that he hoped to soon go to them; so that he might add in person the things which still remained for him to say. A
VERS. 13. *Greet thee the children of thy elect sister. Amen.* There are those who, from these words, would wish to affirm that this Epistle was not written to any woman, but to a Church; concerning which matter I have no desire to dispute.
The end of the second Epistle of John, verse 13. B
THEOPHYLACT EXPOSITION ON THE THIRD EPISTLE OF SAINT JOHN
ARGUMENT OF THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN
This Epistle treats of hospitality. And first of all, it commends Gaius, to whom all bore witness for his hospitality. And it exhorts him to remain in the same purpose, and to welcome and escort the brethren. Furthermore, it commends his offering, but it accuses Diotrephes, because he not only gave nothing to the poor, but even forbade others from doing so, and talked much nonsense. But such men, it says, are alien to the truth and do not know God. Finally, it mentions Demetrius, bearing the most excellent testimony concerning him.
CHAPTERS OF THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN
1. A prayer concerning perfection, and thanksgiving for the confession of hospitality shown to the brethren for the sake of Christ. In which [chapter there is] also [a discussion] concerning the baseness of Diotrephes and his hatred toward the brethren. C
2. Concerning Demetrius, to whom it bears the most excellent testimony.
3. Concerning his own coming to them shortly for their benefit.
THE THIRD EPISTLE OF THE HOLY APOSTLE JOHN
A Ver. 1, 2. *The Elder to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, regarding all things I pray that thou mayest prosper and be in health.* He who loves according to God, loves in the truth. He writes this Epistle to commend certain brethren. He writes to Gaius, and bears witness to his great hospitality, which he also deems worthy of high praise; for he says that he who does good is of God. Furthermore, he stirs him up yet more by contrasting him with Diotrephes, who did not know how to do this; he also praises Demetrius, who was doing the same things as Gaius, and provides a faithful testimony regarding his virtue.
Ver. 2, 3. *Even as thy soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and bore witness to thy truth.* "Even as thy soul prospers"—that is, in the conduct according to the Gospel. *As thou walkest in the truth.* He walks in the truth who walks according to the simplicity of the Gospel. To "walk" here, he says, does not mean the movement of the legs (since it is common to all living creatures that have feet to pass in this manner from place to place), but to progress in an orderly and chaste manner according to the movements of the soul; which few, even of those endowed with intelligence, attain. B
Ver. 4-7. *I have no greater joy than this, that I hear my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatever thou workest for the brethren and for strangers, who have borne witness to thy love in the sight of the Church; whom if thou bring forward worthily of God, thou shalt do well. For they went forth for the sake of the Name, taking nothing from the Gentiles.* The word "greater" [μειζοτέραν] is, strictly speaking, not accepted in the Greek language, as it provides an intensification of an intensification. C
Ver. 8, 9. *We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow-workers with the truth. I wrote to the Church, but he who loves to have the preeminence* among them...
[alt-version omitted]
Diotrephes, does not receive us. To receive, in place of *to take up*, that is, to welcome, as in that passage: *They have taken me up like a lion prepared for prey* (Ps. xvi. 12). By this he instructs us not to wait for those in need to come to us, but that we ourselves should run out to meet them and pursue them, just as Abraham and Lot did.
A Ver. 10. *For this reason if I come, I will bring his works to mind which he does.* If it has been commanded *not to render evil for evil* (Rom. xii. 17), how does this man threaten such things now? We reply that the instruction not to render evil for evil applies to one who sins against us personally; but if the sin against us also brings an impediment to the faith, then evil must be rendered to such a person, as Paul did to Elymas (Acts xiii. 10), who was perverting the straight ways of the Lord.
*Prating against us with malicious words*, and not being content with this, he neither receives the brethren himself, and forbids those who wish to do so, and casts them out of the Church. *Prating*, that is to say, reviling, speaking evilly, calumniating.
B Ver. 11. *Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God; but he who does evil has not seen God.* Since there is no *communion of light with darkness, nor agreement of Christ with Belial* (II Cor. vi. 14), one who has been enlightened by the knowledge of Christ ought not to mingle himself in darkness through the imitation of the ungodly, that is, in their wanton works. For just as the one who does good, he says, is of God, and has his intellectual eye perfected by the light of His knowledge; and because of this, being wholly light, he both sees the true light, which is God, and is seen by others as a light-bearer in the world, holding the word of life: so also the one who does evil, walking in darkness, can neither see God himself—which is to say, cannot do the things of God—nor guide others to see Him; but he is hateful to all and abominable, according to the word: *I have hated and abhorred iniquity* (Ps. cxviii. 163).
C Ver. 12-14. *Demetrius has been testified to by all, and by the truth itself, and we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true. I had many things to write to you, but I do not want to write to you with ink and pen. But I hope to see you immediately, and we shall speak mouth to mouth. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.* D By *all*, obviously, those who hold the truth, and by the truth itself, which is the effective Word. For there are some to whom virtue is ascribed, but falsely, because they are ineffective in word. But if someone understands the word *all* as comprising both the faithful and the unbelievers, due to the comprehensive nature of the term "all", he would not take it wrongly; for Paul bids the faithful to be without offense to all, both Jews and Greeks and to the Church of God, just as I also, he says, *please all men in everything* (I Cor. x. 32, 33).
The end of the third Epistle of the holy apostle John, verse 32.