The Third General Epistle of John
The third and last letter of the Apostle John, written about A. D. 95 from Ephesus, is also addressed to an individual, namely, one Gaius, a sincere and charitable Christian, as appears from the epistle. The name Gaius being a very common one in those days, the man here addressed cannot be identified with others of the same name spoken of in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 1:14; Romans 16:23; Acts 19:29; Acts 20:4. John commends Gaius for his piety and for the hospitality which he bad shown to traveling brethren, an attitude which was all the more to be commended since one Diotrephes, an otherwise unknown, arrogant man, had made himself conspicuous by doing the very opposite. He gives Demetrius, probably the bearer of this letter, the testimony that he is a trustworthy man, and finally expresses the hope of being able to visit Gaius soon.