3 John 1:4

3 JOHN—NOTE ON 3 John 1:4 joy. See 1 John 1:4 and note. my children. His readers are first of all “children of God” (compare John 1:12; John 11:52; 1 John 3:1, 1 John 3:2, 1 John 3:10; 1 John 5:2). But John as their spiritual overseer could view them as his own children too (see note on 1 John 2:1). Compare Paul’s use of this familial language (1 Timothy 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:18; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:10).