He Who Does Good is of God?
“I wrote to the assembly, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, doesn’t accept what we say. Therefore if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. Not content with this, neither does he himself receive the brothers, and those who would, he forbids and throws out of the assembly. Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God. Demetrius has the testimony of all, and of the truth itself; yes, we also testify, and you know that our testimony is true.” (3 John 1:9-12 WEB)
In the apostle John’s letter to Gaius and the church, he told them that a person who does good is of God, while one who does evil has not seen God.
Is this teaching good works as a proof of salvation?
Well, if we read in the context of the passage, John was referring to Diotrephes who was hindering Christians in particular. Diotrephes rejected the apostles’ authority, slandered them, and he cast out from the church whoever showed support or hospitality to the missionaries that were sent by the apostles. Diotrephes enjoyed the glory of being “first among them” as a leader but he was not interested in the truth of the Gospel.
John was calling the authenticity of Diotrephes’ faith into question, doubting that the man was saved.
It is apparent that Diotrephes “has not seen God”—he did not have a personal revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and did not love Christians because he was likely not a true one. He just wanted to be a leader over a group of people, to enjoy the thrill of calling the shots and feeling a vain sense of importance.
When John talked about “he who does good is of God”, we see the context clearly that John meant doing good to Christians, acting according to God’s will and ways.
When an unbeliever does something good like giving to charity through his pagan temple or speaking encouraging words to cheer up a depressed friend, that is not the kind of “good” that John is referring to. If that were so, then every unbeliever who regularly does something good could be called “of God”.
No, the one who does good by believing and proclaiming the Spirit-inspired words of the apostles (the New Testament is mostly written by the apostles), who welcomes and loves fellow Christian brethren, demonstrates that he is a true believer. Not just any general acts of good, but love towards God (Yahweh) and fellow Christians who the apostle Paul calls “the household of the faith”.
“So then, as we have opportunity, let’s do what is good toward all men, and especially toward those who are of the household of the faith.” (Galatians 6:10 WEB)
In a subsequent chapter in the same letter, John wrote something that clearly shows that he meant doing good in the sense of doing good (showing love) to fellow Christians:
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love...If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.” (1 John 4:7-8, 20-21 WEB)
Firstly, John addressed the audience as “beloved”, showing us that he was speaking to Christians, not just all people in general. God’s will is for Christians to have brotherly love for one another, to treat each other as family, even though we may not be biologically related by blood, but we are of the same family in the Holy Spirit.
John then proceeded to explain how to recognize a false believer: a person who uses the mouth to claim that he loves God, but with his actions shows that he hates Christians and even persecutes them. Such a person is obviously just lying and is not really born-again.
In contrast to Diotrephes, John commends Demetrius for being a true Christian who walks in the truth of the Gospel. He has this testimony from the apostles and from the church. May we be like Demetrius, whose faith can be clearly seen, such that the way we live brings glory to God!
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