfrom:
a) Nourishing ourselves daily with God\u2019s Word.<\/li><\/ul>
b) Exercising ourselves unto Godliness (I Timothy 4:6-7<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul>
c) Keeping ourselves clean (II\nCorinthians 7:1<\/strong>) and avoiding contamination and pollution of world.<\/li><\/ul>
d) Resting in the Lord and renewing our strength by close personal\nfellowship with Him. (Matt 11:28-30<\/strong>)<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
iii) Gaius was a good\ntestimony (v.3-4<\/strong>).
Why? <\/li><\/ul>
Because God\u2019s truth was in him and he obeyed it. (v.3<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
We must digest God\u2019s Word\nand make it part of us in order to have a good testimony. (Jeremiah 15:16<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul>
iv) Gaius was a soul-winner\nand a Disciple-maker.<\/li><\/ul>
John here gives the key to\njoy in the Christian life (v.4<\/strong>). <\/li><\/ul>
It is soul winning and\ndisciple making.
\u201cI have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in\ntruth.\u201d (v.4<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
It is
a) Winning people for Christ, and b) Teaching them to walk in\nGod\u2019s truth. <\/li><\/ul>
Nothing else gives greater joy.<\/li><\/ul>
Gaius may have been one of John\u2019s converts and disciples.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
v) Gaius was a faithful man.\n(v.5<\/strong>).
Gaius helped both the brethren and strangers.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
Question: What motivates us to have a practical ministry to other\nbelievers?<\/strong>
a) Desire to honour God (v.6<\/strong>). \u201cafter a Godly sort\u201d means \u201cworthy of God, as it befits God.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
Gaius showed hospitality to\nstrangers who bore witness of Gaius\u2019 charity before the church.<\/li><\/ul>
Some of these strangers may\nhave been traveling gospel preachers.
b) Desire to help win the lost. This is achieved as we help\nGod\u2019s servants do this task. (v.7<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
These traveling missionaries\ntook no support from unsaved Gentiles, only from believers.
c) Desire to obey God. \u201cWe ought to receive such.\u201d (v.8<\/strong>). <\/li><\/ul>
God wants us to help Gospel preachers who bring salvation to\nothers. <\/li><\/ul>
Let us open our hearts to those who teach God\u2019s truth.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
2.\u00a0\u00a0 DIOTROPHES the Dictator.\n(v.9-11<\/strong>).
Many churches have members\nwho insist on being boss.
A pastor or minister means \u2018servant\u2019. <\/li><\/ul>
Christ\u2019s disciples argued over who would be greatest in the\nkingdom. (Matthew 18:1-6<\/strong>). <\/li><\/ul>
Jesus reminded them that their model for ministry was not\ngovernment officials, but Christ who became a humble servant. <\/li><\/ul>
What are we told about Diotrophes?<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
a) He loved to have the\npre-eminence. (v.9<\/strong>).
He wanted to be number one. <\/li><\/ul>
His motive was pride.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
b) He would not receive John\n(v.9<\/strong>).
He could have learned so much from the Apostle John.<\/li><\/ul>
Why did he reject John? <\/li><\/ul>
Because John challenged his right to be a dictator in the church.\n(v.10a<\/strong>). <\/li><\/ul>
Diotrophes was proud and sought self-glory. <\/li><\/ul>
Diotrophes would not receive him. (v.10a<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
c) He lied about John:\n\u2018prating against us with malicious words,\u2019 (v.10<\/strong>) means bringing false charges against us.
Do not believe all you are told about people. <\/li><\/ul>
Some people twist the truth.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
d) Diotrophes rejected\nJohn\u2019s associates. \u2018neither doth he himself receive the brethren.\u2019 (v.10<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul>
e) Diotrophes disciplined\nthose that disagreed with him by casting them out of the church.
He was destroying his own local church through his pride, fear and\ninsensitivity.<\/li><\/ul>
He knew nothing of love.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
Lesson<\/strong>:
\u201cFollow not that which is\nevil, but that which is good.\u201d (v.11<\/strong>).
Follow good and you\u2019ll follow God. <\/li><\/ul>
A test of \u2018goodness\u2019 is: \u2018Is this beneficial to all\u2019?<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
3. DEMETRIUS the Good Example (v.12-14<\/strong>).
Demetrius had a good report\nof:
a) all men; <\/li><\/ul>
b) the truth of the Bible; <\/li><\/ul>
c) John himself.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
Demetrius was \u2018an example, a\nmodel, an ideal Christian worthy to be imitated.\u2019<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
Question: Is it right to follow men?<\/strong>
Yes, only as they follow\nChrist. <\/li><\/ul>
The Apostle Paul wrote
\u201cBrethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk\nso as ye have us for an example.\u201d Philippians\n3:17<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>
\u201cBe ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.\u201d I Corinthians 11:1<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>
By our good example, we will \u201cconsider one another to provoke unto\nlove and to good works.\u201d \u2013 Heb.10:24<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
Conclusion<\/strong>:
John concludes that he would\nsoon visit the church and speak face-to-face with the people.
This thought of accountability is important.<\/li><\/ul>
John wishes them peace, something that is hard to enjoy when\nDiotrophes wanted to be a boss and expel people. <\/li><\/ul>
In spite of trouble, we can still have the peace of God.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>
Greet the friends by name.
John calls them friends. <\/li><\/ul>
It\u2019s good to be a friend-maker as well as a soul winner. <\/li><\/ul>
Diotrophes was so dictatorial that he had fewer and fewer friends.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 III John 1-14. Introduction: Today many churches are being destroyed from within by the sins of professing Christians. One person wants the pre-eminence, so he has to put others down. This results in loss of: a) Love to Christ, b) Peace of God, c) Freedom to serve God, d) Joy in service, e) Soul … Continue reading Three Kinds of Christians (Gaius, Diotrephes, Demetrius)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa5oei-zo","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2194"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2195,"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions\/2195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}