Passage Research
3 John 1 — Sermon Preparation
The elder commends Gaius for his faithful hospitality to traveling missionaries and rebukes Diotrephes for his self-seeking and exclusion of brothers. Below is a research summary for 3 John 1, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 15
- verses
- 219 / 108
- Greek words / lemmas
- 6
- classic sermon excerpts
- 3
- preachers & commentators
3 John 1 in the Greek
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Greek | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | KJV renderings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀλήθεια | alḗtheia | G225 | 6 | true, truly, truth, verity |
| ἀγαπητός | agapētós | G27 | 4 | beloved, dear |
| μαρτυρέω | martyréō | G3140 | 4 | charge, give, bear record, have good report |
| ἐπιδέχομαι | epidéchomai | G1926 | 2 | receive |
| εὐοδόω | euodóō | G2137 | 2 | prosper |
| ἐκκλησία | ekklēsía | G1577 | 3 | assembly, church |
| γράφω | gráphō | G1125 | 3 | describe, write |
How preachers through history handled this text
6 public-domain excerpts on 3 John 1, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“In this epistle the apostle congratulates Gaius upon the prosperity of his soul (ver. 1, 2), upon the fame he had among good Christians (ver. 3, 4), and upon his charity and hospitality to the servants of Christ, ver. 5, 6. He complains of contemptuous treatment by an ambitious Diotrephes, (ver. 9, 10), recommends Demetrius, (ver. 12), and expresses his hope of visiting Gaius shortly, ver. 13, 14. Salutation and Prayer. (a. d. 90.) 1 The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 6 (Acts to Revelation), on 3 John 1:1–14 (Public Domain)
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