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Book of 3 John — Quick facts:

Purpose: To commend Gaius for his hospitality to the apostle’s emissaries and to reprove Diotrephes

Author: Likely the apostle John

Date: Around AD 85–90

Setting: Written to an individual named Gaius, in response to his hospitality and to the lack thereof by a man named Diotrephes

Book of John — Overview:

Setting
The apostle John wrote this letter in the same time period as 1 John and 2 John (see 1 John Book Introduction, “Setting”). Some teachers and leaders, claiming to be spiritual, taught a different doctrine about Christ and did not make the same disciplinary demands upon the members of their churches. They assumed their own authority and refused the authority of John. They also perverted the teaching of the apostles. Diotrephes was one of those who had broken away from the apostolic fellowship (cp. 1 Jn 2:18-19 ^a). As a leader in one of the local churches, he rejected John’s authority and refused to accept the teachers John sent to the church. He even excommunicated those in the church who did receive them and provide them with hospitality.
Knowing the situation, John wrote this letter to Gaius, a faithful member of that church, encouraging him to continue welcoming and hosting John’s emissaries and to remain faithful to John’s teaching and fellowship.

Summary
Of all the New Testament letters, 3 John is most typical of personal letters in first-century Greece and Rome. As with other letters of this era, 3 John begins (1:1-4 ^b) with an identification of the writer (“the elder”) and the recipient (“Gaius”), followed by a wish for the recipient’s welfare.
In the body of this letter (1:5-12 ^c), John commends Gaius and reproves Diotrephes. Gaius acted commendably in welcoming the traveling teachers, and they had in turn reported to John that Gaius was living according to the truth. This gave John great joy, and he encourages Gaius to continue demonstrating this kind of hospitality.
In contrast to Gaius, a church leader named Diotrephes earned the apostle’s censure (1:9-10 ^d). Diotrephes’ love for prestigious leadership caused him to rebuff John’s authority and to persuade others to do the same. Diotrephes even excommunicated those who didn’t follow his own leadership. Gaius is warned not to submit to the aggressive leadership of Diotrephes or be influenced by his bad example.
John then highlights the good reputation of a man named Demetrius (1:12 ^e). John’s purpose in doing so is not clear to us today, but it’s possible that he was offering Gaius an alternative to Diotrephes to assume leadership in that community.
John closes the letter by mentioning plans for a future visit and offering greetings (1:13-15 ^f).

Author and Date
The author of this epistle calls himself simply “the elder” (see 1:1 ^g), perhaps reflecting his age, or perhaps conveying his authority with respect to his readers. Church tradition has identified this elder as John the apostle, an elderly man and an elder of the churches in Asia Minor during the last decades of the first century (see 1 John Book Introduction, “Author”). Third John was probably written during the same period as 1 John and 2 John, around AD 85–90.

Meaning and Message
John’s third letter is concerned with a problem introduced in 1 John: Some church leaders followed false teaching and ignored the authority of the apostles.
We cannot claim to love God and the truth if we don’t follow apostolic teaching and if we don’t join in fellowship with God’s church, the members of his family.

Summary for 3John 1:1-4: 1:1-4 ^h John begins his letter with a conventional greeting, which includes the identification of the author and addressee, a salutation (dear friend), a wish for the recipient’s welfare, and gratitude for some aspect of the friendship. 1:1 ⁱ This letter is from John, the elder: The translators have added John (see study note on 2 Jn 1:1).

• There are several people named Gaius in the New Testament (see Acts 19:29 ^j; 20:4 ^k; Rom 16:23 ^l; 1 Cor 1:14 ^m); it was a popular name in the Greco-Roman world.
1:3 ⁿ The traveling teachers (literally brothers) were probably John’s emissaries who traveled from church to church, teaching the Good News and encouraging Christians (see 1:5 ^o, 10 ^p).

• you are living according to the truth: Gaius was faithful to the apostolic gospel of Jesus Christ. The false teachers denied the reality of the incarnation or the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ (cp. 1 Jn 4:1-3 ^q).
1:4 ^r As in 2 John (see 2 Jn 1:1-4 ^s), John’s emphasis is on knowing and following the truth in contrast to Diotrephes and his followers (3 Jn 1:9 ^t).
Summary for 3John 1:5-8: 1:5-8 ^u John now encourages Gaius to continue supporting the traveling teachers whom John had sent out (1:3 ^v). 1:5 ^w Gaius provided hospitality for the traveling teachers (literally the brothers) sent by John from church to church to affirm the apostles’ teaching about Christ (1:7-8 ^x). By doing this, Gaius showed that he had received the truth from the apostles and that he was thus faithful to God.
1:6 ^y The church here was most likely in Ephesus, where John was probably staying. Ephesus was an important port city in the province of Asia, and the fourth-largest city in the Roman Empire. It became an important city for the Christian community (Acts 18:19–19:41 ^z; 1 Tim 1:3 ^aa; 1 Pet 1:1 ^ab; Rev 2:1-7 ^ac).
Summary for 3John 1:7-8: 1:7-8 ^ad for the Lord (literally on behalf of the Name): John did not need to identify whose name this was because all the early Christians knew that the Name represented Jesus Christ (see Acts 5:41 ^ae).

• The traveling teachers had chosen to accept nothing offered to them from people who are not believers, but to rely fully on the churches for their support. Christians who support legitimate traveling teachers become their partners as they teach the truth (see Matt 10:41-42 ^af; Phil 4:15-19 ^ag).
Summary for 3John 1:9-12: 1:9-12 ^ah In these verses, John condemns Diotrephes and presents Demetrius as the model of a faithful Christian who lives according to the truth. Gaius is urged to emulate Demetrius. 1:9 ^ai I wrote to the church about this: This could refer to 1 John or to a letter that is now lost.

• Diotrephes was full of pride and self-importance (cp. 1 Tim 3:6 ^aj), motivated by selfish ambition.

• refuses to have anything to do with us: This dissidence was one of the key issues John dealt with in 1 John (see, e.g., 1 Jn 2:19 ^ak; 4:5-6 ^al). Diotrephes rejected the teachers sent by John and excommunicated any members of the church who did accept them. He wanted to rule the local church without answering to any outside authority.
1:11 ^am those who do evil: Diotrephes was condemned for his failure to live by the Christian rule of love (1 Jn 3:10-14 ^an). This was how Gaius could be sure that Diotrephes was not living according to the truth. This applies to all who refuse to accept the apostolic teaching about Jesus Christ and refuse to live in fellowship with others who do.
1:12 ^ao Demetrius was the very opposite of Diotrephes, a prime example of one who knows the truth and practices it (1:3 ^ap). The placement of Demetrius’s name at the end of the letter suggests that he was the one who carried John’s letter to Gaius (cp. Col 4:7-9 ^aq; 1 Pet 5:12 ^ar).

• you know we speak the truth: John wished to protect his honor as a reliable elder over these churches rather than being shamed by any possible usurpation by Diotrephes and other false teachers.
Summary for 3John 1:13-15: 1:13-15 ^as As in 2 John, the conclusion of 3 John shows John’s desire to make a personal visit and see to the instructions of this letter. 1:13 ^at pen and ink (literally ink and reed): In antiquity, writing was typically done with a stylus shaped from a reed and black carbon ink (see also 2 Jn 1:12 ^au).
1:14 ^av Our English idiom face to face parallels the Greek idiom used here (literally mouth to mouth; see also 2 Jn 1:12 ^aw).
1:15 ^ax John closes his letter with his farewell and with greetings to others.

• Peace be with you: This was a traditional greeting among the Jews (Matt 10:12 ^ay; Luke 10:5-6 ^az), which had taken on heightened significance for Christians because Jesus used it after his resurrection (John 20:19-21 ^ba, 26 ^bb).

• give my personal greetings (literally greet by name): Gaius was to greet the friends—that is, those who accept the apostolic gospel and live according to the truth (cp. 3 Jn 1:3-4 ^bc).