3 John 5-8
Summary for 3John 1:5-8: 1:5-8 a John now encourages Gaius to continue supporting the traveling teachers whom John had sent out (1:3 b). 1:5 c 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 d). By doing this, Gaius showed that he had received the truth from the apostles and that he was thus faithful to God.1:6 e 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 f; 1 Tim 1:3 g; 1 Pet 1:1 h; Rev 2:1-7 i).
Summary for 3John 1:7-8: 1:7-8 j 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 k).
• 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 l; Phil 4:15-19 m).
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