What do you want to be remembered for in this life? A good businessman? A good ball player? A good salesman? A godly man? A godly woman?
Well, in this short letter, which we call 3 John, we can catch a glimpse of the reputations of various members of the early church. The reputations of some were good, while the reputations of others were not so good. Gaius, the recipient of this letter, was a man who walked in the truth. He faithfully lived out the gospel. Diatrophes was not. He was an arrogant and corrupt leader who put himself first, rejected apostolic authority, and led the church away from gospel hospitality.
The book of 3 John will force us to ask the question, “What do we want to be known for in this life?” Will we be known as faithful, selfless, loving, and hospitable Christians who inconvenience themselves for the good of others? Or will we be known as arrogant, selfish, and unloving people who push others out for the good of ourselves? What reputation are you building?
The only things that can truly shape our reputations are the small and consistent decisions we make throughout our lives. As the great prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, once said, “The eagle-eyed world acts as a policeman for the church… [It] becomes a watchdog over the sheep, barking furiously as soon as one goes astray..… Be careful of your private lives … and I believe your public lives will surely be right. Remember that it is upon your publiclife that the world's verdict will very much depend. (“The Parents’ and Pastor’s Joy”).”
Let’s dive in.
“1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”
As you can see, the author of this letter doesn’t point-blank identify himself at the beginning of this letter. Instead, he simply identifies himself as “the elder.”
Obviously, your Bible likely has the book titled, “3 John.” So, what has led scholars, historians, and commentators to conclude that the author of this book is John?
Well, given the similarity in the introduction to 2 John, many believe the author of 3 John is the same as the author of 2 John. And given the similarities in writing style and themes between the gospel of John and 1, 2, and 3 John, many believe the author is the same. So, it’s safe to conclude that the elder here is the apostle John.
The term elder is presbyteros in Greek. It’s the same term used in 1 Timothy 5:17 and Titus 1:5 to describe the church office of a pastor/elder/overseer, those who teach, shepherd, and oversee the congregation. This is certainly a title that could and should be accredited to the apostle John. As likely the last living apostle at this time, John was undoubtedly an elder of the church, a teacher, shepherd, and overseer of the church.
But at this point, John was also elderly. If this letter had been written around 90 AD, as many suspect, John could have been between 80 and 90 years old. John was a seasoned believer who had witnessed a lot in his lifetime. In his youth, he sat with, talked with, and followed the Messiah, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. In his youth, he watched blind people see, lame people walk, and the dead come back to life. In his youth, he wept as he watched the Savior die. In his youth, he raced Peter to the empty tomb when he heard it was empty. In his youth, he rejoiced as he touched the risen Savior. In his youth, he was commissioned by Jesus right before he watched him ascend to the right hand of the Father. He had the Holy Spirit fall on him in his youth at Pentecost. He then watched the early church explode when Peter preached the gospel. He watched the church walk in love. He watched the church explode under persecution. He watched Paul come to know Jesus. He watched Paul become transformed by Jesus. He, himself, led people to Jesus. He, himself, discipled followers of Jesus. He, himself, likely wept over the death of his best friends as they died under persecution for Jesus. And now, in his old age, he’s still tenderly and lovingly caring for Jesus’ people.
John is an elderly elder of the church. He is a seasoned church leader and the last living apostle who cares deeply for those he leads.
We then see the recipient of this letter, Gaius.
***We will spend most of our time today unpacking who Gaius is and why John is addressing him. But before we do, let me go on record and say that if any of you are looking for a Godly name for a boy, look no further than Gaius. I commission the next family that gets pregnant with a boy to name their child Gaius.
Gaius was a fairly common name during this time. Therefore, we have multiple instances in the New Testament where a man with this name appears. In Romans 16:23, we find a Gaius of Corinth. Paul baptized him himself, and he later hosted Paul and the church in his home. In Acts 19:29, we see a Gaius from Macedonia, who was Paul's companion and got caught up in a riot in Ephesus. In Acts 20:4, we find a Gaius from Derbe, also Paul’s companion, who helped deliver a collection of resources to the Jerusalem church.
I desperately wanted the Gaius in 3 John to be one of these guys. I thought it would be fun to have a better grasp of who this man is and what he did for the kingdom. But, although there’s a possibility that the Gaius described in 3 John could be one of these Gaiuses, it’s not likely. The timing and location indicate that we simply have multiple different Gaiuses in the Bible who played a vital role in advancing the gospel in the early church, which is comforting in its own right. The advancement of the gospel and the health of the church didn’t rest upon the shoulders of one or two faithful Christians; it rested on the shoulders of many faithful Christians who sought to live faithfully for Jesus. The same is true today. The health of the church and the advancement of the gospel will never rest upon the shoulders of one single person.
As we see in these first few verses, Gaius is one whom John dearly loved. He is the “beloved Gaius,” the one John loves in truth. In other words, John’s love toward this man isn’t superficial; it’s authentic. It’s real and rooted in truth. This is the type of love that God calls us to display. Authentic and genuine, not fake and superficial love is what we’re called to possess.
So, how would you describe your love for your brothers and sisters in the church? Do you, like John, love in truth?
In verse 2, John begins to pray for the one he loves, which should teach us to pray for those we love. A tangible way to display authentic love is through fervent prayer. To be a loving church, we must be a praying church.
John says, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” In other words, John prays that his physical health will match his spiritual health.
There are two things worth digging into here:
First, it’s okay to pray for physical health. This is probably more of a point for me than anyone else. But I sometimes think it’s wrong to pray for physical needs, that faithful prayers are only spiritual prayers. But that’s not true because the Bible provides examples of faithful church leaders praying for the physical health of other church members. We always want to pray Biblical prayers, and there’s strong evidence in Scripture of people praying for physical needs to be met. So, may we humbly lift the church's needs up to the Lord.
The second thing I want us to notice is what he’s saying. He’s praying that their physical health will match their spiritual health— “that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” In expounding on this prayer, Daniel Akin said, “A good point of application naturally arises from this prayer. What if I were to pray for you and ask God to bless you physically to the same degree you are healthy spiritually, and what if He answered my prayer? What would happen?! Would you be fit, sick in bed, or nearly dead? Would we need to rush you to the emergency room and have you ushered into the ICU or CCU?”
John then says, “For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
Let’s paint the picture of what’s taking place here. There was a group of Christian brothers who were once with Gaius and later journeyed to John. When they got to John, they told him about Gaius' lifestyle, which caused John to rejoice. The reputation of Gaius has stirred up joy within John's heart, which has caused him to rejoice greatly! And this rejoicing caused John to pick up his pen and paper and write a letter of encouragement.
Can we press pause here for just a quick second? It would serve us well to follow John’s example here. The book of Proverbs says, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” So, may we be encouragers like John. When we see a brother or sister living out the gospel well, may we use our words to encourage them!
Now, John's language can be a bit strange. He says that these brothers have “testified to your truth.”
That’s a weird statement, isn’t it?
John is simply saying that the testimony of these brothers regarding Gaius is truthful. They came and accurately described what was going on in Gaius’ life. They testified to his truth, meaning they gave an accurate description of his life. The reality of Gaius’s life is that he is walking in the truth.
What does it mean to walk in the truth? It means he’s walking in obedience to Jesus, the source of truth. He’s living out the gospel. The message he’s embraced is the message he’s living. This is the reason John rejoices. He says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” One of his greatest sources of joy in his life is seeing or hearing his children walking in the truth.
The phrase “my children” likely doesn’t denote biological children. Instead, it’s likely a description of spiritual children. This could be someone John introduced to Jesus and later discipled in Jesus. Or it could be an individual whom someone else introduced to Jesus, and he has played a role in discipling. Either way, this is a man whom John has spiritually parented.
The phrase “my children” teaches us that our work has just begun once we introduce someone to Christ. Once we introduce someone to Jesus, we seek to teach them what it means to follow Jesus by walking in the truth.
Could John’s words also teach us that Christian joy is tied to Christian discipleship? There could be a multitude of reasons why we might not disciple young Christians. We might feel like we don’t have time or that we aren’t qualified. But, I want us to see that one of the repercussions of not discipling young Christians is missing out on joy. John says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth!” John was encouraged by the way Gaius was living. So, one of the greatest sources of joy is seeing those you’ve invested in spiritually embrace and live out truth! In the same way that a parent rejoices over their child taking their first steps, we can rejoice over seeing those we disciple walking out their faith. Could it be that the more we pour our lives into knowing the truth of Scripture, living the truth of Scripture, and teaching the truth of Scripture, the more joyful we will become?
John then says, “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”
Here, we are beginning to see what Gaius was doing that brought John so much joy. We are beginning to see what walking in truth actually looks like.
The brothers who came and testified to John about Gaius were missionaries. They were strangers on a journey. They had selflessly gone out for the sake of the name of Jesus. They weren’t accepting anything from the Gentiles, meaning profit was not their goal. They weren’t selling a message; they were freely proclaiming the hope of Christ crucified. And Gaius was supporting them. He was exerting effort to help these brothers in their efforts to take the gospel to the Gentiles freely. Gaius was helping missionaries.
Can we just take a moment to acknowledge that the Bible has a letter written, not to the ones going, but to the ones supporting? In our attempt to celebrate those who answer the call to go, it’s easy to overlook the call to support. But to do so would be to go against God's heart.
One of our deacons, Troy Andrews, made a beautiful point a few months ago. He said, “Some will be called to go, while others are called to stay back and hold the rope.” That picture accurately depicts what Gaius was doing. Gaius was a rope holder. He was a supporter of those who went. Friends, missional support is just as important as missional living. Not everyone is called to go. Not everyone can go. But not being able to go doesn’t mean you can’t partake.
Look at what John says in verse 8: “Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.” The missionaries have fought to keep the gospel free. Therefore, the church ought to support them.
That word support is the Greek word apolambanō (ap-ol-am-ban'-o). It means to receive. So, John is saying that the type of support we are to give is a hospitable receiving. It’s not simply a throwing of money; it’s a linking of arms, a joining of lives.
But, notice how John describes those who receive and support. He calls them “fellow workers for the truth.” The Greek word for fellow workers is synergos, which means “working together.” It’s where the English word “synergy” derives from. Synergy means a cooperation of action. It implies the interaction of different elements that produce a greater combined effect than the sum of their individual effects. In other words, the gospel will go further when we work together.
Maybe your health prevents you from going on missions. Maybe your bank account prevents you from going on missions. Maybe your family prevents you from going on missions. Maybe your work prevents you from going on missions. Maybe you understand the importance of missions, but you just can’t go, and your inability to go makes you feel guilty. I hope this letter will be water to your soul. I hope you see that holding the rope for those in the trenches is just as important as being in the trenches.
God, help us to be like our brother, Gaius. God, please raise up from Harbor men and women who will answer the call to go and share the gospel with those who have never heard it before. And raise up from Harbor men and women who are content to stay and support those who go. Help us see the importance of both. May we have the reputation of being a people who are faithful in supporting those on mission for the gospel.