In verse 1, John once again identifies himself as the Elder. John must have known Gaius very well and knew of his faith, for John calls him "beloved Gaius." John loves Gaius in the truth. We should love fellow believers in the truth as well.
John repeats the word "beloved" in the second verse. John prays that Gaius prospers in all things, as his soul prospers. As believers, our souls must prosper in our relationship with the Lord so that we may prosper in all things, and be in health. When our relationship with the Lord is not prosperous, the rest of our life will suffer, especially if we fall into sin.
In verses 3-4, John states that he rejoiced when he heard from the brethren that Gaius was walking in the truth. We should be joyful when fellow believers walk in the truth.
In verses 5-6, John addresses Gaius' duties. Gaius is to do whatever he does for the brethren faithfully. Whatever we as believers do for fellow believers and for strangers, we are to do it faithfully. John states that both the brethren and the strangers bear witness to Gaius' love before the church.
John stated that Gaius was to send people on their way in a manner worthy of God and that he would do well. The people who went forward for Jesus' name sake took nothing from the Gentiles. You may recall that Paul supported himself as a tent maker. John stated that Gaius, and we as well, should receive those who speak the truth so that we will become fellow workers for the truth.
The subject changes in verse 9. John wrote that he had written to a church, but he didn't identify the name of the church. There is a man at this church named Diotrephus, who I'll call Dio for short. Dio has a superiority complex. He will not receive John or anyone with him.
In verse 10, John stated that when he does go to the church that will not be named that he will remind Dio of his bad deeds. John stated that Dio was prating. Per Dictionary.com, the definition of "prating" is to talk excessively and pointlessly. Not only did Dio speak badly about John, Dio would not receive his fellow brethren and he evicted those from the church who wished to receive their fellow brethren. Dio was a bad leader. We should receive our fellow brethren in love and rebuke those who refuse to do so.
John transitioned to another subject in verse 11. John stated that we are not to imitate evil but to imitate good. Those who imitate good are of God, but those who do evil have not seen God, or even know God.
Verse 11 is a bridge into verse 12, where John praised Demetrius and said he had a good testimony. This is in contrast to Diotrephus, who is not a good example to follow. This comparison reminds me of the characters Goofus and Gallant, the characters in the magazine Highlights for Children who illustrate good behavior and bad behavior for children.
John finishes up the letter in verses 13-14. He states that he had many things to write, but he would rather speak to Gaius in person, face to face. John then ends the letter with a blessing and greetings from God's friends.
This is a short book, but there are lots of good things packed into it. This epistle has instructions on how Christians should greet and treat fellow believers, how a person in pastoral authority should and should not act, and what a believer should imitate.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading! See you next time!
Diane
