5–8 John commends Gaius for receiving traveling Christian teachers with hospitality. The obligation to welcome and encourage those who proclaim the true gospel from place to place, and the joy that comes from this, stand in contrast to the need to avoid those who proclaim a false gospel (1 John 4:1–3; 2 John 10, 11). Those who proclaim the message and those who encourage and support them work together in serving the truth.