In his third epistle, the Apostle John gave a warm commendation of a brother in the Lord named Demetrius. “Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true” (III John 12).

Very little is known about this first-century Christian named Demetrius. In fact, all that we know of him is found in this one verse (III John 12) from one of the shortest New Testament books. But what an example Demetirus set forth for us to follow!

Oh! What a worthwhile life it would be if, after 2,000 years, all that would be remembered of our legacy would be that simple statement—that we lived in such a way that we had “good report of all men, and of the truth itself.” The apostle’s testimony indeed declared that Demetirus was a man of his word.

Sadly, truthfulness is a rare virtue. Increasingly, we live in a society devoid of truth. We cannot fully trust the news media, whatever its source. We cannot trust the endless information provided on an unchecked and unfiltered internet. Sadly, we cannot even trust many of our leaders in the government and sometimes in the church too. The very men who should be role models and advocates of truth are all too often men of broken promises, exaggerations, boasting, and deception. 

In the list of the seven deadly sins in Proverbs 6, we find that no less than three of these things that God hates are directly related to truthfulness and the words that we speak. God hates “a lying tongue” (verse 17), “a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (verse 19). 

The Apostle John was not a man to throw around meaningless encomiums, or “warmly enthusiastic praise.” He had just written a sober warning about another sort of man, a proud and selfish person named Diotrephes. John wrote that Diotrephes “loveth to have the preeminence” and that he was a man of “malicious words” (III John 9–10).

By contrast, Demetrius had “good report of all men.” He was a man of his word, a man held in high esteem by all for his integrity. Furthermore, John said that Demetirus had a good report “of the truth itself.” Literally, the truth gave witness to this man’s integrity.

Could the same testimony as that of Demetrius be reported of you? Are you a man or woman of your word? Our Lord Jesus commanded His disciples to avoid the vain taking of elaborate oaths; instead they were to be faithful to simple promises. According to Matthew 5:34–37, Jesus said, “But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

Demetrius was a man who kept his word. Nothing is known of the background of this Christian other than the meaning of his name. Demetrius was named for the pagan Greek goddess Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and the seasons. In Greek mythology, she was the sister of Zeus and associated with the cornucopia, also called a “horn of plenty.” The Roman goddess, Ceres, was her equivalent. From the name of the Roman goddess, we get the word cereal.

The Apostle John’s ministry is closely associated with the city of Ephesus. Clearly, by his personal commendation of Demetrius, John evidently was acquainted with this former pagan. Some Bible scholars have ventured to suggest that this man that John commended could be the very same Demetrius that started a riot in Acts 19, when the Gospel began to diminish his trade as a silversmith.

The name matches and the association with Ephesus matches too! But this mention is not enough evidence to make a clear link. Demetrius was a common name in Greek cities of the first century. Whether or not this Demetrius is the same man as the pagan silversmith in the record of Acts 19, by the writing of John’s third epistle, the man is now a firm follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

May God help all of us to be like Demetrius, a man of integrity who had a “good report of the truth.” We need men and women who will keep their word—followers of Christ whose yes means “yes” and their nay means “nay”—and who will faithfully fulfill every promise they make.