3 John Introduction
Introduction
The Third Epistle of John is a very brief personal letter of only fifteen verses written from “the elder” (Greek presbyteros, meaning “senior” or “elder”) to “the well-beloved Gaius,” a friend of the writer and a leader of an unnamed church. Gaius is praised for his strong faith and for his example of welcoming strangers at his church, particularly the hospitality shown to a traveling group of Christians who were sharing the good news in the region. A certain church leader named Diotrephes is mentioned (verse 9) as someone who has been the opposite: inhospitable, unduly restrictive, unfaithful, and disdainful of the writer. A certain Demetrius, by contrast, is named as someone who holds to the true faith and sets the right example (verse 12).
Outline
Greetings (1-4)
Praise for Gaius' Welcoming Hospitality (5-8)
The Unhelpful Example of Diotrephes (9,10)
The Helpful Model of Demetrius (11,12)
Final Greetings and Peace (13,14)
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
3 John Introduction
Introduction
3 John
While 2 John was written to warn a community of Jesus-followers against providing material assistance to false teachers, 3 John was written to address the opposite situation: to insist that a community provide a base of operations for traveling preachers who were walking in the truth. John had sent a letter to this community introducing and commending certain individuals, but Diotrephes, a leader in the community, refused to accommodate them. He opposed Johnʼs authority to the point of actually expelling anyone who supported the people heʼd sent. A man named Gaius, however, put these preachers up in his own home, enabling them to carry out their mission. Word got back to John both of Diotrephesʼ resistance and of Gaiusʼ loyalty. In this letter John sends Gaius a message of thanks and encouragement by the hand of Demetrius, another man he hopes will receive support. He also promises to come soon and set matters right.
3 John
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