3
John 3-8
A.
Recognizing him (v. 5)
“Beloved,
thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers.”
John is still commending Gaius, but he shifts the focus slightly. He has in
mind now the itinerant evangelist, sometimes a man not well known, who can use
all the help he can get. Gaius had a reputation of being a friend to all such,
evidently regarding as a sacred duty to extend help and hospitality to visiting
preachers. And he was faithful in discharging this duty, recognizing all such.
The well-known visiting preachers and those he had never met before – one
and all found a warm welcome with Gaius. The strangers, of course, would be
put to the test at the door, but once their credentials were verified, they
would be invited in, their feet washed, a guest room put at their disposal,
and an extra plate put on the table.
B.
Refreshing him (vv. 6-7)
1.
A privilege extended (v. 6)
John
now points to a privilege extended, underlining the importance of ministering
to those who have given their lives to ministering to others: “Which have
borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on
their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well” (v. 6).
Gaius
evidently seized every opportunity to show the love of Christ to these visiting
preachers, and they appreciated his hospitality, telling of his helpfulness
wherever they went in their travels. Gaius himself appears to have been a very
ordinary person. His name means “of the earth,” and as we would put
it, he was a “down-to-earth” sort of person. The Lord could have said
of him what He said of the woman in the house of Simon of Bethany: “She
hath done what she could” (Mark 14:8). Gaius had a true pastor’s heart,
noted not only because he championed the truth but also because his heart was
full of love. The Lord has many such. In many years of traveling across Canada
and the United States and to other countries, I have been royally helped by
many a present-day Gaius. Great will be their reward in heaven.
2.
A principle extolled (v. 7)
John
points also to a principle extolled: “Because that for his name’s
sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles” (v. 7). These visiting
preachers deserve to be helped. John had in mind those who had no visible means
of support, those who lived by faith, looking to the Lord to meet their needs,
determined to accept financial aid from other believers, not from the unsaved.
When
I was a boy growing up in Britain, my father had a small automobile business.
He bought and sold and repaired cars, had a garage, a workshop, a showroom,
and some gasoline pumps. He was not a wealthy person, but we lived comfortably.
Then came the war. Overnight his business was practically wiped out. The government
commandeered private cars for the military, spare parts vanished off the market,
gasoline was severely rationed. The only people who could drive cars were those
on essential war work. Still, my father struggled on, and the Lord saw to it
that he had sufficient customers – farmers and the like – so that
we survived.
And
he was a true Gaius. His hospitality was proverbial. One missionary family sat
at our table every Sunday for years, despite the stringent food rationing. I
can think of a number of traveling preachers who headed for my father’s workshop
whenever they were passing through town. Two of them, particularly, stand out
in my mind. Both of them were poor, both had ramshackle old cars, always in
need of repair work, always nearly out of gas. And both of them always seemed
to arrive at mealtime. Neither of them was sent away empty. My father fixed
their cars for them and, out of his own small allowance of gas, filled up their
tanks. My mother performed miracles, multiplying loaves and fishes so that these
preacher friends could go on their way well fed. And my dad always left a sizable
wad of banknotes in their hands with his parting handshake. Often, we had a
Spartan meal or two afterward. But that was my dad. He ought to have been called
Gaius. Great is his reward now in heaven, and great is my mother’s reward as
well.
C.
Receiving him (v. 8)
“We
therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.”
It is the responsibility of believers to support those who are full-time workers
in ministry. There is no place in the New Testament for the practice, common
enough in our day, of shamelessly begging for money. Saint and sinner alike
are besieged with requests to give to this “ministry” and that.
We
are the ones whom God calls upon to be His “fellow-helpers,” receiving
and supporting those who have given themselves to the ministry. The word used
for “fellow-helper” is sunergos, and Paul used it of Apollos,
one of his colleagues in the Lord’s work: “We are laborers together [sunergos],”
he said (1 Cor. 3:9). Paul planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase –
and an army of people like Gaius lent a helping hand.
_____________________
Adapted
from Exploring the Epistles of John: An Expository Commentary by John
Phillips. Used by permission of Kregel Publications. The John Phillips Commentary
Series from Kregel is available at your local or online Christian bookseller,
or contact Kregel at (800) 733-2607.
_____________________
John
Phillips received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary. He
served as assistant director of the Moody Correspondence School as well as director
of the Emmaus Correspondence School, one of the world’s largest Bible correspondence
ministries. He also taught in the Moody Evening School and on Moody Broadcasting
radio network. Now retired, Dr. Phillips remains active in his writing and preaching.