3 John 1:3–4

Context

Third John is a short letter written by an author who calls himself "the elder" to a believer named Gaius. Church tradition has identified the author as the apostle John. Some scholars, however, identify him with another figure, such as "John the Elder."

In verse 2 the author offers a greeting, wishing Gaius well in soul and body. In the Greek, verse 3 opens with a conjunction meaning "for," which gives the reason for the preceding prayer and for the elder's joy: traveling brethren had returned and testified to Gaius's faithfulness. Verses 5–8 then commend Gaius for showing hospitality to itinerant missionaries who were strangers to him, while verses 9–10 rebuke Diotrephes for refusing to receive them. The phrase "walk in the truth" therefore refers to the concrete conduct of Gaius's life, including his hospitality.

Interpretation

• The meaning of "walking in the truth": The Greek verb translated "walk" literally means to walk on foot; used in this way, it is a Hebraic idiom for one's whole manner of life. In the Johannine writings, "truth" refers to Jesus Christ and to right teaching about him, and it is inseparable from the practice of love. Most commentaries therefore read the expression as encompassing both right belief and a life consistent with it.
• "My children": The phrase is generally understood as a spiritual designation for believers whom the elder had evangelized or was shepherding. The address "little children" also appears repeatedly in First John. Some commentators suggest that Gaius came to faith through the elder, but the text does not confirm this.
• Pastoral reading: Many preachers read the verse as expressing the joy of a pastor or a mature believer, for whom the greatest joy is seeing those under his care grow in the faith.

Debates and Issues

There is little doctrinal controversy among denominations over the passage itself. Its relationship to the preceding verse 2, however, is frequently discussed.

• Proponents of the threefold blessing: In the Full Gospel tradition, Pastor David Yonggi Cho emphasized verse 2 as the basis for the "threefold blessing": the prospering of the soul, prosperity in all things, and health of body. Proponents hold that because this teaching clearly gives priority to the prospering of the soul, it does not conflict with the emphasis of verses 3–4.
• Critics: Critics of prosperity theology point out that verse 2 is a conventional greeting commonly found in letters of the period. They also argue that, as verses 3–4 show, the elder's concern lies not in material prosperity but in a life lived in the truth.

There is also a textual variant. Some manuscripts, including Codex Vaticanus, are reported to read "grace" (Greek charis) in place of "joy" (chara) in verse 4. Most translations, however, follow the reading "joy."

In the Korean Church

Verse 4 is often cited when parents pray for their children, in sermons on the faith formation of children, and at services blessing students on their graduation or entry into school. In the original text, "children" refers to spiritual children. Preachers commonly explain this point while still broadly accepting the application of the verse to the faith formation of one's own children.

Related Passages

• 2 John 1:4: In nearly identical language, the elder says he rejoiced greatly at finding children "walking in truth."
• 1 John 3:17–18: Urges believers to love "not in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."
• John 8:31: Jesus says that those who continue in his word are his disciples indeed.
• 1 Corinthians 4:15: Paul calls himself the spiritual father of the believers.