Compare "John's Salutation and Greeting - 2 John 1:1-3" below. The author identifies himself as "the elder" (cf. 2 John 1:1), probably as a reference to his age.
John had deep Christian affection for Gaius, the primary recipient of this letter, calling him "dear friend" four times (cf. 3 John 1, 2, 5, 11). John also described his own company as the friends of Gaius (3 John 1:4). These bonds of Christian friendship stood in sharp contrast to the actions of Diotrephes (3 John 1:9-10).
As to the identity of Gaius, Kistemaker writes:
The name Gaius is common in the New Testament. One of Paul's travel companions from Macedonia was Gaius (Acts 19:29), another Gaius was from Derbe (Acts 20:4), and still another Gaius was a Christian in Corinth (Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14). Because we have no certainty that the recipient of John's epistle is one of these persons, we should not try to identify him.
Gaius. The name
Gaius shows up four other times in the NT. In each case, it has to do with someone who was associated with the apostle Paul (see notes on Acts 19:29; 20:4; 1 Cor. 1:14; Rom. 16:23). One was from Derbe, and another from Corinth. This was a very common name, and it is not clear if John is writing to someone Paul knew. John calls him
dear friend (translated here as
beloved), an important person in the circle of ,
friends (v. 15). He may have been the leader of a house church, but that is not clear. He may not have held any authority, unlike Diotrephes (vv. 11-12). John tells
Gaius he loves him
in truth (v. 3). That could mean he loves him
truly, but it probably has a similar meaning to
walk in truth (see notes on 2 Jn. 4-8)
