Category Archives: 3 John

Diotrephes or Demetrius?

As John speaks this morning, he is addressing the “Beloved”. Who are the “Beloved”? In the Old Testament, God called His people Israel the “Beloved”:

Deuteronomy 33:12 (ESV) Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders.”

In the New Testament, God calls His Church the “BELOVED”.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The “BELOVED” are those who have heard the Gospel of salvation, and have surrendered to its call.

Though “God so loved the world” (John 3:16), the world itself is NOT the Beloved of God. The Christian and the Church are “BELOVED” because we have received Jesus as both Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ is the Father’s “BELOVED” Son in whom He is well pleased (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; Matthew 17:5). The word “BELOVED” is the Greek adjective agapētos which is a term of deep affection meaning “well favored, highly esteemed”. In the Hebrew, the adjective yāḏîḏ adds the word “lovely” to the mix. It is the word God uses when He looks… Continue reading

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He That Doeth Good Is Of God

Please turn with me in your Bibles to 3 John. We’ve been studying through the Books of John the last few weeks, and one of the main themes is “What is the TRUTH”? In our world today, people teach that truth is FLUID. You have YOUR truth, and I have MY truth. As long as YOUR and MY truth do not conflict, we can just be happy in OUR OWN TRUTH.

When Pilate ordered an innocent Jesus crucified, he justified his actions with the words “What is truth?”

But is truth FLUID? The world would have you believe this. A quick search on Google finds this:

“Our body always knows first what our truth is… trust it. And, when you don’t trust it, acknowledge that too. Because it will reinforce to the Universe that you are listening to you, your higher-self, your intuition, source [whatever name resonates with you]. Remember, you have to know a truth from within not be told the truth. Get out of your head and feel into your body for what resonates now, not what should or could, but what does.”

So basically TRUTH is what you FEEL is true. This is what the world teaches today. Recently an obese man who identifies as a woman went into a YMCA (which stands for Young Men’s Christian Association – so it used to be Christian), into a female restroom, and was arrested for three counts of indecent exposure. The new report states:… Continue reading

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