John’s letter to Gaius is a short one. It’s a warm note, full of encouragement and affirmation. John also reinforces some teachings with Gaius. The Bible preserves this letter for us to read in 3 John.
This is likely the same Gaius grabbed by the riotous crowd in Ephesus. He, along with Aristarchus, travels with Paul to tell others about Jesus (Acts 19:29). This makes Gaius a missionary.
We also know that Paul baptized Gaius (1 Corinthians 1:14).
We get one more insight into Gaius as Paul wraps up his book to the Romans. He notes that Gaius sends greetings to the Roman followers of Jesus, making mention of Gaius’s hospitality (Romans 16:23), a trait we will see repeated in 3 John.
Paul has enjoyed Gaius’s hospitable nature and so has the whole church. We don’t know where Gaius lives, but it could be in Derbe (Acts 20:4). Regardless, the hospitality of Gaius is well known in the area.
Gaius first travels as a missionary and later opens his home to other missionaries as they travel to tell others about Jesus.
May we follow his example.
Questions:
- Are we known for our hospitality?
- If not, what should we do about it?
- What are we known for?
- What can we learn from Gaius’s example?
- How can we help missionaries?
Discover more about hospitality in Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2, and 1 Peter 4:9.
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Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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