Discovering 3rd John
Background Information
The Apostle John wrote this letter from an undisclosed location, possibly Ephesus (though some suggest Patmos).
As with John’s first and second letters, 1st and 2nd John, he never names himself as the author of this letter, either. But like the other letters, the vocabulary, themes, and writing style of this letter resemble John’s Gospel and other letters so closely that his authorship is apparent. Early witnesses in church history, including Irenaeus, resoundingly accept the apostle John as the author. Like in 2nd John, John identifies himself as “the Elder” in this letter, too (1:1). The apostle Peter also described himself as an “elder,” making this description by John even more plausible (1 Pet 5:1).
He wrote this letter to a man named Gaius.
He identifies this man in the opening greeting and describes him as someone “beloved” and “whom I love in truth.” This indicates that John both had a close relationship with this man and acknowledged him as a true Christian brother. Altogether, John uses the address “beloved” four times in this letter, with each instance being singular and referring to Gaius.
Though men (or a man) named Gaius are mentioned four other times in Scripture (Acts 19:29; 20:4; Rom 16:23; 1 Cor 1:14), we simply cannot know whether any of these mentions refer to the same person to whom John wrote this letter. All of these mentions refer to someone within the scope of Paul’s ministry, not John’s, though its possible, of course, for John to have also known the same person. The reference in Rom 16:23, for instance, is intriguing because Gaius there is portrayed as someone who hosted a church gathering in his home, something which Gaius of 3rd John may also have done. Even so, such a connection cannot be made with certainty.
The theme of this book is “Christian Hospitality.”
John wrote this letter to teach the church how to provide proper hospitality and support to traveling, itinerant gospel ministers. This letter contrasts with 2nd John in that whereas 2nd John mistaken or wrong hospitality practices, 3rd John encourages good hospitality practices. In 2nd John, we read about a well-intended, hospitable Christian lady who was providing hospitality to false teachers. In 3rd John, though, we read about an ill-intended, unhospitable Christian (genuine?) man who was refusing to provide hospitality to good teachers. We read about this practice of providing hospitality to traveling Christian teachers in Paul’s letter to Titus, too (Tit 3:13).
According to John, the recipient – Gaius – was a faithful, hospitable person who was committed to providing generous hospitality and support to good Christian teachers who came through his area. But for whatever reason, a man named Diotrephes was preventing this from happening. He did this by rejecting a letter John had previously sent to request hospitality for certain teachers, while also making forceful comments against John and these other good teachers, even expelling people who disagreed with him from the church. What’s fascinating about this situation, as John described it, was that John didn’t correct any doctrinal or theological problems but seemed to focus, instead, on the poor behavior of Diotrephes, instead.
The third person John names in this book, Demetrius, seems to have been one of the itinerant teachers which John wanted the church to receive. Since Diotrephes was refusing to do so, John appealed to Gaius, instead.
This letter is the shortest book in the Bible. Though 2nd John has thirteen verses and 3rd John has fifteen (two verses more), 2nd John has 245 words, while 3rd John has only 219. Both letters would have easily fit onto one side of one small piece of papyrus and were written by hand by John himself, personally, “with pen and ink” (1:13), literally “with pen and black.” Also, John wrote short letters in both instances because he had hoped to visit them in person in the near future to say more things face to face.
In summary, this book emphasizes the responsibility of believers and congregations to be generous in their hospitality and financial support of faithful, traveling ministers who are well-recommended by other good churches. It also encourages churches to benefit from such men rather than insisting on only one man to do all the teaching. Though the pastors of a church should carry the primary teaching load, they should not do so at the expense of also including other upstanding, likeminded Bible teachers, including itinerant ones. This letter provides a good biblical basis for supporting missionaries, too, and is a good reminder that a church should not be controlled or micromanaged by one, self-promoting person.
Outline of the Book
The Apostle John wrote this letter from an undisclosed location, possibly Ephesus (though some suggest Patmos).
As with John’s first and second letters, 1st and 2nd John, he never names himself as the author of this letter, either. But like the other letters, the vocabulary, themes, and writing style of this letter resemble John’s Gospel and other letters so closely that his authorship is apparent. Early witnesses in church history, including Irenaeus, resoundingly accept the apostle John as the author. Like in 2nd John, John identifies himself as “the Elder” in this letter, too (1:1). The apostle Peter also described himself as an “elder,” making this description by John even more plausible (1 Pet 5:1).
He wrote this letter to a man named Gaius.
He identifies this man in the opening greeting and describes him as someone “beloved” and “whom I love in truth.” This indicates that John both had a close relationship with this man and acknowledged him as a true Christian brother. Altogether, John uses the address “beloved” four times in this letter, with each instance being singular and referring to Gaius.
Though men (or a man) named Gaius are mentioned four other times in Scripture (Acts 19:29; 20:4; Rom 16:23; 1 Cor 1:14), we simply cannot know whether any of these mentions refer to the same person to whom John wrote this letter. All of these mentions refer to someone within the scope of Paul’s ministry, not John’s, though its possible, of course, for John to have also known the same person. The reference in Rom 16:23, for instance, is intriguing because Gaius there is portrayed as someone who hosted a church gathering in his home, something which Gaius of 3rd John may also have done. Even so, such a connection cannot be made with certainty.
The theme of this book is “Christian Hospitality.”
John wrote this letter to teach the church how to provide proper hospitality and support to traveling, itinerant gospel ministers. This letter contrasts with 2nd John in that whereas 2nd John mistaken or wrong hospitality practices, 3rd John encourages good hospitality practices. In 2nd John, we read about a well-intended, hospitable Christian lady who was providing hospitality to false teachers. In 3rd John, though, we read about an ill-intended, unhospitable Christian (genuine?) man who was refusing to provide hospitality to good teachers. We read about this practice of providing hospitality to traveling Christian teachers in Paul’s letter to Titus, too (Tit 3:13).
According to John, the recipient – Gaius – was a faithful, hospitable person who was committed to providing generous hospitality and support to good Christian teachers who came through his area. But for whatever reason, a man named Diotrephes was preventing this from happening. He did this by rejecting a letter John had previously sent to request hospitality for certain teachers, while also making forceful comments against John and these other good teachers, even expelling people who disagreed with him from the church. What’s fascinating about this situation, as John described it, was that John didn’t correct any doctrinal or theological problems but seemed to focus, instead, on the poor behavior of Diotrephes, instead.
The third person John names in this book, Demetrius, seems to have been one of the itinerant teachers which John wanted the church to receive. Since Diotrephes was refusing to do so, John appealed to Gaius, instead.
This letter is the shortest book in the Bible. Though 2nd John has thirteen verses and 3rd John has fifteen (two verses more), 2nd John has 245 words, while 3rd John has only 219. Both letters would have easily fit onto one side of one small piece of papyrus and were written by hand by John himself, personally, “with pen and ink” (1:13), literally “with pen and black.” Also, John wrote short letters in both instances because he had hoped to visit them in person in the near future to say more things face to face.
In summary, this book emphasizes the responsibility of believers and congregations to be generous in their hospitality and financial support of faithful, traveling ministers who are well-recommended by other good churches. It also encourages churches to benefit from such men rather than insisting on only one man to do all the teaching. Though the pastors of a church should carry the primary teaching load, they should not do so at the expense of also including other upstanding, likeminded Bible teachers, including itinerant ones. This letter provides a good biblical basis for supporting missionaries, too, and is a good reminder that a church should not be controlled or micromanaged by one, self-promoting person.
Outline of the Book
- Commendation for Gaius (1:1-8)
- Condemnation for Diotrephes (1:9-11)
- Commendation Demetrius (1:12-14)
Posted in Bible Talks
Posted in John, New Testament, Bible Study, Preaching, Teaching, Pride, Humility, Hospitality
Posted in John, New Testament, Bible Study, Preaching, Teaching, Pride, Humility, Hospitality
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