Commentary - 3 John 5-8

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent section of 3 John, the apostle commends a believer named Gaius for his faithful hospitality toward traveling Christian workers. This is not a mere thank-you note for putting someone up for the night. John is laying down a vital principle for the practical outworking of the Great Commission. The advance of the gospel is a team sport, and it requires the symbiotic relationship between those who "go out" and those who "send them on their way." John establishes that this kind of practical support for itinerant ministers is not just a nice thing to do; it is a faithful act of partnership in the truth itself. He contrasts this faithful support with the pagan model, where teachers and philosophers were funded by the world. Christian ministry, however, is to be funded by Christian people. This passage is a foundational text on the nature of missions support, highlighting that opening your home and your wallet to faithful gospel ministers makes you a direct participant in their work.

The core of the passage is the motivation for this work. These missionaries went out "for the sake of the Name," meaning the name of Jesus Christ. Their work was not a job, but a calling centered on the person and glory of the risen Lord. Because of this, they refused to be funded by the Gentiles, the unbelieving world. This created a practical necessity: the church must therefore support them. John's commendation of Gaius serves as a permanent exhortation for all believers to see themselves as "fellow workers with the truth" through the strategic and generous use of their material resources for the advance of the kingdom.

Outline

Context In 3 John

The third epistle of John is a personal letter from "the elder" to a beloved Christian man named Gaius. The letter revolves around a conflict within the local church. On one side, you have Gaius, who is commended for his love, faithfulness, and hospitality to true Christian teachers. On the other side, you have a man named Diotrephes, who "loves to have the preeminence" and who rejects John's authority, slanders him, and refuses to show hospitality to the brothers John sends. In fact, Diotrephes goes so far as to excommunicate those who do show hospitality. This letter, then, is written to encourage Gaius to continue his faithful work, to warn him against the wicked example of Diotrephes, and to commend a brother named Demetrius, who is likely the carrier of the letter. Our passage, verses 5-8, forms the heart of John's commendation of Gaius and establishes the positive principle of hospitality that Diotrephes so flagrantly violates.

Key Issues

Partners in the Truth

We live in a highly individualized age, and this affects how we think about missions and ministry. We often think of the missionary as a lone hero, a spiritual Navy SEAL dropped behind enemy lines. We think of our financial support as a detached, charitable transaction, like dropping a few coins in a bucket. But John gives us a far more organic and integrated picture. The work of the gospel is a partnership. There are those who go, and there are those who hold the ropes for those who go. Both are essential, and both are "fellow workers with the truth."

Gaius was not an apostle or an itinerant evangelist. He appears to be a settled member of a local church with the means to host visitors. Yet John says he is "acting faithfully" and is a "fellow worker." His work of providing a meal and a bed was not ancillary to the "real" ministry; it was part of the real ministry. The truth of the gospel is not just a set of doctrines to be proclaimed; it is a reality to be lived out. And one of the primary ways it is lived out is in the koinonia, the fellowship and shared life of the saints. When Gaius opened his home, he was putting the truth of our union in Christ into practice. He was demonstrating the love that the missionaries were preaching about. This is why supporting faithful ministers is not just funding a project. It is participating in a shared life and a shared mission. It is a partnership in the greatest enterprise in the world.

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever work you do for the brothers, and are doing this though they are strangers;

John begins with a warm affirmation of Gaius. The word "beloved" is not just a throwaway greeting; John genuinely loves this man for his stand for the truth. He commends Gaius for "acting faithfully." This isn't just about good intentions; it's about dependable, consistent action. His work is for "the brothers," a general term for fellow Christians. But John adds a crucial detail: Gaius does this even for brothers who are "strangers." These were not his old friends from seminary. They were traveling ministers, men he had likely never met before they showed up at his door. This demonstrates that his hospitality was not based on personal affection but on a shared commitment to Christ. He loved them because they were Christ's, and that was enough. This is the essence of true Christian hospitality, philoxenia, the love of the stranger.

6 and they bore witness to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

Gaius's reputation had spread. The missionaries he helped didn't keep it to themselves. When they returned to their sending church, likely where John was, they gave a public report of Gaius's love. Good works done in secret for the right reasons have a way of becoming public for God's glory. On the basis of this past faithfulness, John encourages him to continue. "You will do well to send them on their way." This phrase means more than just saying a nice goodbye. It means to equip them for the next leg of their journey, providing them with food, money, and whatever else they needed. And the standard for this provision is breathtaking: "in a manner worthy of God." They were to be treated as ambassadors of the King of kings. This wasn't about giving them the bare minimum to survive; it was about honoring God by honoring His servants generously.

7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, receiving nothing from the Gentiles.

Here is the theological foundation for this generous support. Why should they be treated this way? Because of the one they serve. They went out "for the sake of the Name." The "Name" is a clear reference to the name of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, "the Name" often stood for the character and authority of Yahweh Himself. Here, it is Jesus. These men were not motivated by money, fame, or adventure. They were constrained by the glory of the name of Jesus. This singular motivation then dictated their fundraising policy: they were "receiving nothing from the Gentiles," that is, from the pagan, unbelieving world. They could not, in good conscience, proclaim the exclusive lordship of Christ while being bankrolled by those who denied Him. This set a clear boundary and created a beautiful obligation for the church.

8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

The logic is simple and inescapable. "Therefore," John says. Because these men have gone out for the Name, and because they will not take support from the world, "we ought to support such men." The "we" here is all believers who are not on the front lines of itinerant ministry. It is a moral obligation, a duty of love. And the result of fulfilling this obligation is glorious. By supporting them, "we may be fellow workers with the truth." The Greek word is sunergoi, from which we get "synergy." It means to work together with someone. The one who provides the meal and the one who preaches the sermon are partners in the same enterprise. The truth is personified here as the cause or the movement they are all working for. You cannot separate the message from the men who carry it, or from the people who support the men who carry it. It is one work, one truth, one body, all for the glory of the one Name.

Application

This little passage from a tiny postcard of a book in the New Testament is a stick of dynamite for much of our modern thinking about missions and ministry support. It calls us to a radical reevaluation of our practice of hospitality and our philosophy of giving.

First, it teaches that hospitality is not entertainment. Entertainment is having your friends over. Hospitality is having strangers over for the sake of the Name. It is a strategic weapon in the arsenal of the church for the advancement of the gospel. We should be the kind of people, and the kind of churches, that are known as a safe harbor for the servants of God. Does your guest room get used for the kingdom?

Second, it challenges our methods of ministry funding. The principle of not receiving from the Gentiles is a strong one. While there may be nuanced applications, the core idea is that the ministry of the church should be funded by the people of the church. We should not be looking to unbelieving corporations, secular foundations, or government grants to fuel the Great Commission. God's work done in God's way will not lack God's supply, and His supply comes through His people.

Finally, and most importantly, it elevates our giving from a mere duty to a joyful partnership. When you write a check to a missionary or a faithful ministry, you are not just paying a bill. You are becoming a "fellow worker with the truth." You are linking arms with those on the front lines. Your labor in your secular job, when a portion of its fruit is dedicated to this work, becomes sacred work. Your faithfulness in the ordinary allows them to be faithful in the extraordinary. We are all in this together. Some plant, some water, some provide the shovels and the fertilizer, but God gives the increase, and all the fellow workers rejoice together.