This introductory course is designed to provide key insights into the book of 3 John by pulling together a number of key resources: overview videos from Fast Facts and The Bible Project, helpful contextual information from The ESV Study Bible, commentary recommendations from The Gospel Coalition, a single sermon that sums up the book from beginning to end by Mark Dever, and much more. By watching, listening to, and reading these resources, you’ll be better prepared to read, study, teach, or preach the book of 3 John.

See Introduction courses on 1 John and 2 John. Like 2 John, 3 John claims to have been written by “the elder,” most likely the apostle John. In NT times and into the post-apostolic era, “elders” (Gk. presbyteroi) could refer to the pastoral leaders of local congregations. They appear by this title first in Acts 11:30, which speaks of church leaders (pastors) in Jerusalem in the mid-40s A.D. Paul and Barnabas appointed “elders” to be ministers in the churches they planted (Acts 14:23). “Elders” presided at the Jerusalem council (c. A.D. 49) alongside the apostles (Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23; 16:4). Nearly a decade later Paul addressed the “elders,” apparently the pastors of churches at and probably around Ephesus (Acts 20:17). “Elders” at Jerusalem were alongside head elder James when Paul reported back to the church at the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 21:18). This shows that the title “elder” for pastoral leaders at Ephesus had been in use 20 to 40 years by the time 2 and 3 John were written. It was widely employed in the early church, particularly around Jerusalem but also in distant areas like Ephesus. The fact that Peter understood himself to be a “fellow elder” of church leaders across a wide geographical area (1 Pet. 5:1) makes it plausible for John to have referred to himself in the same manner.

See Introduction to 2 John course. John probably writes from around Ephesus in the last quarter of the first century.

Taken from the ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to cite this material, see permissions information here.

Third John is a personal epistle, addressed to a friend of the author. The customary epistolary conventions are evident: an opening salutation, a body of instruction, and concluding greetings. Reinforcing the identity of this book as a personal letter is the way in which it is built around references to specific acquaintances from start to finish. Whereas 2 John was written to an unidentified church, this letter is filled with references to specific people and situations. It speaks of hospitality to traveling Christians. The main motif is “a home away from home,” and accompanying that, the pattern of arrival and welcoming of guests.

Taken from the ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to cite this material, see permissions information here.

The theme of 3 John is steadfastness in the face of opposition. The recipient of the letter, Gaius, faces a troublemaker named Diotrephes. By “walking in the truth” (3 John 3, 4), Christians can embrace and live out the apostolic message that John conveys in all his letters.

It has been suggested that 2 and 3 John were originally preserved because they were part of a single packet containing all three Johannine letters. On this view, 3 John was a personal letter to Gaius commending the courier of the shipment, Demetrius (3 John 12); 2 John was to be read aloud to Gaius’s church; and 1 John was a sermon for general distribution and not a letter in the strict sense. This scenario cannot be verified but is a useful hypothesis in envisioning how John’s letters could have arisen and been preserved in early Christianity. Unfortunately, no other information about Gaius has survived.

Since Christ has accomplished salvation, believers are to continue in his truth.

Taken from the ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to cite this material, see permissions information here.

1. Greeting: The Elder’s Joy at Gaius’s Faithfulness (3 John 1–4)
2. Praise for Gaius’s Support for Itinerant Christian Workers (3 John 5–8)
3. Concern about Diotrephes (3 John 9–10)
4. Advice and Commendation of Demetrius (3 John 11–12)
5. Closing with Promise to Visit (3 John 13–15)

Taken from the ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to cite this material, see permissions information here.