Chronological

John says ‘Hello’ to a special lady

¹ This letter comes from me, the leader of the believers. I am writing to you, a special lady that God has chosen, and to your children. I love all of you, because you have believed God's true message. And I am not the only one who loves you. Everyone who knows the true message about God really loves you. ² I love you because we have all come to understand what is true. It will remain with us for ever.^[a]

³ God our Father, and his Son Jesus Christ will help us. He will be kind to us and he will give us peace in our minds. This will happen because God loves us and because we believe his true message.

⁴ I was very happy to hear about some of your children. I am happy because they are living in a good way. They are obeying the true message about God. They are doing what God our Father has told us to do.

Do not believe false teachers

⁵ So now, dear lady, I want you to do something. I want all of us to love one another. I am not telling you a new command to obey. This is a command that we have had from the beginning. ⁶ How do we show real love? We show it when we live in a way that makes God happy. We obey his commands. He tells us to love one another, and that is how you should live. You have heard that command from the beginning.

⁷ I say this because many false teachers are travelling around everywhere. They do not agree that Jesus Christ was born as a human baby. People like that are telling lies. They are enemies of Christ. ⁸ So be careful! Do not believe their lies. Do not lose the good things that we have worked for. Make sure that you receive all the good things that God has promised to give you. ⁹ Remember the message which Christ taught. Anyone who teaches his own ideas instead of Christ's true message does not belong to God. Continue to believe what Christ taught. Anyone who does that belongs to God the Father and to his Son, Jesus. ¹⁰ Someone may come to you and teach you something that is different. Do not receive that person into your house. Do not receive him as a Christian. ¹¹ If you receive people like that as Christian people, you are making yourself the same as them. You also are doing the same kind of bad work.

¹² I want to tell you many more things, but I do not want to write about them in a letter. Instead, I hope to come and visit you. Then I can see you and we can talk together. Then we will be completely happy.

¹³ The believers here say ‘hello’ to you. They are the children of your sister that God has chosen.^[b]

John says ‘Hello’ to Gaius

¹ This letter comes from me, the leader of the believers. I am writing to you, my friend Gaius. I love you because we believe God's true message. ² My friend, I pray that God will help you to live well. I know that you are well in your spirit. I pray that your body will also be well. ³ I was very happy when I heard news about you. Some Christian friends came here to tell me about you. They said that you are living in a good way. That is the way that God's true message tells us to live. ⁴ I am happy when I hear that my children are living like that. When they obey God's true message, it makes me very happy.

Continue to help people

⁵ My friend, you do many things to help other believers. You help them even when they are strangers to you. This shows that you are serving God well. ⁶ These men have spoken to the group of believers here about your love. Please continue to help them when they visit you. Give them the things that they need to continue on their journey. That will make God happy. ⁷ They are travelling to different places to tell people about Jesus Christ. They do not accept any gifts from those people who are not Christians. ⁸ Because of that, we Christians must help them with the things that they need. In this way we will be working together with them as they tell people the true message about Christ.

Diotrephes is causing problems

⁹ I have already written something to the group of believers. But Diotrephes refuses to accept our authority. He really wants to be the only leader among them. ¹⁰ So, when I arrive there myself, I will speak to the believers about this. I will tell them clearly about the bad things that Diotrephes is doing. He tells other people bad things about us that are not true. Even that is not enough for him. He himself refuses to welcome the believers who are visiting. He also stops anyone else who wants to welcome those visitors.^[a] Instead, he sends them away from the group of believers.

Copy what good people do

¹¹ My friend, do not copy what bad people do. Instead, you should copy the good things that people do. The person who does good things shows that he belongs to God. But anyone who does bad things does not know God.

¹² All the believers say that Demetrius is a good person. He obeys God's true message. That also shows clearly that he is a good person. We also say the same thing about him. You know very well that what we say about him is true.

John finishes his letter

¹³ I would like to tell you many more things. But I do not want to write them in a letter. ¹⁴ Instead, I hope to come and visit you soon. Then I can see you and we can talk together.

¹⁵ I pray that God will give you peace. All your Christian friends here say ‘hello’ to you. Say ‘hello’ for me to each of my friends there, one by one.