True Hospitality

Who wrote the book of 3 John?

John the Apostle and author of the Gospel and 1 & 2 John

When was 3 John written?

The last decade of the 1 century

To whom was 3 John written?

Gaius.

There are five times the name Gaius is mentioned in the New Testament

Gaius of Corinth - Rom. 16:23

Romans 16:23 NLT

Gaius says hello to you. He is my host and also serves as host to the whole church. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you his greetings, and so does our brother Quartus.

Gaius of Macedonia - Acts 19:29

Acts 19:29 NLT

Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

Gaius of Derbe - Acts 20:4

Acts 20:4 NLT

Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

Gaius Baptized by Paul - 1 Corinthians 1:14

1 Corinthians 1:14 NLT

I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

Gaius a dear friend of John. - 3 John 1

What is one thing about 3 John that is unique?

It is the shortest Book in the New Testament (all of the Bible) with only 219 Greek Words. 2 John is the next shortest with 245 words then Philemon with 335 words then Jude with 461 Greek Words.

3 John 1–15 (NLT):

This letter is from John, the elder.

I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.

2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 3 Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. 4 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.

5 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. 7 For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. 8 So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.

9 I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. 10 When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.

11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.

12 Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.

13 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face.

15  Peace be with you.

Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings to each of our friends there.

Last Sunday we looked at Diotrephes and Demetrius. this evening I would like to look see what John has to say about Gaius.

What do we know about Gaius?

He was a dear friend of John - loved in the truth (or truly loved) - vs 1

He was strong in spirit - vs 2

He was faithful to the truth-walking in the truth (living according to the truth) - vs 3

He supported the “friends” “brothers” “traveling teachers” - vs 5

showed love - vs 6

Something interesting…while it would seem obvious that Gaius did not know Demetrius (Demetrius was believed to be the carrier of the letter), it would seem he did know Diotrephes. Gaius was not told to confront Diotrephes his actions or attitude.

Sometimes we just need to keep our mouth shut!