And
he was a true Gaius. His hospitality was proverbial. One missionary family sat
at our table every Sunday for years, despite the stringent food rationing. I
can think of a number of traveling preachers who headed for my father's workshop
whenever they were passing through town. Two of them, particularly, stand out
in my mind. Both of them were poor, both had ramshackle old cars, always in
need of repair work, always nearly out of gas. And both of them always seemed
to arrive at mealtime. Neither of them was sent away empty. My father fixed
their cars for them and, out of his own small allowance of gas, filled up their
tanks. My mother performed miracles, multiplying loaves and fishes so that these
preacher friends could go on their way well fed. And my dad always left a sizable
wad of banknotes in their hands with his parting handshake. Often, we had a
Spartan meal or two afterward. But that was my dad. He ought to have been called
Gaius. Great is his reward now in heaven, and great is my mother's reward as
well.
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C.
Receiving him (v. 8)
"We
therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow helpers to the truth."
It is the responsibility of believers to support those who are full-time workers
in ministry. There is no place in the New Testament for the practice, common
enough in our day, of shamelessly begging for money. Saint and sinner alike
are besieged with requests to give to this "ministry" and that.
We
are the ones whom God calls upon to be His "fellow-helpers," receiving
and supporting those who have given themselves to the ministry. The word used
for "fellow-helper" is sunergos, and Paul used it of Apollos,
one of his colleagues in the Lord's work: "We are laborers together [sunergos],"
he said (1 Cor. 3:9). Paul planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase —
and an army of people like Gaius lent a helping hand.
_____________________
Adapted
from Exploring the Epistles of John: An Expository Commentary by John
Phillips. Used by permission of Kregel Publications. The John Phillips Commentary
Series from Kregel is available at your local or online Christian bookseller,
or contact Kregel at (800) 733-2607.
_____________________
John
Phillips received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary. He
served as assistant director of the Moody Correspondence School as well as director
of the Emmaus Correspondence School, one of the world's largest Bible correspondence
ministries. He also taught in the Moody Evening School and on Moody Broadcasting
radio network. Now retired, Dr. Phillips remains active in his writing and preaching.