3John. This is our second week of our 2-week run through the shortest books of the New Testament. Sometime in the last decade of the first century

Transcription

1 3Jhn This is ur secnd week f ur 2-week run thrugh the shrtest bks f the New Testament Last week we studied 2Jhn I hpe yu agree we fund a lt mre than we might have expected fr such a shrt letter Scripture is still the wrd f Gd, whether 25 chapters r 25 verses 3Jhn is even shrter, but still ffers sme imprtant lessns But unlike 2Jhn, 3Jhn is a very persnal letter, similar t 1&2Tim Jhn prbably wrte this letter at abut the same time as his ther letters and the bk f Revelatin Smetime in the last decade f the first century This letter shares sme similarities with 1Jhn and 2Jhn, thugh it stands apart in many ways as well The letter is nly 15 verses, s it s shrt and t the pint In fact, it s the nly NT bk that never mentins Jesus Christ by name Jhn s letter fcuses n three cmmendatins fr Gaius His bedience as ministry His hspitality as ministry His financial sacrifice as ministry And then Jhn highlights the behavir f anther individual t cntrast with Gaius Ditrephes Finally, he ends with a recmmendatin fr the curier, Demetrius 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 3Jhn 2 f 17 Let s start in v.1 3Jhn 1 The elder t the belved Gaius, whm I lve in truth. As with 2Jhn, there is a bit f mystery arund Jhn s audience, Gaius The name is a cmmn Greek name in the day S althugh there are a handful f ther Gaius characters in scripture, we have n reasn t think they re the same persn Unlike the lady in 2Jhn, there is n reasn t suspect that Gaius was anything ther than a real persn But we als ntice that Jhn cntinues t refer t himself as an elder as he did in the previus letter Mre than likely, this was a means f prtecting himself and the church frm persecutin We ll see that he ends the letter in a similar fashin as 2Jhn fr the same reasn And nce again, Jhn expresses lve in truth The expressin reminds us what we studied in ur previus week That is lve in truth is a unique frm f lve, ne unique t the bdy f Christ It describes a supernatural surce f lve that unites all believers by the pwer f the Spirit living in us The cmmand t lve ne anther des nt cme withut the pwer t bey On the cntrary, the presence f the Spirit is why the Bible cnfidently prclaims we will lve ne anther Jhn 13:35 By this all men will knw that yu are My disciples, if yu have lve fr ne anther. Our lve in truth fr ne anther is hw we are identified as different frm the wrld The wrld lve in human terms We lve in gdly terms 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

3 3Jhn 3 f 17 The wrld lves cnditinally We lve uncnditinally The wrld lves selfishly We lve with agape lve Then Jhn begins the first f his three cmmendatins fr Gaius 3Jhn 2 Belved, I pray that in all respects yu may prsper and be in gd health, just as yur sul prspers. Jhn says he prays fr Gaius, and this prayer is fcused n prsperity It s such a shame that this wrd - prsperity - has been hijacked by Satan in recent decades But let s put the distrted and false understanding f prsperity ut f ur minds fr nw and fcus n what he says Jhn says he prays that Gais wuld prsper The wrd in Greek means a gd jurney It s a euphemism that means simply all wuld g well fr him It includes the sense f financial well being, but this is nt the majr emphasis Jhn is speaking in terms f Gaius entire life and circumstances Jhn specifically mentins physical health and spiritual well being Jhn has been praying fr this man in all regards, bth physical and spiritual Our prayer life wuld be mre pwerful is we sught the same balance in ur intercessin We shuld actively seek t find that balance in ur cncerns fr ther peple Many requests cme in the frm f financial, health and ther earthly cncerns 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

4 3Jhn 4 f 17 And it s never wrng t intercede fr smene n the basis f thse needs On the ther hand, let s recgnize that just as we ften cnsider ur physical cmfrt abve ur spiritual needs, s d we ften put the cart befre the hrse in prayer fr thers If given a chice between praying fr smene t prsper financially, physically r spiritually it shuld be n cntest Remember, a sul prspers int eternity, while the flesh can nly prsper t a pint Again, we aren t saying that we never pray fr prsperity in the flesh But we need t keep that in balance with spiritual maturity Why has Gaius been n Jhn s mind and in his prayers? Jhn explains 3Jhn 3 Fr I was very glad when brethren came and testified t yur truth, that is, hw yu are walking in truth. Jhn begins v.3 saying fr meaning because he had heard sme things abut Gaius Fellw Christians had visited Jhn and testified t Gaius truth And by his truth, Jhn explains that they testified that Gaius was walking in the truth Walking in the truth means t walk accrding t the cmmandments f Jesus and the apstles We studied the metaphr f walking in 2Jhn, and Jhn is drawing n that cncept again here t cmmend Gaius Ntice the chain f events in this case Gaius chse t live accrding t what he had been taught His lifestyle made an impressin n the ther believers And then they, in turn, testified f what they knew And then that testimny led Gaius t receive this public cmmendatin 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

5 3Jhn 5 f 17 A public cmmendatin by the last living apstle, a man wh was the apstle Jesus lved, was n small matter in the church This letter was t be read and circulated in the church, like all letters frm apstles When a letter like this came t a church, it was treated like scripture frm the very beginning S imagine the feeling Gaius had t hear this letter read alud in the church gathering praising his name in such glwing terms The pint f Jhn s letter is t cmmend certain things, and Gaius have Jhn that pprtunity by his gdly behavir Gaius was walking in the truth, and Jhn wanted the church t understand that Gaius was a man t be emulated Others knew f his success and nw they knw that the apstle apprves as well And the end result was a cmmendatin in a public way 2Cr. 10:18 Fr it is nt he wh cmmends himself that is apprved, but he whm the Lrd cmmends. This is exactly the pattern we are called t exhibit in ur walk n earth We are t walk with the Lrd, in bedience, s that we might established a gd testimny befre men and Gd Paul states this plainly again in Philippians Phil. 2:14 D all things withut grumbling r disputing; Phil. 2:15 s that yu will prve yurselves t be blameless and inncent, children f Gd abve reprach in the midst f a crked and perverse generatin, amng whm yu appear as lights in the wrld, Phil. 2:16 hlding fast the wrd f life, s that in the day f Christ I will have reasn t glry because I did nt run in vain nr til in vain. Our gal in walking in truth is t be blameless and inncent Whenever yu see the wrds blameless r inncent, it usually references ur testimny befre men 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

6 3Jhn 6 f 17 Ntice here Paul says we are live in cntrast t the crked and perverse wrld arund us We are t be blameless, in the sense that Nah was called blameless He culd nt be accused by his generatin as a sinful man, especially in cmparisn t the sin f the wrld That is ur gal as well Paul says the pint f that lifestyle is that we might appear as lights in the wrld The Greek wrd fr appear is als the wrd fr shine r t be visible The pint f a blameless walk in truth is t make a statement int the wrld n behalf f Gd Nt a pius r sanctimnius statement Rather, a statement f truth abut Gd But then Paul ges n t say that in hlding fast t the wrd, we then have reasn t glry in the day f Christ The day f Christ is a reference t the day we are judged and receive a reward That day will be a day we can glry in prvided we have walked well in truth S Gaius situatin demnstrates this relatinship n a smaller scale His blameless life had becme a light shining in the dark wrld He was cmmended fr that lifestyle by Jhn And that cmmendatin was t his glry And thugh I m sure he appreciated Jhn s cmmendatin, the real cmmendatin Gaius sught was the Lrd s Next Jhn says that his reprt caused Jhn t have great jy 3Jhn 4 I have n greater jy than this, t hear f my children walking in the truth Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

7 3Jhn 7 f 17 Jhn says his greater jy as an apstle was learning that his children were walking in the truth Jhn had spent mst f his adult life fllwing Christ and endeavring t call ther men t knw and fllw Christ as well As an Apstle, Jhn knew hw imprtant bedience was and hw much was n the line fr thse wh failed He wrte letters, suffered persecutin and lifted up prayers n behalf f his spiritual children S when he saw his children living ut their faith, he says he felt jy What Jhn desn t say, but I suspect we can assume, is that he must have felt great sadness t watch believers failing t live accrding t the Lrd s cmmands Jhn knew the jepardy these believers were in He understd the eternal lss they wuld experience Thugh I cannt cmpare t Jhn r any ther apstle, but I can identify with them n this pint in the sense f hw teachers hpe fr their students t perfrm well As I teach the wrd f Gd, my desire and greatest jy is t see lives transfrmed t please their Lrd T receive the truth gladly and then t live accrding t it This is Jhn s perspective fr the church And it s the Lrd s perspective f us all Jhn s next sectin, the secnd cmmendatin, begins with the wrd belved again 3Jhn 5 Belved, yu are acting faithfully in whatever yu accmplish fr the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 3Jhn 6 and they have testified t yur lve befre the church. Yu will d well t send them n their way in a manner wrthy f Gd. Jhn credits Gaius with hspitality fr believers, even when he didn t knw them 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

8 3Jhn 8 f 17 Hspitality in Jhn s day was an especially imprtant and hnred traditin, s we might ask why Gaius wuld be credited with it? If everyne was expected t shw hspitality, why wuld Gaius have been praised fr it? The answer cmes back t persecutin There was real risk fr Christians pening their hme t strangers, even thse claiming t be Christians A stranger culd be a spy lking t expse Christians t the Rman empire r Jews Nevertheless, Gaius accepted the risks f hsting thers, shwing kindness and lve t anyne calling themselves a Christian There is always risk in pening yur hme t smene, especially a stranger But it is a unique privilege fr any Christian t be able t pen their hme t a fellw believer and shw the lve f Christ In fact, it s a cmmand f scripture Heb. 13:1 Let lve f the brethren cntinue. Heb. 13:2 D nt neglect t shw hspitality t strangers, fr by this sme have entertained angels withut knwing it. Because he beyed scripture again, he btained a gd testimny...again Ntice Jhn says that these strangers gave Jhn the gd reprt Gaius likely had n way t knw that these strangers knew Jhn r were likely t meet him But because Gaius did the right thing, he is nw receiving a cmmendatin frm Jhn fr his lve And I m sure he wuld als receive frm the Lrd Gaius went a step further in his willingness t hst strangers in the faith He sent them away in the manner wrthy f Gd 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

9 3Jhn 9 f 17 When the time came fr these men t leave, Gaius tk the extra step f ensuring they didn t leave empty handed He may have given them prvisins, mney, clthes, r all f the abve Ntice Jhn says he sent them away in a manner wrthy f Gd Wrthy means in keeping with Gd s hnr That if the Lrd Himself had made the gift, it wuld have reflected well upn the Lrd S we can imagine it was a generus supply given by Gaius Gaius shwed hspitality at persnal risk and self-sacrifice, and he received a cmmendatin and eternal reward we can assume This is the standard the scripture is hlding us up t, but are we ready t d what s required? My wife and I have always insisted that ur hme have at least ne bedrm set aside t hst guests But I will admit that my wife has been mre willing t extend it at times than I have been My persnal cncern fr sme privacy and a retreat frm the wrld means I dn t lean tward pening the dr as easily as she des Whenever she wuld suggest inviting smene dwn-n-theirluck t stay with us fr a while, I wuld usually respnd by asking what was ur exit strategy? I wanted t knw befre they entered my hme hw lng the stay wuld be But the Lrd was gd t give me a wife wh wuld balance this part f my persnality and lead me tward hspitality When we have guests wh are in need, we als like t send them away with smething, but then the questin becmes hw much? Here again, it becmes a matter f persnal sacrifice The pint is t sacrifice the flesh t make rm fr the grwth f the spirit 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

10 3Jhn 10 f 17 S that we may be blameless befre men and receive praise frm the Lrd Gaius cmmendatin reminds us that hspitality t the saints requires sacrifice if we are t btain a testimny and a reward Gaius tk risks, which meant he put the needs f the bdy ahead f his wn And when we are given an pprtunity t shw hspitality, we need t understand that sacrifice is expected In my case, I knw my flesh will justify my desire t withhld hspitality because it s t much f an impsitin But scripture tells me that this is the perfect pprtunity t earn praise and rewards If hspitality requires n sacrifice, then we are ding n mre than thers might d It s nly when we cnfrnt ur flesh that we step beynd the natural and d the unexpected...which is lve Then Jhn explains why Gaius hspitality was s imprtant 3Jhn 7 Fr they went ut fr the sake f the Name, accepting nthing frm the Gentiles. 3Jhn 8 Therefre we ught t supprt such men, s that we may be fellw wrkers with the truth. The men that Gaius hsted in his hme were traveling preachers f the Gspel The went ut fr the sake f the Name, meaning fr the sake f the name f Christ What an hnr it was fr a man t travel and greet peple in the Name! There was n mre imprtant task, and these men deserved hnr fr it and Gaius gave it t them Jhn says that Gaius supprt was all the mre imprtant because these preachers had made a pint f nt accepting supprt frm Gentiles The term Gentiles isn t exactly what we might think T a Jew, a Gentile meant a pagan unbeliever 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

11 3Jhn 11 f 17 Obviusly, this is a Jewish steretype, but since Jhn is Jewish and he s writing t Jewish churches, he used the cnventinal term Tday, we wuld use a different term; we wuld simply say unbeliever Why did these preachers nt accept supprt frm unbelievers as they traveled and preached? These men were cmmitted t living accrding t the standard Paul gave in 2Crinthians 2Cr. 6:14 D nt be bund tgether with unbelievers; fr what partnership have righteusness and lawlessness, r what fellwship has light with darkness? These men were determined t separate themselves frm dependence upn the unbeliever The pint f the rule wasn t t diminish unbelievers; it was t elevate the Lrd By allwing the Lrd t pay fr the wrk f ministry, these men gave pprtunity fr the Lrd t shw Himself strng This is a pwerful witness that the Western wrld has largely jettisned in the spirit f independence and self-reliance When we make pprtunity t supprt ur wn needs using whatever means the wrld ffers, we ptentially rb the Lrd frm receiving glry fr His prvisin If we rush t pay fr things n credit rather than waiting fr the Lrd t prvide the mney When we deny thers the chance t fund ur missin wrk, we rb the Lrd f His glry thrugh the prvisin f giving There was a seminar student wh tells a testimny f attending seminary n a cnvictin that Gd wuld pay fr the tuitin He never tells anyne f his needs s that n man wuld ever ffer t pay his bills Nevertheless, he testifies that checks appeared in his mailbx frm peple he didn t knw 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

12 3Jhn 12 f 17 In varius ways, the Lrd paid his tuitin bills, and the student finished seminar withut ever asking anyne fr mney His cnvictin mirrrs the ne f these men They knew that all mney cmes frm Gd, whether thrugh Gentiles r therwise Just as that seminary student knew that if he asked and a man gave him mney, it was still frm the Lrd But in bth cases, by leaving rm fr the Lrd t act n His wn, He then received all the mre glry fr His faithfulness and pwer That s the attitude these men had in Gaius day And then Jhn tells Gaius that his hspitality was all the mre imprtant because he stepped in t supprt that need Gaius was that persn Gd used t supprt these men in their cnvictins That s an imprtant lessn t When we leave rm fr the Lrd t take care f ur needs, we als give rm fr the Lrd t use smene else t bless us In ur self-sufficient culture, we need t understand the pwer f becming vulnerable s that the Lrd can shw Himself strng Then in v.8 Jhn e reinfrces Jhn s gd deed with a reminder that the church is suppsed t supprt thse wh sacrifice t teach and preach the wrd Obviusly, as I deliver this teaching pint I m cnspicuusly aware that it may appear self-serving But if that s hw it appears t anyne, then the nly thing I can say in lve is Get ver it! I speak these things nt fr my wn sake r the sake f the anyne in particular but because they are in the text f scripture We are all cmmanded by scripture t supprt financially thse wh Gd has sent t us t supprt us spiritually This is nt ptinal; the BIble makes clear this is a requirement 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

13 3Jhn 13 f 17 Jhn gives a psitive benefit fr ding s He says we becme fellw wrkers in the truth We may lk upn smene wh is teaching us and imagine they are ding great wrk fr the Lrd Well, if this is s, then we can be cnsidered a part f that wrk, a fellw wrker, merely by supprting that wrk financially Or thrugh ther material means like hspitality Have yu ever cnsidered that yu can gain a measure f the reward that a hard wrking teacher will receive merely by assisting financially The teacher has wrked hurs and hurs t teach and traveled arund the wrld t deliver it The teacher has endured persecutin, hardship, deprivatin and sacrificed ther gd things s they culd bring yu the wrd And Jhn says yu can becme a fellw wrker and receive reward thrugh yur supprt That s a pretty gd deal Paul pints ut a secnd self-interest in supprting thse wh teach us the Bible r minister t us thrugh the wrd 1Cr. 9:9 Fr it is written in the Law f Mses, YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING. Gd is nt cncerned abut xen, is He? 1Cr. 9:10 Or is He speaking altgether fr ur sake? Yes, fr ur sake it was written, because the plwman ught t plw in hpe, and the thresher t thresh in hpe f sharing the crps. 1Cr. 9:11 If we swed spiritual things in yu, is it t much if we reap material things frm yu? Paul refers t the Law f Mses t remind the church that supprting thse wh minister in the wrd yields a benefit fr the church A farmer that muzzles his wn x is starving the very animal he depends upn fr his livelihd If the animal is weak frm hunger, it can t thresh the grain 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

14 3Jhn 14 f 17 S giving the x a little f the farmer s grain allws the x t prduce mre Then Paul makes the applicatin that we stand t gain s much mre spiritually by sacrificing a little f ur earthly material But if we starve the teacher, we lse in the lng run S Jhn has given three cmmendatins, n bedience, hspitality and genersity, s nw he turns t calling ut tw men fr gd and evil 3Jhn 9 I wrte smething t the church; but Ditrephes, wh lves t be first amng them, des nt accept what we say. 3Jhn 10 Fr this reasn, if I cme, I will call attentin t his deeds which he des, unjustly accusing us with wicked wrds; and nt satisfied with this, he himself des nt receive the brethren, either, and he frbids thse wh desire t d s and puts them ut f the church. Within the church there was a man, Ditrephes, wh was leading man in teh church His name means nurished by Zeus His situatin is prbably included t illustrate a bad example Jhn had just cmmended a gd example S nw Jhn illustrates the ppsite example Jhn apparently wrte t this church in the past, but Ditrephes rejected the letter and did nt accept it as binding He was mtivated by pride and did nt want t cmpete with the Apstles He is a petty man living in sin and rebellin Jhn says he is guilty f cmmitting six ffenses First, he wanted t be abve everyne, even the apstles themselves Clearly, pride mtivated the man t be in charge He wanted t Lrd ver the church in his psitin f authrity Every man in ministry must guard himself against this pssibility 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

15 3Jhn 15 f 17 Pwer crrupts and abslute pwer crrupts abslutely Secndly, he desn t accept the apstles teaching Naturally, the teaching f the apstles wuld have cnvicted his heart Their teaching wuld have set the recrd straight S he rejects it, preferring t stay with his wn desires Third, he unjustly accused the apstles using wicked wrds Rather than be subjected t the apstles teaching, he attacks He wants t undermine their authrity s he can d as he pleases Furth, he des nt receive Christians Jhn directly cntrasts Gaius with this man In fact, we can begin t see that Jhn picked this man t highlight the difference between bedience lived ut in Gaius cmpared t disbedience Since we knw these visiting men were teachers f the wrd, that wuld explain Ditrephes unwillingness t receive them Fifth, he frbids ther Christians frm receiving the teachers Once again, this is an indicatin that he felt threatened by their teaching Any ther authrity was an affrnt t his psitin and pride Finally, he put ut an Christian wh cntended with him He used intimidatin t stp dissent And if they wuld nt listen he remved them This is the recipe fr a cult, and this man is clearly smene Jhn intends t crrect Jhn says he will call attentin t this man s deeds The call attentin is a single Greek wrd meaning t remind r bring t mind 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

16 3Jhn 16 f 17 Jhn wuld remind everyne f his deeds when he came t visit It s interesting that Jhn des nt threaten t remve him, but just t expse him Perhaps Jhn knew that expsing him wuld be enugh fr his t lse his chance t lead anyne This is a helpful reminder that ur fight against false leaders and teachers desn t revlve arund their psitins but arund the truth We want t expse the truth, which will then naturally diminish the man We dn t need t attack them persnally r frcibly remve them Simply shwing them t be the men they are will destry their base f pwer in the eyes f mst Christians Finally, Jhn give his psitive example t reinfrce what he says abut Gaius 3Jhn 11 Belved, d nt imitate what is evil, but what is gd. The ne wh des gd is f Gd; the ne wh des evil has nt seen Gd. 3Jhn 12 Demetrius has received a gd testimny frm everyne, and frm the truth itself; and we add ur testimny, and yu knw that ur testimny is true. S Jhn has given the church tw examples t cnsider: Gaius and Ditrephes Jhn nw says dn t imitate the evil man; imitate the gd man The ne wh des gd is f Gd, meaning he is representing Gd s heart This is the man wh is wrking t please Gd And therefre, if we imitate him, we are learning hw t please Gd urselves On the ther hand, Jhn says that the ne wh des evil has nt seen Gd This desn t necessarily mean that this man is nt a believer In the cntext, Jhn is cmparing the ne wh is f Gd (i.e., revealing Gd by his life) vs. the man wh nt f Gd (i.e., nt reflecting Gd s heart) 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t

17 3Jhn 17 f 17 Certainly, it s pssible that this leader was nt a believer, but he culd simply be a very rebellius believer Demetrius is the curier bring this letter, s Jhn tells Gaius that this man has a gd reputatin and deserves t be well-treated Perhaps this man was ne f the traveling preachers In any case, Jhn says that Demetrius has a gd testimny frm three surces First, all the brethren wh knw him give a gd testimny f his life Secndly, the truth itself testifies, meaning this man was a gd handler f the wrd f Gd He divided rightly the truth Thirdly, Jhn added his apprval f the man, which Gaius knws is trustwrthy S Gaius had n reasn t reject this man when he came t deliver the letter I m sure nce he read the letter, he was glad t have received him Finally Jhn ends the letter in a way similar the way he ended his secnd letter 3Jhn 13 I had many things t write t yu, but I am nt willing t write them t yu with pen and ink; 3Jhn 14 but I hpe t see yu shrtly, and we will speak face t face. 3Jhn 15 Peace be t yu. The friends greet yu. Greet the friends by name. Persecutin prevented Jhn frm speaking mre frthrightly in his letter He was nt willing t write them and risk persecutin fr himself r his church family But he says he intended t see them in persn shrtly And he lked frward t seeing them face t face He ends simply: peace t them The friends f his church greet them and vice versa 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.t