Text -- 3 John 1:8 (NET)

1:8 Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we become coworkers in cooperation with the truth.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 3Jo 1:8

Ought ( opheilomen ).

See for this word 1Jo 2:6; 1Jo 3:16; 1Jo 4:11.

Robertson: 3Jo 1:8

To welcome ( hupolambanein ).

Present active infinitive (habit of welcoming) of hupolambanō , old word, to take up under, to carry off (Act 1:9), to reply (Luk 10:30), to suppose (Act 2:15), only here in N.T. in this sense of receiving hospitably or to take under one’ s protection like hupodechomai (Luk 10:38).

Robertson: 3Jo 1:8

Such ( tous toioutous ).

"The such"according to the Greek idiom (1Co 16:16, 1Co 16:18).

Robertson: 3Jo 1:8

That we may be ( hina ginōmetha ).

Purpose clause with hina and the present middle subjunctive of ginomai , "that we may keep on becoming."

Robertson: 3Jo 1:8

Fellow-workers ( sunergoi ).

Old compound (sun , ergon ).

Robertson: 3Jo 1:8

With the truth ( tēi alētheiāi ).

So associative instrumental case with sun in sunergoi , but it is not certain that this is the idea, though sunergeō is so used with ergois in Jam 2:22. Sunergos itself occurs with the genitive of the person as in theou sunergoi (1Co 3:9) or with genitive of the thing tēs charās (1Co 3:9). So then here the meaning may be either "co-workers with such brethren for the truth"(dative of advantage) or "co-workers with the truth"(associative instrumental case).

Vincent: 3Jo 1:8

Ought ( ὀφείλομεν )

See on 1Jo 2:6.

Vincent: 3Jo 1:8

To receive ( ἀπολαμβάνειν )

The best texts read ὑπολαμβάνειν to support ; i.e., to welcome with the provision of hospitality. Rev., welcome . The verb means, originally, to take underneath in order to raise . Hence, to support . Figuratively, to take upon the mind , to suppose , as Luk 7:43; Act 2:15 : to take up or follow in speech ; hence to answer , as Luk 10:30.

Vincent: 3Jo 1:8

Fellow-helpers to the truth ( συνεργοὶ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ )

Lit., fellow-workers . The expression is explained in two ways: either fellow-workers with the teachers (τοιούτους such ) in support of the truth; or fellow-workers with the truth . Adopt the latter, as Rev.

Wesley: 3Jo 1:8

With all kindness.

Wesley: 3Jo 1:8

Which they preach.

JFB: 3Jo 1:8

In contradistinction to "the Gentiles" or "heathen" referred to, 3Jo 1:7.

JFB: 3Jo 1:8

As they take nothing from the Gentiles or heathen.

JFB: 3Jo 1:8

The oldest manuscripts read, "take up." As they "take" nothing from the Gentiles, we ought to take them up so as to support them.

JFB: 3Jo 1:8

With them.

JFB: 3Jo 1:8

That is, to promote the truth.

Clarke: 3Jo 1:8

We therefore ought to receive such - Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and have professed the truth at the hazard of their lives, and the loss of all their worldly substance. Instead of απολαμβανειν, to receive, the most ancient and reputable MSS. have ὑπολαμβανειν, to take up, undertake for, or kindly receive

Clarke: 3Jo 1:8

Fellow helpers to the truth - And thus encourage the persecuted, and contribute to the spread and maintenance of the Gospel.

Defender: 3Jo 1:8

John says that other Christians in the churches should "receive" these dedicated servants of the Lord. The word "receive," as used here, conveys the thought of "underwriting," or supporting them physically and financially."

TSK: 3Jo 1:8

to receive : 3Jo 1:10; Mat 10:14, Mat 10:40; Luk 11:7; 2Co 7:2, 2Co 7:3

fellowhelpers : 1Co 3:5-9, 1Co 16:10,1Co 16:11; 2Co 6:1, 2Co 8:23; Phi 4:3; Col 4:11; 1Th 3:2; Phm 1:2, Phm 1:24

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 3Jo 1:8

We therefore ought to receive such - All of us ought hospitably to entertain and help such persons. The work in which they are engaged is one of pure benevolence. They have no selfish aims and ends in it. They do not even look for the supplies of their own needs among the people to whom they go to minister; and we ought, therefore, to help them in their work, and to contribute to their support. Doubtless, the apostle meant to urge this duty particularly upon Gaius; but, in order to show that he recognized the obligation himself, he uses the term "we,"and speaks of it as a duty binding on all Christians.

That we might be fellow-helpers to the truth - All Christians cannot go forth to preach the gospel, but all may contribute something to the support of those who do; and in this case they would have a joint participation in the work of spreading the truth. The same reasoning which was applicable to that case, is also applicable now in regard to the duty of supporting those who go forth to preach the gospel to the destitute.

Poole: 3Jo 1:7-8

Ver. 7,8. They went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles it thence appears these were Jews, who went out from their own country to serve the interest of the gospel, which therefore he should serve in helping them.

Gill: 3Jo 1:8

We therefore ought to receive such,.... We who are Jews, that have believed in Christ, for such an one Gaius, it seems, as well, as the apostle, were, ought to receive such preachers of the word into our houses, and entertain them cheerfully, while they continue, and supply them with all necessaries when they depart:

that we might be fellow helpers to the truth; that is, to the Gospel, and the propagation of it in the world: some are helpers to it, in preaching of it, by making use of the ministerial gifts bestowed upon them; and others are fellow helpers with them, to the same good work, by their purses, communicating freely to the support of those, who labour in the word and doctrine; and these latter have the honour to be co-workers, or fellow labourers with the former, as the word here used signifies. The Alexandrian copy reads, "fellow helpers to the church", that so the whole burden of taking care of these ministers might not lie upon them. The Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, "fellow helpers of the truth".

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 3Jo 1:8

¹ sn Clearly the author does not refer to himself alone by the use of the first person plural pronoun we here, since the issue is support for the traveling missionaries. It stands in contrast to the pagans mentioned in the previous verse, and is thus to be understood as inclusive of all true Christians: the author, Gaius, and all true Christians. All true Christians ought to support the endeavors of these traveling missionaries in their efforts to counteract the heretical teaching of the opponents.

² tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause indicates the result of such support for the traveling missionaries: The Christian who helps to support them in their efforts thus becomes a coworker in cooperation with the truth. Although the dative τῇ ἀληθείᾳ (th alhqeia) is somewhat difficult to specify, it would appear (corresponding to the σύν- [sun-] prefix of the noun modified) to indicate a sense of cooperation with “the truth” which is at work through the missionaries. There is precedent in the Johannine literature for understanding “truth” as personified (John 8:32, “the truth will make you free”; possibly also 1 John 3:19). More explicitly, 1 John 4:6 identifies the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of Truth,” a characterization repeated in 1 John 5:6. Thus it seems likely that the “truth” at work through the missionaries here is ultimately the Holy Spirit, who works through their efforts. The Christian who supports them thus becomes a coworker with the Spirit of God himself.

Geneva Bible: 3Jo 1:8

We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be ^{( d )} fellowhelpers to the truth.

^{( d )} That we ourselves may help the preaching of the truth.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 3 John

1 He commends Gaius for his piety,

5 and hospitality,

7 to true preachers;

9 complaining of the unkind dealing of ambitious Diotrephes on the contrary side;

11 whose evil example is not to be followed;

12 and gives special testimony to the good report of Demetrius.

Maclaren: 3Jo 1:8

Fellow-Workers With The Truth

That we might be fellow-helpers to the truth.'--3 John 8.

FELLOW-HELPERS to the Truth.' A word or two may be permitted as to the immediate occasion of the expression. There seems to have been, as we learn not only from occasional references in the New Testament, but from early Christian literature, and very frequent practice in the primitive churches, of certain members having, like our friends the Quakers, a concern' for some special ministry, and being loosed from their ordinary avocations, and sent out with the sanction of the Church. These travelling evangelists went from place to place, and sought the hospitality and he]p of the Christian communities to which they came. My text is an exhortation from the aged Apostle to treat such brethren as they deserved, seeing that they have come forth for the sake of the Name'; and should be welcomed and helped as brethren.

Now there are ambiguities about the words, on which I need not dwell. So far as the grammatical construction of the originals are concerned, they may either mean what our Authorised Version takes them to mean, fellow-helpers'--or rather fellow-workers'--for the Truth ; the co-operation being regarded as confined to the two sets of men, the evangelists and their hospitable receivers--or they may mean, as the Revised Version takes them, fellow-workers with the Truth'--the Truth' and the two sets of human agents being all supposed as co-operating in one common end. The latter is, I presume, the real meaning of the Evangelist. The Truth' is supposed to be an active force in the world, which both the men who directly preach it, and the men who sustain and cheer those who do, are co-operating with. Then there is another question as to whether, by the Truth' here, we are to understand the whole body of Christian revelation, or whether we are to see shining through the words the august figure of Him who is personally, as He Himself claimed,' the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.' I believe that the latter explanation is the truer one, and more in accordance with the intense saturation in all John's writings with the words of the Master. I can scarcely think that when he spoke thus about the Truth,' or when he spoke in another of his letters about the Truth which dwelleth in us, and shall be in us for ever,' he meant only a body of principles. I think he meant Jesus Christ Himself. And so with that sacred and auguster meaning attaching to his words, I wish to look at them with you.

I. The Possessors Of The Truth Are To Be Workers With The Truth.

I do not say a word about the claim which is made in this expression, that Christian people possess the absolute truth in regard to all matters upon which the revelation made to them in Jesus Christ touches. That is a bold assumption, but I do not need to say a word about it here. I take it for granted that you professing Christians concur in the belief that what you have received about God and Christ and God's will concerning men, and the way of salvation, and the prospects for the future life, stands alone and complete, as' the Truth,' to which all other conceptions of God and man and duty and destiny are related, but as fragmentary at the highest, and as often perversions, corruptions, and contradictions. Do not let any modern width of thought, or any impressions gathered from the new science of comparative religion, blur the distinctness and the joyousness of your confidence that in Christ we have not a peradventure of men, but the Verily! verily!' of heaven the Truth.

And then remember that, according to the representation of my text, this Truth, wherever it enters into a man's heart, lays hold upon him, and makes him its apostle. All moral and spiritual truth has that power. There are plenty of dry statements in various regions of science and thought the reception of which brings with it no compulsion whatever to say a word about them. No man is ever smitten with the conviction that it is his duty to go out into the world and proclaim that two and two make four,' or truths of that sort. But once lodge in a man's heart thoughts of a moral, religious, spiritual character, and as soon as he believes them he wakes up to feel' Then I must--I must proclaim them, and get somebody else to share my convictions.' It is the test of real, deep, vital possession of' the Truth' that it shall be as a fire shut up in our bones, burning its way necessarily out into the light; and that no man who has it dare wrap it in a napkin and bury it in the ground.

God forbid that I should say that a silent Christian is not a genuine Christian. I know too well how far beneath the ideal we all come, but sure I am that if men have never found that when the Truth as it is in Jesus' drew back her veil, and let the lambent beauty of her face blaze in upon their hearts, it made them her slaves and knight-errants for evermore, they have seen very very little of that supreme loveliness. Brethren! the truth that we believe is our mistress, and of the Christian truth that we profess to hold, we are sworn by the very fact to be the apostles and the missioners.

Nor let us forget the solemn and elevating thought which goes along with the imagery of my text; that the Truth, for all its majesty and dignity and divinity, needs men for its helpers. The only way by which it can spread is through us and our fellows. There is no magic by which it can divide and impart itself, apart from the agency of the men who already possess it. The torch has been brought from heaven, and the light with which it blazes is celestial, but in order to enlighten the darkness of the earth it must be passed from hand to hand by a linked chain of men. The lake lies full of possible fertility and promise to flush with green verdure the barren burning desert sands; but it will lie there, its possible good unrealised for ever, unless men with their spades and excavators dig the channels and lead the heaven-sent blessing that came from the clouds into all the barren places. The Truth needs us, but when the work is done that the workers with the Truth do, it is the Truth and not the workers that have done the work.

So, Christian men and women, I come to you with this message--recognise your dignity, the honour that is laid upon you in being allowed to be co-operators with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. Recognise the obligation, solemn and heavy, which is laid upon you by the very nature of the truth which we believe, by the common bonds of fellowship between man and man, to impart the message that has brought life to us; and recognise it as at once our highest honour and our widest duty to be fellow-workers with the Truth.'

II. The Companions Of Christ Are To Be Workers With Christ.

He, as I have pointed out, is the Incarnate Truth. And here we come upon the especial peculiarity of Christianity as a system, considered in its relation to Jesus Christ, its Founder and its Giver. You can take Plato's philosophy and do what you like with it, and treat Plato as a negligible quantity. You can do the same with all other great teachers, even those of them who have most impressed their own individuality upon their thinkings, and theorisings, and teachings, but you cannot do that with Christianity ; you cannot say, Never mind who it was that said it. Attend to what was said.' For Jesus Christ, and His message, are so interwoven and interlaced in such a fashion as that you cannot get rid of Him, and keep it. He Himself is the Truth. Christ is Christianity; and any man that has ever tried to deal with the teachings of the New Testament as a body of principles, ignoring the lips from which they came, is left with what they call a caput mortuum, a dead mass of impotent generalities. Get Christ into them, and they are all palpitating, and living, and flaming, and have power.

So, then, when I call my brethren, and feel myself bound to the task of being workers with the Truth,' it is no mere devotion to the propaganda of a creed that I want to urge, but it is devotion to proclaiming the beloved hand of the person out of whom the creed is carved, and in whom all the truth is shrined and sphered. Every man that is Christ's companion is thereby bound to be a worker with the incarnate Truth. He needs our help. True, he finds all the capital, but we are His partners, His representatives and agents here on earth, as He has taught us in more than one parable. The pound or the talent is His ; it is given to me, but it is left with me to determine whether it shall increase and fructify or not. On the Cross He said, It is finished,' but all through the ages He is working, and all through the ages His mightiest means of working is through the men by whom He works. The Lord works with them, and they work with the Lord. They are His tools; He makes them, but He cannot do His work without them. And notwithstanding the Cross, notwithstanding the adequate powers for the regeneration of humanity, and the salvation of individuals, which lie in that message of the Gospel, the co-operation of the Church is needed if the world is to be saved. Surely it is constituted in order to fill up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ, and to carry on the unfinished development of the finished work which, done once for all on the Cross, is not done until it has been applied to the world by Christ working through His people, and by His people working with Christ. If there is a flaw in the covering that enwraps the wire, there will be no message at the other end. If you and I are non-conductors, no matter how much power may be flashed into us, that which is beyond us will want the power. The medium between Christ and the world that He died and lives to save, the medium is we Christian people.

Workers with the Truth.' That is parallel with what Paul says, in the great word which he ventures upon when, having just declared that neither he nor Apollos are anything, he rises to the thought which balances that of their nothingness : We are labourers together with God.'

Is not that a dignity? And what shall we say of men who have so little consciousness of union with Jesus Christ as that they have next to no sympathy with the things that fill His heart? I plead for no narrow interpretation of the duties of the fellow-workers with the Truth.' He came to redress all human misery, sin, and evil. He came not only to speak the words that save the soul with the everlasting salvation of sin forgiven, and friendship restored between God and man, but to carry light and healing and peace and hope into every region where the darkness broods, to break every chain and let the oppressed go free. Social improvements, and all the wider outlooks which Christian benevolence takes in these late years, all come into the general category of being the carrying out of Christ's sympathies and purpose, and being part of the work of those who are' fellow-workers' with Him in His toil, and who shall one day hear, It is finished! The kingdoms of this world are the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.'

III. Further, The Workers With Christ Are To Be Workers With One Another.

These travelling evangelists had one function. The people in the unknown church in Asia Minor, staying at home and following their secular callings, had another; and that was, to help and to further these peripatetic brethren. Co-operation means diversity of function and identity of aims and ends. For us there remains the duty still, as incumbent as it was in those early days, of recognising our own special task, of cleaving to that, and yet of furthering and helping all our brethren who, in their diverse ways, are engaged in the same great end. The men that take care of the base of operations of that army that is pressing down upon the foe are as truly fighting the enemy as the men that are in the front. It was the old law in Israel, based upon a clear understanding that all who co-operated towards one end, in whatsoever divers ways, are united together ; that as his part is that goes down into the battle, so shall his part be that abides by the stuff; they shall part alike.'

Brethren, learn your special work. Remember that you have each something to do that nobody can do as well as you. Learn your special work, and beware of narrowing your sympathies to your special work. Let them go out to embrace all, however far apart upon the wall and however different may be their tasks, they are still co-operant to one end. He that planteth and he that watereth are one.' Identity of purpose, and wide diversity of method, with as wide charity, and as wide sympathy, ought to mark all Christian workers.

All the thoughts that I have been trying to urge have a very direct bearing upon church as well as upon individual life. Although there is no intention, on our Apostle's part, of laying down anything like the constitution of a Christian church, in the incidental words of my text, yet the principles involved in these words do lie very deep down in the conception of what a Christian church ought to be. They make very short work of all sacerdotal assumptions. A priest doing a miracle there at the altar, and the people simple recipients of, and spectators--that, in many quarters, is the modern notion of the relation between pastor and people. John gives the truer one when he says--fellow-helpers to the Truth.'

The words bear on a mistake that is more common in the audience, I suppose, than sacramentarian notion --namely, that a church is a place where people come to hear sermons and pay their pew-rents, and there an end. There is a dead-weight of idle people clogging the work of every Christian congregation in England. Christian professors! what do you do for the Truth, for your Lord, for your brethren ? I, for my part, have to say with the Apostle, not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy; for by faith ye stand.' I decline all responsibility for doing more than my own share of the evangelistic work of this church. The Chinese put up mud-forts in which there is one real cannon that can be fired, and make a noise, and all the rest are dummies; painted, wooden. That is a great deal too like what a great many Christian churches are--one piece to fire, and the others for show.

Fellow-helpers.' That defines our mutual relation. But do not be too sure that your work is only the indirect work of sustaining' them that are such.' There is some direct work for you to do. And you are shutting your souls out from a great blessing by not doing it Sure I am that whoever is in union with Jesus Christ will have his lips touched to proclaim His Name somehow. And sure I am that whoever, smitten by love and loyalty to his Master, by the ardour of affection born of the grasp of the Truth, and by real love for his fellow-men that need it, opens his lips to make Christ known, will find that there is no surer way of increasing his own grasp of the Truth, and deepening his own union with Christ, than to seek to make others share in the blessings which are his life. Fellow-helpers to the Truth '--and with the Truth--I pray that we may be so more and more for the days or years that may yet remain to us.

MHCC: 3Jo 1:1-8

Those who are beloved of Christ, will love the brethren for his sake. Soul prosperity is the greatest blessing on this side heaven. Grace and health are rich companions. Grace will employ health. A rich soul may be lodged in a weak body; and grace must then be exercised in submitting to such a dispensation. But we may wish and pray that those who have prosperous souls, may have healthful bodies; that their grace may shine where there is still more room for activity. How many professors there are, about whom the apostle's words must be reversed, and we must earnestly wish and pray that their souls might prosper, as their health and circumstances do! True faith will work by love. A good report is due from those who receive good; they could not but testify to the church, what they found and felt. Good men will rejoice in the soul prosperity of others; and they are glad to hear of the grace and goodness of others. And as it is a joy to good parents, it will be a joy to good ministers, to see their people adorn their profession. Gaius overlooked petty differences among serious Christians, and freely helped all who bore the image, and did the work of Christ. He was upright in what he did, as a faithful servant. Faithful souls can hear their own praises without being puffed up; the commendation of what is good in them, lays them at the foot of the cross of Christ. Christians should consider not only what they must do, but what they may do; and should do even the common actions of life, and of good-will, after a godly sort, serving God therein, and designing his glory. Those who freely make known Christ's gospel, should be helped by others to whom God gives the means. Those who cannot themselves proclaim it, may yet receive, help, and countenance those who do so.

Matthew Henry: 3Jo 1:3-8

In these verses we have,

I. The good report that the apostle had received concerning this friend of his: The brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee (3Jo 1:3), who have borne witness of thy charity before the church, 3Jo 1:6. Here we may see, 1. The testimony or thing testified concerning Gaius - the truth that was in him, the reality of his faith, the sincerity of his religion, and his devotedness to God; and this evinced by his charity, which includes his love to the brethren, kindness to the poor, hospitality to Christian strangers, and readiness to accommodate them for the service of the gospel. Faith should work by love; it gives a lustre in and by the offices of love, and induces others to commend its integrity. 2. The witnesses - brethren that came from Gaius testified and bore witness. A good report is due from those who have received good; though a good name is but a small reward for costly service, yet it is better than precious ointment, and will not be refused by the ingenuous and religious. 3. The auditory or judicatory before which the report and testimony were given - before the church. This seems to be the church at which the apostle now resided. What church this was we are not sure; what occasion they had thus to testify his faith and love before the church we cannot tell; possibly out of the fulness of the heart the mouth spoke; they could not but testify what they found and felt; possibly they would engage the church's prayer for the continued life and usefulness of such a patron, that he might prosper and be in health as his soul prospered.

II. The report the apostle himself gives of him, introduced by an endearing appellation again: Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers, 3Jo 1:5. 1. He was hospitable, good to the brethren, even to strangers; it was enough to recommend them to Gaius's house that they belonged to Christ. Or he was good to the brethren of the same church with himself, and to those who came from far; all who were of the household of faith were welcome to him. 2. He seems to have been of a catholic spirit; he could overlook the petty differences among serious Christians, and be communicative to all who bore the image and did the work of Christ. And, 3. He was conscientious in what he did: " Thou doest faithfully (thou makest faithful work of) whatsoever thou doest; thou doest it as a faithful servant, and from the Lord Christ mayest thou expect the reward of the inheritance."Such faithful souls can hear their own praises without being puffed up; the commendation of what is good in us is designed, not for our pride, but for our encouragement to continue therein, and should be accordingly improved.

III. The apostle's joy therein, in the good report itself, and the good ground of it: I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified, etc., 3Jo 1:3. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth, in the prescripts of the Christian religion. The best evidence of our having the truth is our walking in the truth. Good men will greatly rejoice in the soul-prosperity of others; and they are glad to hear of the grace and goodness of others. They glorified God in me. Love envieth not, but rejoiceth in the good name of other folks. As it is joy to good parents, it will be joy to good ministers, to see their children evidence their sincerity in religion, and adorn their profession.

IV. The direction the apostle gives his friend concerning further treatment of the brethren that were with him: Whom if thou bring forward on their journey, after a godly sort, thou shalt do well. It seems to have been customary in those days of love to attend travelling ministers and Christians, at least some part of their road, 1Co 16:6. It is a kindness to a stranger to be guided in his way, and a pleasure to travellers to meet with suitable company: this is a work that may be done after a godly sort, in a manner worthy of God, or suitable to the deference and relation we bear to God. Christians should consider not only what they must do, but what they may do, what they may most honourably and laudably do: the liberal mind deviseth liberal generous things. Christians should do even the common actions of life and of good-will after a godly sort, as serving God therein, and designing his glory.

V. The reasons of this directed conduct; these are two: - 1. Because that for his name's sake these brethren went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. It appears thus that these were ministerial brethren, that they went forth to preach the gospel and propagate Christianity; possibly they might be sent out by this apostle himself: they went forth to convert the Gentiles; this was excellent service: they went forth for God and his name's sake; this is the minister's highest end, and should be his principal spring and motive, to gather and to build up a people for his name: they went forth also to carry a free gospel about with them, to publish it without charge wherever they came: Taking nothing of the Gentiles. These were worthy of double honour. There are those who are not called to preach the gospel themselves who may yet contribute to the progress of it. The gospel should be made without charge to those to whom it is first preached. Those who know it not cannot be expected to value it; churches and Christian patriots ought to concur to support the propagation of holy religion in the pagan countries; public spirits should concur according to their several capacities; those who are freely communicative of Christ's gospel should be assisted by those who are communicative of their purses. 2. We ought therefore to receive such, that we may be fellow-helpers to the truth, to true religion. The institution of Christ is the true religion; it has been attested by God. Those that are true in it and true to it will earnestly desire, and pray for, and contribute to, its propagation in the world. In many ways may the truth be befriended and assisted; those who cannot themselves proclaim it may yet receive, accompany, help, and countenance those who do.

Barclay: 3Jo 1:5-8

Here we come to John's main object in writing. A group of travelling missionaries is on its way to the church of which Gaius is a member, and John urges him to receive them, to give them every support and to send them on their way in a truly Christian manner.

In the ancient world hospitality was a sacred duty. Strangers were under the protection of Zeus Xenios, Zeus the god of strangers (Xenos, 3581, is the Greek for a stranger). In the ancient world inns were notoriously unsatisfactory. The Greek had an instinctive dislike of taking money for the giving of hospitality; and, therefore, the profession of innkeeper ranked very low. Inns were notoriously dirty and flea-infested. Innkeepers were notoriously rapacious so that Plato compared them to pirates who hold their guests to ransom before they allow them to escape. The ancient world had a system of guest-friendships whereby families in different parts of the country undertook to give each other's members hospitality when the occasion arose. This connection between families lasted throughout the generations and when it was claimed, the claimant brought with him a sumbolon, or token, which identified him to his hosts. Some cities kept an official called the Proxenos in the larger cities to whom their citizens, when travelling, might appeal for shelter and for help.

If the heathen world accepted the obligation of hospitality, it was only to be expected that the Christians would take it even more seriously. It is Peter's injunction: "Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another" (1Pe 4:9). "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers" says the writer to the Hebrews, and adds: "for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb 13:2). In the Pastoral Epistles a widow is to be honoured if she has "shown hospitality" (1Ti 5:9). Paul bids the Romans to "practice hospitality" (Rom 12:13).

Hospitality was to be specially the characteristic of the leaders of the church. A bishop must be a man given to hospitality (1Ti 3:2). Titus is told to be "hospitable" (Tit 1:8). When we come down to the time of Justin Martyr, (A.D. 170) we find that on the Lord's Day the well-to-do contributed as they would and it was the duty of the president of the congregation "to succour the orphans and the widows, and those who through sickness or any other cause are in want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning amongst us" (Justin Martyr: First Apology 1: 67).

In the early church the Christian home was the place of the open door and the loving welcome. There can be few nobler works than to give a stranger the right of entry to a Christian home. The Christian family circle should always be wide enough to have a place for the stranger, no matter where he comes from or what his colour.

Barclay: 3Jo 1:5-8

Further, this passage tells us about the wandering missionaries who gave up home and comfort to carry afield the word of God. In 3Jo 1:7Paul says that they have gone forth for the sake of the Name and take no assistance from pagans. (It is just possible that 3Jo 1:7might refer to those who had come out from the Gentiles taking nothing with them, those who for the sake of Christianity had left their work and their home and their friends and had no means of support.) In the ancient world the "begging friar," with his wallet, was well known. There is, for instance, a record of a man calling himself "the slave of the Syrian goddess," who went out begging and claimed that he never came back with fewer than seventy bags of money for his goddess. But these Christian wandering preachers would take nothing from the Gentiles, even if they would have given it.

John commends these adventurers of the faith to the hospitality and the generosity of Gaius. He says that it is a duty to help them so that we may show ourselves fellow-workers in the truth (3Jo 1:8). Moffatt translates this very vividly: "We are bound to support such men to prove ourselves allies of the truth."

There is a great Christian thought here. A man's circumstances may be such that he cannot become a missionary or a preacher. Life may have put him in a position where he must get on with a secular job, staying in the one place and carrying out the routine duties of life and living. But where he cannot go, his money and his prayers and his practical support can go. Not everyone can be, so to speak, in the front line; but by supporting those who are there, he can make himself an ally of the truth. When we remember that, all giving to the wider work of Christ and his church must become not an obligation but a privilege, not a duty but a delight. The church needs those who will go out with the truth, but it also needs those who will be allies of the truth at home.

Constable: 2Jo 1:7--3Jo 1:10

B. Protecting the Truth vv. 7-11

Next John moved on to his second purpose. He wrote to encourage his readers to resist the false teachers who were distorting the truth and deceiving some of the believers.

"The presbyter's attention now moves from the existence of true belief inside the Johannine community, which gives him great joy (v 4), to the dangers presented to it through the espousal of false belief by deceivers who have defected into the world.' Earlier, the writer has spoken of Christian truth and love; in the remainder of 2 John the emphasis inevitably falls on the need for truth in contrast to error. But the two sections interlock. Departure from the truth results in a failure of love. Thus the dark description of heretical secession and its consequences (vv 7-11) forms the basis of John's warm appeal for love and unity (vv 4-6)."¹¹

v. 7 This verse gives the reason for the exhortation in verse 6 and links what follows with verses 4-6. Erroneous teaching had already begun to proliferate in the early church (e.g., Gnosticism, Docetism, Cerinthianism, etc.; cf. 1 John 2:18, 22-23, 27; 4:1-3). The common error was Christological. The false teachers regarded Jesus as something other than God's Anointed One who had come in the flesh (cf. 1 John 5:1). "Coming" in the flesh means having come and continuing in flesh. This is the true view of the Incarnation. Jesus was and continues to be fully God and fully man.

"The incarnation was more than a mere incident, and more than a temporary and partial connection between the Logos and human nature. It was the permanent guarantee of the possibility of fellowship, and the chief means by which it is brought about."¹²

This type of false teacher is a deceiver as well as opposed to Christ. John did not mean that such a person was the end-time Antichrist. The use of the definite article in Greek, translated "the," used with an unnamed individual as here, sometimes translates better with the English indefinite article "a" or "an." That understanding of this statement is preferable here in view of other Scriptures that indicate the end-time Antichrist has yet to appear (e.g., Dan. 11; 2 Thess. 2).

"The elder says that anybody who denies the truth is a very antichrist, just as we might speak of a supremely evil person as the very devil.'"¹³

v. 8 Compromise with the false teachers could lead to a loss of reward (cf. the warning passages in Hebrews).¹⁴ Moreover loss for John's readers would involve loss for him as well since he had a share in their lives. This loss would only be partial, however. They would still receive some reward (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11-15).¹⁵ Loss of salvation is not in view at all.

v. 9 The picture in John's mind seems to have been that of a Christian who, the false teachers said, did not have the whole truth. It is common even today for false teachers to claim that those who do not agree with them are still in an infantile intellectual condition. However, John regarded that "infantile" position as proper for the Christian. If his readers advanced beyond it, they would really step out of the truth into error. John warned his readers of the danger of apostasy, namely, forsaking truth to embrace error (cf. 1 John 2:23-24).

John's use of "abide" indicates that he spoke of a vital personal relationship with God that comes with adherence to the truth, not just dead doctrinal orthodoxy (cf. John 8:31; 14:21-23; 15:1-7).

vv. 10-11 In the culture of John's day philosophers and teachers relied on the people to whom they spoke for lodging and financial assistance (e.g., Acts 18:2-3; 21:7). John instructed his readers to refuse to help the false teachers in these ways. Beyond this they were not even to give verbal encouragement to these apostates (cf. Acts 15:23; 23:26; 1 Cor. 10:20; 1 Tim. 5:22; James 1:1; 1 Pet. 4:13).¹⁶ John did not advocate the persecution of heretics here, but he strongly counselled his readers to give them no aid or encouragement in their destructive ministry. I believe he would have approved his readers' efforts to correct the false teachers in private and to lead them into a true appreciation of the person and work of Christ. In dealing with such persons ourselves we must also relate to their ministry in one way and to themselves in another. We must not approve or encourage their work but must show concern for their personal relationship with Christ.¹⁷

"Admittedly great care should be exercised before applying such a radical withholding of hospitality from anyone. For the elder it was applied only to antichristians who were committed to destroying the faith of the community. The issue involved more than disagreements in interpretation or personal misunderstandings among members of the body of Christ. It was radical and clearly defined unbelief, and it involved active and aggressive promotion of perversions of truth and practice that struck at the heart of Christianity.

"The responsibility of parents may furnish an analogy. Parents must discriminate as to whom even among their relatives they entertain in their home. Some relatives might be of such questionable character as to menace the moral, spiritual, and physical welfare of the children. Such relatives must be excluded. Parents must balance their concern for their relatives with their responsibility for their children. Notice that John does not suggest that the elect lady and her children deal with the false teachers in hatred or retaliate against them. Instead, he counsels that the false teachers be kept at a distance lest their heresy destroy the young church."¹⁸

Constable: 3 John

C. Demetrius' Opportunity for Love v. 12

John urged Gaius to show hospitable love to Demetrius to give Gaius an opportunity to practice love and thereby reprove Diotrephes' lack of love. Demetrius may have carried this letter from John to Gaius,¹⁹ or he may have visited Gaius later.

John gave three recommendations (witnesses) of this brother's worth. He had a good reputation among all who knew him, his character and conduct were in harmony with the truth, and John personally knew him and vouched for him.

"Like Gaius, Demetrius is walking in the truth.' His life matches his confession. In Pauline terms, he manifests the fruit of the Spirit. In Johannine terms, he lives the life of love."²⁰

It will be interesting to get to heaven and see if this Demetrius is the same man who gave Paul so much trouble in Ephesus (Acts 19:24). Several commentators have concluded that he was.²¹ The odds are against this possibility since there were undoubtedly many men named Demetrius (lit. belonging to Demeter [the goddess of agriculture]) living in that area then. Furthermore Paul ministered in Ephesus in the early 50s whereas John probably wrote this epistle in the early 90s.

Constable: 3Jo 1:5--Jud 1:7

A. Gaius' Love vv. 5-8

John commended Gaius for his love of the brethren to encourage him to continue practicing this virtue.

v. 5 John loved Gaius as Gaius loved the brethren to whom he had extended hospitality.

"The early Christian community's deep interest in hospitality is inherited from both its Jewish roots and the Greco-Roman culture of its day."⁶

John's affection for Gaius is obvious in his repeated use of the word "beloved" (cf. v. 2). Gaius acted faithfully in the sense that his behavior was consistent with God's truth (cf. 2 John 1-2).

It is possible that Gaius had shown love "for the brethren and for strangers" as some Greek texts read. On the other hand, perhaps the NASB translation is correct: he showed love to the brethren and even to those brethren who were strangers to him. Probably Gaius had demonstrated love to all these varieties of people (cf. Heb. 13:2).

v. 6 The church in view was John's church, probably in Ephesus. "You will do well" is an idiom that we could translate "Please." John urged Gaius to continue his commendable treatment of visitors. He could do so during their stay with him and when they departed by sending them on their way with adequate provisions (cf. Acts 15:3; 20:38; 2:15; Rom. 15:24; 1 Cor. 16:6; Titus 3:13).

"The point is still relevant. Christian ministers and missionaries live in the faith that God will encourage his people to provide for their needs; it is better that such provision err on the side of generosity than stinginess."⁷

"Always and everywhere that man is to be highly esteemed in the Church, who combines firm convictions with a generous heart."⁸

v. 7 The brethren in view in this whole situation were traveling preachers. To go out in the name of Christ was a great honor because of that name.⁹

"This Name' is in essence the sum of the Christian Creed (comp. I Cor. xii. 3; Rom. x. 9)."¹⁰

Early Christian preachers normally received material support from other believers (cf. Acts 20:35; 1 Cor. 9:14; 1 Thess. 3:7-9) or they supported themselves. They did not solicit funds from unbelievers (cf. Matt. 10:8; 2 Cor. 12:14; 1 Thess. 2:9). "Gentiles" was a general term for unbelievers. Most of the Gentiles were pagans.

"There were numerous peripatetic streetpreachers from religious and philosophical cults who avariciously solicited funds from their audiences."¹¹

"Even in the present day, there is something unseemly in a preacher of the gospel soliciting funds from people to whom he offers God's free salvation."¹²

v. 8 Giving financial and hospitable aid makes the giver a partner with the receiver in his work (cf. 2 John 10-11). Since pagans did not support Christian preachers and teachers, the duty of Christians to support them was even greater. Note John's emphasis on the truth again. Preaching the gospel is proclaiming the truth.

College: 3 John

3 JOHN

¹ The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

² Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. ³ It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

⁵ Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. ⁶ They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. ⁷ It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. ⁸ We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.

⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. ¹⁰ So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

¹¹ Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. ¹² Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone ^- and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

¹³ I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink.

¹⁴ I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

I. GREETING (1)

The shortest book in the New Testament is a very special, personal letter. Four major characters play roles in the book: John, Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius. Although the names of "Jesus" and "Christ" do not appear in 3 John, the "Name" in verse 7 likely stands in substitution for the Lord Jesus.

v. 1 The elder,

One of the evidences that John did indeed write 3 John is the use of the same address as in 2 John 1, the elder (see earlier comments). The brevity of both 2 and 3 John argue for the possibility that the material only warranted the use of one papyrus sheet. He was being practical yet succinct with his messages.

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Friend is used four times in this letter (9 times in John's writings). It translates ajgaphtov" (agapçtos) in which we can see the word for love (agapç) and why some versions use "beloved." The NIV has chosen to interpret John's sentiment with the word dear .

Who is Gaius? The name was as common as John's in New Testament times. The Gaius addressed here should not be confused with others by the same name in Acts 19:29 (the riot at Ephesus); 20:4 (the collection for Jerusalem saints); Romans 16:23 (housed Paul in Corinth); or 1 Corinthians 1:14 (perhaps the same as the one in Romans whom Paul had immersed into Christ). It would be speculative to identify Gaius as anyone other than a prominent leader in the church who received a personal letter from his friend John.

II. GAIUS ADMONISHED (2-8)

A. WALKING IN THE TRUTH (2-4)

v. 2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

John demonstrates his concern for both the physical and spiritual health of Gaius by praying personally for his total wellbeing. This is not a prooftext for the health-wealth gospel. As J.W. Roberts points out, "In Timothy the verb [uJgiaivnein, hygiainein ] used here (be in health) always has a figurative sense of doctrine that is 'healthy' or 'sound'."

v. 3 It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.

In a similar manner as Paul discovered news from the churches (1 Cor 1:11; Phil 4:18), John has heard from other brothers regarding Gaius. Again, the NIV does not translate gaÉr ( gar , for) as a purposeful transition into verse 3. John has the same type of joy for Gaius as he had in 2 John for those who would remain faithful.

v. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

One would not expect to read of such great joy knowing what John writes about Diotrephes later in the same letter. He had heard about the faith of his children because they were walking in the truth . They were putting John's teaching into practice despite any of Satan's attacks. They had gone beyond hearing the truth to actually living it. "It was from truth, believed and obeyed by his children, that he derived his greatest joy." As James 1:24 teaches, "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." We would do well to learn the lesson that the need to nurture new Christians on to maturity is as important as bringing them to spiritual birth.

B. FAITHFUL IN WORKING TOGETHER (5-8)

1. Faithful Actions with Brothers (5-6)

v. 5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.

John praises his friend for having practiced the kind of hospitality to strangers described in Hebrews 13:2. It was meeting a need for unknown individuals who may never have a way to repay the favor. Some have commented that 3 John is not centered on "doctrine." Yet a proper understanding of the doctrine of Christian hospitality is vital to the life of the church! These brothers were likely traveling missionaries who preached the gospel. (These strangers might have informed John of Gaius' faith.) Jesus experienced hospitality on several occasions. Jesus also taught his disciples what to expect in their travels. Matthew 10:10 teaches that a true and genuine "worker is worthy of his keep." Just as those who are hospitable to false teachers share in their wickedness, so those who take care of Christian family members share in the truth.

v. 6 They have told the church about your love.

By Gaius' act of hospitality, he expressed the love of Christ. The strangers publicly acknowledged to their own congregation the love and care given to them. This is the only instance where John uses the term for church (ejkklhsiva, ekklçsia or "called out ones," see vv. 9 and 10). The act of giving can cause others to give. Paul provokes the Corinthians to give as the Macedonian churches had done sacrificially (2 Cor 8:1-7). We could learn to urge one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24).

You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

F.F. Bruce claims that the expression "you will do well" is idiomatic for either making a polite request "or expressing thanks in advance." One of the ways we can hear the "well done" from the Master is to support those who propagate the gospel. We will be doing what pleases God. In a manner worthy of God can mean "as if you were sending God himself on the journey"(see Matt 10:40). Christ's body has many members with many gifts. Some can serve as missionaries and others are "called out" to support the evangelists.

2. Proper Hospitality (7-8)

v. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.

John explains why the strangers had gone out. They went out for Jesus' sake, in his Name . The apostles had been warned by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem not to preach "in the name of Jesus" (Acts 5:40). The same verb is used for the false teachers as "they went out." The obvious difference is motive: one group went out in the name of the devil, the other, in the Name of the Creator and Lord of the Universe! The missionaries had gone out without the help from the pagans . It appears that one congregation or group of congregations had supported the missionaries so that they need not charge the pagans (or anyone else) for preaching.

v. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.

These are the ones to welcome. Avoid false teachers who deny that Jesus came in the flesh, but show hospitality to the Lord's laborers! We ought to do so in order that or with the result that we will work together for the truth . Such giving comes out of gratitude and not out of a legalistic obligation. The Lord's work is mutually benefited by our selflessness. Moffatt reads, "allies for the Truth."

III. DIOTREPHES CONDEMNED (9-10)

v. 9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.

While Gaius is a good example, Diotrephes is a bad example for church leadership. I wonder what John had written to the church that caused him to have nothing to do with him? Diotrephes exhibits an arrogance that enthroned himself as a "ruling elder" or at least a self-proclaimed leader. We do not know what position or function Diotrephes held in the local congregation. He may have been a teacher, an evangelist, or other leader. The missing letter from John to the church may have revealed who he was and what he did.

Who loves to be first is analyzed by Westcott to mean that ambition was his main fault and not necessarily any other false teaching. (The following verse shows what an evil root of self-love can produce.) He loved the wrong person first. Besides, Diotrephes had the audacity to reject an apostle of the Lord! John had learned from the Master himself, that to be first you have to be willing to be last. The greatest is the servant. We do not know if Diotrephes is later salvageable through additional efforts by John himself or others. We can speculate that since we have no other written confirmation to the contrary, Diotrephes' story ends in this letter.

v. 10 So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us.

Will Diotrephes continue to have nothing to do with John once they meet face to face? Gaius is reading an advanced warning that probably reached Diotrephes. It would have caught the attention of most people and prompted repentance.

Romans 1:29 and 1 Timothy 5:13 speak of "gossips." The classic definition of gossip has been the sharing of information about someone else when you are neither part of the problem nor part of the solution. The malicious gossiping described by John raises out of envy for apostolic authority and brazen defiance of the Lord. It is the type of tongue set on fire by hell itself (Jas 3:6). Literally, his "nonsense" will expose him for who he really is and Gaius need not concern himself with a direct challenge of Diotrephes.

Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers.

The undermining tactic used by Diotrephes is compounded with his blatant refusal to welcome the brothers . He has hospitality reversed. The ones he should welcome, he refuses. One can conclude that he welcomes the likes of false teachers with whom he shares common motives. He shares in their wicked deeds and finds fellowship (koinônia) with the deceivers.

He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

As if refusing the brothers was not enough, Diotrephes keeps others from giving and excommunicates them! Envy is evidenced by his actions. This fleshly emotion operates from the philosophy "if I cannot have something, I will see that no one else can either." The Lord did not appoint this man to leadership in the church. He had no authority to put anyone out of the church (perhaps applying Paul's example in 1 Cor 5:5, but apart from divine revelation or inspiration). He is doing the exact opposite of what John has encouraged Gaius to do. Second John 9 applied to Diotrephes would categorize him along with the gentiles who are without hope and "without God in the world" (Eph 2:12). Jesus prophesied that we would know people by their fruit, good or bad (Matt 7:16, 20) - this leads us into the next verse.

IV. DEMETRIUS COMMENDED (11-12)

v. 11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.

Gaius is addressed personally to regain his attention for instruction. John has described what is evil , now he will define what is good . Do not mimic (mhÉ mimou', mç mimou - do not imitate ) the evil, but do imitate the good. The apostle may not have intended to limit the example of evil to Diotrephes and the good to Demetrius. The reader naturally draws that conclusion from the context simply because the contrasts are immediately obvious.

Anyone who does what is good is from God.

The lifestyle of doing good or right is from God (or of God: 1 John 3:10; 4:4, 6; 5:19). Anyone doing good (oJ ajgaqopoiw'n, ho agathopoiôn) means a life full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3) and recognizable by the fruit (Gal 5:22, 23). If you want to know how to discern a person's motives, observe his or her fruit.

Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

John 14:9, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" and 1 John 3:6, "No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." Anyone who does what is evil is outside of the fellowship. Evil-doers are experiencing the effects of "excommunication" without being excommunicated! Neither will they see God in the future should they continue to sin without repentance and restoration.

v. 12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone ^- and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him,

Who is Demetrius? Some have speculated that he was Demas named in Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24 and 2 Timothy 4:10. Although it is not defensible to identify this Demetrius with the one in Acts 19:21, Luke records the incident (in Ephesus) of a Demetrius who opposed Paul. Could the Demetrius in Acts 19 have become a Christian by the time John wrote 3 John? Since the name is as common perhaps as either John or Gaius, this Demetrius probably is a unique individual possibly a leader among the missionaries. Roberts suggests that he may have been the courier for this letter. John used three witnesses in 1 John 5:7-8 and repeats the pattern here by giving testimony to the character of Demetrius. He is:

1) Well spoken by everyone - possibly by Christians and outsiders alike

2) Even by the truth itself - by the facts or by the Lord himself (John 14:6)

3) We speak well of him - John and those in Ephesus who knew him.

and you know that our testimony is true.

The last part of verse 12 should be associated directly with the testimony of John and those with him. They knew John personally and could take his word and that of the sister church for Demetrius.

V. DESIRE TO SPEAK IN PERSON (13-14)

v. 13 I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink.

Verse 13 parallels 2 John 12. There is only a slight variation, with the one letter being directed to a congregation, the latter, to an individual. Here John uses pen and ink - mevlano" kaiÉ kalavmou ( melanos kai kalamou ) while he uses "paper and ink" - cavrtou kaiÉ mevlano" ( chartou kai melanos ). This similarity between the epistles argues for John's authorship. He could have written much more than would fit onto one sheet of papyrus! His not wanting to write is not a sign of laziness but rather a testament to his personal concern to communicate in person.

v. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

John's hope is to actually see Gaius face to face (literally mouth to mouth - stovma proÉ" stovma, stoma pros stoma ). Soon (eujqevw", eutheôs) is elsewhere translated "immediately" 32 times in the New Testament (80 times all together with similar connotations). If the crisis caused by Diotrephes is as critical as indicated above, a personal visit is warranted very soon to set things in order.

Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

Shalom! The common Hebrew greeting had been adopted by many early Christians since many of the first converts came directly out of Judaism. Peace (eijrhvnh, eirçnç) was promised to his followers by Jesus. (See John 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26; 1 Pet 5:14.) Diotrephes had been offering the opposite to the church. Christians experience a mutual peace with God (Rom 5:1) and are commanded to "make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" (Rom 14:19).

The friends here are from John's congregation (especially if 2 and 3 John were written at the same time). It speaks well of their fellowship and common cause to be named as friends, a tie that indeed binds Christians together. Individuals are important to John and to God (John 10:3; Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). John is saying, "Do not miss anyone in sending our greetings" - Greet the friends there by name !

QUESTIONS ON THIRD JOHN

Consider These as You Read 3 John

1. Why did John write to Gaius?

2. Is there any gnostic influence here as in 1 and 2 John?

3. What part does Diotrephes play in the problem?

4. Why is Demetrius mentioned?

Questions for Review of 3 John

1. What significance do you attach to John's repeated referral to Gaius as "friend?"

2. What position did Gaius probably hold in his home congregation?

3. What is the problem about which John writes Gaius (vv. 10,11)?

4. Contrast the personality of Gaius with that of Diotrephes.

5. What treatment does John ask of Gaius for the visiting ministers?

6. What is the significance of the term "send them on their way?"

7. Why on a mission field might it be wise not to take money from those to whom the gospel is preached?

8. What is the reward promised by John to those who support the preachers of the gospel?

9. What wrong had Diotrephes done?

10. What damage is possible to the church when an elder accuses a minister "by gossiping maliciously?"

11. How do genuine Christians often imitate evil men such as Diotrephes?

12. What are two possible identifications for Demetrius?

13. What three witnesses to the genuineness of Demetrius does John name?

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 3 John (Book Introduction)

THIRD JOHN

ABOUT a.d. 85 TO 90

By Way of Introduction

Certainly 3 John is addressed to an individual, not to a church, though which Gaius we do not know. There are three friends of Paul with this name; Gaius of Corinth (1Co_1:14), Gaius of Macedonia (Act_19:29), Gaius of Derbe (Act_20:4), but it is unlikely that this Gaius of Pergamum (Findlay would call him) is either of these, though the Apostolical Constitutions does identify him with Gaius of Derbe. It is possible that in 3Jo_1:9 there is an allusion to 2 John and, if so, then both letters went to individuals in the same church (one a loyal woman, the other a loyal man). Three persons are sharply sketched in 3 John (Gaius, Diotrephes, Demetrius). Gaius is the dependable layman in the church, Diotrephes the dominating official, Demetrius the kindly messenger from Ephesus with the letter, a vivid picture of early church life and missionary work. John is at Ephesus, the last of the apostles, and with an eagle’s eye surveys the work in Asia Minor. The same Gnostic deceivers are at work as in the other Johannine Epistles. Pergamum is described in Rev_2:13 as the place " where Satan’s throne is."

JFB: 3 John (Book Introduction)

AUTHENTICITY.--That these two Epistles were written by the same author appears from their similarity of tone, style, and sentiments. That John, the beloved disciple, was the author of the Second and Third Epistles, as of the First Epistle, appears from IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 1.16.3], who quotes 2Jo 1:10-11; and in [3.16.8], he quotes 2Jo 1:7, mistaking it, however, as if occurring in First John. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (A.D. 192) [Miscellanies, 2.66], implies his knowledge of other Epistles of John besides the First Epistle; and in fragments of his Adumbrations [p. 1011], he says, "John's Second Epistle which was written to the virgins (Greek, "parthenous"; perhaps Parthos is what was meant) is the simplest; but it was written to a certain Babylonian named the Elect lady." DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA (in EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 7.25]) observes that John never names himself in his Epistles, "not even in the Second and Third Epistles, although they are short Epistles, but simply calls himself the presbyter, a confutation of those who think John the apostle distinct from John the presbyter. ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA cites 2Jo 1:10-11, as John's [SOCRATES, Ecclesiastical History, 1.6]. CYPRIAN [Concerning the Baptism of Heretics], in referring to the bishops at the Council of Carthage, says, "John the apostle, in His Epistle, has said, if any come to you" (2Jo 1:10); so that this Epistle, and therefore its twin sister, Third John, was recognized as apostolic in the North African Church. The MURATORI fragment is ambiguous. The Second and Third Epistles were not in the Peschito or old Syriac version; and COSMAS INDICOPLEUSTES in the sixth century says that in his time the Syriac Church only acknowledged three of the Catholic Epistles, First Peter, First John, and James. But EPHREM THE SYRIAN quotes the Second Epistle of John. EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History,] reckons both Epistles among the Antilegomena or controverted Scriptures, as distinguished from the Homologoumena or universally acknowledged from the first. Still his own opinion was that the two minor Epistles were genuine, remarking, as he does in Demonstration of the Gospel [3.5], that in John's "Epistles" he does not mention his own name, nor call himself an apostle or evangelist, but an "elder" (2Jo 1:1; 3Jo 1:1). ORIGEN (in EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 6.25]) mentions the Second and Third Epistles, but adds, "not all admit (implying that most authorities do) their genuineness." JEROME [On Illustrious Men, 9] mentions the two latter Epistles as attributed to John the presbyter, whose sepulcher was shown among the Ephesians in his day. But the designation "elder" was used of the apostles by others (for example, PAPIAS, in EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.39]), and is used by Peter, an apostle, of himself (1Pe 5:1). Why, then, should not John also use this designation of himself, in consonance with the humility which leads him not to name himself or his apostleship even in the First Epistle? The Antilegomena were generally recognized as canonical soon after the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325). Thus CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, A.D. 349, enumerates fourteen Epistles of Paul, and seven Catholic Epistles. So GREGORY NAZIANZEN, in A.D. 389. The Councils of Hippo, 393, and Carthage, 397, adopted a catalogue of New Testament books exactly agreeing with our canon. So our oldest extant Greek manuscripts. The Second and Third Epistles of John, from their brevity (which ORIGEN notices), and the private nature of their contents, were less generally read in the earliest Christian assemblies and were also less quoted by the Fathers; hence arose their non-universal recognition at the first. Their private nature makes them the less likely to be spurious, for there seems no purpose in their forgery. The style and coloring too accord with the style of the First Epistle.

TO WHOM ADDRESSED.--The Third Epistle is directed to Gaius or Caius; whether Gaius of Macedonia (Act 19:20), or Gaius of Corinth (Rom 16:23; 1Co 1:14), or Gaius of Derbe (Act 20:4), it is hard to decide. MILL believes Gaius, bishop of Pergamos [Apostolic Constitutions, 7.40], to be the person addressed in 3Jo 1:1.

The address of the Second Epistle is more disputed. It opens, "The elder unto the Elect lady" (2Jo 1:1). And it closes, "The children of thy elect sister greet thee" (2Jo 1:13). Now, 1Pe 1:1-2, addresses the elect in Asia, &c., and closes (1Pe 5:13), "The Church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you." Putting together these facts, with the quotations (above) from CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, and the fact that the word "Church" comes from a Greek word (kyriake) cognate to the Greek for "lady" (kyria; "belonging to the Lord," kyrios); WORDSWORTH'S view is probable. As Peter in Babylon had sent the salutations of the elect Church in the then Parthian (see above on CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA) Babylon to her elect sister in Asia, so John, the metropolitan president of the elect Church in Asia, writes to the elect lady, that is, Church, in Babylon. NEANDER, ALFORD, and others, think the Greek "kyria" not to mean "lady," but to be her proper name; and that she had a "sister, a Christian matron," then with John.

DATE AND PLACE OF WRITING.--EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.25] relates that John, after the death of Domitian, returned from his exile in Patmos to Ephesus, and went on missionary tours into the heathen regions around, and also made visitations of the churches around, and ordained bishops and clergy. Such journeys are mentioned, 2Jo 1:12; 3Jo 1:10, 3Jo 1:14. If EUSEBIUS be right, both Epistles must have been written after the Apocalypse, in his old age, which harmonizes with the tone of the Epistles, and in or near Ephesus. It was on one of his visitation tours that he designed to rebuke Diotrephes (3Jo 1:9-10).

TSK: 3 John 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

3Jo 1:1, He commends Gaius for his piety, 3Jo 1:5, and hospitality, 3Jo 1:7, to true preachers; 3Jo 1:9, complaining of the unkind dealing of ambitious Diotrephes on the contrary side; 3Jo 1:11, whose evil example is not to be followed; 3Jo 1:12, and gives special testimony to the good report of Demetrius.

Poole: 3 John 1 (Chapter Introduction)

JOHN CHAPTER 1

MHCC: 3 John (Book Introduction)

This epistle is addressed to a converted Gentile. The scope is to commend his stedfastness in the faith, and his hospitality, especially to the ministers of Christ.

The apostle commends Gaius for piety and hospitality. (2Jo 1:1-8) Cautions him against siding with Diotrephes, who was a turbulent spirit; but recommends Demetrius as a man of excellent character. (2Jo 1:9-12) He hopes soon to see Gaius. (2Jo 1:13, 2Jo 1:1:14)

Matthew Henry: 3 John (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Third Epistle of John

Christian communion is exerted and cherished by letter. Christians are to be commended in the practical proof of their professed subjection to the gospel of Christ. The animating and countenancing of generous and public-spirited persons is doing good to many - to this end the apostle sends this encouraging epistle to his friend Gaius, in which also he complains of the quite opposite spirit and practice of a certain minister, and confirms the good report concerning another more worthy to be imitated.

Matthew Henry: 3 John 1 (Chapter Introduction)

In this epistle the apostle congratulates Gaius upon the prosperity of his soul (3Jo 1:1, 3Jo 1:2), upon the fame he had among good Christians (3Jo 1:3, 3Jo 1:4), and upon his charity and hospitality to the servants of Christ (3Jo 1:5, 3Jo 1:6). He complains of contemptuous treatment by an ambitious Diotrephes (3Jo 1:9, 3Jo 1:10), recommends Demetrius (3Jo 1:12), and expresses his hope of visiting Gaius shortly (3Jo 1:13, 3Jo 1:14).

Barclay: 3 John (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND AND THIRD LETTERS OF JOHN

The very shortness of these two letters is the best guarantee of their genuineness. They are so brief and so comparatively unimportant that no one would have gone to the trouble of inventing them and of attaching them to the name of John. A standard papyrus sheet measured ten by eight inches and the length of these letters is to be explained by the fact that they would each take up almost exactly one sheet.

The Elder

Each of them is said to come from "The elder." Second John begins: "The elder to the elect lady and her children." Third John begins: "The elder to the beloved Gaius." It is in the last degree unlikely that The elder is an official or ecclesiastical title. Elders were officials attached to one congregation whose jurisdiction did not extend outside that congregation, whereas the writer of these letters certainly assumes that he has the right to speak and that his word will carry weight in congregations where he is not actually present. He speaks as one whose authority goes out to the Church at large. The word is presbuteros (G4245), which originally meant an elder, not in the official but in the natural sense of the term. We would be better to translate it "The ancient", or "The aged", for it is not from an ecclesiastical position but from his age and personal qualities that the writer of these letters draws his authority.

In fact we know that in Ephesus there was an aged John who held a very special position. In the days of the early church there was a churchman called Papias who lived from A.D. 70 to 146. He had a passion for collecting all the information he could lay hands on about the early days of the church. He was not a great scholar, Eusebius dismisses him as "a man of very limited intelligence"; but he does transmit to us some most interesting information. He became Bishop of Hierapolis but he had a close connection with Ephesus, and he tells us of his own methods of acquiring information. He frequently uses elder in the sense of one of the fathers of the Church, and he mentions a particularly distinguished elder whose name was John. "I shall not hesitate," he writes, "to put down for you, along with my own interpretations, whatsoever things I have at any time learned carefully from the elders, and carefully remembered, guaranteeing their truth. For I did not, like the multitude, take pleasure in those that speak much, but in those that teach the truth; not in those who relate strange commandments, but in those who deliver the commandments given by the Lord to faith, and springing from the truth itself. If, then, anyone came who had been a follower of the elders, I questioned him in regard to the words of the elders--what Andrew, or what Peter, had said, or what was said by Philip, or by Thomas, or by James, or by John, or by Matthew, or by any other of the disciples of the Lord; and what things Aristion, or the Elder John say. For I did not think that what was to be gotten from books would profit me as much as what came from the living and abiding voice." Clearly the Elder John, John the aged, was a notable figure in Ephesus, although he is clearly distinguished from John the apostle.

It must be this John who wrote these two little letters. By this time he was an old man, one of the last surviving links with Jesus and his disciples. He was a man who had the authority of a bishop in Ephesus and in the places around it; and when he saw that a church was threatened with trouble and heresy, he wrote with gracious and loving correction to his people. Here are the letters of an aged saint, one of the last of the first generation of Christians, a man whom all loved and respected.

Common Authorship

That the two letters are from the one hand there is no doubt. Short as they are, they have much in common. Second John begins: "The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth." Third John begins: "The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth." Second John goes on: "I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children following the truth" (2Jo_1:4 ); and Third John goes on: "No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth." Second John comes to an end: "Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete" (2Jo_1:12 ). Third John comes to an end: "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 together face to face" (3Jo_1:13-14 ). There is the closest possible similarity between the two letters.

There is further the closest possible connection between the situation of these letters and that in First John. In 1Jo_4:3 we read: "Every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of Antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already." In 2Jo_1:7 we read: "Many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is a deceiver and the Antichrist."

It is clear that Second and Third John are closely connected with each other; and that both are closely connected with First John. They are dealing with the same situation, the same dangers and the same people.

The Problem Of The Second Letter

These two little letters confront us with few serious problems. The only real one is to decide whether the Second Letter was sent to an individual or to a church. It begins: "The elder to the elect lady and her children." The problem centres on this phrase the elect lady. The Greek is eklekte (G1588) kuria (G2959) and there are three possible ways of taking it.

(i) It is just barely possible, though not really likely, that Eklekte is a proper name and that kuria (G2959) is a quite usual affectionate address. Kurios (G2962) (the masculine form) has many meanings. It very commonly means sir; it means master of slaves and owner of possessions; on a much higher level it means lord and is the word so often used as a title for Jesus. In letters kurios (G2962) has a special use. It is practically the equivalent of the English phrase My Dear. So a soldier writes home saying, Kurie (G2962) mou (G3450) pater (G3962), My Dear Father. In letters kurios is an address combining affection and respect. So it is just possible that this letter is addressed to My Dear Eklekte. Rendel Harris, indeed, went the length of saying that Second John is nothing other than a Christian love letter. This is unlikely, as we shall see, for more than one reason. But one thing is decisive against it. Second John ends: "The children of your elect sister greet you." The Greek is again eklekte (G1588); and, if it is a proper name at the beginning of the letter, it must also be a proper name at the end. This would mean that there were two sisters both called by the very unusual name of Eklekte--which is simply unbelievable.

(ii) It is possible to take Kuria (G2959) as a proper name, for there are examples of this usage. We would then take eklekte (G1588) in its normal New Testament sense; and the letter would be written to the elect Kuria (G2959). The objections are threefold. (a) It seems unlikely that any single individual could be spoken of as loved by all those who have known the truth (2Jo_1:1 ). (b) 2Jo_1:4 says that John rejoiced when he found some of her children walking in the truth; the implication is that others did not so walk. This would seem to imply a number greater than one womanfamily could contain. (c) The decisive objection is that throughout the letter the eklekte (G1588) kuria (G2959) is addressed sometimes in the singular and sometimes in the plural. The singular occurs in verses 2Jo_1:4-5 and 2Jo_1:13 ; and the plural occurs in 2Jo_1:6 ,2Jo_1:8 ,2Jo_1:10 ,2Jo_1:12 . It would be almost impossible that an individual would be so addressed.

(iii) So, then, we must come to the conclusion that the elect lady means a church. There is, in fact, good evidence that the expression was so used. First Peter, in the King James Version, ends with greetings from "the church that is at Babylon elected together with you" (1Pe_5:13 ). In the King James Version the words church that is are in italics; that, of course, means that they are not in the Greek and have been supplied in translation to fill out the sense. The Greek literally reads: "The Elect One at Babylon" and The Elect One is feminine. Few have ever doubted that the phrase means The church which is at Babylon, and that is how we must take it in Johnletter also. No doubt The Elect Lady goes back to the idea of the church as the Bride of Christ. We can be certain that Second John is written, not to an individual but to a church.

The Problem In The Early Church

Second and Third John throw vivid light on a problem which sooner or later had to arise within the organization of the early church. Let us see if we can reconstruct the situation which lies behind them. It is clear that John the aged regards himself as having a right to act as guide and counsellor and to administer warning and rebuke in the churches whose members are his children. In Second John he writes of those who are doing well (2Jo_1:4 ), and by implication infers that there are others who are not so satisfactory. He further makes it clear that there are itinerant teachers in the district, some of whom are preaching false and dangerous doctrine, and he gives orders that such teachers are not to be accepted and not to be given hospitality (2Jo_1:7-11 ). Here, then, John is exercising what is to him an unquestioned right to issue orders to his churches and is seeking to guard against a situation in which itinerant teachers of falsehood may arrive at any moment.

The situation behind Third John is somewhat more complicated. The letter is written to one called Gaius, whose character and actions John most thoroughly approves (3Jo_1:3-5 ). Wandering missionaries have come to the church, men who are fellow-helpers of the truth, and Gaius has given them true Christian hospitality (3Jo_1:6-8 ). In the same church is another man called Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence (3Jo_1:9 ). Diotrephes is depicted as a dictatorial character who will brook no rival to his authority. Diotrephes has refused to receive the wandering teachers of the truth and has actually tried to drive out of the church those who did receive them. He will have nothing to do with wandering teachers even when they are true preachers of the word (3Jo_1:10 ).Then into the picture comes a man called Demetrius, to whom John gives a personal testimonial as a good man and one to be hospitably welcomed (3Jo_1:12 ). The simplest explanation of Demetrius is that he must be the leader of a wandering band of teachers who are on their way to the church to which John is writing. Diotrephes will certainly refuse to have anything to do with them and will try to eject those who do receive them; and John is writing to urge Gaius to receive the wandering teachers and not to be intimidated by the domineering Diotrephes, whom he (John) will deal with when he visits the church in question (3Jo_1:10 ). The whole situation turns on the reception of the wandering teachers. Gaius has received such teachers before, and John urges him to receive them and their leader Demetrius again. Diotrephes has shut the door on them and defied the authority of John the aged.

The Threefold Ministry

All this looks like a very unhappy situation, and indeed it was. None the less, it was one which was bound to arise. In the nature of things a problem of ministry was bound to emerge within the church. In its earliest days the church had three different kinds of ministries.

(i) Unique, and above all others, stood the apostles, those who had companied with Jesus and been witnesses of the resurrection. They were the undisputed leaders of the church. Their writ ran throughout the whole church; in any country and in any congregation their ministry was supreme.

(ii) There were the prophets. They were not attached to any one congregation. They were wandering preachers, going where the Spirit moved them and giving to men the message which the Spirit of God gave to them. They had given up home and occupation and the comfort and security of settled life to be the wandering messengers of God. They, too, had a very special place in the church. The Didache, or, to give it its English name, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, is the earliest book of church order. In it the unique position of the prophets is made clear. The order of service for the Eucharist is laid down and the prayers are given; the service ends with the prayer of thanksgiving which is given in full; and then comes the sentence: "But suffer the prophets to give thanks as much as they will" (Didache 10:7). The prophets were not to be brought under the rules and regulations which governed ordinary people. So, then, the church had two sets of people whose authority was not confined to any one congregation and who had right of entry to every congregation.

(iii) There were the elders. During their first missionary journey part of the work of Paul and Barnabas was to ordain elders in all the local churches which they founded (Act_14:23 ). The elders were the officials of the settled community; their work was within their congregation and they did not move outside it. It is clear that they were the backbone of the organization of the early church; on them the routine work and the solidity of the individual congregations depended.

The Problem Of The Wandering Preachers

The position of the apostles presented no real problem; they were unique and their position could never really be disputed. But the wandering prophets did present a problem. Their position was one which was singularly liable to abuse. They had an enormous prestige; and it was possible for the most undesirable characters to enter into a way of life in which they moved from place to place, living in very considerable comfort at the expense of the local congregations. A clever rogue could make a very comfortable living as an itinerant prophet. Even the pagan satirists saw this. Lucian, the Greek writer, in his work called the Peregrinus, draws the picture of a man who had found the easiest possible way of making a living without working. He was an itinerant charlatan who lived on the fat of the land by travelling round the various communities of the Christians, settling down wherever he liked and living luxuriously at their expense. The Didache clearly saw this danger and laid down definite regulations to meet it. The regulations are long but so vivid a light do they throw on the life of the early church that they are worth quoting in full (Didache 11 and 12).

Whosoever, therefore, shall come and teach you all these things

aforesaid, receive him. But if the teacher himself turn and teach

another doctrine to pervert, hear him not. But unto the increase

of righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the

Lord. And as touching the apostles and prophets, according to the

decree of the gospel, so do ye. But let every apostle that cometh

unto you be received as the Lord. And he shall stay one day, and,

if need be, the next also, but, if he stay three, he is a false

prophet. And, when the apostle goeth forth, let him take nothing

save bread, till he reach his lodging, but, if he ask money, he is

a false prophet. And every prophet that speaketh in the Spirit ye

shall not try nor judge: for every sin shall be forgiven, but this

sin shall not be forgiven. But not everyone that speaketh in the

Spirit is a prophet, but if he has the manners of the Lord. By

their manners, therefore, shall the prophet and the false prophet

be known. And no prophet who ordereth a table in the Spirit shall

eat of it, else he is a false prophet. And every prophet that

teacheth the truth, if he doeth not what he teacheth, is a false

prophet.... Whosoever shall say in the Spirit: Give me money, or

any other thing, ye shall not hearken to him: but, if he bid you

give for others who are in need, let no man judge him.

Let everyone that cometh in the name of the Lord be received,

and then, when ye have proved him, ye shall know, for ye shall

have understanding to distinguish between the right hand and the

left. If he that cometh is a passer-by, succour him as far as ye

can; but he shall not stay with you longer than two or three days,

unless there be necessity. But, if he be minded to settle among

you, and be a craftsman, let him work and eat. But, if he hath no

trade, according to your understanding, provide that he shall not

live idle among you, being a Christian. But, if he will not do

this, he is a Christmonger: of such men beware.

The Didache even invents the word Christmonger, trafficker in Christ, Christemporos, to describe this kind of person.

John was entirely justified in warning his people that the wrong kind of wandering prophets might come claiming hospitality and in saying that they must on no account be received. There is no doubt that in the early church these wandering prophets became a problem. Some of them were heretical teachers, even if they were sincerely convinced of their own teaching. Some were nothing better than plausible rogues who had found an easy way to make a comfortable living. That is the picture which lies behind Second John.

The Clash Of Ministries

But the situation behind Third John is in some ways even more serious. The problem figure is Diotrephes. He is the man who will have nothing to do with wandering teachers and who seeks to eject anyone who dares to give them a welcome. He is the man who will not accept the authority of John and whom John brands as a domineering character. There is much more behind this than meets the eye. This was no storm in a tea-cup; it was a fundamental cleavage between the local and the itinerant ministry.

Obviously the whole structure of the church depended on a strong settled ministry. That is to say, its very existence depended on a strong and authoritative eldership. As time went on the settled ministry was bound to chafe under the remote control of even one so famous as John the aged; and to resent the possibly upsetting invasions of wandering prophets and evangelists. It was by no means impossible that, however well-intentioned they were, these itinerants could do far more harm than good.

Here is the situation behind Third John. John represents the old apostolic remote control; Demetrius and his band of missionaries represent the wandering prophets and preachers; Diotrephes represents the settled ministry of the local elders, who wish to run their own congregation and regard the wandering preachers as dangerous intruders; Gaius represents the good, well-meaning man who is torn in two and cannot make up his mind.

What happened in this case, we do not know. But the end of the matter in the church was that the wandering preachers faded from the scene and the apostles in the nature of things passed from this earth, and the settled ministry became the ministry of the church. In a sense even in the modern church the problem of the itinerant evangelist and the settled ministry is not fully solved; but these two little letters are of the most fascinating interest because they show the organization of the church in a transition stage, when the clash between the itinerant and the settled ministry was beginning to emerge and--who knows?--Diotrephes may not have been as bad as he is painted nor altogether wrong.

FURTHER READING

John

J. N. S. Alexander, The Epistles of John (Tch; E)

A. E. Brooke, The Johannine Epistles (ICC; G)

C. H. Dodd, The Johannine Epistles (MC; E)

Abbreviations

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

Tch: Torch Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 3 John 1 (Chapter Introduction)

The Teacher's Joy (3Jo_1:1-4)

Christian Hospitality (3Jo_1:5-8)

The Christian Adventurers (3Jo_1:5-8 Continued)

Love's Appeal (3Jo_1:9-15)

Constable: 3 John (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

Third John is probably the most personal letter in the New Testament. Most of the epistles originally went, of course, to churches or groups of Christians. First and 2 John are both of this type. The Pastoral Epistles, while sent to specific individuals, namely, Timothy and Titus, were obviously written with a wide circulation in mind as well. Philemon, too, gives evidence that Paul intended its recipient to share it with the church that met in his house. Third John also has universal value, and the early Christians recognized that it would benefit the whole Christian church. However the content of this letter is very personal.

". . . 3 John shows independence from epistolary conventions found elsewhere in the NT (including 2 John), and conforms most closely to the secular pattern of letter-writing in the first century A.D. . . . In 3 John this includes a greeting with a health-wish; and expression of joy at news of the addressee's welfare; the body of the letter, containing the promise of another epistle; and, at the close, greetings to and from mutual friends (cf. the papyri)."¹

The author was evidently the Apostle John who identified himself as "the elder" here (v. 1) as he did in 2 John. The striking similarity in content, style, and terminology in these two epistles confirms the ancient tradition that John wrote both of them.

Since there is no internal evidence concerning where Gaius lived most interpreters have placed him in the Roman province of Asia, the most probable destination of 1 and 2 John. His name was a common one in the Greek world.

The process of establishing a date for the writing of 3 John has been deductive as well. Probably John wrote this epistle about the same time he wrote 1 and 2 John, A.D. 90-95, and from Ephesus.

Message²

Third John and 2 John deal with two sides of the same issue, namely the relationship of the truth and Christian love. In 2 John the writer stressed the importance of the truth. In 3 John he stressed the importance of love. Second John is more general in that it deals with ideas. Third John is more personal and deals with specific cases.

I would summarize the message of this epistle as follows. Brotherly love is the product of abiding in the truth. Let me explain.

John gave two concrete examples to clarify how Christian love that is the product of abiding in the truth (walking in the light) behaves.

The first example is positive and involves Gaius' commendable behavior. Gaius put the needs of others before his own needs and desires. This is how Christian love should behave. It is how Jesus Christ behaved, and it is how He instructed us to behave (Phil. 2:7).

Gaius provided hospitality and financial support for the gospel preachers who visited his town (v. 5).

John approved this practice for three reasons.

1. Such behavior is worthy of God (v. 6). That is, it is in harmony with God's behavior. God provides for those who put His interests before their own (Matt. 6:33).

2. Such behavior is necessary because these men would not get help from unbelievers (v. 7). We should not expect the unsaved to support God's work. If they don't believe the gospel, why would they want to support its propagation?

3. Such behavior makes the supporter a partner with the preacher (v. 8). We really have a share in the work that others do by supporting them materially.

The second example is negative and involves Diotrephes' contemptible behavior. Diotrephes put his personal desires and needs before the needs of others. This is how Christian love should not behave.

The root problem with Diotrephes' behavior was pride, self-centeredness (v. 9). This is the opposite of how Jesus Christ behaved and how He taught us to act.

The fruit product of this attitude was three-fold (v. 10).

1. His words were lies. He was making false accusations against others to elevate himself.

2. His actions were selfish. He was withholding hospitality and support because these acts threatened his own security.

3. His actions toward others were oppressive. He used intimidation to force others to conform to his will rather than submitting to them. He went so far as to exclude others from the fellowship of the church meetings rather than fostering unity among the brethren.

John also gave an exhortation to behave in harmony with the truth (v. 11). He gave two reasons for obeying this exhortation.

First, it is the nature of God's children to do good works (cf. 1 John 3:9; 5:18).

Second, the person who does evil gives evidence that he has not seen God. He is in darkness either as an unbeliever or as a believer (cf. 1 John 1:6).

Finally John gave an opportunity to behave in harmony with the truth (v. 12). This verse underlines the importance of putting love into practice in concrete situations, not just discussing it theoretically.

This brief letter has an important message for the church in our day.

First, we are not really abiding in the truth if we fail to demonstrate love for our brethren in physical, financial ways. We may know the truth intellectually without knowing it experientially. We must not only have it in our grip, but it must also have us in its grip.

Second, our activities reveal our true attitudes. We can see if our attitude is loving or selfish, not by examining our emotions, but by examining our actions. Do our actions demonstrate love or selfishness? This is a very practical and helpful test we should use on ourselves regularly.

Constable: 3 John (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction vv. 1-4

II. The importance of love vv. 5-12

A. Gaius' love vv. 5-8

B. Diotrephes' lack of love vv. 9-11

C. Demetrius' opportunity for love v. 12

III. Conclusion vv. 13-14

Constable: 3 John

3 John

Bibliography

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Bailey, Mark L., and Thomas L. Constable. The New Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing Co., 1999.

Barclay, William. The Letters of John and Jude. Daily Study Bible series. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1960.

Barker, Glenn W. "3 John." In Hebrews-Revelation. Vol. 12 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.

Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1965.

Blair, J. Allen. The Epistles of John. Neptune, N.J.: Loizeaux Brothers, 1982.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistles of John. London: Pickering & Inglis Ltd., 1970; reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986.

Constable, Thomas L. "Analysis of Bible Books--New Testament." Paper submitted for course 686 Analysis of Bible Books--New Testament. Dallas Theological Seminary, January 1968.

Darby, John Nelson. Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. 5 vols. Revised ed. New York: Loizeaux Brothers Publishers, 1942.

Dictionary of the Apostolic Church. Edited by James Hastings. 1915 ed. S.v. "John, Epistles of," by A. E. Brooke.

Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by James Hastings. 1910 ed. S.v. "John, Epistles of," by S. D. F. Salmond.

Dodd, C. H. The Johanine Epistles. New York: Harper and Row, 1946.

Findlay, George G. Fellowship in the Life Eternal. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1909.

Fraser, Donald. Synoptical Lectures on the Books of Holy Scripture, Romans-Revelation. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1876.

Funk, Robert W. "The Form and Structure of II and III John." Journal of Biblical Literature 86 (1967):424-30.

Gaebelein, Arno C. The Annotated Bible. 4 vols. Reprint ed. Chicago: Moody Press, and New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., 1970.

Graystone, Kenneth. The Johanine Epistles. New Century Bible Commentary series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., and London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1984.

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. By C. G. Wilke. Revised by C. L. Wilibald Grimm. Translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer, 1889.

Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction. 3 vols. 2nd ed. London: Tyndale Press, 1966.

Harris, W. Hall. "A Theology of John's Writings." In A Biblical Theology of the New Testament, pp. 167-242. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.

Hiebert, D. Edmond. "Studies in 3 John." Bibliotheca Sacra 144:573 (January-March 1987):53-65; 574 (April-June 1987):194-207; 575 (July-September 1987):293-304.

Hodges, Zane C. "3 John." In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament, pp. 911-15. Edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1983.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Edited by James Orr. 1957 ed. S.v. "John, The Epistles of," by R. Law.

Lange, John Peter, ed. Commentary on the Holy Scripture. 12 vols. Reprint ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1960. Vol 12: James-Revelation, by J. P. Lange, J. J. Van Osterzee, G. T. C. Fronmuller, and Karl Braune. Enlarged and edited by E. R. Craven. Translated by J. Isidor Mombert and Evelina Moore.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 3 John (Book Introduction)

THE

THIRD EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN,

THE APOSTLE.

INTRODUCTION.

St. John commends Gaius for his faith, charity, and hospitality towards strangers and the ministers of the gospel, to whom he would have every one to give a kind reception, and such charitable assistance as they can afford, and which others want. (Witham) --- Gaius, to whom this epistle is addressed, is apparently one of the two disciples of St. Paul, who bore this name. The best known is that of Corinth, with whom St. Paul lodged, and who had been converted and baptized by St. Paul. Others, with greater probability, suppose it was Gaius, of Derbe, mentioned in Acts xx. 4. All that we know for certain of this Gaius is, that he was a great friend of St. John, that he exercised hospitality with great zeal and generosity, notwithstanding the harshness and severity of Diotrephes, who appears to have been his bishop, and who was not willing that hospitality should be shewn to the brethren converted from Judaism. St. John promises to visit Gaius, and to reprimand Diotrephes. There is great probability that this letter was carried by the converted Jews, who travelled to diffuse the gospel, and who made a religious point not to enter among the Gentiles, and not to receive any thing from them. It may then be considered as a recommendatory letter in favour of these apostolic men. It appears that great pains were taken to remove the antipathy that existed between these two parties, even after their conversion. The same seeds of division are discernible in St. Paul's epistles between the Jews and the converted Gentiles: and one of the earliest concerns of this apostle was, to suppress in the Jews all sentiments of vanity and self-sufficiency, which made them prefer themselves to the Gentiles; and in Gentiles a different kind of pride, which caused them to despise the Jews. In the first part of this letter St. John congratulates Gaius on his good works, and recommends to him certain evangelical preachers, who were to deliver him this letter as they called upon him. (ver. 1, 8.) In the second part he complains of Diotrephes, who affected independence, and proposes to Gaius the example of Demetrius, the faithful servant of Jesus Christ, ver. 9. ad finem [to the end].

====================

Gill: 3 John (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 3 JOHN

This epistle was written by the Apostle John, who calls himself an "elder", as in the preceding, and is inscribed to a friend of his, whom he mentions by name, and expresses a very great affection for, on account of his steady adherence to the truths of the Gospel, 3Jo 1:1; he wishes him bodily health equal to that prosperity of soul he was indulged with, 3Jo 1:2; congratulates him upon the testimony the brethren that came from him gave him of the truth being in him, and of his walking in it, and upon hearing that his children also trod in the same path, 3Jo 1:3; commends him for his hospitality and charity, of which testimonies were given before the church; and encourages him to go on doing the same acts of beneficence, since it was to such persons that went forth for the sake of Christ, and preaching in his name, and had nothing of the Gentiles for so doing; wherefore they ought to be received, and entertained by those of ability, that they might be fellow helpers to the truth with them, 3Jo 1:5. He complains of Diotrephes as a proud, haughty, and overbearing man in the church, where Gaius was a member, who would neither receive the letters the apostle sent, nor the brethren that came with them; nay, forbid them that would, and cast them out of the church for it, and prated against them with malicious words, whom he threatens to remember when he himself should come thither, 3Jo 1:9; wherefore he exhorts Gaius not to follow such an ill example, but that which is good in any person; since he that does good appears to be of God, and he that does evil, it looks as if he had never known him, 3Jo 1:11. And particularly he recommends Demetrius, who had a good report of all men, and of the truth itself, and had a testimony from the apostle, and those that were with him, which was known to be a true one, 3Jo 1:12. But though he had many things to say, both of one, and of the other, he determines to write no more at present, hoping he should shortly see him, and personally converse together; and closes the epistle with his own good wish, and with mutual salutations of friends, 3Jo 1:13.

College: 3 John (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. GREETING - 1

II. GAIUS ADMONISHED - 2-8

A. Walking in the Truth - 2-4

B. Faithful in Working Together - 5-8

1. Faithful Actions with Brothers - 5-6

2. Proper Hospitality - 7-8

III. DIOTREPHES CONDEMNED - 9-10

IV. DEMETRIUS COMMENDED - 11-12

V. DESIRE TO SPEAK IN PERSON - 13-14

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV