Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
3 JOHN
1 The elder,
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
13 I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
15 Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.
Application Notes
1:1 This letter provides us with an important glimpse into the life of the early church. Third John. addressed to Gaius, highlights the need for showing hospitality to travelling preachers and other believers. It also warns against a would-be church dictator.
1:1 "The elder" John, was one of Jesus' 12 disciples and the writer of the Gospel of John, three New Testament letters, and the book of Revelation. (For more on John, see his profile on page 1833.) We have no further information about Gaius, but he is someone whom John loved dearly. Perhaps Gaius had shared his home and hospitality with John at some time during John's travels. If so, John would have appreciated his actions because travelling preachers depended on expressions of hospitality to survive (see Matthew 10:11-16).
1:2 John was concerned for Gaius's physical and spiritual well-being. This ran counter to the popular heresy that taught the separation of spirit and matter and despised the physical side of life. Today, many people still fall into this way of thinking. The separation of the two logically leads to one of two responses: neglect of the body and physical health or indulgence of the body's sinful desires. God is concerned about both your body and your soul. As a responsible Christian, you should neither neglect nor indulge yourself but care for your physical needs and discipline your body so that you are at your best for God's service.
1:4 John calls these believers "my children" because, as a result of his preaching, he was the spiritual father of many, including Gaius.
1:5-6 In the church's early days, travelling prophets, evangelists, and teachers ("the brothers and sisters") were helped on their way by people like Gaius, who housed and fed them. Hospitality has become a lost art in many churches today. We would do well to invite more people over for meals--fellow church members, younger people, travelling missionaries, those in need, visitors. This is an active and much-appreciated way to show your love. Because of our individualistic, self-centred society, many lonely people wonder if anyone cares whether they live or die. If you find such a person, show him or her that you care!
1:7 The travelling missionaries neither asked for nor accepted anything from nonbelievers. This was not intended to ostracise unbelievers; it was a statement of how things ought to be. Imagine the awkwardness of a Christian worker's requesting funds or lodging from the very people he or she was trying to reach! Instead, it is the responsibility of churches and Christian individuals to support those who are called by God to fulltime vocational ministry. This way, unbelievers will not be questioning the missionaries' motives for preaching. God's true preachers do not preach to make money but to fulfil their calling and express their love for God. The church is responsible for caring for Christian workers; this should never be left to nonbelievers. Don't automatically discard the next missionary fund-raising message you receive. That appeal may be God's invitation for you to become a partner in a new gospel venture.
1:8 When you help someone who is spreading the gospel, you are a partner in the ministry. This is the other side of the principle in 2 John 1:10-11 (see the first note there). Not everyone should go to a foreign mission field; those who work for Christ at home are vital to the ministry of those who go and who need support. We can support missionaries by praying for them and by giving them our money, hospitality, and time.
1:9-10 All we know about Diotrephes is that he wanted to control the church. John denounces (1) his refusal to have anything to do with other spiritual leaders, (2) his slander of the leaders, (3) his bad example in refusing to welcome any teachers of the truth, and (4) his attempt to excommunicate those who opposed his leadership. Sins such as pride, jealousy, and slander are still present in churches today, and when a leader makes a habit of encouraging sin and discouraging godly actions, he or she must be stopped. If no one speaks up, great harm can come to a church. We must confront sin in our churches; if we ignore it, it will continue to grow. A true Christian leader is a servant, not an autocrat!
1:9 This letter to which John refers was neither 1 nor 2 John but another letter that no longer exists.
1:12 We know nothing about Demetrius except that he may have carried this letter from John to Gaius. (Acts 19:24-41 mentions an Ephesian silversmith named Demetrius who opposed Paul, but this is probably another man.) In contrast to the corrupt Diotrephes, Demetrius was a godly example to the other believers. John personifies the truth as a witness to Demetrius's character and teaching. In other words, if the truth could speak, it would speak on Demetrius's behalf. When Demetrius arrived, Gaius would certainly open his home to him.
1:14 Whereas 2 John emphasises that believers should refuse hospitality to false teachers, 3 John urges continued hospitality to those who teach the truth. Hospitality is a strong sign of support for people and their work. It means giving to them of your resources so that their stay will be comfortable and their work and travel easier. Actively look for creative ways to show hospitality to God's workers. It may be in the form of a letter of encouragement, a gift, financial support, an open home, or prayer.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)