3 John Chapter 1
Showing all 14 verses for 3 John Chapter 1.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. "
"This letter is from "the elder" — an older, respected leader — to his good friend Gaius, someone he genuinely and sincerely loves because of the shared truth they both live by."
I love it when love and truth aren't two separate things — when you care about someone because of who they genuinely are, not despite it. Look for friends like that, and be one.
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. "
"The elder tells Gaius that, more than anything else, he hopes Gaius is doing well and staying healthy — matching how well things are going in his inner life, his character and convictions."
I care about the whole of you — your body, your circumstances, your inner life — but I never promised that loving me buys you an easy road. What I do promise is that a healthy soul, however life goes, is the one thing worth wishing for above everything else.
"For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. "
"The elder was overjoyed when some travelling believers arrived and told him first-hand how Gaius genuinely lives by the truth — his sincerity, not just what he claims to believe."
The people who know you best, who've eaten at your table and seen your ordinary days, are the ones whose testimony about your character actually means something. Live in a way that holds up under that kind of close, honest witness.
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. "
"The elder says nothing brings him greater happiness than hearing that the people he cares for — like a father with his own children — are living according to truth."
There's no joy like watching someone you've poured love and guidance into choose honesty and goodness for themselves. If you mentor, parent, or simply care for anyone, let their integrity — not their success by the world's measures — be what makes you proudest.
"Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; "
"The elder tells Gaius he's doing a genuinely good and reliable thing in how he treats fellow believers — and even people he's never met before, complete strangers."
Anyone can be generous to people who already love them back. I'm asking for something braver: open your door, your time, and your resources to people who are still strangers to you — that's where real character shows.
"Which have borne witness of thy before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"These travelling believers told the whole church about Gaius's generosity, and the elder tells him he'll do well to help them continue their journey in a way that honours God — properly equipped and provisioned."
Kindness that stops at a kind word isn't finished yet. When you can, back your goodwill with practical help that actually lets someone keep moving forward — that's the difference between a nice gesture and a real gift.
"Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. "
"These travellers had gone out specifically to spread the message about Jesus, and they deliberately accepted no money or support from non-believers, relying instead on fellow believers."
When people commit to something out of pure conviction and won't compromise it for money, that's exactly when they need the people who share their values to show up for them. Support the people doing good work for the right reasons — don't leave integrity unfunded.
"We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth. "
"Because of this, the elder says believers like Gaius have a duty to welcome and support such people — doing so makes them active partners working alongside the truth itself."
You don't need a platform or a spotlight to matter. Quietly making someone else's good work possible — feeding them, housing them, backing them — makes you every bit as much a part of that good as they are.
"I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. "
"The elder mentions he wrote to the church already, but a man named Diotrephes, who loves being the one in charge and having top status, won't accept the elder's authority or even acknowledge him."
Watch for this in yourself as much as in others: when you find yourself resisting good advice purely because you don't want to feel less important, that's pride talking, not wisdom. Real strength is being able to accept correction without your sense of worth collapsing.
"Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. "
"The elder warns that if he visits, he'll address Diotrephes's behaviour publicly — spreading malicious gossip about the elder, refusing to welcome travelling believers himself, stopping others who want to, and even throwing people out of the church for helping them."
When someone in a position of trust starts controlling who's allowed to be kind and punishing people for showing compassion, that's not leadership, it's fear dressed up as authority. Never let anyone talk you out of welcoming, helping, or including someone simply because it threatens their control.
"Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. "
"The elder urges Gaius, as someone he loves, not to imitate the bad behaviour he's just described but to keep doing what's good — because doing good reflects a real connection with God, while doing evil shows someone who hasn't truly known him."
Don't let a bad example, even from someone with power or status, become your excuse to lower your own standard. Keep choosing what's good — that choice, repeated daily, is what actually connects you to me, far more than any words ever could.
"Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true. "
"Demetrius, by contrast, has an excellent reputation with everyone who knows him, and even truth itself backs him up; the elder adds his own endorsement too, and Gaius already knows it can be trusted."
Trust is best built the way Demetrius earned his: consistently, visibly, across many witnesses, over time — not through a single grand claim. Live in a way that would hold up if several honest people were asked to describe you.
"I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: "
"The elder says he had much more he wanted to say, but he doesn't want to write it all down with pen and ink."
Don't let every important conversation happen through text or writing — some things need your voice, your presence, your face. Make the effort to actually be with the people who matter, especially when there's more at stake than a quick message can hold.
"But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. "
"The elder says he hopes to see Gaius very soon so they can talk in person; he wishes him peace, sends greetings from friends there, and asks Gaius to personally greet their friends by name."
Notice how this whole letter ends on names, not abstractions — real people, greeted individually, valued as themselves. That's exactly how I want you to love: not humanity in general, but the specific person in front of you, by name.