Verse 1 The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
This third epistle or letter written by the apostle John is to a man named Gaius, whose name means “lord”. There are multiple references to a Gaius in the books of Acts, Romans and 1 Corinthians. Whether this Gaius was actually the man named in Paul’s epistles and in the book of Acts is not known. However, he was esteemed by John, and by the text it could be thought that this man had been known for a long time. Notice that John again refers to himself as “the elder”, a condition of aging and not a position in the Church.
Verses 2-3 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.
Remember that in the King James Bible, all verbs ending with “eth” mean that the action is ongoing. To prosper or be successful has the understanding that the prosperity can end at any time. An example would be to prosper in an academic pursuit which may be a week, a year or a few years. But prospereth means to continue to engage in an academic pursuit with no time limit. So the distinction in the verses above is that John wished Gaius to prosper and be in health, a condition that would have an ending at the development of chronic illness or death. It is possible that Gaius was not a well man. However, Gaius’ soul would continue into eternity (to Heaven for the believer and to Hell for the unbeliever) and therefore the prosperity could be ongoing as long as Gaius remained true to the LORD Jesus Christ while living in the flesh on the Earth. At the time of this writing, John testified that Gaius was walking in the truth which means he was walking with Jesus.
Verse 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
John had spiritual children, those who converted to walk with Jesus as a result of his testimony, his teaching, and his preaching. John, through his writings in the King James Bible, has children being born spiritually today as they read the words that he penned in the books of the Gospel of John, the First, the Second and the Third Epistle of John, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ and they learn about and understand the truth of the Gospel message.
Verses 5-6 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; 6 Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:
The Greek word used for “charity” is “agape” and it means Christian love or affection. John is praising this man for his faithfulness and service towards, not only those in the Church, but towards strangers as well. The Greek word used for “strangers” is “xenos” and it means a foreigner, to be without the knowledge of or without a share in something, new or unheard. So these strangers could have been people that did not have the knowledge of the LORD Jesus Christ and who were not sharing in fellowship with believers. Gaius was witnessing to the unsaved. These strangers could also have been people who were passing through the area, who knew about and were following Jesus, but who were new to the community and to the church where Gaius was serving. This writer believes that Gaius was serving both the believers that were not part of his church and the unbelievers who were also not part of his church. You decide.
Verses 7-8 Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.
These verses seem to convey that the “strangers” in verse five above were “fellowhelpers” or fellow workers to the truth. What truth? The truth about Jesus as He is the Truth. John 14:6 states, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Verse 9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
It would seem that the apostle John wrote another letter to the church besides this one to Gaius, but another man refused to receive John and his companions. John does not specify which church it was. Diotrephes’ name means “nourished by Jove”. Jove is another name for Jupiter. This man’s name is suspect as to who he was really worshiping. His behavior does not indicate that he knew the LORD and his name has ties to witchcraft and astronomy.
Verse 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
What John describes in the verses above is the characteristics of a modern day cult in which there is a strong, central leader that the people are devoted to and any outside ideas are strictly forbidden. Failure to obey results in punishment or rejection from the group. It appears that there was a strong leader, Diotrephes, making false accusation against John and his fellow workers, and falsely accusing anyone who did not agree with him and with whatever religious practices he was promoting, and who was forbidding his group members to associate with the brethren or Christian believers. If a church member did receive or show hospitality towards other believers against Diotrephes order, they were thrown out of the church.
Verse 11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
Diotrephes was following evil. Gaius was following the LORD as evidenced by his fruit of the Spirit. “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;” Ephesians 5:9 Remember that as stated above, in the King James Bible, verbs ending in “eth” mean that the action is ongoing. The “doeth” in the verse above means to continuously do good or to continuously do evil. Other false Bible versions do not make that distinction and so are not true to the Word of God which is one of the reasons why this writer uses the King James Bible exclusively in this web site.
Application: Jesus said that His followers could be known by their love for one another and by their fruits, or by what they produce and bring forth in their daily lives. Galatians 5:22 defines the fruit of the Spirit filled believer. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.” These fruits describe the character of God. Believers are to be Christians which means Christ like. If someone calls themselves a Christian and yet fails to exhibit the character of Christ, they “hath not seen God”. They are either unaware of their spiritual state or they are wolves among the flock planted in the Church by Satan. Beware of them, but do not be afraid to confront them lovingly, to witness to them and to pray for them. The pastor of the church where these fruitless people are attending has the responsibility to protect the sheep. The pastor should speak to them and ask them to leave if they will not repent of their sin and truly follow the LORD Jesus Christ.
Verse 12 Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.
The name, Demetrius, only appears three time in the New Testament. In Acts, Demetrius was a heathen silversmith living in Ephesus. The Demetrius John is referring to most likely was a different person. However, there is no Biblical way to be certain.
Verses 13-14 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: 14 But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. (3 John)
Letter writing can be an arduous task. Face to face communication is always better and John was looking forward to journeying to this church and in seeing Gaius in person.
Application: Today, letter writing is mostly a thing of the past. With the advent of email, smart phones with their texting capabilities and video conferencing, some young people are growing up without developing the social skills that accompany person to person contact and communication. Many people are actually uncomfortable in an environment without electronic devices. Perhaps it is time to shut off the devices and socialize with friends and family where everyone is sharing the same space.
Jesus is Found in Every Book of the Bible
In the Third Epistle of John, Jesus is the fruit of the Spirit.