Third John 1:1-15

III John 1:1:

^1:1The elder – to Gaius the loved-person¹ whom I love¹ in truth.

John begins this personal letter (epistle) by identifying himself as “the elder” – a man who has more knowledge, wisdom, dignity, etc, relative to God and the things of God, an elder in service to/for God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

John addressed this letter to…

Gaius the one who is loved with God’s kind of love (beloved)
- whom emphatically I love¹ in truth (in Greek there is a definite word for “I” plus the verb meaning “I love” giving emphasis – I myself love you with God’s kind of love within the sphere of action of God’s essential reality, His inherent verity, the state of being true).

The word "love¹” or the verb "to love¹” comes from the Greek word agape which is God’s kind of love. To love with His love means to love the same way as God loves, to manifest God's love towards another, whether it is towards God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, yourself, your Christian neighbor, or towards anyone else. God tells His children today (all who have the spirit of Christ within us) how to Godly-love by means of His previously-revealed written Word and also via our holy spirit-life whereby we receive information from Him regarding how to love in different specific situations. It is the carrying out of God's commandments, His Word, which is the correct usage or way to manifest God's kind of love according to His will (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13 and I John 5:1-3). It is not the same as the brotherly or friendly kind of love, nor is it the same as the emotional/feelings/sexual kind of love.

[Reference: II John 1:1. There are other references to holy-people (Christians) having the name of “Gaius” in Acts 19:29 (Macedonia), in Acts 20:4 (Derbe), in Romans 16:23, and I Corinthians 1:14 (Corinth).]

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