Questions for 3 John 1-14
Introduction: What was the early church like? We know a lot about its early leaders, such as apostles Paul and Peter; but what about the average Christians themselves? Were they more spiritual than Christians today? Did they experience the kind of problems seen so often in churches today? Several books of the New Testament reflect the life of the early church, and this is especially true of The Third Epistle of John. It is a private letter, between "The Elder" and a Christian named Gaius. It provides portraits of three different men, and in so doing gives us a glimpse of 1st century life in local churches. When one examines the portraits found in this letter, we learn that there is not much difference between people back then, and in the church today. Therefore this epistle is very relevant, though we may live almost 2000 years later. Please make the time to study at home in order to answer the questions below. All of our Bible classes are richer in the sharing of thoughts when we dedicate time to prepare for our public Bible studies (Copeland 2011).
1. The letter is addressed to the “beloved Gaius”. Please list other scriptures where we see a reference to a man named Gaius in the New Testament.
2. Name six other New Testament books addressed to a single person?
3. What did John pray for Gaius?
4. What brought John great joy?
5. For what does John commend and encourage Gaius?
6. What benefit do we receive when we support those who serve the Lord?
7. Please list what Diotrephes was guilty of.
8. What exhortation does John give to Gaius? Why is this an important theme of the Bible (see verses such as Psalm 34:14, 37:27, Romans 12:9, 14:19, 1 Corinthians 4:46, 11:1, Philippians 3:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:9, 1 Timothy 4:12, Hebrews 6:12, James 5:10, 1 John 2:29, 3:10)?
9. What is said of Demetrius?
10. What is John’s hope and what greetings does he end with?
11. Short review of 3 John:a. What are the main points of 3 John? b. What three purposes can you see for John writing the letter of 3 John?
c. What do you think could be the theme of 3 John?