THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN. The apostle, in this short epistle to Gaius, (1,) Expresses his concern for his prosperity, and his joy in the honourable character he maintained for Christian candour, hospitality, and zeal, 1-8. (2,) He cautions him against the ambitious and turbulent practices of Diotrephes, but recommends Demetrius to his friendship, as a man of an excellent character, 9-12. (3,) He refers what he had further to say to a personal interview, 13, 14. c 1 Cor. iv. 15; Philem. 10. с my Christian strangers, who, in journeying among the Gentiles, had come to the place where Gaius resided; and to encourage him to show them the like kindness, when they should call upon him again, in the course of their second journey. 2d, For the purpose of rebuking and restraining one Diotrephes, who had arrogantly assumed to himself the chief direction of the affairs of the church, of which Gaius was a member, and who had both refused to assist the brethren above mentioned, and had even hindered those from receiving and entertaining them who were desirous to do it. 3d, The apostle wrote this letter to commend an excellent person named Demetrius, who, in disposition and behaviour, being the reverse of Diotrephes, the apostle proposed him as a pattern, whom Gaius and the rest were to imitate. à 2 John 1.————1 Or, truly.— ·2 Or, pray.— b 2 John 4. Verse 1. The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius -Gaius, or, according to the Latin orthography, Caius, was a common name among the Romans. In the history of the Acts and in the epistles we meet with five persons of this name. 1st, One mentioned Aćts xix. 29, called a man of Macedonia, and Paul's companion in travel. 2d, A Gaius of Derbe, a city of Lycaonia, mentioned Acts xx. 4. 3d, A Gaius with || whom St. Paul lodged at Corinth, and called his host, Acts xvi. 23. 4th, One of that name, whom the apostle had baptized at Corinth, mentioned 1 Cor.|| i. 14, who probably was the same person with the Gaius last mentioned. 5th, A Gaius to whom John || wrote this epistle, thought by Estius and Heuman to be a different person from all those above mentioned; because the apostle hath intimated, verse 4, that he was his convert, which they suppose he Verses 2-4. Beloved, I wish-Or, I pray, as εvxoμai could not say of any of the Gaiuses mentioned above. is translated by Beza, Estius, Erasmus, Schmidius, Lardner supposes he was an eminent Christian, who|| Doddridge, and others. Above all things—Or, with lived in some city of Asia, not far from Ephesus, respect to all things, as пερɩ паνтшv rather signifies; where St. John chiefly resided after his leaving that thou mayest prosper and be in health-Namely, Judea. For, verse 14, the apostle speaks of shortly of body; even as, I doubt not, thy soul prospereth coming to him, which he could not well have done -In faith, love, and every virtue. For I rejoiced if Gaius had lived at Corinth, or any other remote || greatly when the brethren-Who went to the church, place. This Gaius being neither a bishop nor a of which thou art a member; came back and testideacon, but a private member of some church, (as|| fied of the truth that is in thee-Thy faith, love, and appears by the contents of the epistle,) his hos- other Christian graces; even as thou walkest in the pitality to the brethren, who came to him, is a proof || truth-Adornest the gospel by an exemplary conthat he possessed some substance, and that he was|| duct, and all good works. The apostle emphatically of a very benevolent disposition. The design of St. || terms Gaius's joining works of charity with faith in John, in writing to him, was not to guard him against || the doctrines of the gospel, the truth that was in him. the attempts of the heretical teachers, who were For there is no true faith without good works: gone abroad, or to condemn the errors which they it always produces good works: neither are any were at great pains to propagate; but only, 1st, To|| works good but such as proceed from faith. These praise Gaius for having showed kindness to some two joined constitute the truth of religion. For 1 John's commendation of Gaius, A. D. 90. A. D. 90. A. M. 4094. 5 Beloved, thou doest faithfully what- || might be fellow-helpers to the truth. A. M. 4094. soever thou doest to the brethren, and 9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not. to strangers; 6 Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey 3 after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, 7 Because that for his name's sake they went || neither doth he himself receive the brethren, forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. d and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we them out of the church. 3 Gr. worthy of God. d 1 Cor. ix. 12, 15. have, &c.--That is, nothing gives me greater joy, Neither them nor me; or, does not acknowledge than to hear that my children walk in the truth- my authority as an apostle of Christ. So did the Such is the spirit of every true Christian pastor. It mystery of iniquity already begin to work! As six seems probable by this, as has been intimated above, or seven MSS. read here, ɛypapa av, a reading which that Gaius was converted by St. John. Hence, in is followed by the Vulgate, the Syriac, and the Copspeaking to him, he uses the tender style of paternal || tic versions, Macknight, supposing it to be the genulove, and his calling him one of his children, when || ine reading, renders the clause, I would have written; writing under the character of the elder, has peculiar beauty and propriety. remarking, that the letters which the apostles wrote to the churches, were all sent to the bishops and elders in those churches, to be by them read to the people in their public assemblies. So that "if Diotrephes was a bishop or elder of the church to which St. John would have written, the apostle might suspect that that imperious, arrogant man, would have suppressed his letter; consequently, to have written to a church of which he had usurped the sole go Verses 5-8. Beloved, thou doest faithfully-Up-| rightly and sincerely; or, as ISOV TOLES is more accurately rendered, thou dost a faithful thing; or a thing becoming a faithful person, or one who is a real believer; whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers-To thy fellow-Christians, known to thee, and to those with whom thou hast had no acquaintance. Who have born witness of thy chari-vernment, would have answered no good purpose." ty before the church—The congregation with whom Wherefore, if I come-As I hope I quickly shall; I now reside; whom-Which brethren or Christian|| I will remember-Or, as vпоμνηоw more properly strangers; if thou bring forward on their journey signifies, I will bring to remembrance; his deeds ---Supplied with what is needful; after a godly sort which he practiseth, prating against us—Both -In a manner worthy of God, or from a principle them and me; with malicious words-As if I were of divine love, and correspondent to the relation in not an apostle, but had assumed that office. "In which you and they stand to him; thou shalt do thus speaking, the writer of this epistle showed himwell-How tenderly does the apostle enjoin this! self to be Diotrephes's superior. It is therefore highly Because that for his name's sake-Out of zeal for probable that the writer of it was not the person his honour and interest; they went forth-To preach || called by the ancients John the presbyter, but John the gospel, abandoning their habitations, possessions, the apostle. Heuman and Lardner are of opinion and callings; taking nothing of the Gentiles-Among the apostle only meant that he would put Diotrephes whom they laboured, toward their support, that they in mind of his evil deeds, and endeavour to persuade might take off all suspicion of their being influenced him to repent of them by mild admonitions. But by mercenary motives. We, therefore-Who do We, therefore-Who do there is no occasion to give a mild sense to the aposnot undertake expensive journeys for the sake of tle's words: for, allowing that John threatened to preaching the gospel, and who have any habitation punish Diotrephes for his insolence, in prating of our own; ought to receive such-Hospitably and against him with malicious words, and for his unrespectfully; that—If Divine Providence do not give charitableness in refusing to entertain and assist the us opportunities of laying ourselves out, as they do, brethren and the strangers, his threatenings did not in the exercise of the ministerial office; we might—|| proceed from resentment, but from zeal for the inThough in a lower degree; be fellow-helpers to the terests of religion, in which he is to be commended; truth-Which they preach, and may be entitled, because, as Whitby remarks on this verse, 'private through divine grace, to a share in their reward. offences against ourselves must be forgiven and forVerses 9-11. I wrote-Or have written; to the gotten; but when the offence is an impediment to church-Probably that to which they came; but the faith, and very prejudicial to the church, it is to || Diotrephes, &c.-As if he had said, But I fear lest be opposed and publicly reproved."-Macknight. my letter should not produce the desired effect; for|| Neither doth he himself receive the brethrenDiotrephes, perhaps the pastor of it, who loveth to || Though he knows they come from us; and forbidhave the pre-eminence among them-To govern all || deth them that would―Receive them, to do it; and things according to his own will; receiveth us not|| casteth them-Who entertain them contrary to his || The commendation A. M. 4094. e A. D. 90. 11 Beloved, follow not that which 13 I had many things to write, but A. M. 4094. is evil, but that which is good. He I will not with ink and f pen write unto that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth thee: evil hath not seen God. 12 Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; hand ye know that our record is true. • Psa. xxxvii. 27; Isa. i. 16, 17; 1 Pet. iii. 11.—f 1 John ii. 29; iii. 6, 9. orders; out of the church. But as for thee, beloved, follow-Or imitate; not that which is evil-In Diotrephes, or any one; but that which thou seest to be good in those with whom thou art acquainted; that is, behold such a conduct as that of Diotrephes with a just abhorrence, and act according to that model of humility and condescension which you have seen in others. He that doeth good---From a proper principle, namely, from love to God, in obedience to his will, and with a view to his glory; is of God-He knows God, and, as one of his people, imitates him; but he that doeth evil-That harbours unkind tempers in his heart, and acts in an unfriendly manner toward the servants of Christ, in their wants and necessities, whatever high notions he may entertain of himself, hath not seen or known God-But is evidently ignorant of his perfections and of his will, and even an enemy to him. || 4 14 But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by church, and concerning Diotrephes; but I will not— I am not minded; to write unto thee with ink and pen-Meaning, probably, lest this letter should fall into hands who might make an improper use of it. But I trust I shall shortly see thee-Lardner conjectures that John did actually visit Gaius; and adds, I please myself with the supposition that his journey was not in vain, but that Diotrephes submitted and acquiesced in the advices and admonitions of the apostle. Peace be to thee-And every desirable blessing, from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord. Our friends salute thee-Our translators have inserted the word our in this clause without any authority. The apostle's words are oi piñoi, the friends, an expression nowhere else found in Scripture; but it applies excellently to the primitive Christians, as it denotes, in the strongest manner, the love which, in the first ages, subsisted among the true disciples of Christ. Greet the friends by name-That is, in the same manner as if I had named them one by one. The apostle, by sending a salutation to the faithful disciples of Christ, who were in the church of which Gaius was a member, and who were living together in great love, showed his paternal and affectionate regard for them, and encouraged them to be steadfast in their adherence Verse 12. Demetrius, on the contrary, hath good|| report-Hath a good testimony from all that know him; and of the truth-The gospel; itself-His tem- || per and conduct being conformable to its precepts, and he having exerted himself greatly to propagate it. Yea, and we also bear record-I, and they that are with me; and ye know that our record is trueThat every commendation I give is well founded. Ver. 13, 14. I had many other things to write-To || to the truth and grace of the gospel, and to walk communicate to thee concerning the affairs of your || worthy of it. 682 b GENERAL PREFACE TO THE EPISTLE OF JUDE. WE E learn from the inscription of this epistle, that the writer of it was Judas, the "brother of James;" not of James the son of Zebedee, and brother of John, but of James the son of Alpheus, the author of the epistle that bears his name. Jude was therefore an apostle. Indeed we find his name mentioned in two catalogues of the apostles given us by St. Luke; namely, Luke vi. 14–16; Acts i. 13. In the catalogue, however, given Matt. x. 3, in the place of Judas, we find " Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus ;" and in Mark iii. 18, "Thaddeus," simply. But as all the evangelists agree that there were only twelve apostles, we must suppose that Judas, the brother of James, was surnamed Lebbeus and Thaddeus. The reason why he is styled "brother of James" probably was, because James was the elder brother, and because, after our Lord's ascension, James became a person of considerable note among the apostles, and was highly esteemed by the Jewish believers. This Judas, being the brother of James, was, consequently, the brother, or kinsman, of Christ: see preface to the epistle of James. Accordingly, we find James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, expressly called the brethren of Jesus, Matt. xiii. 55; Mark vi. 3. Of his election to the apostleship, see Luke vi. 13. As it is certain, then, that Judas was an apostle, no other proof is wanted of the divine inspiration and authority of his epistle. Accordingly, we find the matters contained in it, in every respect, suitable to the character of an inspired apostle of Christ. For the writer's design in it was, evidently, to characterize and condemn the heretical teachers, who in that age endeavoured, by a variety of base arts, to make disciples; to reprobate the impious doctrines which they taught for the sake of advantage, and to enforce the practice of holiness on all who professed the gospel. In short, there is no error taught, nor evil practice enjoined, for the sake of which any impostor could be moved to impose a forgery of this kind on the world. Hence, although the authenticity of this epistle was doubted of by some in the early ages, yet, as soon as it was understood that its author was Judas, the brother of James, mentioned in the catalogues of the apostles, it was generally received as an apostolical inspired writing, and read publicly in the churches as such. The evidence of these important facts. is stated and proved at large by Lardner, in his "Credibility of the Gospel History;" to which the reader, who desires full satisfaction on the subject, is referred. The inscription of this epistle leads us to believe that it was written to all, without distinction, who had embraced the gospel; and, from its contents, we plainly see that the design of the apostle was, "by describing the character of the false teachers, and pointing out the divine judgments which persons of such a character had reason to expect, to caution Christians against listening to their suggestions, and being thereby perverted from the faith and purity of the gospel." Indeed, Jude's design seems to have been the same with that of Peter in writing his second letter, between the second chapter of which, and this epistle of Jude, there is a remarkable similarity; which, as was observed in the preface to that epistle, was probably owing to this circumstance, that both the apostles drew their character of the false teachers, against whom they cautioned their readers, from the character given of the false prophets, in some ancient Jewish author. Or, as Bishop Sherlock observes, Jude might have the second epistle of Peter before him when he wrote; a circumstance which, if admitted as probable, will give us light as to the date of this epistle. That of Peter was written but a very little while before his death; whence we may gather, that Jude lived some time after that event; and saw that grievous declension in the church which Peter had foretold. But he passes over some things mentioned by Peter, repeats some, in different expressions, and with a different view, and adds others; clearly evidencing thereby the wisdom of God which rested upon him. PREFACE TO THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDE. Thus St. Peter cites and confirms St. Paul's writings, and is himself cited and confirmed by St. Jude. Mill hath fixed the date of this epistle to A. D. 90; but Dodwell, who is followed by Cave, supposes, with a greater appearance of probability, that it was written soon after the destruction of Jerusalem; namely, about A. D. 70 or 71. L'Enfant and Beausobre also thought it was written about the same time; namely, between the years 70 and 75. There are various other opinions respecting its date, among the learned. But, upon the whole, though the precise date of it cannot be determined, it is highly probable that it was written in the latter part of the apostolic age, and not long before Jude's death. 684 b |