Gaius

Biblical Record

Gaius (Greek Gaios, Latin Gaius) was a very common name in the Roman world of the time. People bearing this name appear in five places in the New Testament.

• Gaius of Macedonia: He appears in Acts 19:29. The episode takes place in Ephesus, where he was with Paul as a traveling companion. When Demetrius the silversmith stirred up a riot, the crowd seized him and Aristarchus and rushed them into the theater.
• Gaius of Derbe: He appears in Acts 20:4 as one of the company who accompanied Paul when he left Greece for Asia and Jerusalem. The same company included Timothy, Tychicus, and others.
• Gaius of Corinth: In 1 Corinthians 1:14, Paul says that of the Corinthian believers he personally baptized only Crispus and Gaius. In Romans 16:23, a letter generally understood to have been written from Corinth, Paul describes him as "Gaius mine host, and of the whole church." He is understood to have welcomed Paul and the gatherings of the church into his home.
• Gaius of 3 John: 3 John is a short letter from "the elder" to "the wellbeloved Gaius" (3 John 1:1). The elder commends Gaius for walking in the truth and encourages his hospitality toward traveling brethren (3 John 1:3–8). He then rebukes Diotrephes, who refused to receive them, and commends Demetrius.

Significance Within Scripture

Gaius appears as a lay believer in the early church who worked alongside Paul or supported the church. Romans and 3 John in particular highlight his hospitality to itinerant ministers and his care for a house church. This illustrates how early Christian missions depended on the hospitality of such patrons.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• How many individuals? Many scholars, noting the differences in place and time, regard these as at least three or four different people. In Acts 20:4, some manuscripts read a Macedonian place name instead of "Derbe," which has led some to identify this Gaius with the Macedonian of chapter 19.
• The same person as Titius Justus? Some scholars suggest that Gaius of Corinth is the same person as Titius Justus of Acts 18:7, but this cannot be confirmed from the text.
• Later tradition: The Apostolic Constitutions, a fourth-century work, reportedly records that John appointed Gaius bishop of Pergamum. This tradition is not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Gaius is known above all in connection with 3 John 1:2: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." Pastor David Yonggi Cho used this verse as the basis for his "threefold salvation (or threefold blessing)," which encompasses the salvation of the soul, prosperity in all things, and bodily health. This interpretation spread widely through the Korean church, well beyond Full Gospel circles.

Some, however, point out that the verse follows a conventional greeting formula common in Greek letters of the period. Those who hold this view are critical of reading the verse as a promise of material prosperity, and the issue is linked to the debate over prosperity theology. Meanwhile, 3 John 1:5–8 is also used as a sermon text on hospitality and the support of missionaries.