Inductive Study: 3 John 1:1

The Elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:

3 John 1:1

Dear Heavenly Father as I begin my study today, I'm humbled by Your grace and Your majesty.  I pray that I will continually grow in the love and knowledge of You.  Please help me to understand and apply Your Word. Please be with my family, support them when they are hurting, and when they loose sight of You in their lives.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

The book of 3 John is a letter to the church. Most letters written in the New Testament are in the Epistle style.  This style is structured in the following format:

• Sender
• Recipient
• Opening
• Formulaic Greeting
• Thanksgiving
• Body (focuses on doctrine, encouragement)
• Initial Exhortation
• Thesis statement
• Ethical Admonition
• Conclusion/Farewell
• Practical Matters
• Individual greetings
• Personal postscript
• Doxology (prayer)

Not all letters have every part of this format, but it is a good guide on how they created their letters.  These epistles were personal correspondence between the writer and his audience.  They were an opportunity to educate the audience, convey information, answer a problem, and/or provide encouragement.  This verse details the sender and the recipient of the letter.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Elder" in the Greek is presbuteros which means elder of the Christian assembly, mature man having seasoned judgement, old men, rank or office of those who preside over assemblies.  In the New Living Translation (NLT), the verse reads "From John, the elder."  2 John 1:1 states "The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth."  This letter is written by the Apostle John, a mature man having seasoned judgement that presides over the Christian assembly.

"Beloved" in the Greek is agapetos which means beloved by Christ/God/one another, divinely loved, personally experiencing God's "agape-love," divinely loved ones, esteemed, favorite.  "Gaius" isn't defined directly in the Greek.  It is from the Latin which means happy, jolly, bright, merry. Gaius, the recipient of this letter, is one whom John highly esteems and is loved by God.

"Love" in the Greek is agapao which means wish well to, take pleasure in, long for, denotes love of reason, esteem, prefer to live like Christ, embracing God's will, what God prefers, doing what God prefers.  "Truth" in the Greek is alethia which means not merely truth as spoken, truth of an idea, reality, sincerity, truth in the moral sphere, divine truth revealed to man, straightforwardness, opposite of illusion (synonymous with reality), what is true under any matter of consideration, sincerity of mind and integrity of character, mode of life in harmony with divine truth.  1 John 3:18 states "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."  John esteems Gaius who embraces God's will in his life in the sincerity of mind and character.

We should all strive to be loved by God because of our deeds that follows God's will in our lives.  We need to be sincere, free of false displays of feelings, deceit, and hypocrisy.  We need to stand in moral uprightness in the honest, strong principles of Christ.  Don't be discouraged by the people of this world who show false displays of feelings.  Don't feel alone.  If you are one of God's children, you are never alone.  Live for Christ and the rest will all work itself out in the end.

The elder [of the church addresses this letter] to the beloved and esteemed Gaius, whom I love in truth.

Amplified Bible

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Inductive Study: Third John Overview

This week we'll start a study of Third John.  Before we take a look at the book verse by verse, let's examine its background. 

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to hear and understand your Word.  Remove distractions during this study.  Thank you for Your Grace and the Scriptures.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 

Third John was written by the Apostle John who refers to himself as the "elder."  An Apostle is one of the twelve primary disciples of Jesus.  It is considered an Epistle which refers to its type of letter writing style.  3 John was written between 85 to 90 A.D. for his friend, Gaius.  Some scholars believe it was written while John was in Ephesus.  Demetrius delivered the letter as a way for John to introduce Demetrius to Gaius. 

   

During the advent of the Church, missionaries traveled from town to town helping establish new congregations.  They focused on urban areas, cities.  The Gospel spread by seeing the consistent life of believers.  Early Christians didn't have buildings but typically met in people's homes.  Missionaries depended upon the hospitality of others during these journeys similar to when Jesus sent out the twelve. 

Matthew 10 

5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 

11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it.13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! 

As you can see, hospitality was crucial to the work of the church.  In this book, John applauds the hospitality of Gaius but condemns the actions of Diotrephes.  The text shows us how pride can divide Christians.  However, with love and discernment, we can battle false teaching and division.  I look forward to studying this text. 

W.O.R.D. Worksheet