Thank you for the interpretative question on III John 1:7, “In 3 John 1:7, what is meant by “because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.”?
As one reads the broader context of verse 7, the text says this, “5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters,[a] even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church” (NIV).
Here are some thoughts regarding the interpretation of the Third Letter by John to Gaius on verse 7.
A. Gaius welcome Christians who were not part of his house church.
The text says this, “5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters,[a] even though they are strangers to you” (NIV).
It appears that Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome the Apostle John and other Christians. The doing of Gaius seems to be that he was willing to welcome these unknown Christians into his home or in the house church.
B. The Christians that appeared to Gaius seemed to have a letter from the sending church.
The text says this, “6 They have told the church about your love.”
It appears that some of those Christians reported to John about Gaius’ reception of them. Those Christians felt the love and support from Gaius. John is writing to encourage Gaius to continue doing what he has been doing.
C. The Christians appears to “missionaries” or representatives of a sending church to share the Gospel or Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ to other regions. They stopped at house churches on their way to their destination. The letter doesn’t say where they were going.
The text says this in verse 6b, “Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.” It appears that these representative were dependent on the kindness of other Christians or house churches to provide shelter and food for them. In other words they were didn’t have financial backing or resources with them.
D. The Christians were going to their destination in obedience to the Lord.
They went in obedience to the Lord, trusting that God will provide for them. They were following the model of the Apostle Paul and other Christians who went forth or were sent by local churches as being commissioned by the Lord. They didn’t have any financial backing or resources.
The text says this in verse 7, “ It was for the sake of the Name that they went out,…”. It appears that a group of believers went forth to proclaim the Good News. The plural pronoun, them, indicates that there were more than one who went forth. It was some of them who returned and told John what was happening in that Church. John sends a letter to Gaius to commend him and to encourage him to continue doing what is good in contrast to Diotrephes’ action.
E. The Christians didn’t accept support from other people groups.
The NIV translates the Greek word, ethnikon, as pagans. It is plural. The text says this, “It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.”
The Greek text literally says this, “On behalf of the name, they went forth nothing accepting/receiving from the nations.”
There are four possible interpretations for nations.
- It can be that the Christians refused financial support or aid from non-Christians.
- It can be that the other Gentile churches didn’t provide financial support to them.
- It can be that the Christians refused to accept any financial support from other Christians or house churches.
- It can be that the Christians went forth without any financial support from any Christian groups.
From a personal perspective, I am incline to view 3 and 4. These men went forth not with their pockets lined with money nor when they went to house churches or homes that they asked for finances in advance. They went with what they had and trust God to provide for them as they went from town to town, home to home. They lived by faith, not based on the resources that they already had in their pockets.
SUMMARY: Christians are to live by faith, not by sight, believing God will provide for them in their obedience to the Lord.
-Kingston