BOOK OF 3 JOHN
By David J. Riggs
Intro.
A. John gives his own brief introduction.
B. "THE ELDER" - This is the same title as given in the book of 2
John. John is now older.
1. No one knows the date of 3 John, but it is thought to have
been written near to the close of John's life around the
close of the first century.
C. "To the beloved Gaius" - There are five individuals by the name
of Gaius who are mentioned in the N.T. Acts 19:29; 20:4; Rom.
16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14; 3 John 1
1. No one knows if any of these were the same person to whom
John was writing.
D. "Whom I love in truth" - John mentions Gaius as the "beloved"
four times in this short epistle.
1. Gaius was, no doubt, a close friend to John, and a fine
Christian that John truly loved.
I. Verse 2
A. John and the N.T. writers set the example of praying for fellow
Christians.
B. John prays that Gaius might enjoy good health to the degree:
"just as your soul prospers."
1. Sadly, with many the opposite is true. Their spiritual
health does not measure up to their physical health.
II. Verses 3-4
A. The tense of the word "came" in the Greek is "were continually
coming."
1. Gaius had a good reputation (a good name) in the
brotherhood. Prov. 22:1
B. Verse 4 indicates that Gaius was one of John's spiritual
children.
1. Paul had spiritual children. 1 Cor. 4:15; 1 Tim. 1:2
C. The good reports about Gaius (that he was walking in truth)
caused John to have the greatest joy.
1. 1 Thess. 2:19-20 - To keep ourselves faithful, and to
convert some lost soul to Christ is the greatest work we can
do on this earth.
III. Verses 5-8
A. "And for strangers" - Heb. 13:2
B. The phrase "send them forward on their journey" is one word in
the Greek, and it involved "practical assistance to servants of
God in their journeys" (Vine), "escort or aid in travel"
(Strong).
1. By Gaius' example, we are encouraged to individually
support preachers of the gospel. Titus 3:13; Gal. 6:6
C. "Because they went forth" - They left the comfort and security
of their homes to preach the gospel.
1. "For His name sake" - For the sake of the name of Christ
they went forth.
2. "Taking nothing of the Gentiles" - It is not wise to take
money while trying to make converts, or from new converts.
a. Consider Paul's example while at Corinth. 2 Cor. 11:8-9
D. Verse 8 - When we support preachers, we share with them in the
rewards. Phil. 1:3-7; Matt. 10:41
IV. Verses 9-12
A. In these verses Diotrephes is condemned, and Demetrius is
commended. Probably, all three of these men (Gaius, Diotrephes,
and Demetrius) were members of the same congregation.
B. "I wrote to the church" - Some letters were not preserved by
God; however, we have sufficient Scriptures to make the man of
God perfect. 2 Tim. 3:16-17
C. "Preeminence" - Diotrephes loved to have first place.
1. This is a very real problem in many congregations today,
especially in the smaller ones.
2. Usually, a good teacher is well liked, and he can become
inflated with pride and step out of place.
3. "Does not receive us" - Diotrephes rejected the authority of
the apostle John.
4. "Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds" - John
was willing to take his stand against Diotrephes. To
withstand strong, prominent leaders is very hard to do.
5. "Prating" - This refers to empty, meaningless talk; wild
charges which cannot be proven.
6. "With malicious words" - This refers to words marked by
malice or ill-will. It refers to words intended to hurt or
destroy.
7. "Putting them out of the church" - This shows that
Diotrephes was a man of peeeminence and power.
a. He cast out the church those whom he did not favor.
D. "Do not imitate what is evil" - Do not imitate deeds similar to
those of Diotrephes. Rom. 16:17-18
1. "But what is good" - Imitate those who follow in the way of
righteousness. Phil. 3:17
E. Nothing further is known of Demetrius. He had a good testimony:
1. "From all" - From all who knew him.
2. "From the truth itself" - The truth bore witness of what
kind of person he was, which means he lived in harmony with
it.
3. "And we also bear witness" - John and his companions bore
a good testimony of Demetrius.
F. "And you know that our testimony is true" - Gaius knew that
John would give a true testimony. John 19:35; 21:24
V. Verses 13-14
A. Like his words in 2 John 12, John had many other things to say,
but he wanted to visit Gaius instead.
1. Letters or phone calls are good, but a personal visit is
better.
B. "Peace to you." To have peace within our hearts, family, and
congregation is a great blessing.
C. "Greet the friends by name." - We need to work at learning the
names of our brethren. There is something warm about hearing
one's own name called.
Concl.
A. Lessons from this short epistle:
1. Let us do our best to support preachers.
2. We need to always be humble, not like Diotrephes who loved
preeminence.
3. To have a good reputation like Gaius and Demetrius is what
we need to seek after.
a. This comes by godly living.