3 John

Walking Through 3 John Together

We jumped into 3 John this week—yes, the “massive” 14-verse book that somehow still managed to catch one of us thinking there was a chapter 2. (We’ll let you decide who that was.) After a good laugh and a reminder that street-interview confidence doesn’t equal accuracy, we settled into what this little letter actually says. And surprisingly, 3 John has a lot to say about the church, truth, imitation, and integrity within our community.

At its core, 3 John is a personal letter from John to a believer named Gaius. John is thanking him, encouraging him, and urging him to support the faithful teachers who are expanding the gospel—especially because someone within the church, a man named Diotrephes, is opposing them. So even in the early church, there were relational tensions, internal conflict, and people using spiritual influence to push their own agenda. Sound familiar?

“Do Not Imitate Evil, but Imitate Good”

What really hit us was verse 11:
“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”

John isn’t writing about outsiders—he’s talking about people inside the church. People who profess Jesus, claim faith, but whose lives aren’t aligning with the truth they say they believe. And honestly, many of us have seen (or been) that person. We’ve grown up around people who acted one way on Sunday and a very different way the rest of the week. Even as kids, we noticed the disconnect.

This verse nudged us to consider who we’re imitating. Of course our primary model is Jesus, but we also look at people within our own church family. And whether we realize it or not, people are looking at us too.

We reflected on moments in our own lives—times when we mimicked behavior simply because the people ahead of us were doing it. Sometimes that meant picking up habits, attitudes, or language that didn’t reflect Christ at all. It took a quiet moment, a wise mentor’s steady gaze, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit to remind us that imitation matters. Our lives preach, even when our mouths don’t.

3 John reminds us that following Jesus isn’t just mental assent or Sunday attendance. It’s a lifestyle where our choices, words, and posture line up with what we profess. And when they don’t, we have the gift of repentance and the grace of a God who meets us with forgiveness.

When Opposition Comes From Within

Verses 9–10 bring up Diotrephes—a man who loved to be first, rejected apostolic authority, slandered faithful leaders, and even blocked the church from welcoming gospel workers. It’s sobering that the opposition in this letter wasn’t from culture, government, or unbelievers. It was from a person in the spiritual family.

We resonated with that as pastors and leaders. Most of the challenges we navigate don’t come from the outside world but from within the church community. People disagree, misunderstand, major on the minors, or push personal agendas. And like John, we’re called to respond truthfully, lovingly, humbly, and courageously.

3 John encourages us to keep soft hearts—to stay teachable, to ask where we might be missing something, and to keep our eyes on the mission God has entrusted to us. At the same time, it reminds us to shepherd the church with wisdom, steward our time well, and handle conflict in ways that honor Christ.

Living What We Believe

As John encourages Gaius, he’s essentially telling him: Keep walking in truth. Keep welcoming the right people. Keep imitating what’s good. Keep aligning your life with the gospel you profess.

And that’s what we want for ourselves too. Whether in our homes, our Friday nights, our social media, or our workplaces, may our lives reflect the truth we claim. Not perfectly—but authentically. With repentance. With humility. With the Spirit’s help.

Because believing Jesus means following Him.
And following Him means imitating Him.