Skip to content

Passage Research

3 John 1 — Sermon Preparation

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.

Matthew Henry 4 Spurgeon 1 John Wesley 1

“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)

Need the complete sermon prep report on this passage?

Greek exegesis, historical background, current scholarship, sermon outlines, illustrations — a complete PDF report on 3 John 1, delivered in 45 minutes.