a period of doctrinal and ecclesial unification (c. AD 60 – 100). Modern scholarship has complicated the issue even further with most New Testament scholars rejecting the identity of the beloved disciple as the apostle John and conjecturing as many as five different author or redactors for the gospel and letters. Copyright © 2020 HarperCollins Publishers. As in his first two epistles, John continues to stress the importance of “the truth” and how he was filled … It is written by someone simply called 'the elder' (whom we assume to be John the Elder) to his friend Gaius. 3 John 1:5 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family. A. stream the lectures on MasterLectures right now with a 14-day FREE trial. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from HarperCollins Christian Publishing (501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN 37214 USA) providing information about products and services of HCCP and its affiliates. View Chuck Swindoll's chart of Third John, which divides the book into major sections and highlights themes and key verses. See Introduction to 2 John: Occasion and Purpose. Both 2 John and 3 John appear to have the same author and are believed to have been written in the first quarter of the second century CE. They emphasize that God is light and love and every true believer will demonstrate God's light and love. The Gospel of John provides no explicit internal evidence concerning its author. This post has been adapted from Karen H. Jobes’ commentary on 1, 2, & 3 John in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. 1 This letter is from John, the elder. Both Polycarp and Papias lived in the greater vicinity of Ephesus in western Asia Minor, the location to which the apostle John is said to have fled at about the time when the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem (AD 70), taking Mary the mother of Jesus with him. Kummel also states (op. While 1 John appear to be a general letter addressed to congregations scattered throughout Asia Minor, and 2 John was sent to a lady and her family (2 John 1), in 3 John, the apostle clearly names the sole recipient as … It is written by the Disciple/Apostle John around 85-95 A.D. These Christians strove to make the gospel a reality in their lives through the way they treated one another. Please note, our website requires JavaScript to be supported. While James was the first of the twelve disciples to die for his faith, John outlived all the others. This epistle was probably written in … Your browser does not support JavaScript. Greetings. The New Testament letters are different from these narrative accounts of the life of Jesus because each letter addressed pressing issues of the moment rather than recounting events from a previous time period. Background – Setting: 3 John is perhaps the most personal of John’s 3 epistles. Discover more resources related to Third John. Third John gives us an intimate glimpse into the life of the early church. All Rights Reserved. encouraged them to continue to love and support those visiting believers who gave of themselves and ministered in the churches of Asia. Ver. The content, style, and vocabulary seem to warrant the conclusion that these three epistles were addressed to the same readers as the Gospel of John. In addition to this one, John wrote two other New Testament letters, a Gospel, and possibly the prophetic book of Revelation.. He Peace … View Written Assignment #3_ John Coltrane.docx from MUS 116 at University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Diotrephes had taken control of one of the churches there and used his power to ban certain travelling missionaries from coming to the church at all. Diotrephes. There he presumably lived for the rest of his long life, on into the reign of Trajan, the Roman emperor who ruled the empire from AD 98 to 117. While we cannot pinpoint the date with certainty due to the lack of specific information in the letter, 3 John was probably written 3 John has the feel of a much more personal letter than 2 John. Neither the text of the gospel nor that of the letters bears John’s name, or any name. When were 1, 2, and 3 John written? a. Written by John the Elder to house church believers, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John echo the gospel of John. [Our] friends salute thee. B. In the letter John begs for Gaius’ help in tackling Diotrephes who was refusing to acknowledge John’s authority. to care for and support those who serve God’s people. What this letter says is similar to the Second Epistle of John.The traditional view is that all the letters are by the hand of John the Apostle, and the language and words used and arguments made all seem to support this idea.. And even worse, upon receiving an earlier correction from John, Diotrephes refused to listen (3 John 1:9). We would tentatively say that 3 John, if written at the same time as 2 John, was written c. 66-67 CE. At the writing of this, his final epistle, John was nearing the end of his life, a life that had changed dramatically some six decades before, when Jesus had called John and his brother James out from their fishing boat. Troubles had come to the church in Asia. John, the disciple, is nowhere identified by name. The relationship between the three letters and between them and the gospel indicates that the same author likely wrote all three letters, and he was also either the author of the gospel or a close associate. It is written by someone simply called the elder (whom we assume to be John the elder) to his friend Gaius. Second and Third John are from the pen of “the elder,” who is not identified. These letters insist that this apostolic testimony trumps any reinterpretation of Jesus by those who were not commissioned by him and who were far removed from personal knowledge of him. 3 John is thought by many Bible teachers to have been written in John's old age, about 90 AD. The New Testament as a whole is focused on one person who lived in the early third of the first century, Jesus of Nazareth, and the significance of his life, death, and resurrection. 3 John: Written after 2 John and before 4 John, You're not cool enough to know about 4 John, Pronounced 3rd John but written 3 John, Because fuck you, that's why, Rumor has it this book was written by the 3rd guy to ever be named John in the history of humanity., This is not a rumor. 1. The New Testament books were themselves written in the second half of … I can confirm it's true., Written about how illegally pirating music is sin, You're going to hell The study is available as a free e-mail Bible study, or as an e-book or paperback book at a modest cost. The elder argues that Christian leadership is essentially conservative, preserving and passing to the next generation the teaching of the apostles whom the Lord himself had chosen. man named Diotrephes, and John wrote to reinforce for Gaius the proper way to deal with the troubles. Purpose of Writing: John’s purpose in writing this third epistle is threefold. This is relevant in every generation of the church until the Lord returns. False teachers had emerged from the elder’s own church(es), and their beliefs were challenging his apostolic leadership. At one point, the church had seen something of a leadership quality in him and had placed him in charge, but now in the top spot, the power had gone to his head. The letters and gospel are anonymous to us, but the Christians who originally received them undoubtedly knew the identity of the author, and it is likely on the ancient testimony of those believers that the letters have been ascribed to John. The letter was probably written about the same time as 1 and 2 John (a.d. 85–95). My small group and I have been greatly blessed, and I want to let you know and thank you for inspiring us to "strengthen our grip," even in this current time where things seem to have only gotten worse. Outline of the Book of 3 John The Godliness and Generosity of Gaius - 1:1-8 Sign up to receive e-mail from Insight for Living Ministries. The gospel of John, like all the gospels, is anonymous. Listen to Chuck Swindoll’s overview of Third John in his audio message from the Classic series God’s Masterwork. We have a responsibility as Christians to live according to the truth we find in the life and ministry of Jesus, Thursday, 16 July 2020 …but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. John used words such as love and truth to describe this kind of living, and he used the negative example of Diotrephes to illustrate the dangers of going down a different path. Date of Writing: The Book of 1 John was likely written between A.D. 85-95. The witness of Papias is more complicated and has been the subject of more debate, for his writings are preserved only in those of Eusebius, whose interpretation of Papias’s words raised the possibility of two men named John, one authoring the gospel and another, the elder John, the letters and the book of Revelation. Charlie Garrett 3 John, 3 John (written), Daily Writing, Epistles, Epistles (written), Writings Thursday, July 16th, 2020 4 Comments. (II John 1:5, 13) 3. Please contact us or click here to learn more about how to enable JavaScript on your browser. In the letter, John begs for Gaius’ help in tackling Diotrephes, who was refusing to acknowledge John’s authority. This book is the shortest book in the New Testament and was written to praise Gaius and Demetrius for their faithful service. Demetrius. Composition. 3 John (written) 3 John -14. An Update on MasterLectures: New Videos, a Podcast, and Free Previews. Pursue a deeper knowledge of God through self-paced college- and seminary-level online courses in Old and New Testament studies, theology, biblical Greek, and more. The book of 3rdJohn is a General Epistle (Apostolic Letter). Date. 2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. The letter commends Gaius for keeping strong in his faith in Jesus. The Gospels telling that story were written some decades later and so are concerned, first, with the events of Jesus’ lifetime recorded but, second, with what was happening in the churches to which each gospel was addressed and which shaped their content. The letter is addressed to one Gaius. Irenaeus says that John, the disciple of the Lord who was with Jesus in the upper room, wrote the gospel of John while living in Ephesus (Haer. But there’s a problem. How do you show hospitality to other Christians, particularly those who serve you and others in your local church and at churches around the world? They denied that God could be packaged in flesh. False teachers had infiltrated the church denying the divinity of Jesus Christ. 3.1.2). Author: 1, 2, and 3 John have from earliest times been attributed to the apostle John, who also wrote the Gospel of John. You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. Second John and Third John are the two shortest books in the Bible. But John was a common name at the time, and early in Christian history some came to doubt if “the elder” was the same man as the author of 1 John and John’s gospel. The apostle had received a report of some difficulties caused by a third epistle of John was written by the apostle Johnabout the year 90 - I wrote somewhat to the Church (reading, with the best authorities, ἔγραψά τι probably means that St. John had written a letter, now lost, and perhaps destroyed by Diotrephes, to the Church to which Diotrephes belonged. As Kummel states (Introduction to the New Testament, p. 446): "No other NT letter, not even Phlm has so completely the form of a Hellenistic private letter as II and III John.Both are real letters." 1. livelihood and their father Zebedee to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:21–22). Irenaeus (AD 175–195), bishop of Lyon, was born in Asia Minor and as a child personally knew Polycarp, who is said to have been appointed bishop of Smyrna by eyewitnesses of the Lord Jesus. Church tradition from the earliest days of Christianity has ascribed these letters to John, commonly believed to be the apostle John—one of Jesus’ chosen twelve, the son of Zebedee, and “the disciple whom Jesus loved” of John’s gospel. Your form could not be submitted. Books and articles that equip you for deeply biblical thinking and ministry. The main message, of I John is that Jesus was God come in the flesh to save humanity. The New Testament books were themselves written in the second half of that century. The authors of the letters are addressing real questions, issues, and circumstances that are pressing at that moment of time. John wanted to ensure a warm welcome from the churches to those who traveled around preaching the gospel, offering them hospitality and a send-off “in a manner worthy of God” (3 John 1:6). The boys had left their Peace [be] to thee. [I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth. Occasion and Purpose. See Introduction to 1 John: Date. Order the DVD, watch the videos on Vimeo or Amazon Prime Video, or stream the lectures on MasterLectures right now with a 14-day FREE trial. Even though such sources are subject to the same historical scrutiny as other ancient documents, this is a remarkable chain of historical witnesses—from Irenaeus, to Polycarp, to John himself—enjoyed by no other New Testament book. It is a delightful accompaniment to the second letter, which was written to a Christian lady about how to handle the false teachers who were abroad in that day. C. Destination. Ill John was written to John's friend Gaius. All books of the New Testament refer to events that happened in the first century, such as the life of Jesus, the spread of the gospel, and issues that arose in the infant churches. Our Lord was surrounded by people who took care of Him. 3 John’s role in the Bible. If the elder was John son of Zebedee, he was likely elderly and the last living apostle. And John, in response to this good report about the behavior of these “rank and file” Christians, While we cannot pinpoint the date with certainty due to the lack of specific information in the letter, 3 John was probably written around AD 90 from the island of Patmos, where John was exiled at the time. See Introduction to 1 John: Date. With so much going on, it’s easy to lose track of what’s been happening. Papias mentions John twice, once as a “disciple of the Lord” and again as an “elder.” But Eusebius overlooked the fact that even when Papias refers to Peter and James, he doesn’t at first call them “apostles” but “elders,” suggesting that the two titles were not mutually exclusive in Papias. 3 John 1:14 "But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Third John teaches us that we should do the same for those who carry on the teaching of Jesus in our own day. There is no clear evidence when the book was written or where it was written from. (I John 4:1-3) b. John referred to himself in his gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20), a title that highlights one of the great themes of all John’s biblical contributions, including 3 John—the love of God working itself out in the lives of human beings. 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