3 John 1:1-2, “The elder, to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 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.”

Interesting points:

1. This opening verse of 3 John follows the common format of ancient letter writing. It includes the author, the recipient, and a brief introduction. This letter is from "the elder." From the earliest days of Christianity, this has been accepted as John the apostle. As is typical of John, though, his name is not specifically mentioned in the letter. John calls Gaius "whom I love in truth," and truth is a common theme in this short letter.


2. The recipient is the "dear friend” or ‘beloved’ Gaius." The name Gaius was common in the first century and is also seen in Acts 19:29, Acts 20:4, Romans 16:23, and 1 Corinthians 1:14. However, it is unlikely that all of these were the same person. Although little is known of this Gaius, he was clearly well known by the apostle John, and was a man committed to sharing the truth of the Lord with others.

3. John seems to have known Gaius for some time and speaks of his church members as children (3 John 1:4). Third, John spoke specifically about Gaius's spiritual maturity. John loved him (3 John 1:1), spoke well of those he led in his church (3 John 1:3–4), and commended his work (3 John 1:5–8).

4. Taken with 2 John, this letter gives a balanced view of Christian hospitality. While 2 John warned against entertaining false teachers, John praises a man named Gaius in this letter for warmly welcoming genuine Christian teachers. His actions had been opposed by Diotrephes, a cantankerous church dictator that gossiped against John. We’ll find that these two letters deal with heresy and church splits – two problems that have plagued the Church in every age and in every place.

Application:

Brothers, what a powerful encouragement it is for us to greet one another with words from the heart and a confirmation of our ongoing prayers concerning their situation/request for prayers. In some places in the world, people tend to be more polite and greet each other before advancing to the task at hand but the world is becoming so impatient it dispenses with such important pleasantries, failing to acknowledge each other properly as they rush to conduct business without any thought as to how the person engaged is faring.

Let’s focus today on disciplining ourselves to greet people with esteem and love that God has for each of them and where we have been praying for them, communicate this fact, even as we bless them.

May we continue to build each other up with words of love and life!