The Elder addressed his letter to a man named Gaius, whom he says is beloved (3John 1:1). The New Covenant text points to three men by that name, and John’s third epistle may point to a fourth, for Gaius was a common name among those living in the first century AD; it was even the name of one of the Caesars. The first Gaius mentioned is found in Acts 19:29, where he, together with Aristarchus, both of Macedonia, were seized by a fanatical mob, demonstrating for the goddess, Dianna of Asia. They were appointed to go with Paul on his final journey to Jerusalem. The second Gaius mentioned was also a man appointed to accompany Paul to Jerusalem, but he was a man from Derbe in Galatia. Still, a third man by this name is mentioned as a man Paul baptized in Corinth (1Corinthians 1:14), who was probably the same Gaius mentioned in Paul’s letter to Rome 16:23, as he was the host of those with Paul, whose letter to Rome was written from Corinth.
To identify John’s Gaius with any of these would be merely guesswork without much support, but, if he must be one of these men, I would think he would be Gaius of Derbe, for the following reason. John mentions him as one of his children (3John 1:4), but Gaius of Corinth was baptized by Paul. Therefore he couldn’t have been among John’s children, whom he had gained for Christ. Logically, one could argue that Gaius of Macedonian wasn’t among John’s children for the same reason. However, Galatia was not only Paul’s mission-field, but it was also a place where the Apostles preached the Gospel (cp. 1Peter 1:1). Thus, of the three mentions, only Gaius of Derbe is a possible candidate to be the same Gaius, to whom the Elder sent his epistle.
Whomsoever Gaius may have been, he was beloved of the Elder, as one who was in Christ or in truth, according to John (3John 1:1; cp. John 14:6; 15:4). Notice that the Elder prayed for Gaius’ prosperity, both in his health and in his physical wealth, just as he prospered in his faith (3John 1:2). Nevertheless, why might Gaius’ prosperity in this world’s goods be of interest to the Elder (cp. 1John 2:15)? It seems that the reason why the Elder prayed for Gaius’ financial prosperity was due to the report the brethren had brought back with them, when they returned to the Elder who sent them (3John 1:3). In other words, Gaius had been using his wealth to care for those in Christ, especially those who labored in the word of Christ, the Gospel.
I believe Gaius had a reputation of helping folks in need and in providing for the necessities of traveling strangers (3John 1:3), but this needs to be understood in the context of what the Elder mentions in 3John 1:9-10 about a church leader rebuking traveling evangelists and disciplining brethren who extended an encouraging hand of hospitality. In other words, while Gaius had been using his wealth that the Lord had given him for the Lord’s work of caring for those in need, especially strangers who were laboring for Jesus’ name’s sake, he was doing this against the intimidation of Diotrephes, the church leader who opposed the evangelists sent to their community by the Elder. It isn’t said, but Gaius may even have been put out of the church because of his faithfulness to the Lord, but if not, the threat, no doubt, was there. Perhaps, if Gaius wasn’t disciplined by Diotrephes, it was because of Gaius’ wealth, which Diotrephes coveted. It is rather difficult for one who lusts after wealth to rebuke a prospective supporter.
When the brethren returned to the Elder, they testified of “the Truth” that was in Gaius, namely, they testified of Christ in him (John 17:23), which, as we have come to see in previous studies, was Gaius’ hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), showing that Gaius was walking in truth (3John 1:3) or, as Paul puts it, walking in Christ (Colossians 2:6). For this reason the Elder was able to rejoice (3John 1:4), knowing that Gaius, one of his children in the faith, was abiding in Christ (John 15:4, 8-10), as evidenced in his love for the brethren (John 15:12-14).
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