3 John

1. GREETINGS TO THE BELOVED GAIUS (1–2)

The elder addresses the letter to Gaius, whom he loves (1). Referring to him as a “dear friend,” the elder prays that all would go well with Gaius and that his physical health would match his spiritual health (2).

2. JOY AT BELIEVERS’ WALKING IN THE TRUTH (3–8)

The elder shares his joy at the testimony of some “fellow believers” regarding Gaius’s faithfulness to the truth and how he has walked in it (3–4). He extols Gaius’s loving hospitality extended to “the brothers and sisters,” which appears to be a reference to Johannine Christians (5). Hospitality was apparently extended to traveling ministers, even though they were unknown to their host. The ministers have, in turn, testified to the gracious hospitality they received, and they have testified of Gaius’s love before the church (6). Their travels draw support from fellow believers rather than from nonbelievers, and the elder exhorts Gaius to also support other such traveling ministers as coworkers in the truth (7–8). [Guest]

3. DIOTREPHES THE PRIMACY-LOVER (9–10)

9. This verse raises several questions. One relates to what is meant by “the church.” Was it the local church under which Diotrephes served as a local leader, or was it a centralized ecclesial body from which Diotrephes was deriving his authority? A second question relates to what is meant by the description “who loves to have first place among them.” Does it suggest selfishness or egoistic focus on himself, or does it refer to his clinging to positional authority? A third question relates to why Diotrephes might have refused to receive the elder’s message and failed to welcome his associates. Did he think they were heretical, or was he threatened by their approach to authority, perceiving it as challenging his own?

10. The elder addresses the issue with personal accountability; he poses the likelihood of paying Diotrephes and his community a visit in order to challenge the false charges Diotrephes is spreading about the Johannine leadership. Apparently not only is he speaking disparagingly of Johannine believers, but he also refuses to welcome them and casts out of his own church any who are willing to grant them hospitality.

The rhetorical thrust of 3 John corrects the institutionalizing tendencies of Diotrephes and his kin (for more on the likely scenario John is addressing, see “Occasion” in the introduction to 3 John). The risen Christ’s leadership in the church may be assisted by human leaders, but it is never supplanted by them; as in authentic worship, the Lord leads his followers in spirit and in truth, and all who attend his leading can discern it and obey.

Just as the Johannine Jesus imparts peace to his followers after the resurrection (Jn 20:19, 21, 26), so the Johannine elder imparts peace to his friend Gaius to close his letter (3 Jn 15).

4. IMITATE NOT EVIL BUT GOOD (11–12)

The primary emphasis of 3 John is the elder’s exhortation of Gaius to extend hospitality to others despite having been denied it himself. Demetrius is featured as a good example of someone whom others testify about favorably (12). The elder’s exhortation to imitate not evil but good (11) may simply be a general reference, perhaps still about the value of extending hospitality. Then again, the denial of hospitality and the propping up of one’s primacy (v. 10) may indeed have smacked of denying the loving and serving way of the Lord, so this may also be a reference to avoiding the example of Diotrephes.

5. FINAL GREETINGS AMONG FRIENDS (13–15)

Parallel to the ending of 2 John, the conclusion of this personal letter also expresses the elder’s desire to come see them in person and to talk together face to face rather than simply writing with pen and ink (13–14). From one group of “the friends” to another (cf. Jn 15:14–15), the elder asks his greetings to be shared with each, by name (15).