John pens two letters...they are short because he wants to "visit" in person. The major point of these letters is to watch out for false prophets....they distort Jesus' whole being and purpose. This is why it is so important to go to the Bible and test all doctrine by it. John loves Gaius who is doing the right thing and showing hospitality to those that spread the Gospel. This gives us a lot of insight into the beginning of the new church. We are not to preach solely for money...that cannot be the basis for what we do...God provides in tithes and hospitality. Are we taking care of our staff? How so? My personal opinion is that Brother Alan is most certainly called by God.
John mentions a church dictator by name......do you see church dictators in our church life? One measurement is to look at the Law and look at the new Covenant. The new Covenant is for EVERYONE who believes. Everyone has an equal chance at eternal life by their faith. We are to show love, the action, to all as examples of Jesus Christ. John does say that we should not show hospitality to false prophets. He wants to make sure that we leave no door open for the devil to creep in.
who were these letters written to?
ReplyDeleteGood question:
ReplyDelete2 John was either a woman and her family who were involved in one of the church's John was overseeing, or some scholars say it was the church whose identity is no longer known.
3 John was either to Gaius, a prominent Christian at that time, and to all Christians at every time and every where.
the woman thing threw me....I didn't know if it was family member or what.....
ReplyDelete