Third Epistle of John
| New Testament |
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The Third Epistle of John (also referred to as 3 John) is a book of the New Testament. Written in the form of a letter, it is the sixty-fourth book of the Christian Bible and its second-shortest book, by number of verses (15), and its shortest in regard to number of words (according to the King James Version).
Content and purpose
The letter has is apparently a genuine private letter, written for the purpose of commending to Gaius a party of Christians led by person named Demetrius, who were strangers to the place where Demetrius lived, and who had gone on a mission to preach the Gospel (verse 7). The city in question is not identified. The writer mentions that he has also written to "the church" of this city, which may or may not be a reference to the church addressed 2 John. However, the situation here is different than that described in 2 John, for the writer here is asking for hospitality for his missionary friends, while in 2 John he is warning against providing hospitality to certain persons who preached the heresy known as docetism.
The writer complains that his letter to the church has not been acknowledged, or possibly that he leader of the church, Diotrephes, refuses communion with him altogether. This Diotrophes "loves to dominate, (but) does not acknowledge us." The reference raises intriguing possibilities. Is Diotrophes merely a local bishop who does not appreciate the meddling of an older leader from a neighboring church, or are there theological issues at stake as well? Apparently, more is at stake than merely "the Elder's" authority or the expense of helping these missionaries, for Diotrephes "will not receive the brothers, hindering those who wish to do so and expelling them from the church."
Thus, the author of 2 John encourages Gauis to provided hospitality to persons to whom the local church refuses communion, and ask Gauis himself to go against the authority of the local leader. This is ironic, considering that in 2 John, the writer demands that the local church itself refuse communion to preachers of whom he himself disapproves. Some commentators have therefore concluded that the writers of the two epistles are different persons, but others insist that the writer's attitude is consistent: he is a controversialist who insists those with whom he disagrees are evildoers.
In any case, it appears that a schism is in the making, for the writer threatens that "If I come, I will draw attention to what he (Diotrophes) is doing, spreading evil nonsense about us." The Elder pointedly tells Gaius that "Whoever does what is good is of God; whoever does what is evil has never seen God." It is clear that he places Diotrophes in the latter category. He concludes by telling Gaius he will have much more to say about the matter when he comes, but does not want to say more now because "I do not wish to write with pen and ink." He asks Gaius to greet "the friends by name," possibly a reference to other Christians generally, but more probably meaning those who are willing to side with the Elder against Diotrophes on the issue of receiving Demetrius and his colleagues.
Authorship and date
Like the other epistles of "John", the letter is written by a man who identifies himself only as "the presbyteros"—meaning "elder"—and is addressed Gaius (or Caius). Thhis was a common name in the Roman world, and while come commentators identify Gaius with the Caius of Macedonia in(Acts 19:29), the Caius in Corinth in (Romans 16:23) or the Caius, in Derbe (Acts 20:4) it remains uncertain who the recipient truly was. The issues of the writer's identity are essentially the same as with 1 John and 2 John, although not all critics agree that they letters are by the same author. He is nowhere named as John, but by tradition he his thought to be the same person that wrote the Gospel of John. The epistles are clearly written by a person who used some of the identical words and theological concepts as John's Gospel does, but many critics are convinced the author(s) of the epistle is different from that of the Gospel. Even fewer believe that the Book of Revelation—the one writing in which the author's name is specifically mentioned as John—is by the same writer. Nevertheless, both traditionalists and critical scholars are in agreement that the epistle is probably a relatively late work, with early estimates at around 90 C.E. and later ones at no later than 120 C.E.
Edgar Goodspeed saw this and 2 John as cover letters for 1 John, as the only likely reason for their preservation. The language of this epistle is remarkably similar to 2 John, and it is the scholarly consensus that the same man wrote both of these letters, although it has been debated whether or not this man also wrote the Gospel of John, 1 John, or Revelation, and the Authorship of the Johannine works is generally agreed by modern scholars to have been by multiple people (all known as John) rather than just one. Even in ancient times it was argued that this John the Presbyter was different to the John who wrote 1 John, and this was affirmed by an official church ruling at the Council of Rome, where it was ordered that the author of 1 John should be known as John the Evangelist while the author of 2&3 John should be known as John the Presbyter.
The earliest possible attestations for 3 John come from Tertullian and Origen. Tertullian, "On Monogamy" ch.vi quotes a brief phrase—"follow the better things"— from 3 John i.11 "Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good," a phrase that might also have been adapted from the Septuagint Psalm xxxvi. 27 (xxxvii in the Hebrew Bible) or from the First Epistle of Peter iii.11 [1]. Origen's Commentary on Matthew book xi says "But many things might be said about the Word Himself who became flesh," which has been offered as a parallel showing the use of logos in 3 John i.7. [2]. Irenaeus in Adversus Haereses iii. 16. 7 (written ca. 175), quotes 2 John. 7 and 8, and in the next sentence I John 4:1, 2, as from "the Letter of John."; he does not quote from 3 John. The Muratorian Canon accepts two letters of John only.
See also
- Earlier Epistle of John
External links
Online translations of the Third Epistle of John:
- Read 3 John at Bible Gateway (various versions)
- Kirby, Peter. "3 John." Early Christian Writings. 2006: 3 John: text, on-line and print resources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897
Commentaries on the Third Epistle of John:
- The Third Epistle of the Apostle John: Exegesis and Commentary by Luke C. Werre
- The Third General Epistle of John from Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible
| Preceded by: 2 John |
Books of the Bible |
Succeeded by: Jude |
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