1–2 · Greetings to the Beloved Gaius: While 1 John was a circular, and 2 John was an epistle to a leader and her church, 3 John is a letter to an individual, Gaius, whom the elder loves in the truth. Referring to him as “beloved” (NIV “my dear friend”), the elder says that he prays that all would go well with him and that his physical health would match his spiritual health.

3–8 · Joy at Believers’ Walking in the Truth: The elder shares his joy at the testimony of some of “the friends” (NRSV; NIV: “believers”) regarding Gaius’s faithfulness to the truth and how he has walked in it. He extols Gaius’s loving hospitality extended to “the friends,” which appears to be a reference to Johannine Christians (v. 5). Hospitality was apparently extended to traveling ministers, even though they were…