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| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ The Elder, Unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth: 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 ¶ For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 5 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers, 6 who have borne witness of thy charity before the church. If thou send them forward on their journey in a godly manner, thou shalt do well, 7 because for His name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing from the Gentiles. 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow helpers to the truth. 9 ¶ I wrote unto the church, but Diotrephes, who loveth to have preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10 Therefore if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words. And not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth those who would, and casteth them out of the church. 11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. 12 ¶ Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself. Yea, of this we also bear record, and ye know that our record is true. 13 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee; 14 but I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. |
John uses keywords meaning "witness" or "testimony," so reflecting that our behaviour as a believer is just as important as the words we use. Each believer is a witness, good or bad to the truth, salvation and love of God. v1-4 Personal greetings and thanks for work. John has addressed the letter to Gaius, one of the assembly leaders. It was obvious that John has a close relationship with this person, "well-beloved Gaius," in v1 and "beloved" in v5. In verse 4 that Gaius may have been a convert of John. v2 The text "prosper and be in health," could suggest that Gaius may have had health problems. However, John was obviously very please with the spiritual health of Gaius, he wants him to be as healthy as his spiritual life, "even as thou walkest in the truth." Consider 2 Cor 4:16; 2 Cor 7:1 v3,4 Gaius "walked in the truth," his witness and testimony were obeying the Word of God in all respects, 1 Thess 2:12,13. v4 "Walk in truth." Consider Jesus is truth, John 14:6; The Word of God is true, John 17:17; Holy Spirit is truth, 1 John 5:6,7. v4-8 Gaius was also taking this message of truth to all the brethren and strangers, v5. His witness was not just to the church but he was willing to minister to visitors. It is obvious that Gaius lived "the truth." It appears that Gaius had received strong disapproval of his attitude to visitors. In John’s second letter he had sent a warning to the lady and her family of the danger of false teachers entering the church and home, but John in this letter to Gaius has congratulated him for his dealings and hospitality for strangers, John considers this action was still a Christian duty. Also consider Heb 13:2. Today the entertainment of strangers still has a danger, not just because of doctrine but physical dangers, it is always recommended that you know something about any visitors or strangers you offer accommodation too. In the early church, where communication was not easy, the travellers had letters of recommendation from their church. For example Rom 16:1 Gaius was not only giving accommodation to these visitors but giving financial help, "you send them forward on their journey in a godly manner." Consider 1 Cor 16:6,7; James 2:14-18; Luke 10:3-8. v9-10 Diotrephes wants to be the boss. The disciples often argued about who would be the greatest, Matt 18:1ff, in this passage Jesus reminded them that the attitude of the servant is more important. Phil 2:1ff. Diotrephes was full of pride, he claimed preeminence for himself rather than Jesus. It appears that he insisted that he had the final decision in the local assembly, the Greek words use to describe Diotrephes attitude indicated he was constantly making himself out to be important. A person like Diotrephes in any church will always cause problems, even a pastor who forgets the ‘servant’ mind can do it. This also can hinder or prevent the Holy Spirit working properly. v9,10 What was Diotrephes doing? He was spreading untruths about the apostle, "prating against us with malicious words." He was not allowing the church to have fellowship with John, one of the apostles of Jesus, even throwing any one out of the church who wanted to meet John. Evidently Diotrephes had the authority in the church to do this. Why did Diotrephes not want to meet John? Because John had the authority of the apostle and was a threat to Diotrephes position. Diotrephes was operating with pride and self-glorification, the tools often used by Satan. v11 Who was the master of Diotrephes? God or Satan? Believers must always be careful of believing all that is said about a person or ministry, make sure everything you read or hear is the truth, consider Phil 4:8 as the way to treat all information. Note Rom 16:17-19. In any church there may often be various ways of interpretation of scripture, as long as it does not disagree with other scripture this is OK, but just because you do not agree with this interpretation you should not use it as an excuse for having no fellowship with the person. v11,12 Demetrius an example. John has just warned the believers not to be like Diotrephes, now he encourages them to use Demetrius as an example to follow. Demetrius was living a life pleasing to Christ, he had a "good report," he walked in the truth. Phil 3:13-19. v13,14 Final conclusions. John’s letter to Gaius was a warning of danger from inside the church, John was obviously planning a visit to the church very soon, when he would discuss many other things with the church members. John also included greetings from the church where he was at the time of writing, what a blessing for fellowship between churches. |
Easy English Translation
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