#hub #overview #public [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] # 📖 3 John Overview > [!info] Info > [[#📖 Summary of Book]] > [[#🧭 Theme Verse]] > [[#🧭 Major Themes]] > [[#📅 Outline of Book]] > **[[#✍️ Chapter-by-Chapter Notes]]** > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflections]] > [[#📚 Further Study / Interesting Insights]] ## 📖 Summary of Book > 3 John is a personal pastoral letter addressing the proper use of authority, hospitality, and faithfulness within the local church. The elder commends Gaius for walking in truth and for supporting traveling gospel workers. In contrast, Diotrephes is rebuked for his pride, abuse of authority, and refusal to welcome faithful believers. The letter highlights how doctrinal orthodoxy must be matched by ethical integrity and relational humility. True Christian leadership is shown through service, generosity, and alignment with apostolic teaching. The book ultimately calls believers to imitate good rather than evil by supporting God’s work in God’s way. **Genre**- - Epistle (Personal Pastoral Letter / Johannine Letter) **Scholarly Quotes**- >“Third John reminds us that truth is never merely doctrinal; it is relational and ethical.” — I. Howard Marshall >“Diotrephes represents the perennial danger of leadership divorced from humility.” — D. A. Carson >“Hospitality in the early church was not optional; it was essential to the mission of the gospel.” — Colin G. Kruse >“John’s concern is imitation—who we follow reveals what we believe.” — Karen H. Jobes ## 🧭 Theme Verse > 3 John 1:11 – “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” ## 🧭 Major Themes - Walking in truth as a lived reality - God-honoring hospitality and support of ministry - Abuse of authority in the church - Pride versus humility in leadership - Imitation as a mark of spiritual formation - Partnership in gospel work ## 📅 Outline of Book - Greeting and prayer for Gaius (vv. 1–2) - Commendation of Gaius’s faithfulness and hospitality (vv. 3–8) - Condemnation of Diotrephes’s pride and control (vv. 9–10) - Commendation of Demetrius as a faithful example (v. 12) - Conclusion and personal remarks (vv. 13–15) ## ✍️ Chapter-by-Chapter Notes - [[3 John 01]] ## 🙏 Devotional Reflections - [[3 John 1.4 - SOAP]] ## 📚 Further Study / Interesting Insights • The Letters of John — I. Howard Marshall • The Epistles of John — Colin G. Kruse • 1, 2 & 3 John — Gary M. Burge • John’s Letters — Karen H. Jobes • Encountering the Johannine Letters — Daniel L. Akin <iframe id="player_iframe" src="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2164615?artist=&client_source=large_player&iframe=true&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzsprout.com%2Fadmin%2F2164615%2Fpodcast%2Fembed&tags=3+John" loading="lazy" width="100%" height="375" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="The Bible Breakdown: Daily Bible Reading"></iframe>