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“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth”. The Pulpit Commentary
tells us this is greater reason to believe the previous letter was not written
to a specific woman. If John named the person in this letter…why not do so in
the previous letter?
Gaius was a common name so we cannot be
confident this is the same Gaius mentioned four other times in the New
Testament. At any rate…we certainly know this Gaius was a man devoted to TRUTH.
As such, he was a man whose soul was prospering.
Ever wonder what it means that our souls
are “prospering”? The Greek for "prosper" (εὐοδοῦσθαι) means exactly to "have a good career."
So…how does my soul have a “good career”?
I imagine it begins when my sin-riddled
soul is washed clean by the Blood of Christ. It continues when I’m “acting faithfully
in whatever [I] do for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers” (traveling missionaries); and is
characterized by my “love before the church”. Diotrephes stands in contrast to Gaius. He was more interested in being the “Alpha Male” of the congregation and sacrificed the teachings of the Apostles in pursuit of his personal aspirations. For this, John mentions…if he visits…he’ll call attention to him.
His misdeeds..?
·
Unjustly accusing the Apostles with wicked words· Refusal to receive the brethren and he forbidding others to do so.
Why on earth would a
Christian do such things? In this case there’s an easy answer. The Apostles and
the Missionaries were “rock stars” in
the early church. If I wanted to be “number
one” (like Diotrephes) I’d probably do a lot to demean the status of my competitors.
The contrast is clear.
Gaius was a man of humility…willing to serves others. Diotrephes was arrogant
and self-centered. One’s soul had a “good career” while the other’s? Not so
much.
I wonder what John would
write about me…
Live
boldly out there today…
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