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Greeting
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Support and Opposition
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.
I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
Final Greetings
I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.
(ESV)
3 John 1 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Gaius was the Greek way of writing the Roman name Caius. Believe it or not, there are many references to Caius in Scripture.
- In Romans 16, Paul mentions a Caius who lived in Corinth.
- In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul mentions (probably the same) Caius whom he had baptized.
- In Acts 19, we have Caius, the native of Macedonia, who accompanied Paul and spent time with him at Ephesus.
- In the next chapter, Acts 20, we have another Caius, of Derbe, who traveled with Paul alongside Timothy.
Here in 3 John, we have yet another Caius who is probably different from all of the above! I never realized how popular this name was in the Bible. The Caius mentioned here by John has high standing just as many of these others who shared his name.
John counts him among his children. This could have signified many things during that time. Obviously, it would have meant they were close. However, it also could have meant he was a convert of John and was discipled by him. In that time, it was not uncommon for the elder to consider the younger a child by their authority in the faith. John would have been an aged man at the time of this letter.
Overall, this letter serves as an encouragement for some and a rebuke for others. Like other letters, the purpose was to kindle the fire that was authentic and call out the false teaching that was trying to infiltrate the church.