III John

III John is a book of the Bible. It was written to John's friend Gaius. It is the shortest book in the Bible, having only 14 verses and totaling only 294 words. This is the only New Testament book that does not mention "Jesus" or "Christ".

The author identifies himself as John, historically considered to be the Apostle John, who also wrote the Gospel of John along with I John, II John and the Book of Revelation. Liberal theologians disagree, conceding only that all three epistles were likely written by the same person.

John wrote this book to:

• Greet Gaius.
• Thank Gaius for his good work.
• Tell that Diotrephes was living badly.
• Tell all Christians to be like other good people.

Language and Style

Like the rest of the New Testament, III John is written in Koine Greek. It was originally written as a letter. John only addresses himself as "the elder", because when he wrote III John church leaders were called elders. As in II John, he writes that he does not want to write all he wants to tell in a letter. This may explain the short length of III John.

See also

Third Epistle of John (Translated)