3 Epistle of John

20. Learn by example

1 The elder to my beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

2 Beloved! I pray that you will be healthy and prosper in everything, as your soul prospers.

3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of your faithfulness, how you walk in truth.

4 There is no greater joy for me than to hear that my children are walking in truth.

5 Beloved! you act as a faithful man in what you do for your brethren and for strangers;

6 They testified before the church about your love; you will do well to let them go, as you must for God's sake.

7 For they went for His name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles.

8 Therefore we must receive such, that we may become associates of the truth.

9 I wrote to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to excel among them, does not accept us.

10 Therefore, if I come, I will remind you of the works that he does, blaspheming us with evil words, and, not content with this, he himself does not receive the brothers and forbids those who wish, and expels from the church.

11 Beloved! do not imitate evil, but good. Whoever does good is from God; but he who does evil has not seen God.

12 Demetrius is witnessed by all and by the truth itself; we also bear witness, and you know that our witness is true. but like ourselves, who hold the same truth and learn to love in the same way. We are all children of the same Father and belong to the same family. The more we abide together in truth and love, the more it will contribute to keeping the commandments given by Him Who is the Head of our church.

13 I had many things to write; but I don't want to write to you with ink and a cane.

14 But I hope to see you soon and speak mouth to mouth.

15 Peace be with you. Friends greet you; greet friends by name. Amen.

This last of the three Epistles attributed to John is the most personal. It is similar in length to the second, due to the fact that it occupied one sheet of papyrus. And in many other ways, both of these Messages are mirror images of each other. In them, the author appears simply as an old man (see comments on 2 John 1); expresses a desire to see his addressee personally in order to continue the discussion of the problems raised in the Epistle (vv. 13-14; cf. 2 John 12); expresses concern about itinerant preachers and the attitude towards them from members of the congregation. But if in the Second Epistle John warns us not to welcome "deceivers", then in the Third Epistle John's warnings are directed at those who show hostility towards genuine Christians and messengers bearing the Gospel. This is a positive addition to the negative prohibitions of the Second Epistle, reminding Gaia and his community that the negative attitude of heretics towards the manifestation of hospitality and cordiality should not be an excuse for not showing these qualities towards faithful and devoted Christian preachers.

This similarity in subject matter, vocabulary, and structure led Lenski to the idea that “perhaps both of these letters were written on the same day and sent to the same place, only the second was addressed to the community as a whole, and the third to one of its members. Undoubtedly, this is a very tempting idea. If false teachers had by then begun to successfully infiltrate churches, then it is reasonable to assume that those who were attracted to the new ideas might have fallen under their influence, attracted by new knowledge or, more likely, by the power of the personality itself. And this, in turn, could lead to the fact that the “new” preachers, who had strengthened their positions in the church, began not to allow teachers who adhere to orthodox doctrine to go there, and, on the contrary, to welcome “seducers” in every possible way.

Apparently, something similar happened in the church of Gaius. Brothers from John came to him, who carried the true message of Christ, and he welcomed, supported and received them with love. But the whole church as a whole did not follow his example, although there were those in it who wanted to do just that. As it turned out, the power in the church was in the hands of Diotrephes, the person who had the greatest influence in it, who not only “did not accept the brothers” sent by John, but “reviled” the Apostle himself. On the contrary, John praises Demetrius. Perhaps it was he who delivered this Message, and also acted as a representative of John, carrying the word of the Apostle to the church - in order to prepare people in a certain way before the arrival of John himself. Since everything that is said in the Message revolves around these three people, for a better understanding of the text, it would be useful to delve deeper into what each of them represented.

The message of St. John the Theologian With extraordinary simplicity, power and clarity, the beloved disciple of the Lord, St. John the Theologian. “His commandment is the same,” the son of Gromov teaches us, “that we believe in the name of His Son

1 John 1:1-4 1. Prologue 1 About what was from the beginning, what we heard, what we saw with our eyes, what we looked at, and what our hands touched, about the Word of life, 2 For life appeared, and we saw and we testify and proclaim to you this eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us,

1 John Introduction This scripture is often referred to as an "epistle" or a letter, but neither the addressee nor the sender's signature is indicated. Indeed, the absence of many characteristic features letters leads some scholars, speaking of the "message",

2 John Commentary 1-3 Greetings The introduction is traditional in first century writing. 1:2 The author calls himself an elder, which may indicate his age or perhaps his position in the church. He refers to the chosen lady, which can also

3 John Commentary 1 Greeting As in 2 John, the author simply refers to himself as an elder. The message is addressed to dear friend Gaius (literally, "beloved Gaius"; Brown argues that "dear" is too colorless for agapetos - Brown,

1 John 4:14 229

Third Epistle of John. “The Elder to his beloved Gaius…” We have already met this name, haven’t we? It seems that John was mistaken in him. “I was very glad when the brothers came and testified of your fidelity ...

SECOND JOHN INTRODUCTION Authorship, date of writing. See the introduction to 1 John and the Gospel of John; The first and second epistles of John differ somewhat in style. John himself could have written a shorter personal letter, which was more

Synodal translation. The chapter was voiced according to the roles by the Light in the East studio.

1. See what kind of love the Father has given us so that we can be called and be children of God. The world does not know us because it did not know Him.
2. Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed that we will. We only know that when it is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.
3. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.
4. Whoever commits sin also commits iniquity; and sin is lawlessness.
5. And you know that He came to take away our sins, and that there is no sin in Him.
6. Everyone who abides in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him and has not known Him.
7. Children! let no one deceive you. Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.
8. Whoever commits sin is from the devil, because the devil sinned first. For this, the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil.
9. Everyone who is born of God commits no sin, because his seed abides in him; and he cannot sin because he is born of God.
10. The children of God and the children of the devil are recognized thus: everyone who does not do what is right is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
11. For this is the gospel that you have heard from the beginning, that we love one another,
12. not like Cain, who was of the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's deeds were righteous.
13. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.
14. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers; he who does not love his brother abides in death.
15. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16. We know love in this, that he laid down his life for us: and we must lay down our lives for our brothers.
17. But whoever has prosperity in the world, but seeing his brother in need, closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18. My children! let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth.
19. And by this we know that we are from the truth, and we calm our hearts before Him;
20. For if our heart condemns us, how much more so God, because God is greater than our heart and knows everything.
21. Beloved! if our heart does not condemn us, then we have boldness towards God,
22. And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.
23. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He commanded us.
24. And whoever keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And that He dwells in us, we know by the spirit which He has given us.

The question of the authenticity and canonicity of the third epistle of the Apostle and Evangelist John is quite analogous and inextricably linked with the similar question of the authenticity of the second epistle of the same Apostle. And according to the external, historical evidence of the 3rd Epistle of John by church tradition, and according to the internal similarity of thoughts and expressions of this epistle with the 1st Epistle of John and the Gospel of John, its authenticity cannot be doubted. Who was Gaius, to whom this epistle was written, is not known with accuracy. In the apostolic writings, several persons with this name (; ; ) are known, and one of them, namely the Corinthian Gaius (), was distinguished by hospitality, like that Gaius, to whom 3 the epistle of John. Nevertheless, the identity of these two persons is doubtful; the initial readers of both the first two epistles of St. John and the 3rd, most likely, belonged to the Christians of the churches of Asia Minor. There is no mention of any hierarchical position for Gaius in 3 John; it was probably just a devout, true Christian of worldly rank.

The third epistle was probably written at the same time as the second, and of course also from Ephesus.

Chapter I

Greeting Gaius and praise him (1-4). On the virtue of hospitality (5–8). The denunciation of Diotrephes and the praise of Demetrius (9-12). News and greetings (13–15).

. The elder to my beloved Gaius, whom I truly love.

. Beloved! I pray that you will be healthy and prosper in everything, as your soul prospers.

. For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of your faithfulness, how you walk in truth.

. There is no greater joy for me than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

However common are the salutations of love and the appeals of love in the writings of the great Apostle of love, but it seems that Gaia was a particularly beloved disciple of his, as the emphatic expression (v. 1) may indicate: "Whom I truly love" and the repeated repetition of the appeal "beloved" (vv. 1, 2, 5, 11) to Gaius, to whom the Apostle first of all sends prayerful wishes (2), then indicating (vv. 3-4) the basis or reason for his apostolic benevolence to Gaius and disposition his to him - in the fact that he walks in the truth (v. 3), and this for the pastoral love of the Apostle for his spiritual children is the highest joy (v. 4; see).

. Beloved! you act as a faithful man in what you do for your brethren and for strangers.

. They testified before the church of your love. You will do well if you let them go, as you must for God's sake,

. for they went for his name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles.

. Therefore, we must receive such in order to become associates of the truth.

The apostles in their writings repeatedly praise and command believers hospitality, hospitality (for example, Heb 13, etc.), as a high Christian virtue, which received especially high value and importance in the case when hospitality was given to the preachers of the Gospel, who worked unpaid among the new converts (cf. . ; ; ). Of this kind, obviously, was the hospitality of the pious Gaius, which was announced to the Apostle by the brothers, “who went out for the sake of the name of God, without taking anything from the Gentiles"(v. 7): such were the true heralds of the gospel (cf. 1 Corinthians IX, etc.).

. I wrote to churches; but Diotrephes, who loves to excel among them, does not accept us.

. Therefore, if I come, I will remind you of the deeds that he does, blaspheming us with evil words, and not content with this, and he himself does not receive brothers, and forbids those who wish, and expels from the church.

. Beloved! do not imitate evil, but good. Whoever does good is from God; but he who does evil has not seen God.

. Demetrius is attested by all and by the truth itself; we also bear witness, and you know that our witness is true.

Instead of: "I wrote", έγραψα, to Sinaisk. code. stands: έγραψα αν - "I would write." Such a reading, which finds confirmation in the reading of the Vulgate: saipsissem forsitan, I might write, is more in line with the meaning of the text of Art. 9-10: otherwise it would be incomprehensible: how was the epistle written by the Apostle of the whole Church lost? With the proposed reading, it turns out that if the Apostle wrote the epistle to the whole church, then he who loves to excel among them (the members of this local church) could abuse this epistle, and now the Apostle hopes to convict him personally (v. 10). Who Diotrephes was is not directly stated in the text, but the epithet “primo-lover”, ό φιλοπρωτεύων (v. 9), adopted by Diotrephes, in connection with the predicates: “he himself does not accept brothers and forbids those who wish, and expels from the church” (v. 10), i.e., deprives the fellowship of the Church, as heretics, - shows in him the President of the Church, unworthy, according to the judgment of the Apostle, of this title. Similarly, the ecclesiastical and social position of the praised by the Apostle (v. 12) Demetrius is unknown; only Dorotheus of Tyre recorded a tradition that this Demetrius later became a bishop of the Philadelphia church, one of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in the Apocalypse (Rev. 3i gave).

. I had much to write; but I don't want to write to you with ink and cane,

. but I hope to see you soon and speak mouth to mouth.

. Peace to you. Friends greet you; greet friends by name. Amen.

The conclusion of 3 epistle closely resembles the conclusion of 2 epistle (vv. 12-13); there is only another mention of the "friends" (οί φίλοι) of the Apostle (cf. Acts XXVIÏ3), partly with him, partly greeted by him through the epistle.

No wonder John rejoices in the faithfulness of his spiritual children to the truth. Probably, there is no spiritual teacher or mentor in the world who ...

No wonder John rejoices in the faithfulness of his spiritual children to the truth. There is probably no spiritual teacher or mentor in the world who does not rejoice at the faithfulness of his spiritual children or disciples to what he has taught them. But after all, Christianity is not some kind of new doctrine, which, on the one hand, could be taught, and which, on the other hand, could be assimilated, as adherents assimilate certain provisions of their doctrine. It is no coincidence that the apostle uses the verb “to walk” to describe the spiritual state of his spiritual children: in both Hebrew and Aramaic, the corresponding word is also used in the meaning of “to adhere to something” or “to follow something.” And in the Greek version of his epistle, John uses a word that has been used since the time of Aristotle to denote a leisurely philosophical conversation, during which gradually, step by step, the interlocutors approach the truth. Such conversations, however, were well known not only to Greek philosophers, but also to teachers of traditional Jewish schools and academies. So what: the truth is unattainable? As something abstract, certainly not. As a specific Kingdom brought into the world by a specific Messiah, yes, of course. But the Kingdom is, first of all, life, those very living relationships with God, with Christ, with neighbors, which form the spiritual space of the Kingdom. This is, so to speak, the specificity of the Kingdom, everything else that we can say about it, including from a theological point of view, is rather an abstraction. And in the Kingdom one can live, or, in other words, abide — to be in communion with God and people and experience this communion. Such an experience could probably be called being in the truth from the point of view of a Christian. After all, staying in the truth for Christians is not fidelity to doctrine, but fidelity to the Kingdom. And the One who brought the Kingdom into the world. This means continuous communication, constantly updated and renewed relationships. That, in fact, is called life.

This small letter of the apostle may seem insignificant, at least for us today. We know nothing about the people mentioned in it, and the situation itself remains only partially clear to us. Obviously, we are talking about some kind of intra-church or near-church problem, and a rather difficult one at that. One thing is clear: for John, the evidence of Christ and the Kingdom is, first of all, faithfulness. Loyalty not to ideas and beliefs, but to specific people in specific situations. It is understandable: after all, Christianity is not a religion, but life in the Kingdom, while the Kingdom is not an idea or a concept, but a reality created and shaped primarily by relationships.

The relationship of people with God and with Christ, their relationship with each other, and finally, the relationship of Christ Himself with His heavenly Father, which form the spiritual foundation of the Kingdom. And there are no small things in a relationship. They are, in fact, made up of little things. So is the spiritual life. And life in general. It just seems that epochal events and fateful choices are important in life and in relationships. In fact, the cause of epoch-making events is the many decisions made in everyday routine, which we sometimes do not even notice in this same routine. And fateful decisions are prepared by decisions that are by no means fateful, but the most ordinary, everyday, to which we often do not pay attention because of their seeming insignificance.

The same is true of church life: in order to promote the truth, sometimes it is enough just to open the door to someone's house, at least for a short time, and, on the contrary, to close it in front of someone. To lend a hand to someone - but not to give a hand to someone. Smile in response to someone's words - and turn away from someone's. All these are decisions and actions no less significant than those that we consider big and important. Life is made up of them. Every life. And the life of the Church. And Kingdom life.

Although the epistle of John is personally addressed to one specific person, it contains concrete examples...

Although the epistle of John is personally addressed to one specific person, it shows issues that are important for the entire Church, using specific examples given for the edification of the whole community, therefore it is rightly called catholic. Gaius is commended for his fidelity to the truth, which manifested itself in a very concrete way - the acceptance of wandering brothers. It would seem that this is a private circumstance, but it turns out to be fundamental, since not all brothers are able to show brotherly love.

It's not just Diotrephes, who loves to excel, the actions of this specific person reveal a huge problem: divisions and strife intensify among the brothers, ambitious ambitions are mixed with inevitable disagreements. It is even strange: after all, the early Church is persecuted, it seems impossible to use church connections in order to make a career. But the power of human vanity is such that even in difficult conditions of persecution, the passion for self-affirmation at the expense of others works. It is so strong that it is expressed in the desire to crush those who entered the Church earlier, including one of the first apostles.

Persecution from false brothers is a reality that has repeatedly poisoned the lives of Christians. But let's not be embarrassed, sooner or later the truth will triumph. After all, Diotrephes's attempts were in vain, and we remember him only thanks to the mention of his name by the very apostle, whom Diotrephes did not want to accept, but whom the Church will always recognize.

Third Epistle of JohnDan Burns

Historical setting and literary purpose

The apostle John wrote a letter to his friend Gaius praising him for his character and hospitality to the faithful, while at the same time warning of division and suspicion in the church due to Diotrephes' immaturity and insecurity. John encourages Gaius to learn to imitate goodness and reject evil from examples he has seen in the world. Further, John announces that he is going to visit them and personally deal with Diotrephes.

Theological topics

The church should support godly preachers.

The 2nd and 3rd epistles of John deal with the hospitality of church members to strangers. It probably meant both traveling church members and official church leaders. Church members supported itinerant preachers and teachers by providing them with housing and financial support for their travels. In Heb. 13:2 we see an example of believers hosting and caring for itinerant teachers. Providing them with a place to rest, they sent, financially supporting their journey. These preachers proclaimed the truth about Christ and trusted themselves to the body of Christ. They lived by faith. Today church members must continue to support those who labor in preaching and teaching in the name of the Lord. The offerings of the church should go to the support of such preachers who are employees of the church. Although churches today host itinerant preachers and guests, it is usually the pastor or elders who preach in the churches. Therefore, the church supports its employees who have dedicated themselves to the ministry full time. Moreover, the church should support those who are sent outside the church to work with the youth, students, athletes, and others in the area where the church is located.

The church should be wary of leaders who like to be first.

John encountered a problematic church leader. Diotrephes liked to be first. Obviously, he did not like the apostle John, and therefore he slandered him and those who worked closely with him. Moreover, he excluded from the church those who showed sympathy for John and his entourage. He used gossip and slander to control the group. Probably Diotrephes had control problems.

In my life, I have known church leaders who wanted to be first so badly that they sought to control everyone around them. They wanted to know not only what you believed and what you were doing, but also where you were and who you were talking to. These people want to read all your emails and prevent you from talking to anyone outside. If such a person is a pastor, then he very easily excludes people for the reason of "disobedience to authority." This kind of leadership makes me very nervous. Diotrephes apparently forgot several key teachings of Jesus. He did not learn to apply all the "beatitudes" from Sermon on the Mount. He tended to exaggerate the grounds for church discipline (3 John 1:10). Although Diotrephes may have been a true believer, in his desire to control the thoughts and behavior of people in the church, he did not look up to God, but to those who did not see God (3 John 1:11).

In the church, we must develop the ability to learn from those who give us a negative example. I'm sure we can complain about these people, but can we learn anything from them? Perhaps not only they demonstrate their bad qualities. Have we learned to consider others more important than ourselves, as Phil. 2:3-4? True leadership likes to be last. Have we learned to bless those who curse us? It is always unpleasant to be the object of slander, but we need to learn not to return evil with evil, but instead learn to bless those who curse us.

True leadership allows God to exclude those who should be excluded and allows God alone to control such decisions. There is a time for exclusion and strict discipline. But if this wasn't truly painful for the church leaders, then perhaps they did it wrong. True leadership brings together people of diverse opinions and gifts so that they can work together to expand the one kingdom of God.

Structure

1. Greetings: 1:1-4
2. Praise to his friend Gaius for taking care of itinerant teachers: 1:5-8
3. Concern about Diotrephes: 1:9-11
4. Closing greetings: 1:12-14

Bible Study Questions for 3 John

1. What action or deed of yours caused great joy to your parents? If you have children, what did they do that made you feel indescribable joy? Is bringing joy to your parents a pleasure or a burden?

2. What brings joy to John in 3 Jn. 1:4? Is it a pleasure or a burden to "walk in truth" and thus bring joy to our heavenly Father?

3. What do we learn about Diotrephes in 1:9-11? How did he treat people who were different from him?

4. What did you like to be first at as a child? As an adult, what do you still like to be first at? How does this desire affect the people around you?

5. Was Diotrephes a real believer? How do you understand people who clearly show the qualities of real faith in some areas of their lives, but at the same time in other areas they demonstrate the same real secularization? When do we exhibit similar qualities?

6. In what way did John's friend Gaius set the opposite example to Diotrephes in 1:5-8? How did he treat others, even those he didn't know personally? Which one of your friends looks like Guy?

7. How should the body of Christ be hospitable to people in our world? How should the body of Christ support those who preach and teach God's Word in the world today?

8. Have you ever noticed that you mimic the mannerisms or expressions of the people you spend time with? How can we learn to imitate the character of godly people with whom we spend time (1:11)? What can we learn from the negative examples of people around us?