The Big Little Books of Truth and Love - Part 4
The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 1-2 (NASB95)
Intro: We’ve spent many weeks now looking at the 2 & 3 letters of John and by now you should know their theme: truth and love. For the aging apostle John, truth was the gospel, the teachings of Scripture, and the person of Christ. Truth as he knew it shone like a light in the darkness of error, an error that played games with the gospel, the teachings of Scripture, and the person of Christ.
The love John wrote of in his letters was not earthly but extraterrestrial; it was a divine love ultimately expressed in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and embodied in God Himself.
The third epistle of John could be looked at as a case study in the principles of truth and love. In it there are two men in contrast: one living out a balance of truth (Gaius and love and the other living out of balance (Demetrius). This morning we’ll learn from Gaius what a man living in balance looks like.
John begins his letter…
The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 3 John 1 (NASB95)
Gaius was one of the commonest names in ancient Roman times, like John or David today, so we don’t know exactly who Gaius was. He could have been the host of a house church or a leader in one of the churches John oversaw.
Note that he calls him “beloved.” That word is formed from the word we learned that represents divine love, the Greek agape. John expressed not just a friendly or emotional love for Gaius, he expressed a love that only those bound together in Christ can have. As Christians we share a bond that transcends biological family ties.
John then delivers a prayer for Gaius and in that prayer we discover the first evidence of living out a balance of truth and love is spiritual health. [1]
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 2 (NASB95)
Maybe Gaius was having health problems physically and John was saying, “I know you aren’t feeling well, my brother, and I pray that your physical body’s condition will match up with your spiritual.” What a commendation coming from the apostle who told like it was. Gaius’ soul was prospering; he was fit spiritually.”
It is ironic that we live in a nation of overweight, unhealthy people, yet we are fascinated, obsessed even, with health and fitness. Look at all the TV commercials, the books, the talk shows.
Oh, that we were s concerned about our spiritual fitness! How does one get spiritually fit? The same way one gets physically fit…
I. A healthy diet
If you don’t eat healthy foods you won’t be healthy, although I have my doubts about following the advice of the experts these days. One day they tell you “eat this” and you’ll be healthy and the next they say “don’t eat that, you’ll die.” I’m just holding on to the hope that one they’ll say “eat a supersonic breakfast burrito everyday.” If they do, I’ll live forever! I like what one guy wrote…
The claims that oats bring vibrant health
Have me puzzled plenty,
For horses eat them all their lives
And they are old at twenty.
—C. R. Reagan[2]
Jesus showed us the staple of a healthy diet for a Christian in the wilderness temptations…
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Matthew 4:4 (NASB95)
So to be healthy spiritually we must get into the Word. Other books and studies are fine but they must be your sides, not the main course.
So Gaius must have been in the Word. But there’s more to spiritual health than diet, you must also…
II. Exercise
Now I can come closer to eating right than I can exercising. Exercise takes discipline. Paul spoke of this…
In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:6-8 (NASB95)
Exercising in a spiritual sense is putting into practice what God has revealed to us in His Word. It’s training yourself, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to avoid sin and error, to minister, to love like Christ. The local church plays a big role in this. It’s like a spiritual gym where we come to receive training and receive opportunities to minister.
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10 (NASB95)
Speaking of that, church attendance nourishes and strengthens the spiritual life, but recent research has also shown other benefits. People who regularly attend church live longer. In studying the relationship between religion and health, researchers came upon a strong and persuasive finding: Those who did not attend church lived an average of 75 years; less than weekly attendance, lived 80 years; once a week 82 years; and those who attended church more than once a week lived an average of 83 years.
Research indicates a person attending church weekly is less likely to become depressed, and more likely to exercise, quit smoking, and stop drinking.[3]
To be spiritually healthy like Gaius we must eat a healthy diet, exercise, and lastly…
III. Rest
Now of all three, this is hands down the hardest, especially when we consider the fast paced world we live in.
Max Lucado wrote about this in his book The Angels Were Silent…
Ever feel like you’re racing downhill on a runaway bike and you don’t remember how to brake? Ever feel the wheels of your life racing faster and faster as you speed past the people you love? Could you use a reminder on how to slow it all down?
If so, read what Jesus did during the last Sabbath of his life. Start in the Gospel of Matthew. Didn’t find anything? Try Mark. Read what Mark recorded about the way Jesus spent the Sabbath. Nothing there either? Strange. What about Luke? What does Luke say? Not a reference to the day? Not a word about it? Well, try John. Surely John mentions the Sabbath. He doesn’t? No reference? Hmmmm. Looks like Jesus was quiet that day.
“Wait a minute. That’s it?” That’s it.
“You mean with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath?” As far as we can tell.
“You mean with all those apostles to train and people to teach, he took a day to rest and worship?” Apparently so.
“You’re telling me that Jesus thought worship was more important than work?” That’s exactly what I’m telling you.
For such is the purpose of the Sabbath. And such was the practice of Jesus. “On the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue, as he always did, and stood up to read.”1 Should we do any less?
If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in the silence, do you think we could, too? [4]
Jesus said…
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB95)
Jesus wants to give us rest spiritually. And the only way we’ll ever know that rest is to take time regularly to withdraw from the hustle and bustle and just listen, reflect, pray. We must have a Sabbath rest. Now Sunday is the Sabbath for us, and hopefully it’s a day of spiritual and physical rest for you, but if it cannot be that (as it cannot for me), you and I must find time for it.
Conclusion : I don’t know whether Gaius was the image of health physically, but I do know he was a spiritually healthy man of God because he had a healthy diet, he exercised, and he rested. He walked in the truth, he lived the truth, and it showed in every area of his life. The great late Cahrles Spurgeon said of him: “The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius walked in the truth. If the first had not been the case, the second could never have occurred; and if the second could not be said of him the first would have been a mere pretence. Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no nourishment to the frame; but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body. In us truth must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the woof and warp of our being.”[5]
Can you imagine if our physical bodies reflected our spiritual fitness?
When you become a sports spectator rather than a participant, the wrong things happen to your body. Your weight, blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol, and triglycerides go up. Vital capacity, oxygen consumption, flexibility, stamina, and strength go down. Conclusion? Only the strongest can survive as spectators![6]
How much more so as Christians when it comes to spiritual health.
Are you spiritually healthy?
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[1] Adapted from Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt., 3 Jn 1. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989.
[2]Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker's Quote Book : Over 4,500 Illustrations and Quotations for All Occasions, Includes Index. (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), 188.
[3] Josh Ulick, "Why Religion Helps," Newsweek, (11-10-03), p.47; submitted by David Slagle, Wilmore, Kentucky
[4]Max Lucado, And the Angels Were Silent (Portland, Or.: Multnomah, 1992), 42.
[5] Spurgeon, C. H. Morning and Evening : Daily Readings, November 28 AM. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995.
[6] Green, Michael P. Illustrations for Biblical Preaching : Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively. Revised edition of: The expositor's illustration file. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989.