So if you're like me you like verse by verse study. I am a slow study myself, but enjoy pouring over God's word slowly. I generally read about 5-6 commentaries before making notes and I borrow a great deal from the New American Commenary, H.A Ironside, David Guzik, Thomas Constable, and Dr Bob Utley. It is my desire to share some of these notes with you in hopes of opening up dialogue regarding the passage, to get your take on it because I believe iron sharpens iron. I wanted to start by going over 3 John, and I will get right into it. I could spend some time writing about authorship, date, and other things, but it is my goal to keep the post relatively concise.
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
The apostle John gives himself the simple title here as the elder, and the brief introduction shows the first readers were aware of who the author was. John at this point was at an advanced age, and many commentators hold the opinion that the three epistles of John were his last work written after Revelation. The term elder refers to an old man, though it also refers to a leadership office held in the church. Of course if John was looking to assert his authority you would have to wonder why he wouldn't introduce himself as the apostle. In using the term elder, he was appealing to them in a more softer or personal way. The letter is addressed to Gaius, although this should not be understood to be any of the other Gaius' named in scripture. The difficulty in identifying who this Gaius was lies in the fact that it was a common name in Greek and in Latin much like how John is a common name in our own society now. It is most likely that he lived in Asia minor but we can not know this for sure, but what we do know was that he was a brother in Christ whom John loved calling him beloved four times in fourteen short verses. John had deep and genuine love for this man that was rooted in the truth of the faith. Gaius was a man who held to apostolic teaching and did not try to rebel against their message with his own. He was rooted in the truth, and worked to promote the truth.
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
The apostle John gives himself the simple title here as the elder, and the brief introduction shows the first readers were aware of who the author was. John at this point was at an advanced age, and many commentators hold the opinion that the three epistles of John were his last work written after Revelation. The term elder refers to an old man, though it also refers to a leadership office held in the church. Of course if John was looking to assert his authority you would have to wonder why he wouldn't introduce himself as the apostle. In using the term elder, he was appealing to them in a more softer or personal way. The letter is addressed to Gaius, although this should not be understood to be any of the other Gaius' named in scripture. The difficulty in identifying who this Gaius was lies in the fact that it was a common name in Greek and in Latin much like how John is a common name in our own society now. It is most likely that he lived in Asia minor but we can not know this for sure, but what we do know was that he was a brother in Christ whom John loved calling him beloved four times in fourteen short verses. John had deep and genuine love for this man that was rooted in the truth of the faith. Gaius was a man who held to apostolic teaching and did not try to rebel against their message with his own. He was rooted in the truth, and worked to promote the truth.
