3 John 1:12 (LSB)

Passage

Demetrius has received a good witness from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our witness, and you know that our witness is true.

Nearby Context

3 John 1:10 For this reason, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his deeds which he does, unjustly disparaging us with wicked words. And not satisfied with this, he himself does not welcome the brothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

3 John 1:12 Demetrius has received a good witness from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our witness, and you know that our witness is true.

3 John 1:13 I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink;

3 John 1:14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "demetrius", "received", "good", "witness", "everyone", and "truth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "demetrius" and "received", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Beloved do not imitate what is evil..." into verse 13's "I had many things to write to...", so "demetrius" and "received" 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 "demetrius" and "received" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.