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Letters from John, part 3

3 John is the shortest New Testament letter by word count, yet it gives us a vivid snapshot of early church life: hospitality, authority, conflict, and integrity within a local congregation. The vocabulary and theology are clearly linked to the apostle John himself, both in his gospel and his letters.

3 John 1, 2 begins, saying,

¹ The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. ² Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

3 John is addressed to a specific individual: Gaius — a beloved and faithful Christian host. Gaius was a very common Latin name in the Roman empire. We know nothing about this Gaius, other than his name. He may have been a Roman, or he may have been a Jew who adopted a Roman name, as was commonly done.

Seeing Latin names in apostolic letters is not surprising — it reflects the missionary expansion of the gospel beyond Judea.

For example, we read of “Saul, who was also called Paul” (Acts 13:9) and “John, whose other name was Mark (or Marcus)” (Acts 12:12). Likewise, the Greek equivalent of Yeshua was Jason. The name Jesus was actually a transliteration of Hebrew into Greek: Yah-sus, which is anglicized as Jesus, is Yah’s Horse. A horse is a well-known symbol of salvation. Isaiah 31:1-3 admonishes the Israelites not to rely on Egypt and their horses to save them, because Egypt’s horses were “flesh and not spirit.” Salvation comes by the true spiritual “horse,” Jesus, whose name means salvation.

The only details we know about this Gaius comes to us from John’s letter. By the late first century, the church was ethnically mixed, linguistically Greek, and culturally situated inside the Roman world.

Other men named Gaius are also mentioned in the New Testament. Gaius of Macedonia (Acts 19:29) was a companion of Paul during the Ephesian riot.Gaius of Derbe (Acts 20:4) traveled with Paul. There was a Gaius in Corinth (Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14), baptized by Paul, who hosted Paul and the whole church. It is unlikely that any of them were the recipients of John’s letter.

What we know from the text of John’s third letter is that he was a Christian of good reputation, he showed hospitality to traveling missionaries, he likely hosted a house church, and he lived somewhere within the Johannine sphere (probably Asia Minor). That is all we know directly.

Walking in the Truth

3 John 3 says,

³ For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

“Walking” (περιπατεῖν) is covenantal language — consistent obedience with the outworking of faith in actual practice (works). Truth here is not abstract doctrine alone but the fruit of faithfulness. The Elder’s joy is pastoral—he was not concerned with numerical growth, but spiritual integrity in daily life.

This is what James also set forth in his epistle when he wrote in James 2:14 and 18,

¹⁴ What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?... ¹⁸ But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Hospitality was very important, as it was one of the primary ways in which men supported the spread of the gospel of Christ in those days. Recall that in 2 John 10 the Elder instructed the church not to support one who “does not bring this teaching.” But in 3 John 6 he commends those who support the truth.

Such teachers of truth “went out for the sake of the Name.” This was Hebrew terminology that was common in that day. It was customary to avoid speaking the name Yahweh for fear of mispronouncing it or demeaning it in any way. So they often substituted the word shem, “Name.” The other main substitute (Greek) was the title kurios, “Lord.”

While the Jews themselves used “Lord” as a substitute for Yahweh, the Christians used “Lord” to refer to Yeshua-Jesus. The connection was probably based on Isaiah 12:2 and 3, which, when read in the original Hebrew, says,

² Behold, God is my Yeshua, I will trust and not be afraid; for Yah-Yahweh is my strength and song, and He has become my Yeshua. ³ Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of Yeshua.

Jesus applied these verses to Himself in John 7:37, 38.

Rewards

In 3 John 8 the Elder sets forth the principle that by supporting teachers of truth, they become “fellow workers with the truth.” This principle was established by Jesus Himself in Matthew 10:41, 42,

⁴¹ He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

In other words, you are given a share of the reward that God will give to the one you support. Hence, it is important to see both the positive and the negative side of this. In 2 John 7 he gives instruction NOT to support those who teach a different gospel, while in 3 John 8 he instructs us to support those who teach the truth. The rewards will be distributed when Christ returns (Revelation 22:12).