“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
King James Version (KJV)
1:1 Caius was probably that Caius of Corinth whom St. Paul mentions, #Rom 16:23|. If so, either he was removed from Achaia into Asia, or St. John sent this letter to Corinth.
1:3 For - I know thou usest all thy talents to his glory. The truth that is in thee - The true faith and love.
1:4 I have no greater joy than this - Such is the spirit of every true Christian pastor. To hear that my children walk in the truth - Caius probably was converted by St. Paul. Therefore when St. John speaks of him. with other believers, as his children, it may be considered as the tender style of paternal love, whoever were the instruments of their conversion. And his using this appellation, when writing under the character of the elder, has its peculiar beauty.
3Jo 1:2 Even as thy soul prospereth. He wishes Gaius all good things, but most of all prosperity of soul.