WEDNESDAY April 19th
3 John 1:5–8
‘Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.’
In the ESV that I use the remaining verses in this short letter has the title ‘Support and Opposition’. These three words really reflect what It has always been like with the building of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, two sides so to speak, the side that supports and the side that opposes. We have a similar example in the Old Testament of another great building project where there was both support and opposition, it is when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that had been ransacked and laid flat. As Nehemiah and those who supported him began the building work the opposition led by Sanballat sought to do all they could to oppose, to stop the rebuilding.
Jesus said that he would build his church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it, but it doesn’t mean that this great building project would not face opposition, and it has done so throughout its two thousand year history. But thankfully, despite the opposition there are those who are the great supporters of the Church and despite opposition continue to work, toil in the sharing in the good news of the gospel. The good news is that despite the opposition that came against Nehemiah, the walls were built, the project was completed and there was great rejoicing among the people. The even better news, if it seems right to put it that way is this, that despite all the opposition that has and still does rise up against the building project of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ it will be completed, and on that day when the last living stone has been built into this spiritual house, Christ will come to gather up the completed Church, his body and she will become his beautiful bride, and a great celebration will take place in the realms of glory.
‘Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”’ Revelation 19:6-9