For this cause, if I come, I will advertise his works which he doth; with malicious words prating against us. And as if these things were not enough for him, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that do receive them he forbiddeth, and casteth out of the church.
3 John 1:8 We therefore ought to receive such: that we may be fellow helpers of the truth.
3 John 1:9 I had written perhaps to the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, doth not receive us.
3 John 1:10 For this cause, if I come, I will advertise his works which he doth; with malicious words prating against us. And as if these things were not enough for him, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that do receive them he forbiddeth, and casteth out of the church.
3 John 1:11 Dearly beloved, follow not that which is evil: but that which is good. He that doth good is of God: he that doth evil hath not seen God.
3 John 1:12 To Demetrius, testimony is given by all, and by the truth itself: yea and we also give testimony. And thou knowest that our testimony is true.
The verse centers on "cause", "come", "advertise", "works", "doth", "malicious", "words", and "prating". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "cause" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 9's "I had written perhaps to the church..." into verse 11's "Dearly beloved follow not that which is...", so "cause" and "come" belong inside that flow. In 3 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "cause" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.