Between Sisters Blog | A Team Player
John Stott once suggested that 2 and 3 John “must be read together if we are to gain a balanced understanding.” These two letters are different in many ways, but they support each other along with 1 John. While 2 John is addressed to a whole church, “the elect lady,” 3 John begins addressed to one man, Gaius.
The Greeting (3 John 1–4)
This is a personal letter to a man named Gaius whom John loves. He begins in verse 2 calling him “beloved,” and says that he prays that Gaius would have good physical health in the same way that he had good spiritual health. This is an interesting note since humanity is geared to worry about physical health instead of spiritual health. Even the health and wealth prosperity gospel blames one’s illness on sin or a lack of faith. But “the Great Physician not only cares about our physical health. More importantly, He has brought us the remedy for our sin in Christ’s death on the cross on our behalf. For those who know Christ, the cancer of the soul has been dealt a death blow.” He next points out that his source of great joy was the fact that he had heard from itinerant teachers of Gaius’ faithfulness to the truth and how he was living out the truth. Then John declares, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” You can hear John’s love for Gaius lavished over these verses as he has reminded us to love one another.
A Team Player (3 John 5–8)
John begins by praising Gaius for how he has acted towards the traveling teachers whom John has sent. In the first century, a stranger was viewed as a potential threat to the community. Since they had no standing by custom or law and with rarely a place to stay, it was important that foreigners had a patron to vouch for them. Letters of recommendation were important as we can see in Paul’s letters to the churches. He sends young men like Epaphroditus and Timothy (Philippians 2:19–30), and Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21–22, Colossians 4:7–9) to pass along Paul’s teaching. At this time in church history, these teachers were essential since John was the last remaining apostle and not able to travel to each new church placed throughout the known world. Not accepting this teacher/traveler who has been recommended by John is the same as refusing and dishonoring the one who recommended them, in this case John. “These ‘strangers’ were Christian brothers who deserved to be treated in a Christian manner. Gaius showed them hospitality, and these ‘brother strangers’ gave public testimony to the church about how Gaius had helped them.” By providing for their material needs for their ministry and travels, Gaius treated them “in a manner worthy of God”; “that is, since the teachers are emissaries of Christ, they should be treated as one would treat God himself or in the same way as God would treat them.”
John points out that the teachers traveled to spread the gospel and they did not gain support from gentiles, or unbelievers. It is not unbelievers who should be obligated to support Christian teachers either financially or physically. It was the believers who in joining in the cause in this way became “fellow workers for the truth.” “Gaius opened his heart, his home, and his hand to fellow Christian teachers, and we should do the same.”