Imitating what is good

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.  Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.

(3 John 11-12)

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil…

1. John affectionally addresses Gaius as “beloved”
2. John seeks to encourage Gaius
   1. To distinguish what is good from what is evil
   2. To imitate what is good
3. Gaius must reject the deeds of Diotrephes
4. Gaius must follow John the Apostle
   1. In his love for the Lord and His people
   2. In his practice of truth
   3. In his outright rejection of what is evil (Diotrephes and his deeds)

He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God

1. Anyone who does good is of God
   1. John the Apostle is of God
   2. The missionaries John mentioned in 3 John 6-8 are of God
   3. Gaius himself is of God
2. Anyone who does evil has not seen God; Diotrephes has not seen God though he may have been a church leader

Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself

1. John singles out Demetrius Gaius must have known well
   1. As the one who is of God
   2. As the one who does good
2. Demetrius has a good reputation among all
3. All people have spoken well of him
4. Besides, the truth Demetrius embraces is the clearest evidence that he is of God

And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true

1. We (John and his team) witness to the kind of person Demetrius is
2. Gaius (you being the recipient of this letter) knows that the testimony John and his team bear is true
3. John estimates that Gaius himself would definitely support the fact that Demetrius is of God, unlike Diotrephes.